Tag: Articles-Opinions

By M.C. Linthoingambee

People and animals have always co-existed hand in hand creating histories that outlives even our very own lifetime. Although in the least expected time there have been moments where they even bought us unexpected happiness and surprises. The legend of Balto, a Syberian Husky who led his entire sled thereby saving an entire village from a growing epidemic by delivering medicine in the cold and harsh winter madness of Alaska is immortalized in a 1995 film. The legend of Hachiko, a Japanese dog breed of Akita is another true story made into a film depicting his remarkable loyalty to his owner through his wait for his owner for nine years after his owner’s death at the station where the duo often greeted each other and bade their goodbyes at Shibuya Station in Japan. There are many more such stories where animals have shown their loyalty or shown exemplary courage by saving their owners from peril.

I immediately thought of these stories following the outrage over arrest of a man for kidnapping and killing of a dog who was a dear member of a family by a group working for the welfare of animals and operating in Manipur. Yes, it is against the law to kill even animals. It is the fundamental duty of every citiizen of India to owe a duty of care for all animal species. In a developing country like ours, with nearly a bigger number of poor people we are often reluctant to care more for any animal as we find it difficult to feed our own mouths. The number of stray dogs that looms in Delhi are far greater than the beggars in the street.

We do things sometimes without realizing the illegality of its places. What are illegal or simply to be taken as being against the law? It is illegal to put any poisonous substance in the food of an animal, it is illegal to transport any animal in any manner that will cause him or her unnecessary suffering which are inclusive of loading cows, horses, etc into trucks, airplanes in a crowded manner. It is also illegal to kill homeless animals for the best thing to do in such a situation is to report them as a means of nuisance to the municipal authority of the region. We have seen the attempts of capturing cows from the streets from the streets of India by them even and they see to their proper care by assigning them to new homes and take up other precautionary measures. The Animal Welfare Board of India has established a code of conduct for municipalities. Failure to follow the code can invite contempt of court proceedings. Sections 428 and 429 of the Indian Penal Code make it illegal to disfigure or cause injury to any animal for a monetary price. It also makes it illegal to throw acid on cows. The Code also makes it illegal for cars to purposefully injure or kill dogs, cats and cows on the street. Offenders can be reported to the local animal protection group and police station and a case filed under the above-referenced sections. Punishment is a fine of Rs 2000 and/or a jail term of up to five years. Many of these stray animals also become the liability of research that may assure to put science one step closer to a great fundamental creation but they should not be treated this way. The Rules for Experimental Animals, as formulated by the Committee for the Control and Supervision of Experimental Animals, state that only animals bred for the purpose of research by institutes registered by the Committee may be used for experimentation (although, of course, such animals suffer and feel pain just as much as strays or any other animal). It is illegal for any medical, educational or commercial research institute to pick up stray animals from the street or from the municipal pound for this purpose. Any offender of such crimes is highly liable to end up behind bars if they chose to resist and continue with such acts willfully. It is also important that the population of animals are controlled and kept at par with the human population by not causing damages to the animals. The Animal Welfare Board of India has developed a set of guidelines for all municipalities directing the implementation of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme. If there is an animal welfare organization in the area, urge it to take up the ABC programme. The existing legislations like the Wildlife Protection Act, 1967 and the Prevention of Cruelty to animals Act, 1960 are the major shareholders that concerns in keeping the animal species safe.The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) had formulated a draft Animal Welfare Act, 2011, and submitted it to the Ministry of Environment and Forests to replace the outdated Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

Somehow, we have all failed to give the same faith they gave us as always man still continue to pose serious threats to man’s best friend. I do not mean to judge for there are also those who owns pets and exercise this duty in their own ways.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/05/feline-canine-and-all-the-animals-we-love/

By Pitu Chakpram

One can only wonder how ideas of Tarantino’s movies came from. He does not run under a particular genre or a theme. Watching his movies are like reading a particular book that makes no sense but still intrigues the mind. In a sense, his movies are the kind that can be watched only for the sake of watching. However, despite it all his movies still draws the attention of the vast majority of its viewers. His movies such as “Pulp Fiction”, “Reservoir Dogs” to name a few have no particular plot or a theme. Here, I have tried to take a peek into Tarantino’s world and his movies.

Born in Tennessee on March 27, 1963, to Tony Tarantino and Connie McHugh, Quentin Jerome Tarantino grew up loving movies more than school. Despite having an IQ of 160, he dropped out of Narbonne High School in Harbor City, California, at the age of sixteen to pursue film making. He worked at the Video Archives in his early years, where he wrote the scripts for True Romance and Natural Born Killers. His directorial debut came with 1992′s Reservoir Dogs; however he received wide critical and commercial acclaim with “Pulp Fiction “(1994), which earned more than $108 million at the box office and an Oscar for Best Screenplay. In 1997, he released the movie Jackie Brown as homage to 1970’s blaxploitation movies. Then came the released his Kill Bill series in 2003 and 2004, which led to a Golden Globe nomination for Uma Thurman, who starred in the films. He was later nominated for two Academy Awards (best director and best original screenplay) for the film Inglourious Basterds (2009).

Tarantino went on to meet with both commercial and critical success with his next action movie which is a western-Django Unchained, released in late 2012. At the 85th Academy Awards in 2013, Tarantino won an Academy Award for best Original Screenplay for Django Unchained. The film received several other Oscar nominations, including for best picture, cinematography and sound editing.

Tarantino’s films have garnered both critical and commercial success. He has received many industry awards, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards, the Palme d’Or, has been nominated for an Emmy and a Grammy to mention a few, and has been named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time Magazine in 2005. Filmmaker and historian Peter Bogdanovich has called him “the single most influential director of his generation”.

Aside from being a screen writer, producer and a director, he also acts in movies but more as a cameo. His films have been characterized by nonlinear storylines, satirical subject matter, and glorification of violence that often results in the exhibition of neo-noir characteristics. Music also plays a very important role in all his movies which is related to the scene. What is mostly unique about his film making style are the uses of aliases in nearly all of his movies “Honey Bunny and Pumpkin”, usually have a shot from inside a car trunk, extreme violence, much of which is suggested off-screen and making references to cult movies and television. His films usually have a shot from inside a car trunk. In all of his original screenplays, the name of a police detective named Scagnetti is referred to at least once.

Tarantino often attempts to meld comic strip formulas and aesthetics within a live action film sequence and in some cases uses the literal use of cartoon or anime images. He has stated that the celebrated animation-action sequence in his film “Kill Bill” (2003) was inspired from the use of 2D animated sequences in actor Kamal Hassan’s Tamil film Aalavandhan and often favours particular brand names of his own creation to make promotional appearances.

The three films that have most influenced him as a director are: “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly”, Mario Bavo’s “Black Sabbath” which taught him the importance of having a distinct directorial voice, and “Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein”, because it taught him about mixing genres.

Even though most of his movies are violence related he believes that it does not inspire acts of violence in real life and even further stated that he had the right to write any character in the world when questioned about his used of the word ‘nigger’ in the movie ‘Django Unchained’.

A bi-annual festival name the Quentin Tarantino Film Fest held in Austin, TX (USA) shows his screens selections of favourite films from his own private collection and sometimes shows films that have something to do with upcoming projects of his which may have inspired him.

It has been made official that the script for prequel for the movie ‘Inglorius Basterd’ is already written although there is no information regarding the story with another mystery project in line. Tarantino’s project “The Hateful Eight” has been dropped when the script was leaked out and he became upset and decided that he will not direct that film.

Much talk has been going on about his new project which will also be a western, however due to leakage of the script, he has told the media that he will not continue with the movie.

It is hard to understand and explain but what is intriguing about them is the way the movies play out. It may be the witty remarks or the sarcastic one-liners, or it may be because of the actors in his movies or, it might even be the violence and choice uses of weapons, or it could even be the fusion of music in his movies. Whatever it maybe, it draws the attention of the viewers to the movie entirely of its own. It can also be said that attentions are drawn mainly out of curiosity and later may leave the mind of its viewer in deep sense of confusion.

Just as much as there are a number of fans, there are also a vast amount of haters who believe that his movies are baseless and time-wasting. For those who watch a movie regarding its theme and depth, Tarantino’s are of wits, action with no sense of reason at all. Haters or lovers of his works, it is a well-known fact that his movies are a genre of their own and his movies stand out from others.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/05/tarantinos-world/

By Paonam Thoibi

Mind Matters

First of all, I would like to thank the team of Imphal Free Press for setting aside this space for addressing the need for mental health and behavioral wellness.

Mental health and well being is explained by taking into account the cultural differences among people, subjective assessments and multiple theories. However, all theories commonly derives that it is the state of functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioral adjustment. Simply put, it is the ability of a person to enjoy life and strike balance between activities he/she is engaged in by coping with normal stress, and contribute to the community as is expected from a social being.

A lot of daily transactions depend on how our mind works while doing a task. The mind which is frequently synonymous with thought: the private conversations that we carry on ‘inside our heads’ will help to ‘make up our mind’. The mind is a private sphere where only the owner has the access to it. So no one else can therefore actually, in the real sense ‘know our mind’. The psychologists are trained people who can attempt to interpret what people consciously or unconsciously communicate. The psychologist’s area of work is vast and diverse starting from an individual who stays in a small nuclear family of two to all workplaces where ‘people to people’ interactions are involved. They find a huge role in schools, sports arena, corporate, space research, etc.

A person struggling with his or her behavioral health may face stress, extreme sadness, get anxious or have various psychological concerns. Their interpersonal relationship can get adversely affected or they can even get into substance use. We all have heard about people who attempts or commits suicide for reasons not known even to their closest tie. With a timely intervention through therapy, proper medications or community involvement facilitated by practiced personnel like clinical psychologists, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals they can be managed and saved.

We live in a place where the global wind sweeps and are not left unaffected by what is happening in the farthest continent. We are all connected, always logged-in in these fast paced days and hardly find time to rewind to a time where things were simpler and we all were healthier. In such a time, it is very essential to stay informed and have help at our disposal- both for our elderly and our just born kids! It is not a surprise to come across very familiar words like depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia etc from our friends. We are often clueless why are our children behaving so differently every time and we would be lying if we say we are never panicked by such behaviors. We would definitely want to know when our adolescents will listen to us or grow. Very frequently we come across people who asks which is better: MEDICINE or COUNSELING. How drug addiction is best managed?

