By Puyam Rakesh Everybody hopes to be a smart person in one sense or another. Who will not like to be identified with a smart city? It can be
By Puyam Rakesh Everybody hopes to be a smart person in one sense or another. Who will not like to be identified with a smart city? It can be
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/12/imphal-city-to-become-a-smart-city/
By Birkarnelzelzit Thiyam A wooden boat will never sink in an ocean or a pond until it got a welcoming hole for water in the boat. An educated boat
By Birkarnelzelzit Thiyam A wooden boat will never sink in an ocean or a pond until it got a welcoming hole for water in the boat. An educated boat
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/12/save-human-resource-to-promote-natural-resources-education-is-nothing-but-learning-how-to-feel-hungry-to-learn/
By Kharingyo Henry Shimrah BJP win two assembly seat in Manipur: Notwithstanding the generally known actuality that the Manipur BJP has been becoming gradually and consistently in numbers subsequent
By Kharingyo Henry Shimrah BJP win two assembly seat in Manipur: Notwithstanding the generally known actuality that the Manipur BJP has been becoming gradually and consistently in numbers subsequent
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/12/why-the-bjp-won-in-two-constituencies-of-manipur/
By Bienhome Muivah There is the new you and the old you. The new you has the mind of Christ and all the abilities of Christ. We have the picture
By Bienhome Muivah There is the new you and the old you. The new you has the mind of Christ and all the abilities of Christ. We have the picture
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/12/who-are-you/
By Margaret Ningthoukhongjam Humans are mortal and death is inevitable. Whether we take the long way or the short cut, our sole destination remains the same. How we choose and
By Margaret Ningthoukhongjam
Humans are mortal and death is inevitable. Whether we take the long way or the short cut, our sole destination remains the same. How we choose and which one we choose is predestined, most importantly, by our fate and our idea of responding to it. Life is unpredictable and living points / discloses the tentative thread that binds one’s life with death. Since time immemorial, hope continues to be the greatest medicine that strengthens this thread and prolongs one’s journey. Our advanced and triumphant medical system and culture are also the basic precursors which are instrumental in culturing hope.
Our fate I would say, works in its own unique way and it alters its role individual wise. Fate makes life unpredictable. Let’s take the example of a woman who had never smoked a cigarette or had never lived with a smoker throughout her life and still suffers from lung cancer, while a chain smoker leads a healthy life without any problems. Similarly, some people suffer from severe illness which can be cured by undergoing proper medical treatments and surgeries while some suffer from chronic incurable illness like cancer, AIDS and mental illness like Schizophrenia, Multiple personality disorder, depression etc, Paralysis of limbs, mutilation memory loss due to accidents may also occur. Either way suffering is painful and exhausting. Life becomes miserable for them and their families. Hope is deprived as living becomes meaningless and they start doubting their existence. Let us also consider the live of elderly people. They are the most unfortunate as they are at the most tender stage of life. Their bodies are 80 -90% degraded and are prone to certain physical as well as mental illness. Love and care is the most essential to allow them live their remaining days the way they like and experience a pain free death with no regrets is their only desire. However, it is easy to provide care and motivation to patients who are suffering from illness which can be cured but when it comes to those who are terminally ill and are suffering from incurable illness, the process demands a static and a very delicate approach. This new level of care is collectively known as palliative care – providing care, help and motivation to dying and bedridden people socially, physically, mentally, financially and spiritually so that they can cherish their remaining last days of their life. All these aspects of living are mandatory for the psychological and physical well being of a terminally ill or bedridden person and thus improve their quality of life.
Palliative care is a genuine approach which provides love, care, relief, motivation and help to depressed and dying people while rejuvenating their hope once again. Palliative care volunteers ignite the life of these people by putting themselves in their shoes and taking part in their despair. They take the patients’ problems overhead and directly reach out to their hearts. Their main purpose is to make the other person feel loved and contented and to walk hand in hand at all times. Palliative care givers should be honest, optimistic, trustworthy, patient, caring, loving, hardworking, understanding, empathetic, alert, should possess good communication skills, be tactful and loyal. They should be responsible, diligent, very firm with their objectives and avoid distraction due to factors like sex, religion, race, caste, politics, etc, Impartiality and altruism are also important determiners. To extend support, spread love and guarantee happiness is a divine act and this approach is patient centered and not disease / problem centered.
Our instinct to survive works in a miraculous yet, simple way and it is this force that drives us to strive for the same. Darwin’s “Survival of the fittest” theory explains about the various curriculums that promote a person’s ability to adopt to the ever changing surroundings and comforts him to act accordingly. He observes, interprets, thinks, interacts, evaluates and responds in the most reliable way. Like I mentioned earlier, people choose different ways and get into hard and long fights to avoid the obvious result. They sometimes, put their life at stake and trust the erstwhile medical system. But “death” being the ultimate enemy, it will knock at each door sooner or later. The long way might give you more time and meanwhile make you weaker and weaker, unconscious about your very existence but still you will breathe and still survive. Appreciating life and being conscientious about it implies living. Literally, ‘to live’ and ‘to survive’ are synonymous but psychologically, there exists a fine differentiation between these two prospects. Subjectively, ‘to survive’ is to avoid death at any cost while ‘to live’ is to inhale the real essence of life and embrace death as a part of it.
According to Maslow’s need hierarchy, the five basic needs required for living are physical needs, safety needs, social needs, need for self – esteem and self – actualization. These deficiency needs and growth needs are the main sources of motivation and are fundamental for a person to live.
Palliative care givers aim on providing all these needs and at the same time, motivating and encouraging them through thick and thin. Moreover, the volunteers are developed spiritually and psychologically. They are trained and preordained to face the reality of life to be compassionate, be objective and subjective when required, be faithful and enhance their prosocial behavior. Their outlook and views of life becomes more realistic.
The working of palliative care is easily accessible if the system is well – established. Herein, trained doctors nurses along with volunteers visit the patient’s palace; study their problems and provide quality help and care. This system was first established in Kerala 23 years ago and since then, has taken a firm root. At present, there are more than 1000 Palliative Care centers in Kerala. As part of the plan, Manipur has come foreward and the Palliative Care Society, Imphal has been founded on 16th April, 2015. Many doctors, nurses, other professionals, teachers and more than 100 students from different colleges have enrolled as volunteers. They are well trained personnel. However, regular training programmes and meetings have been organized for new volunteers. The Palliative Care Society, Imphal has adopted Thangmeiband Assembly Constituency for its pilot project in Manipur and started home visit based Palliative Care. The society has taken a step closer to fulfilling its aim of extending unconditional support and care to hate inflicted souls. Various awareness programme, fund raising programmes and regular discussions have been organized for the sole aim of expanding and strengthening the society’s objectives.
The energetic and audacious volunteers / workers of the society has marched a cycle rally on 20th September 2015 and a walk on world tourism day for fund drive and awareness
The backbone of this system is the student volunteers and the success of the project wholly lies in the hands of the media, the community, their co – operation and most importantly, the zeal and enthusiasm of the volunteers. Such a project is a humane approach; is “one of a kind “and a ‘boon’ in disguise for the people. Their main objective is to enlarge their project; sensitize people and help as many patients, requiring Palliative Care as possible. The meaning of life is well experienced and defined through this process.
On November 19 and 20, 2015 Palliative Care Society, Imphal organized an International Conference on Palliative Care at Imphal which attracted more than 500 delegates from all walks of life. Several experts on Palliative Care from within the country and abroad deliberated during the conference. Such conferences will indeed help widen the awareness among our public.
Therefore, Palliative Care allows a person to live and also helps others to live. The Palliative Society is a society for the society. It is impossible to move on without the support and consent of the people. The society is by far the greatest contributor for success. This is the genuine call for the society by the society. Palliative Care is at the mercy of the society and it is our duty as a social being to feel responsible and join hands this very moment.
(The author is: MA Psychology student in Punjab University, Chandigarh)
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/12/palliative-care-live-and-let-live/
By Wangkheimayum Bhupendra Singh As I sat on my balcony, environed by the afternoon breeze, looking over the far horizon, where the Baruni peak meets the winter sky, my mind
By Wangkheimayum Bhupendra Singh
As I sat on my balcony, environed by the afternoon breeze, looking over the far horizon, where the Baruni peak meets the winter sky, my mind drifted off on its own to the past, moving fast across cities I had been to, rivers I had crossed, skies I had flown over bringing back the faces I had met and known but long lost as life’s pages turned. Then my mind stopped at a certain point, and I couldn’t help but smile at the memories from long time back.
Some time back, a dear old friend had shared with us this photograph on a social networking site, igniting old memories among many of us friends.
The old picture, taken of our class in MPS way back in the early 1990’s, ignited a chain of thoughts that particular afternoon, breaking the monotones of an otherwise dull afternoon and encouraged me to write this.
What made it all the more endearing was that it was shared on a platform – where almost all of those in the frame could see it and relive the past, share memories from what has long been forgotten and forsaken and most importantly bring back together old classmates.
The photograph took me back into time when the open fields were our only playgrounds before the TVs and the video games replaced them, and I could safely assume that it ignited the same feeling of nostalgia among my former classmates.
It took me back into the time when we were still concern with what our mothers must have loaded our tiffin-boxes with and with whom to share them and less with what we were going to learn in school.
I sat and remembered of the times when we still had the energy to run across the grounds until our faces turn a crimson red and fold our hands to drink with all cares forsaken from the common water tank.
Life started off pretty simple. I was once a toddler my parents told me. You ran after the butterflies and tried to catch the rainbow and your own shadow, my mother smiled remembering my early years.
From the vague memories I could still remember, I made friends with the toad, tied a piece of cloth around my shoulder to become the super hero that I dreamt of becoming one day and protect my limited world from my imaginary villains.
“And then one fine day you went off to school and came back with a bag full of queries and dreams; that was when your life became intense and demanding,” mama sighed.
According to mama, with each passing year, my queries became more intense and difficult to answer until it became almost impossible.
Now that I am looking for answers on my own and working to realise my dreams, how I wish to be a toddler again when I was oblivious of life’s seemingly unreasonable demands.
Life could be pretty harsh was the first of many advices my parents offered me and my brothers and sister.
“Time and tide waits for none” was the second or so.
Preparation for my life ahead had begun the day I was born and lay on my mother’s lap as she sang my first lullaby.
Nevertheless, school was where I learnt a lot and where I met them all… where we met our first best friends and for many their first innocent crushes… and a few were even lucky enough to have found their soulmate.
