Manipur News

By Dr Omila Thounaojam

A peaceful mind is the beginning of a meaningful tour to life’s passages. Whatever the reasons may be, a human mind is the abode of priceless wisdoms. To live a life filled with endless endeavor to strive and succeed, having a determined mind is a must. The question here is “how” to achieve such a state of mind. The most earthly and reachable way of leading a life that is worth a living, our mind must never be allowed to stay homeless. Just like a beautiful house turns into a heavenly home with loving members residing in it, one’s mind must be occupied with senses bright. Until and unless our mind is not fueled with resourceful thoughts and logics, it is a waste to even think of a beautiful day. When a home is deserted heartlessly by its members on the pretext of hatred, jealousy, greed, etc – it is evident that the concrete structure gets reduced to a deserted village. Human life is surrounded by living thoughts that keeps on feeding upon new concepts and ways of living life. In fact, many find it challengingly hard to learn the “Art” of living. To the most it could be said that we are wandering directionless in quest for a better existence if our mind is not sound enough. What to do then in order to be touch with our own self and our own mind? Like building a bridge for an efficient level of connectivity, one must ambition to bring our minds closer to better and fruitful action. As the saying goes, “we reap what we sow” – so let’s gear up to entertain our mind with thought processes that envision a healthy and busy life.

When one cares to look at the source point of every social problem in existence, it is surprisingly interesting enough to locate that it’s the increasing number of idle minds that had caused such a situation at the first instance. People are educated just for the sake of attaining degree and the knowledge that is received is wasted just like that. The rate of literate young men and women finding suitable job placements are low. What turns out then is another bigger topic to wrestle with. Hardly many think of indulging into creative habits of utilizing the knowledge that they possessed in abundance. Hardly many attempt at churning out the best in them. This has led to a growth of idle minds in town and as such a wide array of idle space generously invites evil thoughts to preside and take over their life bound decisions. It is a common scenario today to witness crimes and news related to it on a daily basis whose life source is none other than an idle mind that needed attention. Believe it or not, our time today calls for a competitive based struggle that call for youths with strong and determined minds. The power ultimately lies in the mind of an individual and this fundamental truth must not be negated on any pretext. The mind should not fear and it should have the will to dream for a wholesome world structure. The source of every beautiful living lies in our will to imagine ceaselessly. We must sharpen up our level of imagining our schemes of life and only then a pattern of hoping for a better tomorrow will begin. We today have unknowingly cut off that part of ourselves that love to be innocent and carefree. Out of our conscious hesitation to take up fearful transits of life’s passages, we have converted ourselves into a laughing stock. It’s now or never. So better we reach out for that lifestyle that allows maximum space ground for a fertile mind to bloom and blossom. We must infiltrate into those avenues of life that will guarantee a high flying flowering of our mental potential. Our real growth and development depends on our accessibility to a mind that facilitates a continuous supply of positive mindsets. The more we neglect this fact, the more we go backward in generating a better self. When one becomes weak physically, it is the psyche – the mind that sustains the strength of an individual. That’s why philosophers often stress upon the combination of the mind and the body for a fuller sustenance. Let us accept the reality of the powerful dimensions of human mind. Let us connect by empowering our mental venues. Let us get better at a collective level by individually enriching ourselves at the basic level. Let us nurture our mental home to extend such a habit to a greater level. Let us not leave it vacant for evil strangers to infiltrate and cause harm. The more we promote such a truth the more we will become rich in the real sense of the term. Let’s not forget this at all cost.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/11/an-idle-mind-a-perfect-home-for-devil-to-settle/

By Malsawm Kipgen

The beautiful game of football is very popular among the denizens of the multi ethnic mini-India like State of Manipur. No other sports dare to penetrate as much as football does in the sports loving people of this troubled torn yet nature bounty State. In terms of Nature Beauty, Manipur is well described as “Switzerland of the East”. Likewise, if we are to describe the greatness of Manipur in the field of football, then sure enough, Manipur can be rightly described as the “Brazil of India”. The kind of gifted players and fans and football lovers sprouted naturally in Manipur has no match in any parts of India. It seems football runs in ours veins just as football is in the blood of every Brazilians or Argentines.