This space will commit to answer all queries related to mental health and wellness every Saturdays and will be answered with the best of the solutions which have been derived from therapeutic practice and experiences. Cases which will need a prompt visit to the expert concerned will be duly advised as mental health concern is very much a health emergency like physical injury or accident.

Readers are invited make queries about what they see as their anxiety problems for Paonam Thoibi to answer at: e-mail: mindmifp@gmail.com. Anonymity will be respected if desired.

(Paonam Thoibi, Consultant Psychosocial Worker with Human to Humane Transcultural Centre for Torture and Trauma.)

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/05/demystify-your-anxieties/

By Amar Yumnam

Lord Byron depicted Napoleon in his Age of Bronze thus:

“Whose game was empires and whose stakes were thrones,

Whose table earth—whose dice were human bones.”

Napoleon was a conqueror and he had big dreams of extending his reign over vast expanses of culture, demography and territory. His targets were the sovereign kingdoms around and far. The casualties in such pursuits necessarily had to be the rulers in those sovereign countries. The collateral cost of these pursuits of expansion of empire had to be the loss of lives. Given the character of institutions (formal as well as informal) in those eras, the level of technology and the scope for pursuit of prosperity, there is a logic and consistency in the Napoleon’s chase for goals unmindful of the means.

But the world has undergone phases of transformation in the logic of nation-building, understanding the human costs of pursuing goals without bothering about means, and appreciation of the limits of one-sided actions. These have been accompanied by path-breaking changes in philosophy of life, outlook for coexistence individually and collectively, the huge potential of exchanges as a substitute for wars to cause prosperity,  

Paraphrasing Byron, we may now ponder as to what game the social agents are playing in Manipur. The people as a whole are all social agents. But the common people are not as such large in their domain of influence and so their actions are not highly impactful. This is where we need to identify the principal agents of sustenance and change in our society. In every social structure and in every stage of societal evolution it has been found that the principal agents have been the determinants of the direction and speed of change, whether of prosperity or line. Here we may think of, in the context of Manipur, the principal agents who now decide on the character and direction of social change in Manipur. In this, we have the political elites. These are followed by the bureaucrats. Among these the most important ones are the ministers holding portfolios and the institutional heads heading various departments and institutions. The way the events and the scenarios are getting unfolded in Manipur, we have to examine the nature of the games they play with information even of violation of social and democratic propriety by the principal agents is emerging.   

In the game of Napoleon, the game he was playing definitely had an encompassing component of the interests of the common men of the country. He knew pretty well also that his immediate circle of support had to be awarded even more than the rest in order to ensure his longevity in power. But the game in Manipur is altogether of a different species. Here the interests of the empire, culture, demography and territory are not involved from the collective angle as they were during the Napoleonic era. The interests of the state and the interests of the people have all been sacrificed at the altar of personal interests.   

This personal interest driven character of the principal agents of the province has now landed Manipur in a very precarious condition. We do not have any atmosphere for the innovative minds to emerge in Manipur.  In the absence of innovative minds, no innovative action encompassing the people has emerged. This is a fertile ground for groupism, ethnicity, exclusive identity and other zero-sum attitudes to get footholds and multiply. Even more unfortunate is the fact that the protagonists of these exclusionary behaviour are themselves heavily embedded in their core-orientation towards interests of the self. Thus the cycle of action prevailing in the land is one where the future is not ensured for the collective. This is significant because, while the principal agents can eke out their own prosperity in the atmosphere of non-inclusion of the common people, the common people cannot ensure their security for appropriate livelihood and prosperity in such contexts.

Now the question which we need to address is how to alter the behaviour and character of the principal agents. This is a 27 million dollar question. We have to shed the usual habit of tolerance of nonsense behaviour of the principal agents. Since we have two weapons of democratic processes and collective action, time is now for exercising these options with great involvement and intensity. The political option should be exercised to shred the principal agents in the political sector without thinking for the self but by thinking for the collective. The collective action should also be asserted and resorted to shred the nonsensical principal agents in other spheres of social life. Heads must turn to bring a social trend for positive change.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/05/what-game-our-social-agents-are-in-time-for-deep-introspection-in-manipur/

By Soraisam Devajani

Recent tourism trend in Manipur needs some careful look to understand the kind of development that is unfolding. Lot of
plans for tourism development is being laid out but without a proper framework or tourism policy that can guide

Manipur is experiencing hasty development in the field of tourism with the aim to bring a massive change in overall socio-economic condition of the State by exploiting the immense tourism potential of the State and harnessing the benefits of tourism development.  

The Central Government has been providing assistance as projects to promote tourism in North-east States in terms of grant. The joint effort of the State and the Centre to develop Manipur tourism has succeeded in receiving attention with recent developments in tourism sector. Manipur tourism was indeed awarded the ‘Most Promising New Destination Award’ twice in 2011 and 2013 at Travel and Tourism Fair (TTF). There is steady rise in total number of tourist arrival: Foreign Tourists Arrivals (FTAs) grew from 221 in 2002 to 749 in 2012 and Domestic Tourists Arrivals (DTAs) grew from 89683 in 2002 to 134541 in 2012 as per official records.

Marketing development schemes, several publicity and campaigns have been undertaken with the assistance from the Central government to promote Manipur Tourism. The publicity & promotional initiatives such as participation in international and domestic travel fairs and exhibitions, publicity in national and regional magazines, national media coverage, etc. has left many wanting to travel and explore Manipur.

Further, Tourism Secretary of Union Ministry of Tourism, Parvez Dewan, in his visit to the State in March 2014 to inspect the Loktak Lake, had also announced that the Union Government has resolved to direct 56 percent of the total tourism budget of the country to North-East States and Manipur would get 9 percent of the total budget of tourism of India, which is the highest among the North-East States. Interestingly, for the financial year 2013-14, 9 projects under 3 different schemes have already been approved by the central government with a total sanctioned amount of around Rs. 20,238.370 lakhs.

The Manipur Government`s development initiative at this time is very much appreciable but at the same time deplorable. Recent tourism trend in Manipur needs some careful look to understand the kind of development that is unfolding. Lot of plans for tourism development is being laid out but without a proper framework or tourism policy that can guide.

Tourism project planning of our State is done primarily based on the readily available reports generated through studies undertaken by agencies/firms/institutes based in other States and regions. Communities are overlooked throughout the entire decision making process. There is no State level open consultation with stakeholders and experts of the State, nor have any formal research activity been undertaken by the State or outsourced to State agencies/firms/institutes for effective tourism planning. As a result, the projects struggle to adapt with the area and led to failures while the Government still remains unaccountable for the same.

Manipur is projected as a promising destination rich in tourism resources in the form of serene natural beauty, favourable climate throughout the year, fascinating range of flora & fauna, co-existence of several communities in harmony, indigenous sports, lifestyles, arts & culture, fairs &festivals, rich heritage, handlooms and handicrafts, exotic cuisines, etc. On the flipside, there is rampant tourism infrastructure development taking place across the State in the process to make Manipur a tourism hot-spot in the coming years. Land for infrastructure development is created through exploitation of natural habitat &resources and forceful eviction of communities. The climatic condition have reached extreme in both Winter and Summer now, certain flora and species have already become rare and extinct. Indigenous people are left to abandon their traditional lifestyle, fisher folks and farmers end up as labourers in the pursuit for tourism development. At present, there is continuous process of protest against the proposed act of acquisitioning of 130 acres of agricultural land at Yaralpat by the State governmentafter having been acquired 35 acres of land for a tourism project. The traditional fairs and festivals, culture, indigenous practices, arts and craft are continuously being adulterated and commoditised, becoming mere showpieces. These become a big challenge in conservation and survival of the existing rich tourism resources of the State and its heritage.

The government has been swift in implementing schemes of tourism infrastructure development projects including mega projects worth multi crores. However, there is minimal or no proper implementation of various other grass root level schemes which are equally important for overall tourism development of the State.

Tourism in Manipur being in a nascent stage, the indigenous people/locals lack tourism awareness, sensitivity and skills for tourism management. Outsiders intervene and take away the benefits resulting to concentration of tourism benefits within certain privileged firms and individuals at the cost of the host. Also, no attempts have been made by the government to make the indigenous people reap the benefits of tourism.

As tourism in Manipur is rapidly being pushed as a priority industry from several quarters, there is extreme urgency to formula tea proper State tourism policy with crystal clear objectives that will work in its unique setting. Community outrage is hinted in near future when outsiders presume to intercede on community’s behalf with the government in planning and implementation of tourism projects. While developing tourism projects, proper research and monitoring mechanism at the State level should be placed in force to carefully study each of the unique tourism resources that Manipur possess and plan accordingly. Failure of projects should be accounted for and investigated right and then.

Assessment of ‘Carrying capacity’ of a destination, guidelines and regulation to evaluate and monitor tourism projects and its impact becomes a must at this stage for a planned and controlled tourism development.

Tourism in Manipur is in its infancy. As such, beyond infrastructure development there are several other key avenues to be looked upon for a smooth passage of tourism development in our State. Much emphasis should be paid to human resource development and skill development programs. Tourism awareness campaigns and sensitisation programs at grass root level should be initiated and go hand in hand with tourism development project.

Special provision and incentives should be provided to the less privileged population for even distribution of benefits from tourism development. Community participation in decision making process should be sought, suitable model(s) of community entrepreneurship be adopted and encourage local participation in constructive tourism development. Financial leakages should be checked.

Our State should be precise on what type of tourism development Manipuris looking forward to, so that necessary measures could be taken up in time to extract optimal benefit from tourism development.

(Soraisam Devajani is researcher at Indigenous Perspective)

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/05/in-the-quest-of-tourism-development-tourism-planning/

By Dr. Jayadeva Phurailatpam

My parents were open to whichever field I wanted to pursue. I was lucky in that aspect. Many parents are
 there whose choice of profession of their children starts with engineer and ends with doctor.