Coming back to my memories, a decade and a half has passed since we shared the same fear for exams, exchanged class notes, shared pakoras at the canteen, etc. And like the many friends who had grown apart for long and came face to face once again we dreamt on to have a get-together, see what we have all missed out from one another’s life.
We sure had made plans to meet, set a date, a venue where we could all be once again the child we can never be again.
The plan is yet to see the light of day but nonetheless the photograph had already done its bit and ignited the desired camaraderie among us long lost friends and we continue as of today to meet as much as we are allowed to meet online.
This means that now many of us are in touch and are involved in frequent and long indulgences in a series of group and individual chats on the internet on a daily basis as if on a mission to catch up for all the lost time. The chats are often long and many a time just a friendly banter but at times it does wander into interesting topics.
This time around we started off with inquiring about one another, how life has been treating us, unlike in the past when we were finger led by our parents and teachers into the classroom.
To cut a long story short I would quote a beautiful song of The Carpenters’ “Yesterday Once More”, one of a few personal favourite “All my best memories come back clearly to me, some can even make me cry, just like before. It’s yesterday once more.”
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/12/long-lost-friends/
By Wangkheimayum Bhupendra Singh As I sat on my balcony, environed by the afternoon breeze, looking over the far horizon, where the Baruni peak meets the winter sky, my mind
By Wangkheimayum Bhupendra Singh
As I sat on my balcony, environed by the afternoon breeze, looking over the far horizon, where the Baruni peak meets the winter sky, my mind drifted off on its own to the past, moving fast across cities I had been to, rivers I had crossed, skies I had flown over bringing back the faces I had met and known but long lost as life’s pages turned. Then my mind stopped at a certain point, and I couldn’t help but smile at the memories from long time back.
Some time back, a dear old friend had shared with us this photograph on a social networking site, igniting old memories among many of us friends.
The old picture, taken of our class in MPS way back in the early 1990’s, ignited a chain of thoughts that particular afternoon, breaking the monotones of an otherwise dull afternoon and encouraged me to write this.
What made it all the more endearing was that it was shared on a platform – where almost all of those in the frame could see it and relive the past, share memories from what has long been forgotten and forsaken and most importantly bring back together old classmates.
The photograph took me back into time when the open fields were our only playgrounds before the TVs and the video games replaced them, and I could safely assume that it ignited the same feeling of nostalgia among my former classmates.
It took me back into the time when we were still concern with what our mothers must have loaded our tiffin-boxes with and with whom to share them and less with what we were going to learn in school.
I sat and remembered of the times when we still had the energy to run across the grounds until our faces turn a crimson red and fold our hands to drink with all cares forsaken from the common water tank.
Life started off pretty simple. I was once a toddler my parents told me. You ran after the butterflies and tried to catch the rainbow and your own shadow, my mother smiled remembering my early years.
From the vague memories I could still remember, I made friends with the toad, tied a piece of cloth around my shoulder to become the super hero that I dreamt of becoming one day and protect my limited world from my imaginary villains.
“And then one fine day you went off to school and came back with a bag full of queries and dreams; that was when your life became intense and demanding,” mama sighed.
According to mama, with each passing year, my queries became more intense and difficult to answer until it became almost impossible.
Now that I am looking for answers on my own and working to realise my dreams, how I wish to be a toddler again when I was oblivious of life’s seemingly unreasonable demands.
Life could be pretty harsh was the first of many advices my parents offered me and my brothers and sister.
“Time and tide waits for none” was the second or so.
Preparation for my life ahead had begun the day I was born and lay on my mother’s lap as she sang my first lullaby.
Nevertheless, school was where I learnt a lot and where I met them all… where we met our first best friends and for many their first innocent crushes… and a few were even lucky enough to have found their soulmate.
Coming back to my memories, a decade and a half has passed since we shared the same fear for exams, exchanged class notes, shared pakoras at the canteen, etc. And like the many friends who had grown apart for long and came face to face once again we dreamt on to have a get-together, see what we have all missed out from one another’s life.
We sure had made plans to meet, set a date, a venue where we could all be once again the child we can never be again.
The plan is yet to see the light of day but nonetheless the photograph had already done its bit and ignited the desired camaraderie among us long lost friends and we continue as of today to meet as much as we are allowed to meet online.
This means that now many of us are in touch and are involved in frequent and long indulgences in a series of group and individual chats on the internet on a daily basis as if on a mission to catch up for all the lost time. The chats are often long and many a time just a friendly banter but at times it does wander into interesting topics.
This time around we started off with inquiring about one another, how life has been treating us, unlike in the past when we were finger led by our parents and teachers into the classroom.
To cut a long story short I would quote a beautiful song of The Carpenters’ “Yesterday Once More”, one of a few personal favourite “All my best memories come back clearly to me, some can even make me cry, just like before. It’s yesterday once more.”
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/12/long-lost-friends/
By Pradip Phanjoubam In many ways, Manipur has forgotten to celebrate. It only knows how to observe days of gloom carefully selected from its recent and past experiences. If there
By Pradip Phanjoubam
In many ways, Manipur has forgotten to celebrate. It only knows how to observe days of gloom carefully selected from its recent and past experiences. If there is anything as a dark era, this must be it for the state. The illuminating fire of optimism and hope has receded and in its place are images of suffering, protests, blockades, bandhs, mindless violence, ethnic tensions, xenophobic campaigns… and the list can go on.
While this tells of a somewhat omnipresent oppressive atmosphere that elicits a dark and pessimistic response, it also speaks volumes of the dark mindset of people of this state, kept alive either by memories of trauma and oppression of the past, or else careful reconstruction and reorganization of these memories by people with genuinely warped vision or else vested interest in keeping this perennial public angst alive.
It is as if the place has never seen anything worthwhile in its secular arena to celebrate in its recent history. It celebrates religious festivals no doubt, but these are not historical markers. On the other hand they tell a universal tale of faith and beliefs.
In its secular world the mindset is nothing short of uncanny. Even in areas where victory and defeat are juxtaposed in close proximity of each other, the place has picked out the defeat to make it an occasion to observe and neglected the victory. One is reminded of the ridiculous situation captured in the phrase, ‘snatching defeat from the jaws of victory’ when contemplating Manipur’s predicament.
Obviously Manipur’s history, both of the pre-colonial as well as post-colonial periods would have been marked by trauma, and indeed both its official historical records in the royal chronicles as well as in its myths and fables, evidences of these are abundant.
The notion of a golden age therefore is largely absent. The best known kings of yore are those with military a reputation of invading neighbouring countries, King Pamheiba or later Garibaniwaj, 1709-1748 being arguably the foremost. He was an able successor of his father Charairongba,1697-1709, also known for his military prowess.
There will be those who argue, the reign of King Pamheiba’s grandson, King Chingthangkhompa, 1759-1760, more popularly known as King Bheigyachandra, is Manipur’s golden age. But even King Bheigyachandra had to continually face invasions after invasions from Ava (Burma), and a good part of his kingship was in exile. He did bring about a cultural transformation of his kingdom, most importantly choreographing the Ras Lila, which was, according to the myths associated with the dance form, revealed to him in a dream by his God, Krishna.
There is a phrase in Manipuri “Chahong-Ngahongba” (plenty of rice and fish) or roughly paraphrased as time of plenty, but this is more of a prayer and a wish of the community, and is associated with the deity Imoinu. What is unfortunately missing is, this prayer for a time of plenty, has seldom been recorded as having translated into secular administrative will to ensure such a condition of plenty. Circumstantial evidences point to the fact that war preparedness apparently was primary to the kingdom’s survival. Some explain this to be the reason why women play such a major role in keeping the economy floating, tending the paddies or peopling the marketplaces, men being for most of the time engaged in military duties.
Manipur’s history indeed is replete with invasions by Ava, the most devastating ones coming ever since the installation of the Konbaung Dynasty after the exit of the Tungoo Dynasty. Historians now say constant raids by peripheral states, most importantly Manipur, contributed to swift slide of the Tungoo domain into disintegration. This is probably why the founder of the Konbaung Dynasty, King Alaungpaya, upon ascending the Ava throne in 1752, raided Manipur and he himself took part in the campaign. That campaign too was also apparently devastating, and probably would not seen a parallel had not his grandson, King Bagidaw, 1819-1837, outdid him in the sweep as well as cruelty with which he invaded Manipur and Assam, leading ultimately to the Treaty of Yandaboo, 1826, a treaty pivotal in the modern history of the entire Northeast region.
King Bagidaw’s occupation of Manipur is remember as the Chahi Taret Khuntakpa (Seven Years of Devastation 1819-1826) when Manipur was occupied and ravaged almost completely.
Funnily, this genocidal occupation is observed in Manipur, while the victorious campaign of King Gambhir Singh and his cousin Nara Singh who succeed him in later years after the sudden death of Nara Singh, which ended the Burmese occupation is ignored. Something surely is wrong in the mindset of the place, and it is high time to call for a correction.
There is an element of what Italian Marxist theorist Antonio Gramsci called “hegemony of idea” in this. Gramsci’s proposition is a little more nuanced and in fact he is of the opinion that political ideas, and indeed idea itself, more often than not carry with them an element of coercion.
Re-interpreting Gramsci, it would appear that as much as the missionaries of cultures and religions were guilty of this when they set about conquering the “uncharted” world of the uninitiated “natives”, aggressive revivalism born as resistance to these forces cannot claim innocence either.
In Manipur, while the former has mellowed with age and maturity, it is the revivalist movements that have acquired all the characteristics and fundamentalist zeal of new converts. This cannot be good either for the revivalist movements themselves or for the society at large, for the human spirit is such that whatever is forced, always elicits a reciprocal and opposite reaction, almost by a direct application of Newton’s Third of Inertia.
The reactions may not come open immediately, but they would definitely accumulate within, incubating till they are mature enough to do so. The best way of conquering minds, it needs no sermons, is through the free exercise of rationale, a faculty all humans are gifted with.
Let nobody be so presumptuous as to think that the general masses are unaware of what is good or bad for them, especially in a literate society, and must be taught and administered pre-concocted prescriptions. Hence, constructive social agendas ought be designed to engender an atmosphere conducive for the continual, free growth and maturing of rationality and not seek to intimidate and bind this faculty.
There is tremendous energy and passion in Manipur. But unfortunately, the sense at the moment is one of an impending implosion, rather than this energy finding creative outlets. It is for this reason that one cannot help proposing a more liberal approach in which the society pays more attention to its triumphal moments too, and celebrate them with as much fervor as it recalls religiously its moments of defeats and tragedies.
