Manipur News

In Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner” a novel which traces the fortune of a Pashtoon family in the backdrop of war ravaged Afghanistan, the protagonist Amir Jan whose talent as a creative writer began showing early in his boyhood, in his first attempt at writing a story as a schoolboy, thinks of a situation in which a man who was blessed that his tears would become pearls, kills his beloved wife so that his sadness would make him weep endlessly and thus reap a harvest of pearls. In the end the man is indeed found sitting on a mound of pearls, obviously richer than he imagined he could ever be, with wealth he cannot hope to use in a lifetime, but profoundly sad and lonely than he ever was. The budding sense of irony, a vital ingredient of any good story teller was unmistakable, and the boy after the war at home made him a refugee in America is to become a successful writer. He would also then return to Afghanistan to atone for a deep sense of guilt at having betrayed his boyhood friend, someone who never ever failed to stand by him through thick and thin, and who eventually turned out to be a half brother, born of a servant’s wife his father had a sexual relations with.

The child imagination, undoubtedly informed by the turmoil at home and fanatical insistence with which the Taliban were self-inflicting endless and meaningless injuries on Afghanistan, in what they called would ultimate be the deliverance of Afghanistan through “the path of God”, was telling in many ways. It spoke of skewed values and aspirations, ones that have slowly but surely been divested from essential humanity by consistent abuse of individual dignity by the fanaticism all around, and the impossible living conditions in the country at the time. What is important for us is the question, is Manipur heading the same direction? From evidences all around us, it does seem to be so. The all pervading violence has gone far beyond sane limits. Even when there is no overt mayhem, the undercurrents still spell nothing but violence. Nobody is free to be himself or herself. The uneasy and uncanny sense of being watched and monitored has come to intimidate practically everybody into not just silence, but also to be zombies with no independent will. They act as they believe they are expected to only. They also are increasingly, though unconsciously, being forced into shrinking into their individual shells. Look at the current state of home architecture for instance. Walk into any middleclass home in Imphal and what would be noticed is a disturbing sense of insecurity the ordinary citizenry are suffering from. With the exception of a few, most live in homes that resemble a jail, with iron gratings on the portico and every other possible places intruders could barge in from; windows are fortified with sturdy iron bars etc. As a thumb rule, the richer the owner of the house, the more would be the unflattering resemblance his house has to a jail. Those who can afford it would for instance gift themselves with 12-feet or more high retaining walls all around their homesteads. Steel fortified gates which are always kept tightly shut would also greet visitors to these homes. Probably most would say this is the need of the hour for the times are bad. But what most far too often fail to question is, what would be the psychology of children growing up in such an oppressive atmosphere. Undoubtedly their minds and aspirations would also have been skewed as Amir Jan’s. Redemption from such a state of mind would also undoubtedly not be easy. Amir Jan found his, but the unasked question is how many other of his peers would not have.

When will Manipur ever become an open society “where the mind is without fear and the head is held high”? A lot of commitment from all sane thinkers of our society is essential for this to come about, and it is time they all began thinking the situation is desperate. Otherwise, the spiral of insanity that the society is plunging into would touch a critical point of no return. The values of our society are already distorted monstrously and nothing absolutely nothing remains as sacrosanct space revered by all. It is not a surprise at all that recent news report in local dailies announced there has been a sharp rise in mental illness in the state in recent years. The situation must not be allowed to sink any further, lest whatever sanity which managed to survive too would be gone, and like in Amir Jan’s story, in the hunt for false notions of achievements and success, people begin to sell even their own souls as well as those of their near and dear ones.

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IMPHAL, June 19: A joint official team of the Imphal East district administrator, officials of PWD and state settlement department will be conducting an official assessment and valuation of the standing properties at the village No. 25A Kabaw Leikai Nongpok, North AOC, in and around Imphal Hotel under Imphal east district tomorrow morning under tight security arrangements in regard to the land acquisition meant for the expansion of the Hotel Imphal into a 5 Star Hotel.

According to an official source the formal assessment and land valuation of the standing properties of the said area will start from 9 am tomorrow, in this regard an official notification was issued by the District Magistrate Imphal East yesterday, in view of the assessment and valuation of the standing properties tomorrow there will be detailing of tight security from the Imphal East district police led by the Addl. SP and comprising of civil police, women police, VDF and commando teams to prevent any form of disruption from any section of the society during the official conduct of assessment.

It may be mentioned that various sections of the society and residents of the Kabaw Leikai had initiated their agitation against the state government plan to set up a 5 Star hotel after acquiring the lands presently occupied by the pattadars of the area.