“I want to grow old, so at least people will not tell me what to do or what not to do!”  This has always been my motto in life.  Now that I am growing older and feeling the responsibilities and the burden of a family man, I wish I was the same old boy who used to ride a broken bicycle and caring least about his torn pants or soiled shirt. The only thing that I cared was the homework from school (which I thought was the biggest problem in life).

My childhood had been fun with all the games, eating every single piece of junks (without even worrying a bit about putting on weights) or playing in the mud, least bothering about falling sick. But one thing I never liked doing was going to school. I actually hated it for the first few years of my life. My first day of school. I obviously don’t remember it. But my parents told me, I cried a lot and never would let them go out of my sight.

After few days I was left under the care of the supervising teacher. But I still would be crying and scream for my parents. This went on for a month. My first teacher that I can remember was Oja Laskmi. She was a thin built lady with big-framed eyeglasses, reminded me of those 1970’s era actresses.  But she was very strict always holding a cane but good thing was she never used to hit any student. She had a high pitch voice that was enough to overcome the noisy classroom at any point of time.

I appreciate her patience of managing so many crying children at a time in a single classroom! I would have flip and ran away. Learning A,B,C had been fun and reciting poem was delightful, but never really understood the meaning of it in during those times. It was like a parrot reciting words. My elder sister was very proud that she has learnt her part of rhyme called, “chubby cheeks, rosy lips” and you would not believe she would recite the entire rhyme with her two fingers placed on both her cheeks and swaying her head to any guest that would come to the house!

I was kind of shy or introvert. I could not even think of doing something like that for the guest in our house. But one fine day, I suddenly got the courage from nowhere and told my mother that I wanted to participate in the children program being held at the GM Hall, Imphal for which my seniors had gone with our teacher. I was not allowed because they have an age limit and I was a year shy. I insisted so much that my mother took me directly to the function, requested the authorities to put me in non – competitive section and just let me recite my poem and be done with it. They obliged after much requesting. But when they called out my name in the loud speaker, I froze.  Suddenly all the hot air went out.

I went to the stage very reluctantly and for my first time in life I spoke through a mic. The first word I told was lingering all the corner of the hall! I got a shit nervous. No words were coming out. Then, I did what a 6 year old can do best; almost teary eyed I was searching for my mother in the crowd. And there she was standing on my right side below the stage. She was making gestures to comfort me, telling me to do what I came for and that she is here only standing by the side. Then there, I told the whole poem was recited at one full stretch.  I knew I was just another ordinary boy next door who stammers while recitation but the whole audience clap for me that day, for the first time in my life. It was delightful moment and ran upto my mother and hugged her tightly. Later that day, I got a pen and notebook from mother. She told me that I got these as first prize for my recitation. I was very happy because yet again I got a pen and a notebook for scoring ‘first’.

But I never knew until recently that all those ‘first prizes’ that mother used to give was given by her only!! I must say that, after receiving those pens and notebooks as ‘prizes’, I wanted to do more. Maybe I never got a real prize but those fake prizes that my mother gave were probably one of the few reasons for what I am today. In those times, Children’s day was celebrated in Pologround, Imphal with many children from different schools coming from all the parts of Manipur.

I went along with my grandmother and many other students from the kinder garden. We were supposed to stand in line along with my fellow students. But instead I came out of the ground without informing anyone and followed some of my seniors and went home walking with them!  I really don’t know why I did that till now. I came home happily and was eating the snacks that I got from the function.

On the other hand, my name was being announced on loudspeaker and all were much tensed. When they ultimately came home dejected that I am lost, they saw me playing happily with my cousins. Oh boy! I got the nicest scolding but thankfully no beating.  Watching TV was my favorite pastime. And my father was very strict about completing studies then only watching TV program. In those times, we never had the varieties of choices they have in television nowadays. ‘Dordarshan’ was the only option.

Sunday was the best day for watching TV. The day will start with ‘Rangoli’ at 7:30 AM and many other mythological series like Ramayana, Mahabharat and Chandrakanta followed by Disney’s Cartoon like Duck tales and Tailspin! It feels nostalgic whenever I see those programs in Youtube or in some other channels nowadays.  My siblings and I were very addicted in TV. This made my father very furious as none of us would study, except for my eldest sister (who is still a bookworm with glasses so thick that you can burn ants with those!!) that he look the fuse of the TV off and would repair it only on Sundays.  But still we had our own ways. We went to my aunt house, which was just next to us, and watch it there!

We had many cousins in our group- boys and girls, of similar age groups. Once we decided to play cricket. My sister was bowling. When the batsman hit her ball out of the courtyard, she instead of catching the ball caught hold of the batsman so he should not make runs!! We still make fun of her till today. Shifting to a new school and getting adapted with the new rules and new friends had always been hard for me. Being a person who interact less with classmates, it was not an easy task to make friends. Spending 6 hours in an unfamiliar place with no one you knew was really hard for 8 years old boy. But in every class there is always some few friends who somewhat comes out a bit similar as you are. Lucky for me, I found mine. Timid, quite and bad at sports was the similarities that we had. My friend was a boon to me. Every day, we would share our lunch and play together. We always call that friend ‘best friend’ who sits next to you and share your lunch. So, needless to say, he was my very own best friend!

Time went by smoothly, I became more acclimatized. I had many other friends with whom I shared my lunch. So technically, I had many ‘best’ friends. Then all of sudden things started changing.  The year of 1995, I was in my 6th standard. I was just a boy next door who would drool on good food and good games. Our only priority was to watch cartoons, bring GI Joe and He-man figurines in class as it was considered ‘cool’ and later play some destructive war games with it. Until one day, priority changed. As it goes with any Karan Johar movie, where a new girl comes to tinsel town, a new student came to the class and she was not bad looking. On the contrary, she was cute.

Until now, girls were considered ‘untouchable’. We never even go near them. If some guy speaks to a girl then all the other friends would poke fun and make him an outcast. But this time it was different. Or so I thought. She was not the most beautiful girl in the class. But somehow she was very charming. I used to quietly watch her from my bench at the last corner of the classroom. But she doesn’t even know that I existed. I never had tried speaking to her for fear that no words will come.

Time really picked up. We came to 7th standard. I dare not to speak a word still.  As the bell rang for the end of a hectic day, I realized that I was late and almost going to miss my school bus. I ran till my legs would carry me fastest. Suddenly, of nowhere I almost bump into her! She just looks up and said sorry and ran back to her bus.

A long lasting palpitation followed; I thought my heart was going to jump out of my mouth. Ironically, it was the closest contact ever, never spoken to her in my life till now.  My priority changed and I got new meaningful friends in later years to come. Every classroom will always take you down the memory lane. Some funny, some sad or some mixed emotions. One of the few memorable stories is the shocking revelation of the biology textbook. This was on 7th grade. Many of my friends including myself got shock to see the diagrams with male and female reproductive system that too with labeling!  Some of the girl’s books had shirt and pants drawn over both of the pictures as if the publisher forgot to cloth them!  

I can never forget our biology teacher shouting on any of the student whom she found giggling in the classroom during that chapter. Poor teacher, she had to deal the same thing every year herself. Class 10th board examination has always been the most important turning point in every student’s life. Mine was no different. Going for multiple tuitions was a trend. Best thing about going to tuitions was that you are not wearing uniforms! Next thing has always been the interaction with students from other colleges, if you know what I mean.  I still don’t understand how much you can benefit from going to 4 tuitions in a day and not getting any time for self-study. But who cares at that time. I was going to tuition riding my bicycle with my friends!

But now I am seeing that the trend is little different. They prefer bikes. I heard recently that some youngsters urged for a bike so much, their parents had to sell stuff for it. That is a bit overboard. We were far more than happy with my aunty old broken bicycle, a pair of jeans and a Bata sandal. Daily continuous night outs were indeed exhausting, that too with every relative asking me about my preparation for the board exams turn out to be bit annoying at times. What if I didn’t score good results? What if my relatives make fun of me? Will my parents be ashamed of me if I didn’t not do well this exam? So many questions keep lingering inside my head, but never dared to ask anybody. Getting good grades in my 10th exam was the topmost priority of my life. Now that when I look back, I see how trivial an issue it was. Everybody knows that 10th mark card is used only for seeing the date of birth. How ironic!

When the result came, all were happy. At least I did not screw up as I thought I would. Mom got a big fish and we had a small family get together feast. Everyone knew I would choose science field as I was interested in Biology and wanted to pursue my carrier in that field, maybe a doctor, zoologist or botanist. My parents were open to whichever field I wanted to pursue. I was lucky in that aspect. Many parents are there whose choice of profession of their children starts with engineer and ends with doctor. Different students have different talents and different thinking. They are all very unique in their own ways. Parents should be more acceptable in this issue by not clipping their wings. Let them decide what they want. Not what the parents want.

Last day of the school has always been emotional. All the students knew that they might never see his/her friend again. But still wishing them the best in whichever direction they go. We have written our best wishes in the white school shirts with markers so that it will always be a permanent memoir. After completion of my 12th board exam, I left my home for the first time. Leaving your loved ones behind was always an unwanted feeling. But we don’t have much choice. We had to leave to make a carrier, which will help me give back what I have taken till now. Coming to a new place, getting adapted and making new friends reminded me of my first day in the kinder garden.

People from different places of India with different background and culture were there. We had our own set of agreements and disagreements. But it taught me to be more interactive and to be patient. Being a junior in our college was like a war criminal.  Dancing and singing was a daily routine.  I was good at drawing sketches. But, it came as a curse rather than a boon. I had to draw diagrams of their assignments that consist of around 12 diagrams each for 8 seniors. Life was a hell during the first few months. I was missing my home terribly. The mess food was a torture. You cannot swallow. Until, few months passed and you no longer felt alien to the new place. I have got some very good friends and seniors alike. Ragging became milder and we could breathe the open year. Then suddenly realized that exam is right in front of you!