Let the society realize that its children must be allowed to grow up to be outward looking and positive, rather that be grudging, embittered, angry, negative thinking denizens of the future. For the good of everybody, all must have to pitch in their effort to defuse at least some of the suffocating implosive energy that now envelops all.
Let the place its fall moments in perspective, and also bring out its triumphant marches out of obscurity. Both are part and parcel of any given society, but the difference is in how each manages to cope and sublimate them.
The once agrarian society had harvests and the first rains of April heralding spring, among others to celebrate. Surely, the modern Manipur society must also have its springs and autumns, apart from its winters and scorching summers of discontent. Let not the cherished fight against oppression become an instrument of oppression itself.
The agrarian society had harvests and the first rains of April heralding spring, among others to celebrate. Surely, the modern Manipur society must also have its springs and autumns, apart from its winters and scorching summers of discontent. Let not the cherished fight against oppression become an instrument of oppression itself.
Much of the responsibility for this state of affairs, if not blame, must go squarely to the place’s elite, or would coterie be the better word to describe them. Indeed any thought of the profile of the elite here would bring up images of corrupt and opulently rich circle of evil, constituting largely of ministers, bureaucrats and government contractors.
If a survey were to be done, probably, amongst them, they would possess 90 percent or more of Manipur’s entire wealth. Together they have managed to mess up practically all important functions of the government, therefore our roads are in a mess, our cities and townships are buried in filth, education standards have plummeted and in facts a greater section of B.A. and M.A degree holders, churned out by our colleges each year are unemployable, except in the government services where paper degrees and bribes, rather than job merit are the qualification.
How long can this be allowed to carry on? Why have our elite continued to abdicate their social responsibility of running the state and setting the trend for a free and fair society? They seem to be only interested in continuing the organized looting of public exchequer, amassing wealth, teaching their children Manipur is unlivable and sending them away. Until they come to acknowledge they are responsible for the chaos and only they can undo it, this oppressive mindset is unlikely to leave.
Why can’t they realize they are in the same boat as the beleaguered masses, and if the boat does sink, as it seems to be at the moment, they too would drown? Can’t they see the desertification of Manipur happening right before their eyes? A generation or two from now, if our elite continue to slumber, bothered with nothing else but plundering the state, a likely scenario could be Manipur becoming a land of geriatrics, with all its young, bright and employable, leaving the state to look for greener pastures elsewhere.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/12/manipurs-problem-is-primarily-one-of-an-abdication-of-moral-and-civic-responsibility-by-its-elite/
By Dr Omila Thounaojam “Nongma mama oirakanda mama oibi amagi asengba magun khangani…” Ema repeatedly used to utter that sentence and somehow I never could understand the depth inherent in
By Dr Omila Thounaojam
“Nongma mama oirakanda mama oibi amagi asengba magun khangani…” Ema repeatedly used to utter that sentence and somehow I never could understand the depth inherent in her line. The only crystal clear memory that I ever could recall whenever she used that line was the emotion she had during those moments of expression. Either she used to use it sarcastically or at the maximum when she felt disheartened at something related to us. For maximum of us, the role of a mother is only understood partially. Only in words, we use quotations, phraseologies and what not to sing glories of motherhood and its importance in our world. It’s like we worship Goddesses at our homes and torture women folks under the same homely bounds unhesitatingly. Whatever it is we are halfway through this journey of understanding our mother who is there right in front. We take many things for granted in life and in the list of the neglected elements, the figure of our mother is on the top. Many may say that it’s not the fact but it is. The fundamental role and importance of a mother in the structure of a family is always considered secondary. All the things this individual commits to in her life are counted as a normal routine responsibility. It is never hailed as something high and worth a mention. The reality is bitter as it sounds here but no one can deny the truth that our society still needs to study and understand the importance of the crucial space a mother plays in building a healthy and better society.
Why is it that until and unless the state of emergency is declared, we don’t learn lessons quick enough? How is it that we remain clueless of all the most crucial things in our life until it’s too late? We belong to an advanced society with a developed lifestyle and culture and yet we remain backward in the area of translating the closest of spaces in our life. Our relationship to our society will never reach that point of coordination until we appreciate the value of the basic human relationships in our lives. The moment we cease to digest this, it is sure that an apocalyptic future is awaiting us. When the house we dwell on has numerous holes unattended, how can we even imagine of a better survival in a secured and well-protected domain. Till today many of us has failed deeply in incorporating the best elements in life. Maximum of us travel around the world to find peace, love, comfort and what not while the best resides so close. The simple exercise of appreciating what we have got is all that we need to do to stay close with the simplest formula of living a happy life.
Now coming back to the title of my write today, let me point out that we have lost our way. In our search for all the worldly things, we have minus ourselves from the most beautiful of individuals associated to us. One common example being that of the figure of a mother – yes, the one who has always been there for us since the day we are born. It’s not only about the fact that she brought us to this gorgeous world and made us a part of its reality. What is more significant is the aspect where she has stood by us in all the seasons under the sun. Her rightful place in our lives can never be defined by words. Even then an easy way out assumption of not even dwelling with the thought related to her is a hideous act in its own right. Most of us instead of dedicating a respectful space and place to such an individual, take a comfortable alternative turn away from her presence. Such a fall out resulting from our behavioral failure has led us today in a way where isolated existence has become the core value system. What do we unfailingly do and commit ourselves into so that we revive our bond with this individual is a matter that must be prioritized.
Of all the matters of serious concerns before us, we must also accommodate this facet of treating our elders well. A very sacred relationship that deserves a high place in our lives must not be degraded at all cost. Against all odds, we must stand tall in order to safeguard the integrity of such a human relationship. Just understanding it’s worth and importance only when things fail to stand together won’t do any good to us. Today is never too late to be a new beginning. Lamenting upon a lost time won’t benefit us in any way. Instead let us recall those moments sweet and divine involving an individual so caring and selfless. Crying long hours re-understanding a situation when we ourselves become parents is a futile action since certain things done can’t be undone ever. We all know that the cycle of life must be a rounded journey. So why make mistakes at all by disrespecting this fundamental truth. Today we give no importance to our mother figures, tomorrow our children will treat us the same as we did since we taught them so as the natural law. Let’s behave well from now on practically.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/12/understanding-the-importance-of-motherhood/
By Samarjit Kambam Now-a-days everybody talk about ‘genes’. Without the slightest idea one would tell another, “Its because of your genes”. Well, talking about genes is in vogue. In
Now-a-days everybody talk about ‘genes’. Without the slightest idea one would tell another, “Its because of your genes”. Well, talking about genes is in vogue. In fact it has become fashionable to talk about genes. But it is easily mentioned than understood. In the meantime, when we talk about “Genes” some people get confused and asked “Which kind of Jeans? Levi’s, Wrangler, Lee, Calvin Klein, Cannabis etc,. Well, to make things simpler, every living organisms including we the humans are made up of cells which are the structural and functional unit of life. Each cell is made up of many components out of which Nucleus is one of the main components which plays a major role in cell division . Nucleus comprises of Chromosomes – a thread like structure which occur in pairs, made up of proteins called Histones and ends up in a highly coiled twisted ladder like structure called “Double Helix” where clusters of DNA(De-Oxyribo Nucleic Acid) molecules are randomly arranged and attached. A ‘Gene’ is a section of sequence of these DNA arrangements in the Double Helix. Genes play a major role in all life forms including inheritance, traits, evolution, mutation etc., and as such the genetic sequence are different from one person to another. Thus arise the differences among people in many traits such as appearance, colour of skin, hair, behavioral pattern, strength, receptiveness, physical structure etc. etc,.
We the humans are the species which occupy the top slot of the food chain among all varieties of species in the world. The humans are a cut above the rest of other species in the world for each one of us are gifted with a brain quite superior than that of other species and through the brain each human possesses a mind that can think independently, rationally, have memorising power, can make decisions and have “Will” power which can be harnessed and the degree of harnessing the will power differs from one person to another. Even though every humans have got brains, there are slight differences in some aspects such as thought pattern, receptiveness, reflexes, adaptability, sustainability, IQ etc., amongst all humans. A person of great will power can achieve what others consider as impossible. “Control your mind and you can control the universe” is a quote I’ve found somewhere. In fact, it is the combination of a frame of mindset and the will power that makes us what we are. Famous persons of the world have great will power by harnessing their mind in a positive and powerful way to a great extent. In fact, a lot depends on how we think, how we control our mind that gives us the apparels of attitude which we possess. Sadhus and yogis can sit in the foothill of the Himalayas without hardly any clothing. They can make themselves ‘sweat’ in the icy environment of the Himalayas. Such is the power of the human brain. The difference lies in how we channelise the power of our mind by our brain. Abraham Lincoln had had a long series of failures before he became the President of United States because of his indomitable spirit which came out of great control of his mind alongwith a ‘never say die’ attitude.
But there are many other traits in us humans that are beyond the control of our mind. As they say “like father, like son” some traits or set of characters or attributes get transgressed from one generation to another. Most children of singers possess singing talents, prodigies of most actors are born with talent for acting. Some persons get bald or have grey hair at a very young age, some ages faster contrary to their age, some suffer from diabetes, some from piles, some from congenital albinism, some from colour blindness, some from cancer and many other diseases and deformities, some are short tempered, some are belligerent, some are very compassionate since birth, some are psychotic, some suffer from OCD(Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), some gets Alzhiemer’s Dementia, some are traumatic, some are brainy and strong since birth while some are skinny, some are born deaf, some dumb, some blind, some are born beautiful, some handsome and some ugly which are beyond our control however great one’s will power is. And honestly speaking, for us guys, when it comes down to ‘looks’ who would not want to look like Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt, Mel Gibson, Johnny Depp, Jason Statham, Nocholas Cage, Sylvester Stallone, Robert Pattinson, Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Leonardo di-Caprio, Mark Wahlberg etc., and which gals or ladies wouldn’t want to look like Alicia Silverstone, Angelina Jolie, Milla Jovovich, Catherine Zeeta Jones, Kate Winslet, Kate Beckinsale, Salma Hayek, Sophie Marceau, Hillary Duff, Kirsten Steward, Michael J Fox etc.,? Which guys wouldn’t want to possess vocals of James Blunt, Bon Jovi, Robbie Williams, Akon, Klause Meine, Ozzy Ozbourne, Bruce Dickinson, Thin Lizzy, Richard Marx, Paul Gibson, Kennie Loggins, Justin Bieber, Eric Martin, Rod Steward, Bryan Adams etc., and which ladies and gals would not want to posses vocals of Sakira, Celin Dione, Avril Lavigne, Shania Twain, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce Knowles, Christina Anguilera, Rihanna, Kesha, Taylor Swift etc, etc,.
