Category: KanglaOnline

IMPHAL June 3: As a part of the continuing effort of various social organizations of Jiribam to press the state government to convert the Jiribam sub-division into a full fledged revenue district, the Jiribam branch of AMSU, MSF and DESAM, today, organized a peaceful protest rally starting from Jiribam higher secondary school at around 11. 30 am.

Around 400 students from Kalinagar high school, Kasturba high school, Jiribam higher secondary school and R.K. Sanatombi Vidyalaya high school, Jiribam participated in the said rally.

Later in the day, the Jiribam district demand committee had called a 30 hours general strike in Jiribam sub division which will be effective from the mid-night of June 6 till 6 am of June 8 as a response to the concerned authority`™s mute stand.

A press conference that was held at around 2.30 pm at the temporary office of the committee which is situated in the office of MSF, Jiribam branch also highlighted the further course of actions if the government continue to fail to act accordingly even after repeated demands. In this regard the convener of the committee, Mutum Meipaksana Mangang has appealed the general populace in the Jiribam area for their support till the demand of converting the sub-division into a district is materialized.

The committee further cautioned the state government that an economic blockade for 5 days starting from 7pm of June 11 till 7 pm of June 15 will be instituted on the Imphal Jiribam state highway as a further course of action, if the government fail to give any positive responses even after the stipulated time. The committee further appealed to all the vehicles plying on this highway to fully cooperate during the proposed economic blockade.

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At its crux, there are only two known ways of resolving a conflict of interest. One is to crush the weaker of the two with brute force and the other to reach a democratic consensus. The civilized norm of the modern world being the latter option, the need is to explore its possibilities, wherever conflict has come to stay, at least until a more perfected mechanism is evolved. For the moment, we can only foresee all putative future conflict resolution mechanisms as derivatives of the democratic system, the latter being known for its resilience and almost infinite accommodative capacity. But it must be acknowledged that often the most vocal advocates of democracy have regressed into the logic of an atavistic past where only force mattered. The objectionable interventions in the Middle East and West Asian have said this eloquently. It is a matter of pessimism that war still seems unavoidable even in the days of democracy. A qualification needs however to be added here. In the UNDP Human Development Report, HDR, 2002 with the theme “deepening democracy in a fragmented world”, one of the many interesting patterns of national behaviors that evolved from empirical data on wars in the second half of the 20th Century is, no two democracies have ever gone to war with each other. Quite obviously, these nations have discovered an alternative ground on which to thrash out vexed issues. The indication is also, democracy is a versatile medium for this meeting of minds and resolution of conflicts.Even in our situation, there have been very strong tendencies on very many occasions to return to the former method of conflict resolution, which basically has a one-line philosophy made famous by Joseph Conrad’s fictional character, Kurtz in Heart of Darkness – exterminate the brute. But, as in this story, the scale to decide which is the “civilized” and which the “brute” between the exterminator and exterminated, becomes extremely blurred. But the values of democracy, with its insistence on giving each and every one a say, regardless of numerical or physical strength, have generally managed to keep this tendency in check. There have been occasions when this inner moderation snapped, as in the case of the Naga-Kuki feud, Meitei-Meitei Pangal mayhem, and Kuki-Paite fratricide, but it would be reasonable to presume that many more would have been prevented by this inner cord. For indeed although our society seemed at certain junctures to have reached points of explosive of ethnic violence, nothing so catastrophic have happened so far. This however does not mean the dark forces of violence have been successfully subdued for all times. We still continue to sit on a dormant volcano which can with provocation come alive again. And provocations there have been and there will be by those who either do not understand or believe in the healing power of accommodation and mutual respect that democracy recommends.There have also been plenty of talks of a dialogue between the civil societies of the different communities that are at loggerheads. This is welcome, but a dialogue devoid of a willingness to accommodate can possibly lead nowhere. A dialogue or a discourse is not simply about convincing the opposing party to surrender to the will of the other party, but of discovering, or rediscovering as the case may be, of common grounds on which to build the foundation of the future together. This spirit has never been conspicuous in all the vociferous claims for the need for understanding and good neighbourliness. By democracy we do not necessarily mean only the number game. This is a necessary ingredient, but it is far from being a sufficient condition. Equally important, it is also about justice, and in evolving this understanding of justice, the premium must be on reason and creative insights into what is common good. Here concept of freedom is also important. Without individual freedom, the aggregate of which is what constitutes freedom of larger social grouping, including the nation, there can be no democracy. But again, as philosopher Isaiah Berlin said, freedom cannot be without any conditions. Absolute freedom for the wolves translates into death for the lambs. Freedom then can make meaning only if it is moderated by reason and a commonly legislated rational law.