The best way to prepare, as for me, was to catch hold of a person who studies well and compete with him! I got my competitor. I would study till the room in his light is off. This sound insane, I know, but at finals, I got better grade than him!! My student life was over. Now I have to find a job and get married. I am going to take my first step in the real world. I am reluctant. Why can’t I be like the same old boy who roams around carelessly and only worry about his school and homework?

Once we are done and come out to the bigger pond, we started to understand the different aspect of what life is. As I grew older, I realised studies is important so as family values. The real sacrifice was with our parents, who save every morsel to feed us instead. As some wise man had once said, “you will not know the weight of an object until you carry it”.  Now that I am a family man, I started to slowly realize the weight of it: the weight of your familial responsibilities. Time changes everything. You have to go with the time or she will not wait for you. Childhood comes once in a lifetime. It is not going to come back. But it will always stay as pleasant memories till the very last breath.  And lastly I wish, if I could change my previous motto to – “I want to grow younger, so at least people will tell me what to do or what not to do”.

God bless.

(Dr. Jayadeva Phurailatpam is based in Bangalore).

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/05/looking-back/

By M.C. Linthoingambee

Air, water, land and soil forms the basis of survival of all human beings. And if any in the list goes awry, we will only be trying to shine light on barren lands. While we wait and sit alongside the edge hoping and praying for rain in Manipur, the  government initiatives to avail of water to the people is simply not enough to cope up with the large amount of water shortage. It is indeed too late of an answer at the end moment and it is perhaps time to initiate the use of effective measures of water storage if such shortage should repeat itself once again. If ever things turn so ugly as to drown us to the reality of water shortage all around then we would have to turn nomadic in search of a little water source. It could be one of the strongest calamity in the present day.

We have long been hearing this phrase over and over again, “Water, water everywhere but not a single drop to drink”. Perhaps it is time to realize and feel the consequences of being stranded at sea or the ocean amongst the salt water. It would turn out to be total roadkill if it continued. The situations cannot be compared but at the state where the largest freshwater lake in India exists, the people are left with the consequences of a drought if things persists in its usual state. Even if we wanted to, we can hardly value water at a price whereby it is becoming difficult to even avail of everyday drinking water. When we awake  to nature’s warning of a drought, one wonders if we had indeed began with the practicality of rain water harvesting long ago then would the results be the same. Would we have been left with more water for use if we had done so before?  

In the channel of exercising effective governance, water comes under the backdrop of a state authority therefore it is the duty of the State to govern its people with a certain conduct ethic on its water sector. For constructing a certain framework law for governing water, the Ministry of Water Resource has referred to the Terms of Reference while stating that: “Even while it is recognized that States have the right to frame suitable policies, laws and regulations on water, there is a felt need to evolve a broad over-arching national legal framework of general principles on water to lead the way for essential legislation on water governance in every State of the Union and devolution of necessary authority to the lower tiers of government to deal with the local water situation. Such a framework law must recognize water not only as a scarce resource but also as a sustainer of life and ecology. Therefore, water needs to be managed as a community resource held, by the state, under public trust doctrine to achieve food security, livelihood, and equitable and sustainable development for all.” While we all have the basic right to attain water it is almost impulsive to regulate ground breaking rules to regulate and create a framework law to settle all matters of territorial water disputes in case such situations arise. We should not leave the authority to decide for our waters to the Centre completely, but work to protect and provide water to the people. The fundamental rights views the paradigm of giving equal right for all people but if we project the idea of only providing water for rich homes who can afford to buy packaged water while others struggle with the idea of thirst. This is certainly not the correction we intend to preach. While we leave it on nature to decide the future of our problem, it is time to preserve for the present.

From the needless evils of scarcity, to water becoming stale under cemented grounds we are in dire need to construct a board to help scare away ill-water therapy. Pollution has filled the once lush green fresh water rivers into dumping grounds. With the Pollution Control Board existing there are real help into cleaning away and penalising polluters. On hopes to construct a place pollution free amongst various awareness, we need a certain authority to discipline and restrict the use of pollutants.

There is a recent trend of making water available in ponds from one locality to another but are these water fit for use or tested with the ISI mark and deemed assurances for drinking. Even with the coherent request by the Imphal Municipal Council we add on to polluting our environment all over. This is not the expected inter-generational equity we plan to uplift for the future. Till the time that we humans are able to create water for large scale and long term use, we must save and cherish it. This is the value of water, which  gives us the gift of life.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/05/needy-for-water/

By: Sanjiit Laishram

I was wondering, when was the last time we had a blacktop road on this busy stretch of road along the Konung Mamang-Andro Parking area separating Wangkhei and Yaishkul in Imphal East district. Being a municipal area, we don’t have the luxury of the centrally sponsored schemes for road development projects like pradhan mantri gram sadak yojana (PMGSY) which are prevalent in rural and hill districts of our state. One can judge the condition of roads in greater Imphal areas to those in the rural areas and the different districts. State agencies like PWD and contractors who are supposed to engage in road development work in and around Imphal are in no hurry to finish this uncompleted stretch of road in this particular area any time soon. It’s clear that, the state government is waiting of Sangai Festival which is being organised during the month of November every year to complete this particular section of road. But, this also not a guarantee.
Being dry season and the ongoing drought like situation in our state, road in this particular stretch is becoming a motorist’s nightmare. With dust and suspended particles covering the entire stretch of this state highway, causing severe inconvenience to both communities settling along the highway and to all business establishment around this stretch. This includes women vendors of Konung Mamang Ema Keithel, the road side eateries along the Konung Mamang till Andro Parking and various other kirana shops along this stretch. The problem of dust is Manipur is nothing new and has been a major health hazard for many residents of Imphal area. Dust is among the many workplace hazards, which include other aerosols (such as fumes and mists), gases and vapors, physical and biological agents, as well as ergonomic factors and psycho social stresses. There is a rapid rise of respiratory related diseases among the residents of Imphal in the recent past and the ever increasing case of respiratory problems to all sections of the society irrespective of gender or ages. The average middle class citizens are the worse sufferers regarding this issue, as these section of people who cannot afford the luxury of air conditioned cars directly face the blunt of the storm (of dust) in these areas.
It’s a sorry tale of incompetency and lack of civil administration on the part of concern authority and the state administration, that blacktopping of half a kilometer of road in the heart of Imphal city couldn’t be completed for almost two years and running. One can very well imagine the ongoing project along the national highway 53, Imphal- Jiribam section of blacktopping all weather roads that is been promised by concern minister and the honorable chief minister of our state. I don’t know who is at fault in this issue – the contractor, the public works department (PWD), the local minister concern (Wangkhei/Yaishkul Kendra) or the general public at large for giving vote to incompetent contract(or) ministers who never address the issues of the general public. What could we do now? Do we have to follow the age old tradition of Bandh or Blockade of this stretch of road till complete work is executed or do we have to boycott the contractor or the concern minister in charge or should we take the help of RTI to know the project status or a public interest litigation (PIL) against the concern department handling the road development work.
Whatever may be the step, it is time as a citizen of this nation that we need to make our self-heard, against lack of civil amenities. We as citizens need to make our self-accountable for this mess as our elected representative has failed to deliver their full on promises as a people’s representative. It’s high time for a change, a change that shapes future course of actions. Let’s join, one and all.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/05/dust-republic-tale-of-2-constituencies/

By Tara Manchin Hangzo PhD

I missed the most wonderful thing a woman can experience i.e. childbirth and motherhood. Far too long, I led my life not experiencing the pleasure of being a mother.  There are many women like me who due to circumstances in life are not able to experience the sheer pleasure of being a mother. Sometimes it is out of choice ( I know of few couple who consciously choose not to have a child) and sometime it is destiny. I feel  blessed as I have an opportunity of playing small mothering roles to my many nephews and my nieces  in various ways. Oh how glorious it is to be in the company of a bright and intelligent toddler and a curious smart boy. They keep you entertained and enthralled the whole day and one never gets bored in their company.

Living in a rapidly changing world our perception and views about motherhood has undergone a slight change.  My mother’s generation grew up expecting to become a good wife and mother, sacrificing for her large family, and to be taken care of and honored by her children in her old age. However, her children grew up in cities like Delhi and Bangalore with very different values than she was raised with. Some of her children even moved to Western countries, and lead their own separate lives. Today she leads a totally independent life thanks to her good health and gene. My point here is that having children is to enjoy raising them, giving them the values handed down by generations after generations and not expect anything in return except love and respect. Taking care of the financial needs is always there if the need arises and our Manipuri children always obliged parents and family members in need of help.

A woman who has not been a mother and spent time with babies will not be able to comprehend the joy of motherhood. I was one of them before but not anymore. This brings to the question; does a woman have to give birth to her own child to experience motherhood? My answer will be NO! You need not give physical birth to satisfy your motherhood instinct anymore. Motherhood can now be experience by adoption, surrogacy, caring for the younger siblings in case you belong to a large family, taking care of your nieces and nephews etc. Better still, running a crèche and caring for young ones like a friend of mine who did and she said it fulfilled her maternal instincts as well as provide her  good income too.

Our society is still patriarchal in nature and our culture does discriminate against barren childless women till today.  The sufferings of childless women in a patriarchal society are felt only by the women as they blame themselves for their childless state.

The concept of continuous family linage through the male line is still the prevalent mindset in our society. There is a lot of pressure for married girls to give birth to a male child who will carry the family lineage forward.  Hence, there are women who go through grief for not being able to bear a male child.  Worse are the married women who cannot conceive and have a baby. However, motherhood can be experienced by adopting a baby who is as good as your own. In fact I encourage adoption as there are many orphans in our state. I know many single friends who adopt and married couples  who go for a second baby by adopting a baby girl. In India girl child are not preferred for adoption but in our part of the world it doesn’t make a difference; the sex ratio is not skewed. In fact we have more female than male child according to the 2011 census.  An example is the data of Imphal West and East that shows 1029 and 1011 while Bishnupur shows a sex ratio of 1001 females per 1000 males.

In our society, child rearing is seen as the sole prerogative of the women (mothers, aunties, grandmothers, young maids, etc). Working women have to bear the added responsibilities of housework and child-rearing over their professional functions which if not supported by family can lead to no work /life balance and stress for the woman.