In fact, all these differences are the handiworks of genes that resides in the cells of our body. Strange though it may sound, we humans are just like a computer in one way or the other for we are programmed since birth. Just like different programming creates different softwares, those differences in the arrangement of clusters of DNA molecules on that twisted ladder(Double Helix) in the Chromosome makes us have different traits. Say, Hollywoods hottest star Tom Cruise doesn’t seem to age at all and has an “18 Till I Die” look even though he has already crossed 50 years of age. At our home front mention may also be made of Amir Khan and Anil Kapoor who looks quite young despite their advanced ages. When I was a kid, I watched Anil Kapoor’s debut film “Meri Jung”, but till now his appearance doesn’t get a bit ‘junked’. Same is the case with Bollywood actresses such as Hema Malini and Rekha. Of course, self discipline such as practicing of Yoga, Aerobics, good eating habits and preferably being vegetarian are also some factors that contribute in delaying ageing. But still, it is the genes behind many factors and some are lucky enough as they posses good and healthy genes.
Nowadays, government of many nations are collectively working on ‘Human Genome Projects’ involving huge amount of money for betterment of mankind. The scope of such projects is quite enormous which may reach a stage whereby defective genes of an organ, say kidney, heart, liver, pancreas etc can be replaced with healthy genes so that the whole organ becomes fit as a fiddle or just like a brand new one. Such projects, if result-oriented will be quite beneficial for humankind in the days to come. In this age of “cloning”, health insurance may take a different turn. A time may come where a clone of your own self will become a health insurance policy as defective organs of your own self could be replaced by a healthy organ of your own clone. In this rate of advancement in science and technology, the possibilities are endless. Well, for the time being let’s concentrate on the present and look forward to a better tomorrow.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/12/are-we-programmed-since-birth/
By Misao Hejang Hangmi More Lethal and deadlier than nuclear bomb in today’s world is one’s communal feeling and behaviour that shook the very fabric of human peaceful co-existence.
More Lethal and deadlier than nuclear bomb in today’s world is one’s communal feeling and behaviour that shook the very fabric of human peaceful co-existence. Behaviour, in fact, is the end result of one’s feeling. Therefore feeling and behaviour are interconnected. Interestingly no community in the world is immune to this virus/disease. But how one directed or channelled this feeling is very important.
In Manipur people failed to direct such feeling in constructive/positive ways. Thanks to the systems that are in place and the kind of environment that we build up. The bottom line here is who is responsible for inventing such deadly virus that posed the greatest threat to humanity and has no scientific cure? Scientific advancement could bring about cure to the deadly virus like Ebola, bird flu and swine flu but its curative role to communal feeling and behaviour is very doubtful or not at all.
The said virus/disease sadly has been deeply rooted in Manipur and we’ve paid the price for it and I am afraid we will pay more with greater intensity. Every incidence has been view from the lens of communal that has the danger of chain reactions. The recent unsavoury incidence of brutally assaulting students of MBC; who were there to enjoy their own free space of friendship and without any fault of theirs is a blatant act of communal behaviour. The students were asked to which community they belong and after ascertaining that they belong to Kuki community the assault took place. Who are they that they should take the law in their own hand and sullied the peaceful environment by creating enmity between the communities through their irresponsible behavior? I feel it requires unequivocal condemnation from all angles but to my utter surprise such did not take place.
The NSCN (IM) bullying politic still went unchecked. The coercive strategy in this civilized and democratic world deployed by them on Aimol community is very unfortunate. It is nothing but a communal behaviour that vitiates the peaceful environment. One cannot decide the future of one’s community just because they are minority. Forget about national and international law, it is against God’s law. Truth itself will reveal one day. Today just because we enjoy the upper hand we cannot distort the truth. God will defend the cause of the undefended for He alone is the true judge giving regards to no mortal being and He is the God that does not tolerate injustice.
Every action has its own reaction, that’s the law of nature. And our today’s behaviour and action naturally created an environment called ‘Safe Haven Community’. Each community leave no stone unturned to make their own community strong and safe even at the cost of others. Unknowingly we’d created a culture of save your own community resulting in unrelenting competition for superiority that take us to a level of ‘Cold War’ – ready to strike at the push of a button giving rise to the infamous industry called insurgency. This is also the cause for the demand of separate administration and State. The majority feel insecure and the minority feel more insecure.
Your own community is considered the only humanity and the rest devils. That is the extent of our feeling in Manipur. What a wretch State it is and who can save us from the ‘Swords of Damocles.
There is no ‘one size fit all’ solution to our malady. One possible panacea can be doing away with our practice of close community and becoming an open community by stretching out the arms of brotherhood. For this major community has to play the role of standing in the forefront.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/12/fashion-called-communal-behaviour-in-manipur-threat-to-peaceful-co-existence/
By Nehginpao Kipgen National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi on 19 November met representatives of more than 50 countries, including Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Denmark,
By Nehginpao Kipgen
National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi on 19 November met representatives of more than 50 countries, including Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Norway, Russia and the United States.
After waiting for 25 years since her party’s electoral victory in the 1990 general election was annulled by the military government, Ms Suu Kyi is convinced that her time has come to lead Myanmar.
In conjunction with her political ambition, she 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 also avoided fielding Muslim candidates.
As a politician, her 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 the NLD and the military, which still remains a powerful force and essential element in the country’s polity.
Before the election, Ms 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, senior official Zaw Htay at the President’s office said Ms Suu Kyi’s comments were “against the constitutional provision” which states that the president takes precedence over all other persons.
After the election on 10 November, 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”.
Her 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 the NLD now has a majority of the seats in both houses of Parliament, the party is in a position to elect the president and one of the two vice-presidents.
The participation of the NLD in the 2015 general election means that the party has agreed to respect the 2008 Constitution, which protects the inherent role of the military in politics. Despite its majority in Parliament, the NLD would need to accept the reservation of 25 per cent of the seats for the military; as well as the post of one vice-president and Cabinet portfolios for home, defence and border affairs, and the formation of the National Defence and Security Council, which will have the authority to declare a national emergency for the military to take charge of all branches of the government – executive, judiciary and legislative.
There is no doubt that Ms 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 Ms Sonia Gandhi during the Congress-led government in India.
However, there is a danger that the military may find it difficult to tolerate the country’s president becoming a puppet of Ms Suu Kyi. If such situation arises, the military will criticise the president for incompetence.
It must be remembered that one of the reasons General Ne Win staged a military coup in 1962 was the allegation that the civilian government under the leadership of Prime Minister U Nu was incapable of effective administration across the country.
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, which considers itself the guardian and protector of the state, 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 sees that 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 the military in politics, it will likely feel provoked.
The people of Myanmar and the international community should understand that the democratisation process that has been put in place is one of consensual transition, in which the authoritarian leaders actively participate in the process of change by controlling or limiting the change. This type of transition entails some degree of political continuity between authoritarianism and democracy.
Only when the military leaders are convinced that the peace process with ethnic armed groups is politically resolved and when they no longer fear being prosecuted for crimes committed during the years of military rule, will they be willing to give up their political role.
To avoid confrontation with the military and the country’s ethnic minorities, Ms 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 she 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.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/12/can-suu-kyi-be-an-effective-sonia/
By Dr. Shamshad Akhtar Global leaders are gathered in Paris for the COP21 climate summit.Given Asia-Pacific’s size and its contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, its voice and commitment
By Dr. Shamshad Akhtar
Global leaders are gathered in Paris for the COP21 climate summit.Given Asia-Pacific’s size and its contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, its voice and commitment are critical to achieving a comprehensive agreement on climate change. Many Asia Pacific countries are developing and must focus on achieving sustained economic growth and development. Of the 49 regional members of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, 43 have a light climate footprint, contributing only 10 per cent to global emissions. For these countries, notably the least developed countries, Pacific islands and low-lying states, vulnerability to climate-related natural disasters will grow with climate change. At the other extreme, the region is home to six of the top 10 emitters in the world – China, India, Russia, Japan, Indonesia and Iran – which account for about 43 per cent of global emissions.Of these top six Asian emitters, fossil fuel-based energy is responsible for about 80 per cent of their collective emissions, with emissions from industrial processes, agriculture and waste playing a lesser role. Mitigating the emissionsof these countries requiresmultiple actions,key among which is a switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
Of the 183 countries that have submitted Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 43 are from the Asia-Pacific region. Countries across the region have indicated both conditional and unconditional reductions of greenhouse gas emissions.Theseincludeeconomy-wide emissions targets or deviation from a business as usual (BAU) scenario to an intensity targets of emissions per unit of GDP. Many INDCs, particularly those from the developing countries, include an overall rise in emissions by 2030.
While this is remarkable in its own right, they still leave a significant gap between the INDCs pledged and the cuts required to keep the temperature increase to below two degrees Celsius warming limit. This gap is close to 16 billion tonnes of CO2 reductions per annum by 2030, roughly equal to the current emissions of China, India, and Russia combined. The only way we can bridge this gap is if we collectively treat the INDCs announced as the floor to be raised by enabling countries to adopt and implement additional measures needed with technical, financial and capacity support.
Despite the present gap between the INDCs and the necessary emission reductions, progress is underway in our region.This not only sets specific economies on course for a low carbon future, but will also alter the global dynamics. China’s INDC, for instance, targets emissions to peak by 2030 at the latest, and for emissions intensity of GDP to decline by 60 to 65 per cent. Progress in energy efficiency, switching to gas and the development of hydro, wind and solar energy has now begun to show results, with China’s coal consumption having peaked in 2013. India proposes to reduce emissions per unit of GDP by 33 to 35 per cent, and to ensure that 40 per cent of its power generation capacity is from non-fossil sources by 2030. In support of this objective, India plans to install 60 gigawatts of wind power and 100 gigawatts of solar power capacity by 2022, a six-fold increase over the current capacity.