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In 2006 Literature Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk’s “The Black Book” there is a passage describing the relationship between Turkish Jews and the Turks, dominantly Muslims. Both are the same people, yet both are so different in their outlook to life, for reasons unfathomable. Describing the situation he says: “And wasn’t it amazing, just amazing, to watch these two peoples through the twentieth century swaying to the rhythm of the same secret music, never meeting, always at a tangent, forever linked, forever condemned, like a pair of hopeless twins.” The great thing about great quotes is, they seem so uncannily applicable to similar human situations everywhere. Pamuk’s quote hence may just as well have been about Manipur and the relations between different ethnic groups and different geographic regions of the state, in particular the much hyped hill-valley divide.

Yesterday this tangential show of interests was up for show. While in the valley, the June 18 uprising anniversary was being observed, an extraordinary event in which hundreds of thousand people took to the streets of Imphal in 2001 to protest what they believed was a move by the Central government to dismember Manipur’s historical territory, elsewhere the United Naga Council, UNC, dispatched a letter to the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, seeking an administrative arrangement separate from the Manipur government for the Nagas in what they consider as their traditional territorial domain. It may be recalled, the June 18, 2001 incident that followed the Government of India’s unilateral decision to extend the NSCN(IM) ceasefire into Manipur under the blanket clause “without territorial limits”, resulted in the death of 18 protestors and the burning down of several important government infrastructures, including the Manipur State Assembly building. It is pertinent to note here that one of the main demands of the NSCN(IM) is the formation of a Greater Nagaland by merging territories of Manipur and other neighbouring states which it considers as part of a traditional Naga homeland with the state of Nagaland. In 2010 May 6 again there was another confrontation when the Manipur government did not allow the NSCN(IM) chairman, Th. Muivah to enter Manipur to visit his village Somdal in Ukhrul, leading to agitations at Mao gate in which two protestors ended up killed. At the time, the Manipur government was pushing ahead with the election to the autonomous district councils, ADCs, in the hill districts, which for reasons of their own, the UNC and some other Naga organisations objected, and the government was apprehensive Muivah’s visit was timed to coincide with the agitation, among others. It may also be recalled that while sections of the Nagas objected to the ADC elections, other hill communities welcomed it.

What can anybody make of this friction, other than what Pamuk described as “always at a tangent, forever linked, forever condemned, like a pair of hopeless twins”? If the problem seems intractable and irreconcilable, think again. It just requires for all caught in this senseless trap to distance themselves a little from the immediate and from a detached vantage, take a more dispassionate look at these same issues. From such a vantage, these frictions would suddenly begin to appear extremely limited, and this is probably also why so many observers from outside this conflict theatre are unable to comprehend how these conflicts manage to sustain for so long, for the reasons behind them appear to them as easily reconcilable. Those of us immersed in these frictions know very well how very far the truth this observation is. However, the question worth considering is whether it is these observations which are limited in vision, or else it is the inability of parties in these frictions who are incapable of rising above the immediate and mundane, to see and think outside the box. While we have always been of the opinion that there has to be a balance between the objective and subjective visions for a more accurate assessment of any conflict situation, it must also be acknowledged this also implies that either of these visions can come to overbear on the other thus skewing up these assessments. At this moment, it does seem there is an excessive and indeed unhealthy tilt towards a myopic subjectivism dominating the professed logics behind these conflicts.

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IMPHAL, June 19: All 22 members of the State Legislative Forum on HIV/AIDS led by its chairman, speaker Manipur Legislative Assembly I Hemochandra are preparing to conduct an external tour to visit Malaysia and Australia as per the proposed programme of the forum.

According to an official source the forum after organizing various level of conventions and awareness programmes to control the ever increasing problem of HIV/AIDS in the state, has decided that the forum needs more explorations of initiatives that have been taken up by the advance countries regarding the control of further spreading of the dreaded HIV/AIDS,

It has further mentioned that with this objective in mind, the state Legislative Forum on HIV/AIDS has planned to conduct a meaningful external study tour and visit Malaysia and Australia.

The source further mentioned that the state high power committee headed by chief secretary DS Poonia in its meeting have approved to accord sanction for all expenditures which will be incurred in the tour program of all 22 members led by the speaker as a result the state finance department has officially accord sanctioned for all expenditures for the said tour of the forum members.

In the meantime it has been reported that the ministry of external affairs, government of India has already given its clearance regarding the high profile external tour, the source added.

The source further said that the member delegates comprising of all 22 MLA led by the Speaker Manipur Legislative Forum I Hemochandra will flag off their tour formally on June 23 this month.