Non-participation of men in household work for fear of being termed a henpecked husband is just an excuse not to do any housework. In today’s modern world, the husband and wife should take equal responsibilities to rear their children but not all do for fear that the mother would object to his contribution in household works. The main duty is pick up and drop kids for tuition classes.

Scientifically it has been proven that women are biologically programmed to connect with babies. The hormones surging through woman’s bodies make us love children, no matter what!  Who can resist a cute baby? Isn’t a mother with her suckling child at her breast the sweetest sight? My sisters and friends who are married and had kids tell me that becoming a mother is their most joyful, elating and empowering moment. For some, being a mother is the most rewarding and for others it can be frustratingly rewarding. But they will not exchange it for anything in the world. They said kids challenge you, mould you and in some ways define who you are. This mother child relationship at least in terms of influence, is definitely a two way street.

I must confess that seeing my friends with the cutest baby bumps used to cause a slight envy in my heart but at the same time it warmed my heart too. I think a pregnant woman is adorable with the fuss the husband and family makes over her and the maternity dresses that modern girls sport. My very modern niece who married a foreigner flaunts her baby bump with a sexy outfit and shoes and it just looked so natural. She is celebrating her pregnancy and womanhood and yes that’s how one should feel.  In the past, most women would cover their bumps and not wear high heels or tight fitting maternal dresses.

Sometime one hears stories of a teenage girl who delivered a baby in the middle of the night and her family was not aware of her pregnancy at all. She is just 15 or 16 years old and not ready for motherhood so her family will raise her child as her younger sibling. She could continue leading a normal life and ultimately marry but would not be allow taking her child to her new life with her husband as per the customary law.

Look at another scenario, an empowered working divorcee decided to take matters into her hand by becoming a mother, impregnating herself with sperms from her married lover. She raises her child and enjoys the joys of motherhood as a single mother enduring snide remarks. Ultimately, it’s her decision to become a mother. She chose not to deny herself the joys of motherhood. It’s all about a choice a woman makes. She was ready to become a mother and she became one.

A lesbian couple decided to adopt a girl child and experience the joys of motherhood which is brave and admirable. Earlier, laws were stringent for single unmarried woman to adopt but actress Sushmita Sen paved the way for many single women to adopt and satisfy their maternal instincts. There are many modern married working women who go for adoption when they realised they cannot have children of their own. Kudos to them!

In today’s world pregnancy is a celebration of life, many opt now for C- section for a painless birth .Few opt for natural labour, many go for an epidural. Some like to give birth in the warm water to mimic the womb and induce the least trauma to the child. Everyone is entitled to do something different and enjoy the process of childbirth whichever way they like. Nowadays men too are entitled to paternity leave and enjoy fatherhood as much as the mother enjoys hers. Child rearing is a joint responsibly.

My mother’s generation had no such choices so they had natural birth at home, assisted by an experience “Dai” or the friendly neighbourhood nurse who charges nominal amount. They sail through pregnancy and child birth without frills and fuss and surprisingly the maternal and infant mortality rate was not high as compared to others state and Nepal.

Children whether a boy or a girl are indeed blessings, they are gifts from god. To me, a childless woman it doesn’t matter if the blessings are pouring over my life or onto another’s we are to celebrate joyfully with those who are blessed with motherhood.

Frankly after regaining my lost motherhood vicariously, today my heart is healing, and my joy is overflowing. I want my single/ divorced/widowed/ lonely friends who are yet to be pregnant or adopt to experience the same feelings. I want them to have the joy of experiencing motherhood by any means.

God’s blessings on each of our lives are unique. Not one of His gifts is cloned for multiple people. Sure, the gifts of motherhood and parenthood are gifted to many and denied to some, yet the blessing is in the child who is given to us through natural birth or adoption or by default. And all children are special. I feel I have gained my lost motherhood as I play with my nephew or sing him a lullaby at bedtime. Today, I am joyfully expectant for the journey being a mother in the form of other’s kids or through adoption.

To all my fellow women, I challenged you even though you are childless. Rather than envying those who surround us, take a step back and be thankful for what God has already blessed you with your own nieces and nephews and orphans kids. They maybe other’s children but you can enjoy the experience of motherhood, if only you have the compassion, love, time, the energy and the resources to be with children. Embraced denied motherhood, which is now within your grasp. Blessings are about to overflow!

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/04/lost-motherhood-regained/

By B.G. Verghese

Words must fail as week by week the language of electoral discourse sinks deeper into the gutter. None can escape admonition, but the BJP-Parivar’s grammar of arrogance and hatred is particularly manifest and disturbing
Last week a senior BJP candidate, Giriraj Singh, said that the place of NarendraModi’s critics,whom he identified with those indulging in cow slaughter,is in Pakistan.Not to be outdone, PravinTogadia, the firebrand VHP President, told a Bhavnagar audience forcibly to prevent Muslims from buying or occupying houses in Hindu-dominated areas on account of their food and cultural habits. In other words,he was calling for ghettoisation of Muslims beyond barricaded “frontiers” as has happened in Ahmedabad since 2002 but which NarendraModi, that far sighted statesman, by the BJP’s telling, is unable to see. A Shiv Sena leader, RamdasKadam, addressing a joint BJP-Sena rally in Mumbai alongside Modi declared that once in power, the latter would teach Muslims, whom he termed traitors, a lesson.

Modisoon after disapproved these “petty statements” but a day later in Jamnagar, reacted strongly to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi’s offensive against him. He said they had “crossed all limits” and even insulted Sardar Patel (how?). And then: “Twenty days remain….. I am going to take revenge”. He was probably peeved at the Gandhis’ – now Priyanka included – referring to the holes in his Gujarat development model, especially in terms of human indices, the alleged favours shown to Adani, and his treatment of women as  exemplified by his abandonment and disowning of his wife and the “snoopgate” surveillance of a married lady architect even beyond the  State’s jurisdiction and by no less than the Anti-Terror squad, allegedly for her “protection” at her father’s request as against a very different version based on taped conversations of Modiwith the lady that have not been denied.

It can be said of Modi that he is both exceedingly coy and arrogant. He claims his “Hindutva face” will be an asset in the conduct of foreign policy because it is based on the age-old concept of vasudaivakutumbakam, “the world is my family”. Which world? One that excludes his own wife, Muslims, Christians, Dalits and others? His diatribes against Muslims are based on hate of “foreign religionists” as espoused by Savarkar and Golwalkar, and find an echo in BJP school texts even to this day.  

The BJP’s ally, Baba Ramdev has just spoken most insultingly of dalits. At the same time on Ambedkar Day a fortnight back, Modi spoke of the alleged slight to Ambedkar’s legacy by the Congress. The UPA, he alleged, favoured reservations and subsidies for Muslims and Christians at the cost of these benefits that were really intended for dalits and tribals thus prioritising these two minorities over the latter.How divisive can one get?And can one for ever explain away such double speak and hate talk as “petty matters”? The whole Hindutva anti-conversion drive is based its exponents’ inability and unwillingness to fight the terrible inequities and oppression of caste divides. The brotherhood of the Hindutva crowd and the Taliban is a tragedy of our times. Both still live by standards of medieval barbarism.

ArunJaitley and MeenakshiLekhi have been the two most vocal BJP spokespersons onModi’s marriage that was not a marriage but only a child marriage that none has a right to speak about as such discussions are taboo. Both lawyers need an elementary lesson in law. Their threat to reveal or speak about the illicit relationships of Congress iconsif Modi is asked about his wife is a non sequitur and is a scarcely veiled threat of blackmail. A person’s illicit relationship with another may be immoral but not illegal. But not responding to validly-required information in a document like a passport, insurance policy or electoral nomination form is a violation of due process. The election nomination form requires a prospective candidate to declare his or her marital status. This could be bachelor/spinster, married, divorced/separated or widow/widower. If there is a spouse, the joint assets must be legally declared. Not to do so wilfully and repeatedly by ambiguous markings is reason enough for disqualification. Modi fudged his answers on three previous electoral occasions and had to be ordered by Supreme Court to reveal the truth this time.What was he hiding or lying about and why?  Does such conduct beget trust? This is no small matter. It shows up a huge character fault in someone seeking the nation’s trust. As said before and sadly, the media,as usual, lost the plot.

It is not only the BJP that goes haywire. The Principal of St Xavier’s College, Mumbai was clearly wrong and far from being purely academic in advising his students through the College website on the very eve of the poll that they should vote “wisely” – against Modi. And, typically, the Congress defended this misdemeanour.

Meanwhile, the All-India Muslim Personal Law Boardwrote to Delhi’s Lt.Governor about the “impropriety” of making registration of marriages compulsoryin the Capital, with a fine for default. The AIMPLB’s case is that registration is already being done by Imams, Wakf Boards and religious trusts.  Maybe. But what objection can there be on grounds of interference in personal law in having a uniform national marriage (and death) register. This is arrant nonsense and such bogus demands must be summarily dismissed. Private registrations are known to be irregular, incomplete, and sometime fraudulent and purchasable. There must be an end to religious humbug.

Then, why on earth should the Government decide to send a formal Indian delegation to the Vatican for the canonisation of two former Popes? This is sheer electoral gimmickry as the country could well be formally and adequately represented by its Ambassador to the Vatican.

The Election Commission says it has so far confirmed 198 cases of “paid news”. Candidate who acknowledge guilt will be asked to add the amounts paid to their electoral expense returns. This is but water off a duck’s back. More appropriately, the EC should act in concert with the Press Council and Broadcast Regulatory Authority to disqualify the candidate from contesting elections or holding any public office for 10 years and barring the Party from contesting that seat for six years. Equally, the registration of the indicted newspaper or channel for a period of time and debarring the correspondent from accreditation for 10 years should be mandated. Only such condign punishment will cure our democracy of such dangerous ills.