Changes in the energy generation mix, efficiency and conservation of energy use and developing carbon sinks through reforestation and soil carbon will be important strategies to stabilize emissions in the Asia-Pacific region. There has been some progress on all these fronts in our region, but more needs to be done. With advanced energy efficiency, the region could save 35 per cent of its energy consumption against business as usual by 2035. As the region’s urban population is expected to reach 3.2 billion by 2050, there is an opportunity to pioneer low carbon cities with energy efficient buildings, innovative urban planning and efficient transportation systems. There is also a need to switch from coal to renewables and to promote cleaner coal technologies, as coal still accounts for 55 per cent of electricity generation in the Asia-Pacific. In adopting clean energy alternatives countries are also addressing the scourge of air pollution, which has emerged as a grim reality for many city dwellers across the region. While non-hydro renewables such as wind and solar currently contribute less than 2 per cent ofregional electricity generation, growth has been rapid from a small base. The expected shift to renewables will be a net benefit for Asian economies.It will reduce dependence on imported fuels as the region is a net energy importer, enhance energy security and improve the balance of payments. To harness a low carbon future, the region needs to further tap its tax potential, which could be raised by 5 per cent of GDP. This would potentially mobilize $1.5 trillion while private sector savings in the region are close to $6 trillion.
The success of the COP21 climate summit is critical for all of us as climate change does not respect boundaries and no one can escape its effects. Country submissions for emission reduction are good starting point but remain nonbinding targets.The steep growth in energy demand in the Asia-Pacific means more will need to be done to increase the overall penetration of renewable energy in the coming decades, with collective and concerted actions critical to addressing the problem at its source. The future of our region and indeed of our planet hinges on the Asia-Pacific region mobilizing its skills and resources to find enduring solutions.
The author is an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). She is also the UN’s Sherpa for the G20 and previously served as Governor of the Central Bank of Pakistan and Vice President of the MENA Region of the World Bank.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/12/asia-pacific-response-to-climate-change/
By Pradip Phanjoubam Lezlee Brown Halper and Stephan Halper’s new book, “Tibet: An Unfinished Story”, takes the reader on a tour of a twilight zone which once many analysts referred
By Pradip Phanjoubam
Lezlee Brown Halper and Stephan Halper’s new book, “Tibet: An Unfinished Story”, takes the reader on a tour of a twilight zone which once many analysts referred to as another periphery of the Cold War. But more than the mystery and religious energy associated with the frozen land of Tibet, what is gripping about this book is also its portrayal of the Cold War era and how this undeclared war between the Western and Eastern Bloc countries, resulted in grievous injuries caused to little known societies and countries away from the focus of the vicious mind game. Tibet is one of these.
The book, which hit the Indian market towards April this year, is intriguing and convincing as it is extensively based on recently declassified CIA files and Chinese government policy documents. Bearing testimony to the range and sweep of the references used in the book is the fact that nearly a quarter of the book is taken up by footnotes, many of which are interesting of their own accord, almost as much as the Halpers’ expertly told story that they support. Also of particular interest for readers in India would be, especially so in these times marked by the ascendency of the BJP and its star Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, when the politics of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru is being questioned, is that out of the book emerges a unique portrait of Nehru. The authors see him as moody, egoistic, self absorbed… But the picture of Nehru, unintended by the authors, that also comes across is more akin to a Sophoclean tragic hero. True he did not do enough for Tibet at those crucial years, at least not as much as the US wanted him to, but he had other grand and historic interests, not necessarily of India alone, to protect.
The story is not about Nehru, but he is certainly one of the important dramatis personae, and it could not have been otherwise. After all, can any truthful story of Tibet, be it spiritual or temporal, be told without reference to India, and Tibet’s most traumatic history is undoubtedly the post WWII, Cold War years, which is also when Nehru stepped into the centre stage of world politics. What is also interesting about the book is, Nehru’s personality is allowed to develop not against the familiar backdrop of India’s independence struggle, therefore also the towering figures of this momentous movement for decolonisation, but on another stage with leaders like his counterpart in China, Premier Chao En Lai, American Presidents, Harry Truman and David Eisenhower as foils.
The Cold War began, as we now know, even before the WWII concluded. The race to control Germany and Japan by the winners, by then clearly divided between the Communist and Non-Communist Blocs, is now well known. As a matter of fact, many counterfactual studies exist today that if the Allied landing at Normandy in June 1944 had not succeeded, as it almost did not, and the Western Bloc nations did not have a foothold in Continental Europe when Hitler lost the war, the two atom bombs which landed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, may well have had Moscow and Stalingrad as the targets. The course of history would have been very different had this been the case, but it was not. And by 1949, Stalin’s USSR detonated a nuclear bomb, shocking the West and taking the Cold War to a new height.
When Truman, the then Vice President of America took over charge in 1945 after the death of President Franklin Roosevelt, America was a very religious nation and one which saw Communism and atheism as evil. President Truman, though a practising Christian did not push religion into politics too hard, and his chief concern was to prevent a Third World War, and this he saw was to be by checking the spread of Communism. There is merit in this, for it was not only the Capitalist world which saw Communism as enemy, but the Communist, especially under leaders like Stalin and Mao, too saw Capitalism as antithetical to the Communist movement and an ideology which would by necessity be erased in the course Communism’s arrival determined by historical materialism. Under the circumstance, in the event of the rise of Mao’s Communist revolution in China under the umbrage of Stalin’s USSR, the long forgotten Tibetan plateau suddenly came to acquire new prominence in the West. President Truman’s strategy for containing the spread of Communism was first and foremost to not allow a Communist victory in China, therefore to extend support to Chiang Kai-shek’s ruling nationalist party, the Kuomintang in Nanking. India also came to be seen as an important countervailing power, and America was indeed eager to befriend this democratic country, as an ally against Communism.
Truman’s policy outlook not only continued under his successor, Eisenhower, but it was given a stronger religious hue as well. Under him, the Cold War was also sought to be projected as a conflict between the world of God, therefore freedom, and the Godless world of Communism loyal only to “their sickle and hammer”, therefore tyranny. In this campaign, even the motto, “In God We Trust” was introduced in the Dollar bill, Halper notes. China under Chiang Kai-shek, himself a staunch Methodist Christian, was therefore a strong US ally opposing the Communist onslaught of Mao and his lieutenant, Chou En Lai. When Communist victory in China became only a matter of time towards the latter part of the 1940s, Tibet’s spirituality, though not Christian, gain added prominence in American administration’s eyes.
In 1949 USSR backed North Korean Communists attacked South Korea nearly sweeping it, but the UN troops at the behest of the US intervened pushing the North Koreans back not just beyond the 38th Parallel, but right up to Pyongyang, and at this Mao’s China sent 300,000 troops in aid of their Communist compatriots and assisted them to regain control up to the 38th Parallel.
It was at this juncture that Nehru was approached by the US to be an ally in this war. He was invited to the US by Truman in 1949, but the visit was a disaster. Nehru who was in the midst of building up the Non Aligned Movement, refused to join, and instead offered to mediate in the Korean conflict, much to the annoyance of the Americans. After Truman, Eisenhower was also not lost on the importance of India, the “biggest free nation” in the Asian region and indeed the world, to be on the side of the West, and tried to woe Nehru on many occasion. He invited Nehru to the US in 1956 too. But to the agnostic and secularist Nehru, aligning with any party in the Cold War, not the least Western Bloc, was hardly an attractive idea. He kept insisting on neutrality and the Non Aligned Movement. He was even suspicious of the religious inclination of America of the time, even ridiculing in one of his notes, US secretary of state, John Foster Dulles, an ardent anti-Communist, as an Evangelist missionary.
In reciprocation, it is interesting that both Truman and more so Eisenhower, saw neutralism as not just as cowardice, but as implicit support for their enemy. Reflected in their attitude is the famous public statement of a much more recent American President, George W. Bush, who in the wake of his “War Against Terror” on the eve of his invasion of Iraq, that “you are either with us or against us.” Nehru’s neutrality, then would soon be translated as being against the Western Bloc.
Nehru’s position was clear. He was not for Communism but he wanted to deal with Communism in his own terms, and not by becoming a vassal or proxy of the West. His struggle was to remain independent of the control of the powers fighting the Cold War, for he saw dignity only in this independence for him, for India and for the recently decolonised Third World. But, as history will see, his struggle was to prove disastrous in many ways, especially his falsely held belief Communist China would always remain a friendly neighbour and can be accommodated in the neutral camp.
Nehru’s neutrality would also drive the Eisenhower administer to lean towards Pakistan, for America at the time felt the desperate need to have a non Communist anchor in South Asia. When India was unwilling to take this role, it had to, without alienating India, look for another partner, and it found a willing one in Pakistan. But this decision would have a spiralling consequence. India’s reaction was beyond the Eisenhower administration’s expectation, and Nehru too drew closer to Moscow and indeed Peking, putting another nail on Tibet’s coffin, the harshest of which is his Panchsheel Agreement of 1954 with China. In retrospect, many American analysts today see Eisenhower’s Pakistan tilt as an unparalleled blunder in American diplomacy. If not for it, South Asia’s current history, the issue of terrorism etc would have been substantially different, they say.
To do our own bit of counterfactual speculation, had Sadar Patel been at the helm of India’s affair at this period, Indian history probably would have been very different too. Patel’s November 6, 1950 lengthy letter to Nehru, which advised the Prime Minister to, among others, be wary of China and instead befriend the Western nations for there is a natural affinity of national ideology with the latter countries, is an indicator this speculation is not farfetched. This letter, it will be recalled, is infamous especially amongst scholars in the Northeast, for it also expressed doubts of the loyalty of the mongoloid races of the region “east of Kalimpong”. This apart, Patel’s hard-nosed assessment of China’s cold approach in its dealing with India proved prophetic in 1962. But the rather sceptical question remains, would India have been better off as a non-neutral nation to the Cold War, and be in Pakistan’s predicament as a US military ally today?
Also interesting is the foil Chou En Lai provides for Nehru in the book. Chou is undoubtedly a brilliant diplomat, able to size up even the flamboyant and much more popular Nehru on the world stage. Unassuming and uncaring for publicity unlike Nehru, he is shown as playing on Nehru’s vulnerability, dwelling on their shared anti-imperialist sentiments when necessary, flattering and stoking Nehru’s ego at other times, and then when he felt the time was ripe for China, bearing down on the latter’s helplessness. In 1950 when Nehru pointed out to Chou through a note that Chinese maps were showing Indian territories as China’s, Chou promptly replied these were old maps and China would take time to correct them, indicating there was no boundary conflict. But in 1958, after India came to know China had built the Aksai Chin Road connecting Sinkiang and Tibet, and Nehru once again protested, Chou coldly replied the boundary dispute between the two countries were still to be settled, and suggested India and China maintain status quo on where either have physical control and hold dialogues to settle the issue.