Despite petite in geography and not many in population, Manipur is rightly called the India’s power house of football. To be precise, Manipur as a State has a population less than that of the city of Guwahati but Assam State as a whole is far behind Manipur in producing one of the finest footballers for country India. The kind of support the Manipur clubs and footballers receive from their fans and football lovers is immense. This has no doubt pumps up and helps the local talented footballers to go for higher platform.

Thanks to the introduction of ISL 1st Edition last year, we could see the result of the Manipur people’s unfailing support and love for football. Last year, many footballers from our State played for different clubs including our own Northeast United FC. This year too, 12 or so players from Manipur play for 8 different clubs in this ongoing ISL 2nd Edition. The names are: Raju Singh, Seityasen, and Reagan Singh for Northeast United FC; Dhanachandra and Thoi Singh for Chennaiyin FC; Jacky Chand Singh and Gouramangi Singh for Pune FC; Subhash Singh for Mumbai FC; Seiminlen @Len Doungel for Delhi Dynamos; Thokhosiem @Semboi Haokip for FC Goa; and Boithang Haokip (nicked name Beckham of North East) and Siam Hanghal for Northeast United FC. Athletico Kolkata and Kerala Blasters are only the two clubs our footballer did not set foot. Mizoram came second in North East States in terms of the number of footballers playing for different clubs in ISL. Nagaland, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh have none playing in ISL.

Mizoram is on the verge of overtaking the crown of Manipur in the field of football. Mizoram Premier League (MPL) 1st edition was kicked off in 2012. It was a great success in promoting football in Mizoram. The prize money of Mizoram Premier League is a whooping Rs 25 lakh. It has attracted talented young players and orchestrated a lifeline for dreamed footballers. The immediate result one could see from MPL was the winning of Santosh trophy (the highest national football event in India) in 2014 and thus becoming the second States from North East to lift the trophy, the first being Manipur in 2002. Mizoram government is paying sincere attention and doing all it can in promoting football in its State. Not just in Aizawl, it has its eyes on other district such as Lunglei to promote football from grassroots’ level. Laying of world-class artificial grass in Thuamluai, the largest public ground in Lunglei of Southern Mizoram apart from Assam Rifles Ground, Aizawl and providing other required facilities for budding young footballers is the signature mark of good job by Mizoram government.  Mizoram Premier League has made inroad for Aizawl FC to qualify for India League.

Is our (Manipur) government in par with its counterpart Mizoram in promoting football? Can we be fortunate to see a quality playing ground coming up in the near future? We are fortunate enough to have a Main Staduim in Khuman Lampak but when can we see the development in the playing field of Main Stadium? Can the tribals of Manipur who have reservation of Manipur government style of development, dream for a future high standard quality playing ground for their talented and football addict players? Can these players who mostly come from a poor background have an opportunity of financial and technical aid from government?

The entry of FC Zalen from Sapermeina in the final of Manipur State League this year has enliven the morale of other hill based clubs that they can too enter final and win it if they show sincerity to football and work very hard despite troubles. FC Zalen has created history by becoming the first tribal or hill based club to enter final of MSL as well the first 1st debutant to reach final. However though, FC Zalen is not the only club from Sadar who play in State League. Before it, there were clubs such as FC Khanglai and JSYC from this not yet full fledged district. FC Tuff of Sadar Hills had also entered semi-final of CC Meet. Thongkhosiem Haokip, Boithang Haokip, Len Doungel, and once upon a time I league player Kiran Khongsai are all from Sadar Hills. Government of Manipur, keeping in mind the potential Sadar Hills has in football are called upon to do the needful before it is wasted and set an example for other hill districts that whoever works hard will be rewarded.