Finally, one must condemn in the strongest terms the crude effort of V. K. Singh, the BJP candidate from Ghaziabad, who disgraced himself and his uniform as former Army Chief, to delay the appointment of the next Army Chief until after the poll results are in. He has levelled the most scurrilous charges against the Army Commander next in line by seniority and has politicised the issue in a most brazen manner implying that whoever is appointed will be beholden not to his oath but to his “benefactor”. Chamchagiri is not the tradition of the proud Indian Army but may be Singh’s personal code of conduct.

www.bgverghese.com

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/04/reprehensible-and-puerile/

By Yambem Laba

In 1991 the then Chief Minister of Manipur the late R.K.Ranbir Singh had declared Manipur to be a dry state following the diktat from the proscribed People’s Liberation Army of Manipur thinking  that he would have made Manipur dry of liquor little did he realized  that his diktat  would have much influence on his move. For the bootleggers at large and the syndicate that controls the inflow of IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liqueurs) would soon be at large. And now, that IMFL and the
locally distilled Sekmai, Phayeng and Leiramam are available at equally large and abundant quantity at places where the Govt. of Manipur and its agencies are sure about their locations. Yet their whereabouts and their clandestine operations are being turned about by the custodians of the Law for their daily intake ranging from 5 to 100 rupees depending upon the force they represent.

But what the Late R.K Ranbir could be turning in his grave (May his soul  rest in Peace) is the fact that his successor Shri Okram Ibobi from Thoubal and now in his this third term as Chief Minister of Manipur has not only been able to maintain his dry state of Manipur not only to liquors but also to Water, Petrol, Diesel and Power meaning electricity.

One just have to go around looking for a petrol pump supplying  fuel to the thousands of  commuters every day  on their vehicles queuing up every morning  to fill  up their vehicles .There are no bandhs and blockades in sight yet the oil syndicate seems to have taken over the Government of Manipur to ensure that an  oil embargo was in sight-this had resulted in a fear psychosis and led to panic buying amongst the consumers- resulting in an over spilling  black market of oil consumers pushing up the price of petrol to over Rs.100 per liter. In the backdrop is the scarcity of water, something which no person in the world can do without. The taps have ran dry for the last seven days  and the private water carriers are making  gold out of that charging some Rs.300 for  a 500 liters delivery  of water potable or not. No questions are asked and non taken that seems to be the rule of the day.

This is in spite of various political parties raising a hue and cry over the non- availability of Water in the State. The Singda Dam which supplies the bulk of drinking water to the over 5 millions of citizens in the Imphal area is said to have enough water for the next 15 days. And coupled to this is the fact that both the Iril and Imphal rivers the twin suppliers of potable water to the people of Imphal and the rest of Manipur have  running dry for the last  4 months.

There have also been various debates about the non availability of water in the State .The Hon’ble PHED Minister Shri Irengbam Hemochandra had assured the people to pump water from the Loktak Lake to be purified and later pumped to the people. This was alright as a political promise but he did not spell out where the cost is going to be made-perhaps out of the personal coffers of himself or Shri Ibobi was not clarified.

But all said and done is there governance in Manipur  where people can avail of basic facilities of life like water, power or petrol to sustain their daily lives that is the big question of the day in our golden Land the Sanaleibak otherwise known as Manipur.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/04/manipur-the-dry-state/

Tinky Ningombam

My first mobile phone was the Nokia 3315. It was not only a phone, it was a primitive tool carved from the very rocks of Inferno. It was an indestructible lump of hardware that could have survive through any calamity. It was like a chunk of Valyrian steel that can sink any ship with just a blow. (All Ye Games of Thrones’ fans can understand what I mean!). No one could throw that piece of monstrosity on a wall and still have the wall standing. I look at my new Sony Xperia and in my mind, comes the image of the ghosts of phones past. Especially my 3315, I miss that old tool, I really do.

A lot has changed since then. Mobile-phones have become our third arm. Everybody NEEDS a mobile phone now. Everyone needs to be accessible, connected. But does everyone KNOW how to use a mobile phone? I honestly doubt. And by use, I don’t mean how to type your message or prolong the beep. People do not have much clue about phone etiquettes and if they do, very few respect them.

How hard can it be? I have a phone, I dial people, I talk. But what we do not know is how annoying it can be to other people to hear us talk or to be privy to a conversation that they have no interest in. Why should a stranger be interested in how much money you make? Why should you divulge information of all your high connections?  I normally do not like people overhearing my conversations nor do I like having long conversations on my mobile phone but everyone has their quips and a lot of them can actually be a tad irritating for the people around you.

So today, let us talk about the top ten annoying things mobile-phone users do –

1. Talking loud in an otherwise quiet and small public place

Especially the ones talking into a blue tooth device or a hands-free so that he/she doesn’t know actually how loud they are while talking. But generally, there are some people who genuinely increase the volume of their voice the moment they start talking into the phone. How many times have you seen people yelling in their phone out loud? And for the first 10 minutes all you can hear are they saying Hello. And to top that, he/she will move around trying to catch the “network”, which doesn’t make quite a good picture. Blame it on the network or blame it on your hoarse sounding voice, people should not underestimate the speaker technology of the mobile phones. Screaming normally doesn’t solve a network problem.

2. Receiving a call in the middle of a meeting with someone

One of the most annoying things to happen in a meeting is when the self-important person before you decides to answer his/her phone without excusing himself. Worse is when you two are the only people in the meeting. It is impolite to answer a call when someone is still in conversation with you or is sitting with you to have the conversation. Either we excuse ourselves and explain the importance of that call to the person across you or we send the call to voicemail. However, all of us have had situations where we are eager to check our phones while in a meeting, either to show the other person that we are a great multi tasker, that we get a hundred important messages every minute or just that we are bored of the person who is sitting across you. In all circumstances, it is not only unpleasant but downright rude to give preference to whoever/ whatever is on your phone when you have made your appointment with someone in front of you.

3. Having an inappropriate/loud ring-tone in the middle of a public gathering –

Do not embarrass yourself by having an inappropriate ring-tone ring loudly at the wrong time. We have been there, done that. Normally keep an option to change your ring volume and ringtone when entering places that are closed and public – temples, places of worship, hospitals, waiting rooms, auditoriums, meetings, libraries, museums, funerals, weddings, live performances, and cinema halls. And if it does happen once, know to shut off a ringing phone so it doesn’t happen again.

4. Deliberately talking about your big business plans so that people around you listen

Many people forget that they are not in their private quarters that they start discussing their business on the streets or the corner shop. Sometimes, these conversations are deliberate and people start making claims of how much money they want to invest to how much shares they have bought when they are within ear-shot of a crowd. Kindly avoid this attention hoarding, no-one believes in these hoaxes now anyway.

5.Talking in the public toilet – Just because it’s plain weird!

6. Talking and driving your car

Endangering your life and the lives of the people on the street is just dumb. People should just become smarter. If you really need to take the call, stop your vehicle and attend to the call. Simple.

7. Screaming into your phone before and after flight  take-offs

If I got a penny for every time this happens to me. Especially the flights landing in Imphal.  People somehow can get too excited reaching home and try to dial in when firstly they are not allowed and they keep on having the conversation even after the hostesses repeatedly tells them to switch off. Not knowing that in space like an aircraft their voluminous voice echoes across.

8. Speaking on your phone while in a queue and making the shopkeeper wait for you to pay him money

Treating the salesman like one’s own personal butler. Many a times, the all-important person will stall the rest of the people in the queue as he struggles to take out his wallet/count money/pick up change while his he is on the phone, completely oblivious to the fact that there are others with more important things to do than wait in line for him to finish.

9. Typing on your mobile-phone really loud

Have you had the misfortune to travel with someone who types on his mobile phone so hard that you start to have a head-ache? Yes, I am talking about those incessant random text-ers , the Whatsappers who unfortunately keep the text noise on so that every beep, beep or click, click magnifies a million times in your head. Yes, please don’t do that!

10. Putting your conversation on loudspeaker

Lastly, lastly , lastly… please ask the people around you if they want to join your conversation on a conference or else please do stay away from the LOUDspeaker buttons. People generally do not find your amusing and interesting conversation about other people’s love lives quite amusing. Unless you are talking to Liam Neeson, in which case, you can call in the whole world on a conference call, even record the conversation.

So with that said, I hope you will think twice before committing these cardinal sins in the future. You do not want people to remember you as the annoying person with the phone do you?

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/04/knowing-mobile-phone-etiquette/

– A Sublime Narrative

By : Khura Seraton

Art needs meditation, deep penetration, humility, awareness of the magnitude of the task and a total feeling of oneness with the problems at hand-RITWIT GHATAK (1925-1976).

The journey of an artist, from a young boy intrigued by the big moving camera and the silver reflector to Cannes Film Festival. From a backbench High School song composer to a film music director. An individual who fights for his conviction. An orphan who then is son of the soil. The embodied persona of an artist is well reflected in his work. This time Shri Aribam Syam Sharma has communicated in a different medium through his book “Living Shadows”.  Though the writer claim not to be confident with words as with films, he narrates stories within story with insightful erudition and style. There was a certain hesitation – if  that is the right word- in writing a review of the book. The book is easy to read, but not so easy a book to review. Reason being, one-the larger then life image of the writer (the image gets larger as we read the book). Two, we as a different generation who grew up in a different visual culture in which sattelite channels not only shape but also influence our standard, taste, sensibility et al vis-a-vis art; a trace of cultural disorientedness is very much an uncomfortable reality within us.

This envisage an introspection into our cultural milieu, its historicity and its reverberation on different art forms of Manipur in particular. And therefore, a pertinent question comes up- can we relate to his work of art ? or if the question is to be put in a simple way; are we able to appreciate our own art forms and culture? The answer is not so simple. But here is an conjectural insinuation into it ; the song from SHAPHABEE (1976) “Mapok Langol Khudingda” has become a part of Manipuri Culture. The song is played at almost every Meitei marriage (whether one like it or not) on the clarinet when the bride is received by her in-laws.