Chou’s “charm and guile” and his diplomatic brilliance, it comes across clearly from Halper’s accounts and interpretations of declassified files, outmatched Nehru’s. Chou would not acknowledge the existence of a problem when China’s hands were weak, but once China has established its strength in these areas and attained de facto physical dominance, it would then ask for de jure status of what it has de facto authority over. The Tibet story proved this. The boundary dispute between India and China is also another unfolding example of such diplomacy.
The peculiar thing about the Tibet policy of the US at the time was, as Halper’s book brings out quite clearly, is that though sworn to oppose Communist China, it was not willing to support Tibet openly. There was still a strong China Lobby in the US, led by among others, Time-Life publisher, Henry Luce, whose parents were once missionaries in China, and whose wife was a close friend of Chiang Kai-shek’s wife and influential men like John Foster Dulles, which would have nothing to do with Tibetan independence, and insisted the opposition to Communist China should be with the view to reinstalling Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist government in China.
When China’s invasion of Tibet became imminent in 1949, Tibet did appeal to the UN, but all the major Western Bloc players, including the US, Britain and France refused to sponsor Tibet’s appeal. India too, did not volunteer, in spite of the US trying its best to make it do so. All had their reasons, but India’s was the most forthright: “Nobody’s is going to war with China on Tibet”. Ironically, it did end up going to war with China on a closely related issue in 1962. The US did not want to anger its China Lobby, Britan and France, were in no position to support any freedom movement as they were still imperial powers with colonies still under them. In the end, it was El Salvador which sponsored the move, but it was a foregone conclusion that it would not make much headway for the lack of support.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/12/book-review-how-tibet-showed-nehru-as-a-tragic-figure/
By Puyam Rakesh When the Mekong River cries, Manipur also sheds tears for the losses she has incurred so far. But the beautiful Mekong River, also known as the
When the Mekong River cries, Manipur also sheds tears for the losses she has incurred so far. But the beautiful Mekong River, also known as the ‘Mae Nam Khong’, carries the guilt of millions lives sacrificed on the altar of the demon of drugs across the world. It knows that No. 4 is a dangerous. Now synthetic drugs are joining the slaughter. The WY (World is Yours) is one such drug of the category. What a lovely name? Like other peoples affected by drugs, the people of Manipur also longs for the funeral of the ‘Golden Triangle’ which keeps on sucking the blood of its victims. This region covers a large area of hilly and mountainous areas in Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. Like its cousin ‘Golden Crescent’, Golden Triangle contributes a large amount of drugs to the regional and international markets. The Northeast India also gets its fair share of drugs from the triangle region. Hence the No. 4 is called a dangerous number. According to many analysts, different types of synthetic drugs are posing greater challenge than the poppy products. When will the dangerous triangle die a horrible death?
Since the beginning of the 21st century, China has expanded bilateral and multi-lateral cooperation with the neighbouring Southeast Asian countries. Mention can be made of the Greater Mekong Sub-region cooperation (GMS) and China-ASEAN partnership. The GMS was launched in 1992 by the Asian Development Bank. Leaving aside the larger part of the country, Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China are participating in GMS cooperation. Yunnan Province shares long borders with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. Therefore, it is badly affected by the opium products and various synthetic drugs coming from the Golden Triangle region. Many bilateral and multilateral agreements were signed among these neighbouring countries to restrain the dangerous onslaught of these drugs. The relevant UN bodies and other international organisations have intervened to check the notoriety of the region. However, the potency of the poppy farmers and synthetic drug manufacturers continue to fan the bad reputation. After all, it is a multi-million dollar business with several rings of powerful well-wishers. Will China tolerate this region?
China had her ‘Opium Wars’ but the war goes on. Beijing has been fighting against the drugs for decades. Many countries have opened their fronts against the drugs. Unfortunately, there is little success so far. The concerned authorities in the Golden Triangle region pledged to cooperate against drugs but the volumes of both poppy drugs and synthetic drugs keep decreasing and increasing. The notorious border areas far away from the administrative centres have made their half-hearted efforts to adopt alternative development models. These measures also failed to generate much change across the region. We have stories about mini-Las Vegas flourishing in border areas with casinos, brothels, and drug markets.
In the meantime, the Mekong River (the Chinese section is called Lancang) attracted the attentions of these countries to change the socio-economic landscapes. It became an important international river of navigation to transport commodities and passengers. Suddenly, a shocking incident hit China deep in her heart. In October 2011, a total of 13 Chinese sailors belonging to two cargo ships were killed brutally leading to the suspension of shipping on the Mekong River. Following this bloody incident, in December of the same year, China, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand joined hands to begin regular joint patrols on the river for law enforcement.
The region gifted with beautiful landscapes and virgin forests is also infested with various ethnic armed groups, drug traffickers, human traffickers and other cross-border criminals. On Myanmar side, the ethnic peace process and proper administration of the far-flung areas could check the menace to some extent. However, China and these countries know the seriousness as well as complexity of the matter. For thousands of families, poppy farming is the best means of livelihood. Again, many of the drug lords have multiple handlers with different agendas. Drugs equate dreams for many souls here. Before his execution, Naw Kham, the mastermind of the October 2011 massacre on the Mekong River, warned people not to venture into the Golden Triangle region for the region sucks the innocence out of men. The region has varieties of drugs, prostitutes and black money. What a dangerous combination? No doubt, it is not the den of innocent players. However, the socio-economic dynamics of the region must be beyond the description of words for those who have experienced and witnessed for some years.
China and other GMS countries have been working on various economic corridors connecting the region. Some bilateral connectivity and infrastructure development projects such as Myanmar-Laos Friendship Bridge will gradually change the dynamics in the region. The GMS North-South economic corridor, China-ASEAN connectivity and various bilateral connectivity projects in the region will affect the Golden Triangle. Most importantly, the navigation along the Mekong River starting from Guanlei (China) to Chiang Saen (Thailand) is an important factor. Furthermore, the cooperation among the law enforcement agencies of these countries have been strengthened further to deal with various kinds of security concerns.
After launching the four nations’ law enforcement cooperation on joint patrol along the Mekong in the wake of the Mekong massacre, in October 2015, China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand issued a joint statement on enhancing judicial cooperation and crack down on cross-border crimes to maintain security along the river. This time Cambodia and Vietnam were included as observer countries. A common vision of the region without poppy farms and drug manufacturing plants could be the foundation of a new beginning for Asia. Other parties can join hands for a common goal.
Moreover, launching of the Lancang-Mekong cooperation (LMC) framework on 12 November this year will bring these countries closer for their common objectives. At the first LMC foreign ministers’ meeting held in Jinghong City, Yunnan Province of China, foreign ministry officials from China, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam gathered together for cooperation. The three key areas of cooperation under the LMC framework include politico-security issues, economic affairs and sustainable development and social affairs and people-to-people exchanges. These arrangements will have the wherewithal to remove this cancerous tumour from the body of mother earth. Interestingly, there is interplay among livelihoods of the people, drug money, conflict situation, insecurity and poverty in the Golden Triangle region. There are many hurdles but the piles of money and gangs of powerful men are great barriers. If successful, Manipur will join the funeral of the Golden Triangle with laughter. Lastly, the Mekong will stop crying.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/12/across-the-mekong-along-the-mekong/
By Lourembam Ibetombi Devi Though Polo have been regarded as a sort of training game for the cavalry of the king in the past, it became more of a
Though Polo have been regarded as a sort of training game for the cavalry of the king in the past, it became more of a lifestyle sports, extremely popular in the rural Manipur in the mid nineteenth centuryit had already started its journey to England and other places all over the world. After British conquest of the state, there seem to have a slump though, but in the early twentieth century, it was revived with royal patronage during Churachand Maharaja’s reign and the game prospered. The royal patronage continued till the reign of Bodhchandra Maharaja. In the year 1947, when Manipur was about to become independent, Maharaja Bodhchandra set up Manipur State Polo Committee on 5th May, 1947, but game suffered lack of support after state support was withdrawn on its merger with Indian Union in 1949.As soon as Manipur came under Indian Dominion,there was a serious blow to Polo, under order No.7, dated 12th November, 1949, a notice was issued and by giving a 3 month notice, all the Polo players in the palace, all the ponies and even the pony tenders were removed from service.They were all handed over to the Commandant, 1st Bn. Manipur Rifles. The historic Imphal Polo ground (Mapal Kangjeibung) was also made out of bounds for Polo players.This was a great disappointment for the players as even in the countrysidePolo tournaments, the matches start at grounds in the countryside and in the later stage, it was played at Mapal Kangjeibung. Those lovers of this game held a convention on 28th December 1955 and set up an ad hoc committee with Shri P.C.Mathew, the then Chief Commissioner, as president and Shri Maibam Iboton as the Secretary, renamed then, later became the ‘All Manipur Polo Club’.This organisation was registered in the year 1957. This club was affiliated with the Indian Polo Association later in the year 1959 (18th January).
Though some such efforts were seen now and then, there was a continuous decline in the game of Poloand the culture of pony all over the state though the game of polo was getting reformed elsewhere with setting up of Hurlingham Polo Association, the International Polo Association and developing the rules of the game (for what now we called IPA Style). The royal patronage has ended and the pony owners had to take care of their ponies with a lot of difficulties. The pony requires a large ground for feeding as this an animal which lives in semiwild condition and the earlier pony feeding grounds have been gradually converted in to paddy fields. Secondly, the Polo grounds were also gradually converted in to other fields or encroached upon and number of polo grounds diminished which was not possible during the royal patronage. Various type of Polo such as Mera Kangjei (Autumn Polo), Pana Kangjei (Pana Polo), Chak Kangjei (Lunch Polo), Khun Kangjei (Village Polo), Pakchan Kangjei (Wide Goal Polo), Hafta Kangjei (Weekly Polo) which were earlier played in the remote villages had dwindled and started vanishing. The Polo players were in a state of confusion. On the other hand, the Mapal Kangjeibung was being made out of bounds for Polo. The ground was fenced with barbed wire, a small portion was kept as a football ground and the sides were occupied by wooden galleries. This disturbed both the players and horses to a great extent and playing Polo was highly inconvenient. There were attempts to debar the people from playing Polo in the Imphal Pologround, a ground that the king Khagemba had made for the purpose of playing Polo. This move saddened the people and was highly criticised. The government started the construction of a mini stadium-cum-shopping centre. The people of the state did not agree with the plan and there were strong protests and ultimately, the governmentwas forced to abandon the idea.