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By A Staff ReporterIMPHAL June 6: The Manipur Press Club located at Majorkhul has recently reported some paranormal activities.The club which is an official destination of the All Manipur Working Journalist’s Union, apex scribe body of the state and a favored spot for holding press meets and important functions has now become a controversial place among the journalist fraternity that haunting have occurred inside the club building recently.
The paranormal activities report culled from various sources stated that, near midnight, a female voice singing could be heard, sound of heavy footsteps on the ceiling and stairs, and a reported sighting of a female form.
Many occupants of the club building ,at present masons, press club chowkidar  and a senior correspondent have reported witnessing the specter.
The club chowkidar, Kalu was also in a state of hysteria after an encounter with the apparition  a few days back and a local shaman was called to tend to his condition. The shaman also exorcised the building by throwing rice inside the club building and the outdoor areas of the club premises. The chowkidar in a state of delirium went up the stairs till the fourth floor and allegedly came down from the bamboo scaffolding erected for construction of the club upper floors.
“ I don’t know what happened but a voice kept calling me, and I rushed to the top floor and I heard a scream like someone falling down, I don’t know what came over me ,but I came down the scaffolding instead of taking the stairs”, a visibly apprehensive Kalu told this IFP reporter.
The chief mason in charge of the club construction also stated similar comment that many of his workers also left the work after encountering the bizarre activities. “ One of my workers came all the way to Serou,Kakching at night saying that he had had enough and can’t stay at the club anymore”. The chief mason also said “ I came down one night after hearing a noise downstairs, as costly tiles were kept below, I feared that someone might be attempting to rob the tiles, I had a torch light in hand, there was no one, later from near the toilet, I saw a female form suddenly rushing up the stairs in a flash, a chill ran down my spine and I had another similar encounter”, he said that he had goose bumps recounting his experience.
The story was also told in a similar manner by a senior correspondent of a national paper who occupies a room at the first floor of the club building. “ I mostly work late, one night I heard a sound of singing, it sounded like a girl and I went down to investigate.

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IMPHAL, June 13 (Newmai News Network): Communist Party of India (CPI) Manipur unit will exert pressure on Central and state governments to initiate political dialogue without any precondition with underground outfits of the state to resolve the insurgency problem, said the party’s outgoing general secretary Langol Iboyaima. 

Speaking at a press conference at Irawati Bhawan Monday, the CPI Manipur outgoing general secretary said that the party has unanimously resolved on five resolutions during the 20th state conference in the presence of its national general secretary AB Bardhan. The three-day-long state conference that started on June 10 concluded Sunday.

The state unit of the party will exert pressure on Central and state government for the repeal of AFSPA from the soil of Manipur, according to the resolutions adopted at the conference, while also resolving that the party will attempt at forming a left and democratic alternative government in the forthcoming general assembly election due early next year, said Mr Iboyaima.

CPI Manipur has been fighting to safeguard the territorial integrity of the state since its inception in 1948 and will continue to do so into the future, inform the outgoing state general secretary about the other resolutions.

The nature of distribution of power between Centre and state as informed by the Constitution of India is unitary in character, and CPI has resolved that the Constitution should be amended to usher in federal polity, he said, while adding that Manipur should be given a special status by the Central government.

Besides the resolutions, the conference also demanded from the Central government the fast tracking of process for the establishment of separate High Court for Manipur and the raising of highway protection force.

It also demanded the handing over of maintenance work of National Highway 53 and 39 to state Public Work Department from BRTF as also public declaration of assets of ministers and MLAs.

During the conference, the state CPI elected Dr M Nara as its new general secretary while L Koireng and Th Nabakumar as its assistant secretaries.

At the press conference, Dr M Nara said that the era of coalition politics is here to stay and the party needed to change its paradigm and strengthen its stand.