The book purport to be an autobiographical sketch per se, as the narrative is set in the context of his work where, in the author`s words, “My films have given me much pleasure as well as pain in the same way my life gave me both in equal measure. It is for the reason that I saw the relation between my films and my life that I had not concentrated just on films but I also have written something about my life prior to films“. One of the most striking attributes in his narrative is that there is something about life and lives. Notice those “slice of life” are usually in one or two simple lines. His stay in Brindaban, of close-family ties, the unconditional love from the elders- “It is one of the mysteries of life”. The Dahi wala gave a ladle full of curd free to his youngest brother, everyday. Seemingly the writer makes a pause to ponder that, “kindness, somtimes, comes from unexpected quarters. And those simple gestures can be powerful enough to stay in the memory of a life time”. His recent meeting with the writer, Shri Biren who accompanied him to his gate inspite of the illness made him realise, “that there are still some beautiful souls with us”. The book opens with the clearest memory from his childhood of a strange `sight and sound`, which later on his life became the medium of creative expression. Devastation and the sufferings cause by the bombing during the 2nd World War had a significant impact in his life and as well as to his outlook, “it dawned on us that the world is much larger and complex then what we thought it to be. Before we had the chance to set foot on the world it came to us”.

His first Love :

The way home from the Cinema which the writer saw only for the songs, was always too short to learn them. He saw the film ‘Baiju Bawra’ more than ten times to get the song  by heart. Such was the writer`s propensity towards music. His high school romance became a lifelong companion. It is also important to note that his inclination was not encouraged by the family, early during his life. Despite of it, the writer became one of the Central figures in ushering in a modern Manipuri Song- “Matamgi Eshei”. His intense affairs with music gave birth to numerous outstanding personalities, whose songs and music captured the heart of every Manipuri. The formation of the Amateur Artistes Association (AAA) and in retrospect became the forerunner of the Roop Raag (RR) the oldest musical association. Note this adventure of the writer with Shri Aheibam Budha, “The elders who were used to more oblique reference to romantic love were quite horrified by the direct approach of my songs and dismissed them as singing love letters… Budha and I would come back home late at night on our bicycles with the harmonium on my bike and his percussions on his, through the dark streets. If we were a bit early we would stand on the crossroads and talk for a while about the performance and the coming performances”. Like his films, the line surely has a visual impact on the reader. His `faithful companion` took him to Santiniketan, led him to theatre, to music direction that he first entered cinema. And also led him to an imporant person in his life-Sanaibemma.

His first born child :

Shri Aribam Syam`s first born child had to bore on the remarks such as, “salvaged from a dust bin”, “move like Charlie chaplin”. On the contrary, the child had put the northeast India on the world stage. The writer have given optimum space for the chapter “the surprise of `81″. An intimate detail of the experiences he had to go through in the making of  Imagi Ningthem (1981). It includes, the intricacies of film -making, the price of working with outdated technology, how he works with his artiste and the script. The film made him to take some major decisions in life. Its initial release in the state gave hard days to the writer. After his three major block buster, the audience were looking only for the stereotypical masala film and were ready to pay for the `service level of entertainment`. The tragic incident of the actor Ingudam Mangi, three days before the film was shown affected the writer very much. But “Imagi Ningthem” turns out to be a blessing in disguise. It travelled world-wide, earn respect and appreciation from different quaters. Imagi Ningthem remained very close to the writer`s heart, “the film gave some of us who believed in our own way of life, inspite of many drawbacks in our society, an assurance to that belief. I feel that Imagi Ningthem was my first-born. It was the reason that made me a film maker in my own eyes”. The writer confess with honesty that his three major films viz Lamja Parsuram, Shaphabee and Olangthagee Wangmadasu did nurtured his ego. But he left the readers with room to doubt on how he decided to move to a different direction after that. Perhaps some more detailing on his account of sharing “his insight” is asked for! should we ask the writer to make another film on “the making of Imagi Ningthem”? His masterpice cannot be screen today to commemorate its silver jubliee. It gives immense pain to the writer. (we share his pain).

His Company :

Living shadows fairly seems to gives the hunch of reading a who`s who of our culturalscape. It includes a host of writers, singers, dramatist, musicians, filmakers and actors etc. Each one of the names have occupied a distinctive space of its own in our cultural domain. Therefore, it is felt that the names need not be mention again in this review. But it would be an impropriety if the review fail to include the name of Sanaibemma. The book has a special chapter called “Sanaebemma”

“Sanaebemma” as the writer call Maharaj Kumari Binodini, in deference and affection, came to meet for the first time to congratulate him. Shri Syam took the role of Bishu Pagla in one of Tagore`s play. “Raktakarabi”, “the moment behind the stage was the start of a lifelong friendship, personel as well as artistic.”

The writer narrates a brief life history of Sanaibemma and throws light on the creative genius of an artiste in her. His gratefulness to her, of their artistic collaboration, the chemistry between them, are vividly mention in the chapter. He writes, “my best films owe much to her commitments. It is not easy to describe the dynamics that works….. A deep understanding of each other as individual artiste also has made our friendship long and deeply rewarding”

Yes ! without an iota of exaggeration, reading the book of Shri Aribam Syam`s Living Shadows is a rewarding experience. Other then his narrative the photographs are of visual delight. Some  of his classic works are their in the photograph. And also some of his outstanding actors. The book is highly recomended specially for film makers and those wanabe film makers. It would also be worthwhile to carefully study the chapter of his lecture delivered at the Jyoti Prasad Agarwal Memorial lecture, organised by the Guwahati Cine Club. One might overlook it, better not. And for those who are out to look souly for commercial gain by  blindly aping from anything to anybody- Do not touch it. Another very important feature of the book is the series of articles writtern by eminent critics on the writers` work. For instance, the outright criticism from Professor E. Nilakanta Singh, precisely on the film Sanabi (1995) gives a jolt. It demands sincerity and boldness for the writer to re-publish it. We find the hint of an answer to the criticism in the chapter “My lesser knowns”. Well, to give a mild criticism, the book has some silly  spelling mistakes and printing errors. BBC correspondent, John Warrington`s write up on Ishanou dates back to 1981 ! Such lapse could have been well avoided with serious proof reading.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/04/aribam-syams-living-shadows/

By Deepa Kh

Summer or winter, nothing can beat the refreshing feel of a steaming hot cup of tea that goes perfect with a newspaper. For as long as we can remember, people have been drinking tea as it suits the taste of everyone.  Tea, for its versatility, is the second most widely consumed beverage after water. It can be consumed either hot or cold and has many health benefits associated with it.

I am not much of a tea aficionado or an experimenter, but I have often heard people saying that tea is a comforting and pleasant beverage. However, since the day a friend introduced CC Tea to me, I got so much used to it that I feel my morning is incomplete without it. And personally, I feel this tea is much healthier than the normal black tea or coffee as it is a beverage sans caffeine. The best part of getting addicted to this drink is that it does help in improving your health.

Researchers have opined that tea is a “wonder drink” as many remarkable healing properties have been found in it. Some are of the opinion that replacing water purposely with green tea may be even healthier. The high concentration of antioxidants present in green tea helps in fighting diseases and makes your immune system stronger.

CC Tea is not just a drink but a social enterprise that will contribute in building and promoting a healthier and better society.  It is commonly referred to as herbal tea because of its herbal infusion. Today, drinking herbal tea has become so popular that it is used as a culinary item and for medicinal purpose as well. This herbal drink is one such drink which is used for its flavour, benefit and other medicinal purposes. I have listed a few benefits of CC Tea below-

Benefits of CC Tea

– Relieves constipation

– Improves your digestion and has healing properties for stomach aches, gas, bowel spasms and diarrhoea

– The mild sedative helps in calming the nerves

– Helps in maintaining a healthy eyesight and beautiful skin

– Relieves menstrual problems and nausea

– Promotes perspiration and lower fever

– Helps in keeping your body cool during summer season

– The antioxidant contents help to get rid of toxins and excess body fats.

– Improves your liver function and lowers uric acid level.

– Helps in maintaining lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

– A popular ancient remedy for curing chest congestion, colds and coughs.

Those who are addicted to tea and coffee might have an absurd feeling about how the herbal tea would taste like. Some of you might even have very bad experiences and some might even complain about its taste. But trust me; you will never regret your decision to give up your caffeine intake for CC Tea. You would be smitten by the sweet aroma and its flavour.  Consumption of CC Tea will ultimately help you in overcoming your caffeine addiction. So why think twice when you can enjoy a hot cup of refreshing herbal tea and at the same time maintain a healthy lifestyle. So get set to “Brew a healthy habit with CC tea.” You have nothing to lose in giving a try!

( Deepa Kh is a Containt Writer based in Delhi. The view expressed in the write up is her own)

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/04/brew-a-healthy-habit-with-cc-tea/

( Part-2)

7. The EVM has no means for the voter to verify that his/her votes have been tallied properly.

8. The EVM has no  means outside of the memories of the voting machines themselves to audit or recount  the votes.

9.  Susceptibility to fraud: Although some may believe that tampering with an electronic voting machine is extremely hard to do, computer scientists have tampered with machines to prove that it is quite easily done. If  people have access to the machines, and know how to work them, they can take the memory card out of the machine, which stores the votes, and in place they put their own memory card with a virus that can tamper with the votes

10. Government  ties of manufacturers: The  Government at the time of election may hire any manufacturer or company for manufacturing EVMs according to the  needs of the political party  in power  An EVM can be tampered during manufacturing stage, that too during the manufacturing of the Chip.  After tampering the EVM, its difficult to detect it by a third party.  When the tampering happens at the manufacturing stage of chip, even those who are assembling the EVMs will not be aware of  and cannot detect tampering .

11. Malicious software programming: Any computer software is basically generated from software programming and coding. And all these soft wares could be tampered with by a computer programmer who knows the source code. Testing electronic voting systems for security problems, especially if they were intentionally introduced and concealed, is basically impossible. If malicious coding is inserted by programmers into commercial software that are triggered by obscure combinations of commands and keystrokes via the computer keyboard, then election results can change completely.

12. Physical security of machines:

13. Secure storage of cast votes: The votes that are cast using the electronic voting machines, are stored in a safe storage or space in the computer machine memory.  The time gap between election and the counting of votes is a risk to possible hacking and manipulation .   The chance of tampering increases as the time gap increases.

Allegations of hacking EVM in last elections.