However, there was one factor or another which affected the game. But there were somepeople who fought their best to sustain this game. At such a critical juncture, to save the game of Polo, Padmashree N. Khelchandra and Shri Maibam Iboton started consultations with the experts in the field and the Poloenthusiasts. They discussed the dilemma that the Polo players of the state were facing and the phase through which they are passing.Manipur State Polo Committee (1947) and Manipur Polo Club (1955) tried hard to save the game and the Manipuri Pony. As the government was indifferent towards this game and did not try to find out lasting solutions and wasted many opportunities, many Polo players were stranded and they were not patronized. During those days, Polo was played in Manipur in the name only, the seriousness we had during the days of the kings was gone. Under such circumstance, Shri Maibam Iboton, who was a renowned player and a Polo enthusiast, who had important roles in setting up both the organisations in the past, became restless and thought of getting an organisation which could be effectively dedicated to saving the game in Manipur.
A ray of hope emerged in December, 1977 in the form of a new organization at Uripok due to dedication of the man who knew both the formats of the game (Pana and IPA style) well, Shri Maibam Iboton Singh.This year, in a meeting of Polo players, SSD (Swadesh Sava Dal) volunteers, youths,veteran Poloplayers and pony lovers held at the residence of Padmashree N. Khelchandra Singh at Uripok Ningthoukhongjam Leikai, it was decided that a new organisation in the name and style of “Manipur Horse Riding & Polo Institute” (SamatonAyangbaNeinasang) would be set up. Thus, a milestone in the renaissance of the Polowas reached. Shri Khelchandra and Iboton were made the advisor and the president of the institute respectively and Shri Lourembam Sharatchandra Singh (Kungshelnaha) of Uripok Khaidem Leikai was made the Secretary of the Management Committee of the Institute.
The institute started its teaching sessions in the ground lying between RIMS (Northern Gate) and Uripok Boys Junior High School at Lamphelpat. Horses were brought from Leimapokpam, Thoubal, Thiyamonjil, Oinam, Oinam Sawombung and young boys and girls were taught horse riding. TheAll Manipur Polo Clubalso contributed horses. The teachers were among the most renowned horse riders and Polo players of the state. I can recollect the names of quite a few teachers; Maibam Iboton of Uripok, Elangbam Chaoyaima of OinamSawombung, Thiyam Chaoyaima of Thiyam Konjil, Maibam Nongdachaoba of Leimapokpam, Kesho Sharma of Leimapokpam, Keirakpam Babu (Okram Babu) of Thoubal Okram, Okram Kesho Singh, Thoubal, ChongthamChaoba of Singjamei, Senjam Mani of Khwai Nagmapal, Akham Chaonusana of Lamdeng Khunou, Shri Tonsana of OinamSawombung etc. Among the girls, I learned riding on the Karu Arangba of Keirakpam Babu. The first participation in the march past on the Republic Day Parade under the banner of MHRPI was in the year 1978.
The members of the marchpast contingent of 1978.
Thus, the MHRPI continued to participate in the marchpast every year with its mounted contingent. In 1980, the preparation was to participate in the marchpastin the traditional dress of Polo player (Pana Style) and in the morning of 26th January, 1980, we were all dressed up in the traditional attire of a Polo player and we waited for the ponies. But due to an agitation by some students bodies, the horses were turned back and we could not participate in the marchpast that year. But the march past continued in the later years.
In the year 1979 (December), the MHRPI applied for registration and was granted in 1980, (Regd. No. 3006 of 1980). The original members of managing committee are:
After the registration of the institute, the chairman Maibam Iboton left this world in August, 1980. He must have been a happy soul for he had worked so hard for Polo and he had dreamt of such an organisation for the betterment of game of Polo. Late Moirangthem Gojendra became the chairman after the demise of M.Iboton Singh.
After some time, the MHRPI started to organise tournaments and events related to Polo. It joined the activities organised for the visit of Maharani Gayatri Devi to Manipur (April, 1983). After Gojendra Singh, Shri N. Tombi Raj became the president (1984-86) and Shri Kungshelnaha (Sharatchandra) continued to be the Secretary. During this period, the MHRPI underwent a lot of changes, widened its membership and enhanced its activities.
In 1985, on the 21stof February, the MHPRI organised the 1st Naorem Hazari Memorial State Level Polo Tournament at Mapal Kangjeibung. In March of that year, the Indian Polo Association New Delhi organised DRVS Polo Trophy and the institute participated in this tournament with a team of MHRPI of 4(four) players led by the then president Shri N. Tombi Raj and vice-president M. Shantikumar Singh, IPS. After returning from this tournament, the Manipur PoloClub changed its name to All Manipur Polo Association and the Manipur Horse Riding and Polo Institute rechristened itself as Manipur Horse Riding and Polo Association (MHRPA). These two associations have been taking a vital role in promoting this game and rescuing it from the brink.
After a considerable temporal gap in the promotional activities of the game of Polo, there was resurgence in the nineties. The first Governor’s Invitation Polo Cup started in 1990. The first international Polo tournament was organised as Manipur Polo 1991 from the 26thof March to the 2ndof April, 1991 at Mapal Kangjeibung and the organising committee of the tournament was named as ICCAF (International Cultural Conference and Festival). The members of MHPRI took an important role in organizing the event. The participating teams were 1) Britain, 2) Germany, 3) Australia, 4) India (Fort William), 5) Binnaguri Polo Club (India), and 6) Manipur (India). In the case of women’s Polo, the firstPolo match was played between Manipur Equestrian Association and Thoubal District Polo Club in 1992 and the match was won by the latter. Soon after, along with the 3rd International Polo Tournament in 1992, (November) the International Invitation Polo Tournament was also organised. Four teams participated in it, Manipur, UK, Kenya and Euro-Afro-Asian combined. The 1st Governor’s Women Polo Cup was organised in 1996. This trophy was donated by Gen K.V. Krishna Rao, the then Governor of Manipur.
Since the day I learned horse riding in the rugged grounds of Lamphelpat till date, it has been a long journey of almost four decades and for four decades, the MHRPA has been growing.From a humble beginning of giving training to young girls and boys in 1977 to organising mega events like international Polo tournaments now, the MHPRA has contributed immensely towards the cause of Polo and saving the Manipuri Pony. The MHPRA is now an internationally acclaimed body (now affiliated to Hurlingham Polo Association in 2014) and now it is well positioned to contribute more towards the game of Polo. I humbly acknowledge the efforts of all those who had contributed in one way or the other; those humble teachers, those masters of the game who are no more and the founders of MHRPA, who had given their everything for this wonderful and noble game called Polo.
The Author can be reached at ibetombi1961@gmail.com
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/11/resurgence-of-polo-in-manipur-and-manipur-horse-riding-polo-association/
By Dr Rajkumar Bikramjeet Singh · The incidence of lung cancer has risen by up to 15% as compared to 10 years back · Pollutants in cigarettes called polycyclic
· The incidence of lung cancer has risen by up to 15% as compared to 10 years back
· Pollutants in cigarettes called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can cause genetic damage in minutes; Smokers experience one mutation to their DNA for every 15 cigarettes they smoke, the accumulation of which may result in lung cancer.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths across the world, characterized by low survival rates. In India, lung cancer constitutes 6.9 per cent of all new cancer cases and 9.3 per cent of all cancer related death. Northeast India has the highest reported incidences of lung cancer in India, in both males and females.
The overall 5-year survival rate of lung cancer is dismal with approximately 15 per cent in developed countries and 5 per cent in developing countries.
As we observe Lung Cancer Awareness Month, Dr Rajkumar Bikramjit Singh, Asst Prof, Dept of Medicine, RIMS, Imphal says great emphasis need to be paid on the importance of educating people about the disease, the need to minimize risk factors and ensure early seeking of medical attention in case of symptoms like persistent cough accompanied by weight loss and fever.
“The past few years have witnessed a spike in numbers of lung cancer patients in India. The incidence has risen at an alarming rate of up to 15% over the past decade. While there is no clear evidence of the exact cause of this rise, we take into account high prevalence of smoking aided by factors such as increasing environmental pollution and increasing exposure to chemical substances as the plausible causes. Another trend characteristic to India is the disease’s prevalence in relatively younger men and women as compared to western countries. While the average age of lung cancer patients in the west is the mid 60s, in India this is much lower. In fact a lot of patients are being diagnosed in their early 50s,” says Dr Rajkumar Bikramjit Singh.
Unfortunately, late diagnosis remains a norm rather than exception in India where people often hesitate to visit doctors.
“Smoking doesn’t just harm the smoker himself. It harms the environment around him, causing many people to inhale the dangerous fumes emanating from his cigarette butt. Pollutants in cigarettes called PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) can cause genetic damage in minutes. Smokers experience one mutation to their DNA for every 15 cigarettes they smoke. The accumulation of such mutations gives rise to lung cancer. Besides myocardial infarction (heart attack) and lung cancer, smoking also increases the risk of cancer of throat, pancrease and even urinary bladder,” says Dr Singh.
Ban on public smoking, and pictorial warnings have been the right measures initiated in recent years in India. More steps are needed to nail home the point among youngsters that smoking is ‘NOT COOL’. Unfortunately, even as mass campaigns are being initiated against cigarette smoking, the repackaging and revival of the hookah culture among urban Indians is a worrying trend. The mushrooming of hookah parlors and bars across our urban landscape neutralizes all successes made against the cigarette.
Apart from taking radical steps to reduce prevalence of smoking – cigarettes, cigars as well as hookahs, steps also need to be taken to improve diagnosis and early intervention.
Due to rampant prevalence of tuberculosis in India, cases of lung cancer often get mistaken for tuberculosis and even treated for the same in initial days. Most lung cancer cases are detected in late stages by the time it is too late for treatment and cure.
“Another importance aspect is the steady increase in numbers of non-smokers falling prey to lung cancer, once considered an exclusive ailment of smoke addicts. A large share of non-smoking patients are women who might have had exposure to second hand smoke all their lives at home or even no exposure at all in some cases,” adds Dr Singh.
With symptoms such as fever, cough, weight loss and anorexia common to both tuberculosis and lung cancer, it is equally important for both patients and medical practitioners to stay alert to other indicators such as age of patient, history of smoking, or hoarseness in the voice. These indicators can point to the possibility of lung cancer.