A very strong coalition government is indispensable in Manipur in order to solve the problems besetting the state, he said.

Touching on the formation of the state unit of the Naga People’s Front (NPF), the ex-minister said that the party does not agree with the “divisive ideology” propounded by NPF which, he said, is bound to have adverse political ramification for the state. CPI national general secretary AB Bardhan had also publicly articulated his reservation on the formation of NPF in Manipur few weeks ago.

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IMPHAL June 14: United NGOs Mission, Manipur has appealed to the Chief Minister and the Governor of the State to make immediate alternative arrangement for the evicted families of Lamphel Yaipha Leikai at the earliest.

A press release of the secretary of the organization U Nobokishore stated that the conditions of the fifteen evicted families are now in a deplorable condition. As the families are left without proper shelter and living in makeshift shelters, the aged persons and the children are suffering from starvation and water borne diseases, the children are also not able to attend school, it maintained.

The press release further thanked the organizations and individuals for partaking in the protest rally and public meeting held on June 12 addressing the escalation of crime against women and children.

Meanwhile sources stated that the makeshift shelters constructed anew along the Lamphel roadside have also been removed by security persons.

Local MLA W Brajabidhu is also reported to have met the evicted families and told them to shift to another adjoining area, but the families have stated that the area is unfeasible as the said place is a marshy area.

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The question that haunts many in Manipur today is undoubtedly: which way Manipur? For many the hunt for the answer verges on despair. The fact is there seems to be too many answers but not a single clear cut one. There are too many unsettled issues of awesome magnitude, their problem potential accentuated and amplified further by the fact that they seem to share no point of confluence. Our mainstream established politics is totally in a mess; our society has no clear focus on any particular goal; our civil society is so hopelessly divided that it is questionable if there is anything that can be termed as civil society at all; reciprocal to this division is also the underground politics, multiple-fractured and threatening to tear Manipur along the many fault-lines they have introduced on sectarian lines; law breaking has ceased to be the preserve of those who consider themselves out of the purview of the law of the land, but also the law enforcer as well. It is aptly a situation in which anarchy has spiralled out of control of any centralized command. 

Nothing moves, and nothing can move in any positive direction in such a situation. Because the society is so badly divided, there will always be somebody or the other who will not be happy with any decision meant for everybody. Take the controversy that the recent downsizing of the oversized ministry has evoked. It is sad to know that it did not need to be so bitter had the chief minister been a little more sensitive about regional representation or else acted by a definite, neutral formula. He introduced an arbitrary element in his choices for reasons that are matters of speculation. Since the administrative division of the state into its nine districts has little to do with administrative convenience, but are more in the nature of drawing ethnic (communal) geography, the chief minister should have realized there is a certain inevitability about ensuring an even, district-wise representation in his ministry to the extent possible. Unless the criteria was picking legislators with proven integrity and merit alone, there could have been little other reason than personal for him to have thought of giving two to some and nil to others.

Take again the question of territorial integrity. There is no point in ignoring the fact that the term is being interpreted in diametrically opposite ways by the hill population, in particular the Nagas, and the valley, in particular the Meiteis. It is another matter what history and politics say, but the urgent point of concern is, there is a great divide in the present times with extremely grave implications for everybody, and all of us, in the hills as well as in the valley, should be worried about this. The same divide is there in almost every other issue in the state. We have seen the ugly sectarian controversy even on the selection process for MBBS studies. We have seen the binary division on the issue of the Timapmukh multipurpose dam; we have seen similar friction on the construction the Sana Keithel; we have even seen imminently avoidable controversies on the manner the Kangla was proposed to contest for inclusion as a world heritage site. On the last issue, it is of relevance to note that while Manipur debated on whether the British colonial legacy imprinted inside the Kangla should be preserved or destroyed, it missed being included in the UNESCO’s list of new sites this year, unlike two other sites in India including the Victoria Railway Terminus in Mumbai. Now that the Assam Rifles has vacated the fort, there should be more hope for it to enter the UNESCO’s list. The question is who is pushing the issue, or is it being pushed at all still after the initial flutters.