The source further mentioned that, the joint member of the state legislature on tour will analyse the modalities of various implemented projects that has been undertaken up by the concern governments of Malaysia and Australia in controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS.

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By: Dee Abonmai XL
The observation of the first Fathers` Day was started by a mother. Her name was Mrs. John Bruce Dodd. She lived in the town of Spokane, Washington in America. How then did start this Fathers` Day?

It was in the year 1909 when she attended a church on Mothers` Day in the month of May. When she heard her Pastor preaching about the love of mothers, she remembered her father`s love. Her mother died when she was young. Her mother died leaving six children for their father to look after. Even without her mother, her father raised all the six children like a good Christian family. She painfully remembered how her father struggled to feed and raise all the six children. Sitting in the church she decided to give due honour to her father and all the father of the world.

Mrs Dodd went to the president of the Spokane Ministerial Association and said. “Every year we remember our mothers on Mother` Day, therefore, every year you must select a special day for the fathers, and the churches must observe the day of honour and praise for the fathers.”

The Spokane Ministerial Association accepted suggestion and selected the 3rd Sunday of June as the Fathers` Day. It was the day of her father`s Birthday.         *;

When the Mayor of Spokane heard about the Fathers` Day, he immediately ordered the proclamation to observe the Fathers` Day, he immediately ordered the proclamation to observe the Fathers` Day. Later on, when the Governor heard that Spokane Church will be observing the Fathers` Day on the 3rd Sunday of June, he too declared in all the States to celebrate Father`s Day.

William Jennings Byrant was an outstanding man in America. He suggested in the Senate that Fathers` Day should be observed as a National Holiday. Therefore, in the year 1924, Fathers` Day was announced as a national holiday in America. President Calvin Coolidge, the 30th U.S. President proclaimed the 3rd Sunday of June as Fathers` Day and said “Every family pays respect and honour to Dad.”

Since then, people all over the world, especially Christians celebrate Fathers` Day with great enthusian. Mrs John Bruce Dodd was delighted when her wishes were fulfilled by all the families in America. After some year when people asked Mrs. Dodd about her feelings she replied, “I think Fathers` Day should include family attendance at church, a small gift for dad, and sharing with him some kind words you have always wanted to tell him.”

This is a great day for all fathers as churches organize special services to honour father. As we celebrate Fathers` Day with special gifts, meals, flowers and prayers, it is a challenge to every father to check their all round contribution to their families and society. Happy Fathers` Day!

A Responsible Father
(1 thess2:8-12)
Vicky Huffman wrote about her childhood relationship with her father in her book, plus living; “My father through no fault of his own, wasn`t there when I was born. He was an Air Force Pilot, away fighting World War II. The war nearly over when I arrived, but he didn`t come home until I was two years old. He had crashed overseas and was hospitalized with burns for many months.

When he did return, we got off to a slow start. I was shy around a man because I had been around so few; he had never been around a baby. I was a little bit spoiled, and he expected his new found daughter to behave like a miniature soldier. Our relationship soon settled into a pattern that lasted for many years; he gave orders, and I took them. I lived in fear of bringing down a cold military style wrath on my head. But I think he was just as fearful. He seemed to believed that showing emotion was a sign of weakness and would cause him to lose control of his family.

After I was married I finally put my fear of my father behind and tried to have a close relationship with him. But by then, thousands of miles kept us from having no more than annual visits. There never seemed to be enough time to demolish the concrete will between us. We chipped away at it up untill the time of his death from cancer a few years ago but it ever really fell.

I know my father loved me my mother told me he did . It would have been wonderful if he had told me himself more often. May be he didn`t understand how much I needed to hear those words.

Studies have been done on people raised in all kinds of environment. Some were abused or physically deprived. Some were emotionally deprived. I was never abused or deprived of any physical comfort, but I was deprived of the love relationship that a child wants and needs from a father.”

Father, can you see the broken relationships here in this story? The work of making a home does not rest upon the mother alone. Fathers have an important part to play.

The father is the head of the household. The wife looks to him for love and sympathy, The children look to the father for support and guidance. The father is to stand as a man with manly character and with his passions spirit in the home . Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discourage”(Col3:21).

The Father`s duty to his children cannot be transferred to the mother because she has enough burden to bear. You as a father should not excuse yourself from your part in the work of education your children for life. You must share in the responsibility. Your kind, cheerful and encouraging words will prove more effective than the most healing medicines. Remember, your personal characteristics are passed down generation after generation.