It is very shameful that the prize money of Manipur State League and CC Meet is way lesser than Tamchon Trophy, an annual football tournament sponsored by Delhi government at Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi for North Eastern students studying in Delhi. Despite having good clubs like AIM, NEROCA (a club playing in 2nd Div I league), NISA and TRAU, and despite the jam packed stadium, the prize money for such events is not making any meaning. This is sheer injustice to clubs as well as the spectators who came in large numbers. Some online media has made estimation that the number of spectators in the final clash between FC Zalen and AIM in this year MSL is 30000+ and the revenue generated from it is Rs 25 lakhs. How much would the organizers get as revenue from the tickets of CC Meet and State League? In this trend of price rise of all essential commodities, will prize money of 2 or 3 lakhs do any good for the tired players as well the managing teams? Wake up and learn! Mizoram Premier League is giving away Rs 25 lakhs to the winner.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/11/lets-talk-about-football/

By Nehginpao Kipjen

The National League for Democracy (NLD) chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi on November 19 met representatives of more than 50 countries, including Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Norway, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom.  After waiting for 25 years since her party’s electoral victory in the 1990 general election was annulled by the military government, Suu Kyi is convinced that her time has come to lead Myanmar.  In conjunction with her political ambition, Suu Kyi took steps not to antagonise the majority voters of the country, who are predominantly Buddhists. She not only maintained silence on human rights violations against the country’s minority Muslims, but her party avoided fielding Muslim candidates.  As a politician, Suu Kyi’s electoral strategy worked well in her favour, much better than many analysts had predicted before the election.

As the NLD prepares to form the next government, there are some concerns. One major concern is the possible confrontation between NLD and the military, which still remains a powerful force and essential element in the country’s polity.  Before the election, Suu Kyi said “If we win, and the NLD forms a government, I will be above the president.the constitution says nothing about somebody being above the president.”   In response, Zaw Htay, a senior official at the President’s office, said Suu Kyi’s comments were “against the constitutional provision” which states that the president takes precedence over all other persons.  After the election on November 10, the NLD leader continued to say that the president “will have no authority, and will act in accordance with the decisions of the party…because in any democratic country, it’s the leader of the winning party that becomes the leader of the government.”

Suu Kyi’s pre and post election remarks unequivocally show that she is keen and ambitious to lead not only her party but also the next government. Since NLD now has majority seats in both houses of the parliament, the party is in a position to elect the president and one of the two vice-presidents. The participation of NLD in the 2015 general election means that the party has agreed to respect the 2008 constitution, which protects the inherent role of military in politics. There is no doubt that Suu Kyi would act with due diligence not to provoke the military leaders. And at the same time, she will play more or less the role of Sonia Gandhi during the Congress-led government in India.

However, there is a danger that the military may find it difficult to tolerate should the country president becomes a puppet of Suu Kyi. If such situation arises, the military will target the president for being incompetent.  There are two main concerns that can provoke the military to intervene or disrupt the civilian government – the peace process with ethnic armed groups and the question of constitutional amendment. If the military sees that the NLD government is incapable of resolving the decades-old ethnic minority problems and feels that there is an imminent threat to the country’s national and territorial integrity, it will find a reason to intervene.  Similarly, if the military thinks the NLD government uses its power to try to amend or replace the 2008 constitution with the objective of reducing or eliminating the role of military in politics, it will act.  The people of Myanmar and the international community should understand that the democratisation process in Myanmar is a kind consensual transition in which the authoritarian leaders actively participate in the process of change by controlling or limiting the change. This transition entails some degree of political continuity between authoritarianism and the elected government. To avoid confrontation with the military and the country’s ethnic minorities, Suu Kyi must ensure that both these groups are either consulted or included in all major decisions the NLD government takes.  It would be a wise move on her part if Suu Kyi can allocate some important portfolios to ethnic minorities. Even if she acts as the architect or above the president, she must act diligently not to provoke the military leadership and not to betray the trust of ethnic minorities.

Dr. Nehginpao Kipgen is a US-based political scientist.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/11/has-power-gone-to-suu-kyis-head/