How to Minimize Risk:
Say No to Smoking: Survival rates of lung cancer patients remain low in India as also across the world. Most lung cancers remain asymptomatic during the early stages, and by the time they become symptomatic, they are already advanced. In such circumstances, minimizing risk remains the main option. And quitting smoke – all kinds of smoke be it cigarette, hookah or cigars — is the primary risk reducing method.
Reduce exposure to polluted air: Wear masks on the roads to minimize inhaling of dangerous chemicals and particulate material. Also, select low pollution phases of the day such as early morning for activities like walking and exercising outdoor.
Keep Alert for Symptoms:
Early diagnosis can go a long way in saving or prolonging life of patients. Symptoms such as shortness of breath accompanied by fever, cough, bronchitis or hoarseness of voice should never be ignored, especially if it is of long duration. In India these symptoms are often mistaken and treated for tuberculosis. This calls for greater alertness and awareness.
The writer is a super-specialist in cancer (DM Medical Oncology) and he can be contacted at bikramsana@gmail.com
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/11/lung-cancer-incidence-increasing-alarmingly/
By Ranjan K Baruah Our lifestyle has changed from the past and people are in stress due to work pressure or other issues. In the age of competition everyone
Our lifestyle has changed from the past and people are in stress due to work pressure or other issues. In the age of competition everyone wants to move ahead and progress but in the process it indirectly affects our health. People are looking for solution and this brings more demand for the wellness clinics or spas. Spa centers have increased in most of the cities and are still increasing as it is a good solution to relax and relieve the rising stress, stress-related ailments, anxiety and exhaustion of everyday life.
Spa / massage therapists are professionally qualified practitioners who deliver a variety of therapies and body care treatments such as massage, body wraps, body scrubs, therapeutic baths etc. It helps in reducing stress, alleviate muscle aches and pains and help to improve the overall well being of individuals. Besides massaging, some therapists provide skin-care and aesthetic services like facials, manicures, pedicures, waxing, makeup, nail treatments, aromatherapy, reflexology, electrotherapy, hydrotherapy etc.
Spa massage or therapy is like another hospitality industry and is found in many places including in airports. The best part is that there is no specific long term course like beauty industry but there are some diplomas and certificate courses available.
Spa and massage therapy course imparts the students with knowledge in basic physiology, human anatomy, and training to identify different types of body forms and its imperfections. It also deals with various massage techniques. By studying this program students will also learn to do cellulite treatments, administer heat therapy, body wraps, mud wraps, body polishes and salt exfoliation.
Some of the courses are Advance Diploma in Spa Management, Advanced Spa and Beauty Therapy, Basic Spa and Beauty Therapy, Certificate Course in Spa Therapy, Diploma in Beauty Therapies and Ayurvedic Spa, Diploma in International Spa Therapy, Diploma in Professional Spa Therapy, Diploma in Spa Management, Diploma in Spa Massage, etc.
Trained spa therapists can find jobs in a variety of spa settings like day spa, resort spa, medi-spa, cruises/ship spa, club spa etc. Many luxury hotels, hospitals, beauty salons, fitness centers/ health clubs, sports clinics, slimming clinics, airlines, rehabilitation centers, nursing homes, corporate offices and Ayurvedic clinics offering massage facilities, recruit spa therapists. This is a new area of employment for our young people. There would be more spa and wellness clinics in north east in near future too.
Exam/Entrance Update:
GPAT: AICTE has launched the National level Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT) for facilitating institutions to select suitable students for admission in all pharmacy programs approved by AICTE. Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT) is a national Level entrance exam. The test will be conducted in different states and cities. The GPAT is a three hour computer based online test which is conducted in a single session. The GPAT score is accepted by all AICTE-Approved Institutions/University Departments/Constituent Colleges/Affiliated Colleges. Bachelor’s degree holders in Pharmacy (4 Years after 10+2 including lateral entry candidates) and those who are in the final year of B. Pharmacy course are eligible for appearing in GPAT 2016 examination. Last date for applying is 30th November and exam would be held on 17th January.
CMAT: AICTE has launched the National level Management Admission Test (CMAT) for facilitating institutions to select suitable students for admission in all management programmes approved by AICTE. Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) is a national Level entrance exam. The CMAT is a three hour computer based online test which is conducted in a single session to evaluate the candidate’s ability across various segments like Quantitative Technique, Logical Reasoning, Language Comprehension and General Awareness. Graduates in any discipline or Final year students of Graduate Courses (10+2+3) whose result will be declared before commencement of admission can apply for CMAT online. Last date for applying is 30th November and exam would be held on 17th January.
The writer can be reached at bkranjan@gmail.com
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/11/career-as-spa-therapist/
By Birkarnelzelzit Thiyam People started to learn English for the sake of earning respect, because of the healthy impression in their heads that putting one or two English word
People started to learn English for the sake of earning respect, because of the healthy impression in their heads that putting one or two English word while projecting their local tones would maximise the weight of their feedback. Even in the case of listening songs, people think that they are being respected more by the environment if they listen to English songs. I have seen people forcing themselves to listen to rock music to make people think that he is made with the blood of Europeans. The Austronesian culture for the people of Philippines which was modified while trading with China, India, Palau, Malay, Malaysia, Papua and few more was faded away soon after the Spanish colonization. Leaving all these behind, due to westernization 90% of the people have forgotten their own culture. Starting from the dress to the food they eat, everything is westernized. These sickness is also speeded in all over Taiwan. All the original culture is being kicked to the site of endanger. If you walk pass in any of the streets of Taiwan, you will notice the amount of westernization. Everyone plays English songs defying the fact of whether they understand the lyrics or not. The term ‘westernization’ or what we mainly call ‘Americanisation’ is nothing but copying everything whatever they do. A question can be asked “Are we changing our culture to their culture?” No, not at all. The very true fact is that they don’t have their own culture. We are just killing our own culture for the sake of some comfort-ability. Then what is the moto behind this imitation? The answer is Modernization. This type of response is expected for 90% of the people from our society. Without knowing what exactly a modernization is, they try to run in this modern world with imitation. Modernization refers to a model of an evolutionary transition from a ‘pre-modern’ or ‘traditional’ to a ‘modern’ society. Or in a simple word modernization means nothing but updating the things that we have, not borrowing. What we are doing now is a complete mark of borrowing. Westernization is nothing but the things we get from the west. Do you borrow money from others and say that you are rich? This is the case happening. These present humans are borrowing everything from the west and acting like a man from rich culture. In Pakistan if a young Muslim woman cuts her hair above her shoulders, wearing Shalwar Kameez of latest fashion, her scarf (dupatta) around her neck only leaving her chest uncovered, wears high heel shoes, sun glasses and comes out of her car in front of a mall then we can say that she is modernized. But on the other way round, if the same girl comes out of her car wearing a necklace, pants with sleeveless short top and comes out of her car by holding hands with her boyfriend then we can say that she is westernized. Keeping the matter of fact in mind that people want to be westernized to make things comfortable, but still why can’t we bring our own culture to the more comfortable zone. To take an example for this present environ of Manipur society, if girls like to wear pants then they can wear those pants with flowery designs of Phanek MaPan Naibi or what so ever. Then our approach will be towards modernization. On the other hand, one of the most interesting thing that the Japanese people have done is the strong maintenance of originality. We can say that Japan is one of the most westernized countries but they are the ones who never let go of their own culture. We can see this particular short of the thing in movies also, from the food they eat to the dress they wear is all tight up with origin. But in technologies, they are westernized the most. Even in Saudi Arabia, there seems to be a mark of westernization in the diet for the new generations. The traditional Saudi cuisine is no longer served in most of the fast food restaurants. Leaving behind the rest part of the world, the main threat to the Indian culture is the coming up of new festivals like Valentine’s Day, New Year Eve, Halloween and so on. These festivals are celebrated more for the consumption of cakes and wines rather than for religious purposes.
Lastly, knowing the true differences between modernization and westernization would be a wise decision. We better wear mini Phanek than mini skirt.
The writer can be reached at birkarnelzelzitthiyam3073@gmail.com
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/11/how-long-can-you-hide-in-an-open-field/
By Nehginpao Kipgen National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Nov 19 met representatives of more than 50 countries, including Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Denmark,
By Nehginpao Kipgen
National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Nov 19 met representatives of more than 50 countries, including Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Norway, Russia and the United States. After waiting for 25 years since her party’s electoral victory in the 1990 general election was annulled by the military government, Ms Suu Kyi is convinced that her time has come to lead Myanmar.
In conjunction with her political ambition, she 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 also avoided fielding Muslim candidates. As a politician, her 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 the NLD and the military, which still remains a powerful force and essential element in the country’s polity. Before the election, Ms 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, senior official Zaw Htay at the President’s office said Ms Suu Kyi’s comments were “against the constitutional provision” which states that the president takes precedence over all other persons. After the election on Nov 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”.
Her 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 the NLD now has a majority of the seats in both houses of Parliament, the party is in a position to elect the president and one of the two vice-presidents. The participation of the NLD in the 2015 general election means that the party has agreed to respect the 2008 Constitution, which protects the inherent role of the military in politics. Despite its majority in Parliament, the NLD would need to accept the reservation of 25 per cent of the seats for the military; as well as the post of one vice-president and Cabinet portfolios for home, defence and border affairs, and the formation of the National Defence and Security Council, which will have the authority to declare a national emergency for the military to take charge of all branches of the government – executive, judiciary and legislative. There is no doubt that Ms 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 Ms Sonia Gandhi during the Congress-led government in India.
However, there is a danger that the military may find it difficult to tolerate the country’s president becoming a puppet of Ms Suu Kyi. If such situation arises, the military will criticise the president for incompetence. It must be remembered that one of the reasons General Ne Win staged a military coup in 1962 was the allegation that the civilian government under the leadership of Prime Minister U Nu was incapable of effective administration across the country. 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, which considers itself the guardian and protector of the state, 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 sees that 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 the military in politics, it will likely feel provoked. The people of Myanmar and the international community should understand that the democratisation process that has been put in place is one of consensual transition, in which the authoritarian leaders actively participate in the process of change by controlling or limiting the change. This type of transition entails some degree of political continuity between authoritarianism and democracy. Only when the military leaders are convinced that the peace process with ethnic armed groups is politically resolved and when they no longer fear being prosecuted for crimes committed during the years of military rule, will they be willing to give up their political role. To avoid confrontation with the military and the country’s ethnic minorities, Ms 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 she 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.
The writer is a United States-based political scientist and author of three books on Myanmar.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/11/the-danger-of-suu-kyis-above-the-president-role/