Two contrastion cases in point are worthy of our attention. “The father of Jonathan Edwards was a minister and his mother was the daughter of a clergyman. Among their descendants were fourteen presidents of college, more than one hundred college professors, more than one hundred clergyman, missionaries and theology professors, and about sixty authors. There is scarcely any great American industry that has not had one of his family among its chief promoters. Such is the product of one American Christian family, reared under the most favourable conditions.

The contrast is presented in the juke`s family. Their entire record is one of pauperism and crime, insanity and imbecility. Among their twelve hundred known descendants three hundred ten were professional paupers, four hundred forty were physically wrecked by their one wickedness, sixty three habitual thieves, one hundred thirty were convicted criminals, fifty five were victims of impurity only twenty learned a trade and ten of these learned it in a state prison, and this notorious family produced seven murderers. Overall their family cost the state of New York millions of dollar.”

What qualities and character traits are you passing down to your children? Are you actively involved in knowing your children, guiding them towards maturity? Father`s spend time with your children! Upon returning home from your business. Work, office you should find it a pleasant change to spend some time with your children.

Ellen G. White says; “The father of boys should come into close contact with his sons, giving them the benefit of his larger experience and talking with them in such simplicity them see that he has their best interest, thier happiness, in view all the time.”

Fathers, spend as much time as possible with your children. You will never know your child unless you take control of your schedule and plan time just to listen and disposition that you may know how to train your children in harmony with the word of God. Never should a word of discouragement pass your lips. Do not bring darkness into the home . Be pleasant, kind and affectionate toward your children; but not foolishly indulgent. In proverbs 13:24 Solomon reminds all the fathers, ” He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him discipline him diligently.”

Too many fathers rely on punishment alone to displine their children.

But by doing that, they`re neglecting to give their kids the assistance they need in understanding and applying God`s word into their lives.

Father, combine affection with authority, kindness and sympathy with firm restraint. Give some of your leisure hours to your children; become acquainted with then associate with them in their work and in their sports and win their confidence. Cultivate friendship with them, especially with your sons. In this way you will be a strong influence for good.

Fathers, how well-prepared are you to shape your children`s wills with the wisdom of God`s word. Are you training them in the way they should go or punishing them for going on the way they should? Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Pro 22:6).

How sad it is that many fathers have cast off their God given responsibility to their children, and are willing that strangers should bear it for them!

Fathers, you have your own responsibilities that no one can bear for you. As long as you live, you are accountable to God to keep His way. Fathers, who make the word of God their guide and who realize how much thier children depend upon them for the characters they form, will set an example that it will be safe for their children to follow.

Read through the words of Anne Ortlund which is taken from her book Children are Wet Cement.

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By Robin S Ngangom
“The yellow mustard’s in bloom
Krishna’s got a wife
Radha has given birth to a child
Krishna is starving.”

Once again it is the season that smells of Yaosang.

The yellow mustard departs, peas ripen, and
Boys revisiting the year, steal from vegetable patches at night
For Yaosang’s neighbourhood feast.

We cursed the Brahmin priest when he refused to bring the god
To our reed and straw hut on the river bank
Ready to be razed to mark the new season.

As the months warmed up to her
My grandmother pulled out, one by one,
From the caches in her sunny room
Dry sweetmeat she brought from her endless pilgrimages.
In winter, she could only give me wizened fruits
That looked like her fingers.

And then the courtyard plays, the touring cinemas,
The khongjom parba phaibok, arrived in droves,
Growing in clamour as a boy’s nights grew very late
And he didn’t know that his father had gone looking for him.

For the boy, though, in the twinkling festive nights
Every girl was a fairy or a goddess
Smelling of lotuses and dreams.

And having abandoned his grandmother
While chasing his kite he felt guilty
And went to her now “dark and mouldy” room.

He found her tied with a rope to her bedpost and
Hobbling around her bed. She said,
“I’m mad now, don’t come near me.”

The boy ran onto the street behind his house.
But while running on the street he did not realise that
He was growing taller with patches of hair under his arms and belly
As the life of the streets claimed him.

It could be his blooming heart
Or his wet dreams, he mustered up courage to ask a girl out
After writing fifteen perfumed letters
And they went cycling past the returning mustard fields on river banks,
Past his almost happy boyhood.

So many years he waited in vain for them to return
The pena shakpa,the laiharaoba, the chalees of kang,
Thehalf-remembered pass khelas.

But they’ve disappeared in the folds of his reveries
Like the fairies and the goddesses.

One day in his middle years
They all returned suddenly as spectacle
Watched eagerly by wives and boys
Before they became victims
Of the killers who have stepped out
Of the courtyard plays and created widows
And made boys disappear into endlessly waiting days.

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