We need to disentangle all the entanglements first before we can hope to find an answer to the onerous question, which way Manipur? This disentanglement, we are convinced, can come about only across the negotiation table around which the different sections of our divided society sit and thrash out a common denominator on which to build all our future social arbitration mechanisms. Each section must realize that the only choice we have before is this common denominator or continued anarchy and mayhem. The choice, to borrow a catchy advertisement line for a soft drink, should be clear.

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Leader Writer: Paojel Chaoba

Recently a friend came back from abroad, after spending some weeks here. I was given a detail on how things which are supposed to be mandatory for a civilized society are much at lacking even in the State capital itself.

One at the foremost was the erratic power supply issue, the public is more than aware of the present status, sometimes it becomes a task to charge one’s mobile phone, carrying a mobile charger has become routine and to look at other localities or offices whether if power is there. All these just to charge a phone, the myriad ways that the commercial enterprises must be suffering are left to one’s imagination.

The effectiveness of the Power Department recently concluded drive also fails to address the woes of the public. The drive carried out had disconnected scores of lines of the defaulting consumers and arrested several persons for illegal connections, tariff were collected to the tune of several crores. But ,despite the supposed all out effort of the State Power Department has yielded but naught and the supply remains erratic as ever.

If we dig deeper and the concerned officials are approached for their departments non performance, the reason is always pointed towards one thing only,i.e. the prevailing law and order situation of the state.

It is observed that most of the top executives of the State may ride in fancy cars, have fabulous mansions and have numerous bank accounts with bulging balances, but they lack the air of a contented person. Most have a worn out and apprehensive look, truth be told, they cannot sleep with their gates open nor travel without security escort. And the blame for their condition is still on the law and order, the scare tactics and threats of the UGs.

The blame game is open to both sides, the officials on their part stating that the UG interference and extortion have affected the workings and proper implementation of many schemes aimed at public welfare, whereas the UGs also in their circulars charge the official of high corruption and the blame game continues.

It is pertinent to mention that the factionalism trend of the UG outfits still continues unabated and the extortionist approach sometimes gives the benefit of the doubt to the state officials.

It is heard in many occasions for the insurgent groups need to come under an administrative umbrella as they all have a common objective. A united front if emerged into reality would be beneficial to all. Their struggle for independence would gain momentum and it may be easier for the government to address a political solution which may come in the form of a plebiscite or otherwise. Moreover, public servants cannot blame their shortcomings to a vague splinter organization.

The State government also needs to come clean in addressing the insurgency issues and the recent surrender of PULF cadres which according to Tehelka Magazine was a farce is factually evident by the series of events in itself. If a media house based on its sources announces that a jailbreak will occur and so many prisoners including a high profile convict will escape on a particular date, and later if the jailbreak occurs. It clearly shows that the media house knows about the system working inside the jail and the weaknesses and covert schemes of the concerned jail authorities. Quoting a line from Reggae music legend Bob Marley, “You can fool some people some of the time, but you can’t fool all the people all of the time” should be acknowledged from all quarters that if the public stands up for their rights, then there will be no stopping them and they are not afraid to lay down their lives for the just cause. A significant example is the observation of the Great June Uprising Day which falls today. The 18 martyrs are the ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice neither for money nor independence but for the real love of the land.

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NEW DELHI, June 20 (MIC): Government has released Rs. 77.50 crore to different states under the Rain-fed Area Development Programme (RADP) in 2011-12 so far. The budgetary allocation for the current financial year is to the tune of Rs. 250 crore. Rain-fed areas of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh are covered under RADP. 

RADP is a sub scheme under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). The programme aims at improving the quality of life of farmers, especially small and marginal farmers, by offering a complete package of activities suitable for rain-fed areas. The scheme is implemented by State Agriculture Department, the nodal agency for implementation of RKVY.

All the rain-fed areas (i.e. areas which are not covered under assured means of irrigation) having large extent of cultivable land and potential for increasing agriculture productivity are covered under RADP. Within the rain-fed areas, priority is given to arid, semi-arid and sub-humid ecosystems.

Rain-fed areas constitute about three-fourth of the land mass under arid, semi-arid, and dry-humid zones and account for nearly 57 per cent of the agricultural land spread across large parts of the country. These areas are significant in terms of ecology, agricultural productivity and livelihood for millions of rural households in the country.

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