When the Indian National Congress surpassed all projections to win 262 seats in 2009,  Dr. Subramanian Swamy, President of the Janata Party (24-8-2010) , alleged that the  Leader of Indian National Congress Mrs. Sonia Gandhi reportedly hired hackers to hack into election results of the electronic voting machines, which resulted in landslide victory of the Indian National Congress in the national elections in 2009. (Electronic Voting Machine: Excellent tool of manipulation- by News Desk, December 17, 2011-http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1993/electronic-voting-machine-excellent-tool)

In the last State Assembly election in 2012  in Manipur , in spite of huge anti-congress wave, the Congress Party has won 42 seats . All the 11 opposition parties suspected that  the  EVM machine might have been manipulated to fix election results in favour of Congress party. A PIL case is still pending in this connection at he Supreme Court of India .

Supreme Court’s instructions to Election Commission of India (ECI)

On 25 July 2011, responding to a PIL (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 312 of 2011), Supreme Court of India asked ECI to consider request to modify EVMs and respond within 3 months. The petitioner suggested that the EVMs should be modified to give a paper slip printed with the symbol of the party in whose favour the voter cast his ballot.  

Delhi High Court Ruling

On 17 January 2012, Delhi High Court in its ruling on Dr. Subramanian Swamy`s Writ Petition (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 11879 of 2009) challenging the use of EVMs in the present form said that EVMs are not “tamper-proof” and ordered the Election Commission to add a paper trail as an extra security measure against electoral fraud. On 19 January 2012, the Election Commission ordered Electronics Corporation of India Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to make EVMs that will generate a “paper trail” of the vote cast. Election officials pledged to upgrade 600,000 old EVMs to comply with the new guidelines and procure new ones, and voters can now file complaints if there are still problems with the devices.

Order of the Election Commission of India

On 19 January 2012, the  Election Commission ordered Electronics Corporation of India Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to make EVMs that will generate a “paper trail” of the vote cast. BEL CMD Anil Kumar said: “The new EVMs` paper trail should make the poll process safer and tamper-proof. EC has given us its requirement for EVMs and work is on to incorporate new features.

Supreme Court Directives

On 8 October, 2013, a bench of Chief Justice P Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi of the Supreme Court , in its order said the Vote Verifier Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system with EVMs would ensure “free and fair” polls and help in “sorting out disputes”. The court had also directed the Centre to provide financial assistance for the system. The VVPAT system records each vote cast on paper. Once a voter presses a button on the EVM, a light glows. A printer with a drop box next to the ballot unit flashes the serial number, name of the candidate and the party symbol to confirm the voter`s choice. A paper slip then gets deposited in the drop box after the voter confirms his/her choice. The system doesn`t allow voters to get the slip as proof of their vote due to “security reasons”. However, candidates can apply for counting of the slips.

Directives of the Union Law Ministry

The Union Law Ministry, which has amended the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, to allow use of electronic voting machines fitted with the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system, has introduced a new section to enable the voter to challenge VVPAT operation in case of doubt. The new rule 49MA reads: Where a printer is used, if an elector after having recorded his/her vote alleges that the paper slip generated by the printer has shown the name or symbol of a candidate other than the one he/she voted for, the Presiding Officer shall obtain a written declaration from the elector on the veracity of the allegation, after warning him/her of the consequence of making a false statement.

The Presiding Officer will then permit the elector to record a test vote in the voting machine in his presence and in the presence of the candidates/polling agents. If the voter’s allegation is true, the Presiding Officer would immediately report to the Returning Officer and stop further recording of votes in the defective machine. As per another section 56D introduced in the rule, a candidate/election agent can request the Returning Officer to count the printed paper slips in the drop box of the printer (VVPAT) in any polling station. However, such counting will be allowed only with the permission of the Election Commission.

What is VVPAT system,

In VVPAT system, when a voter presses button for the candidate of his choice in the Electronic Voting Machine(EVM), a paper ballot containing the serial number, name of the candidate and poll symbol will be printed and the voter can verify it.

A VVPAT is intended as an independent verification system for voting machines designed to allow voters to verify that their votes were cast correctly, to detect possible election fraud or malfunction and to provide a means to audit the stored electronic results.

People’s mistrust  in paperless EVM : There is so much mistrust in the society and among intelligentsia about EVMs.

Is it a gross mistake of  the Chief Electoral Officer  to use paperless EVM in Manipur ?

From the above mentioned facts , it is clear that the Union Law Ministry, Government of India,  the Hon’ble Supreme Court have ordered the Election Commission of India to use EVM with paper trail (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system) in the 2014 Lok Sabaha election. The Election Commission of India has also ordered Electronics Corporation of India Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to make EVMs that will generate a “paper trail” of the vote cast. Considering these facts, I think, this is a  gross mistake of  the Chief Electoral Officer  to use paperless EVM in Manipur in the 2014 Lok Sabha election . Or is he pressurized by the High Command to stick to  paperless EVM for winning the election. Any thing may be possible in Manipur.

Under such circumstances ,  I as a citizen of India  am deeply disappointed to see the paperless EVMs being used in the 2014 Lok Sabha election  on 9th and 17th April, 2014 .

In this connection , may I request the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Manipur  and the Chief Electoral Officer, Manipur to clarify the following points to the people of Manipur through all  media  to  save democracy in Manipur. The clarification may be  done in greater public interest before counting of votes .

1. Are the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Manipur  and the Chief Electoral Officer , Manipur aware that  the paperless EVM can be easily hackled or manipulated at the time of manufacturing , before election or after election in favour of  a particular candidate?

2. If so, why are the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Manipur  and the Chief Electoral Officer , Manipur using paperless EVM in the 2014 Lok Sabha Election ?

3. How do we know that the paperless EVMs used in the 2014 Lok Sabha Election have not been hackled or manipulated during manufacturing stage  and /or before election  and/or after election  ?  What is the proof ?

4. Since the chance of tampering EVM  increases as the time gap  between election and counting increases, how do we know that the paperless EVMs we have used will not be manipulated during the storage time ( 9th April to 16 May, 2014 and 17th April to 16 May, 2014).

5. Why do  the Chief Electoral  officer, Manipur failed to  use the EVM with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system in the 2014 Lok  Sabha election ? Shortage of fund should not be an excuse because the Indian  National Congress use Rs. 500 crores  for advertisment of Rahul  Gandhi’s candidature.

6. How far and on what ground will the people of Manipur believe in the outcome of Lok Sabha election -2014. Please  clarify  to the people with valid reasons .  

7. By using the paperless  EVM, is the Chief Electoral Officer, Manipur  deliberately helping the Indian National Cogress to win the Lok Sabha election -2014.

8. If the the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Manipur  and the Chief Electoral Officer , Manipur can not clarify with  valid reasons, why not  the Election Commission of India  declare the Lok Sabha Election -2014 of Manipur as countermanded and hold  another fresh election using Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) EVM.
Concluded

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/04/how-far-will-the-outcome-of-the-2014lok-sabha-election-in-manipur-be-reliable/

By Amar Yumnam

The ongoing elections for the Indian Parliament have just been completed, except for the counting and announcement of results thereof, in so far as Manipur is concerned. It has been almost like a province-wide randomised experiment to observe and test the connectivity of the Indian democratic process with the behaviour of the populace of the land. It gave us an opportunity to see the identification of the people of Manipur with the Indian polity. It is an event for testing the connectivity, similarities and differentiations with the larger Indian perception of the event. It is also an event for observing the sensitivity of people of the province as to the level of significance they attach to the parliamentary elections as an important component of Indian democracy. Further, it is an event for assessing the engagement degree of the provincial population with the issues supposedly important for the life and livelihood of the population.

Examining all these issues has been possible because of the isolation of the parliamentary elections from the ones for the provincial Assembly in the current round. In cases where the two elections are simultaneously held, there is a mixture of issues and feelings, and as such the examinations of these issues are blurred. Besides, unlike the previous elections to the Indian parliament, the present one has acquired the characteristics of a path breaking one. Even the elections in 1977 after the Emergency and in which the Congress under Indira Gandhi suffered a huge defeat were not as significant as the present one; it was simply a referendum for path dependence or otherwise. One biggest issue, which has remained unaddressed in India even after seven decades after the colonizers left the country, is the issue of social reforms for social advancement. The prevalence of the Nehruvian modernisation approach (read Westernization) over the Gandhian approach (recall the point-based programme of Gandhi) for putting institutional reforms at the core of policy concern at the initial stage made India lose the opportunity for breaking from the approach of the colonists. The continuation of this approach has made both formal and informal social and political institutions worsen over time. One criticality is the rise in social tolerance of nonsense (like corruption of both grand and petty forms) consequent upon the non-attempt for institutional reforms. The ongoing elections have assumed the potential for ushering in social and institutional reforms as evident from the debates in the country and around the world.  Further the future as against living in the past has emerged as an important agendum in the current elections; Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze have termed India’s contemporary situation as “Uncertain Glory”.  Has it been like these in the case of Manipur?

Without mincing words and without wasting time and words in articulation, we can say that the elections in Manipur have not acquired any of these features. None of the involvements of the general populace as usually seen in elections to the provincial Assembly was visible in the just completed elections for the Manipur part. It is almost as if the elections to the Indian parliament have no connection with the sensibility and issues of the people of Manipur; the people of Manipur care a hoot with what might happen to the composition of the Indian parliament. The moot question is why such a scenario prevails in Manipur and in sharp contrast to what is happening in the rest of India. A clear understanding of this and the interventions needed would have lots of implications for the future trajectory and social reforms of Manipur.   

Now my take on why such a scenario rules in Manipur. Why is it that the people of Manipur have developed an incorrigible tolerance for all the nonsense of governance and the failures on all aspects of livelihood to such an extent that the parliamentary elections are taken as unimportant? The cause for this is to be found at two levels. First, the governance at the country level has never been meaningfully connected with the life and livelihood of the people of Manipur. The sore and core issues of the provincial population have so far not been made part of the national agenda. The governance at the country level has all along been preoccupied with the militaristic solutions to any problem that arises. Here even the perception of the problems has been purely from the angle of the governance at the Centre and never has the sensibilities of the provincial population been given cognisance. Second, the political elite in the province has all along taken advantage of this political economic lapse at the country level. While any failure would be projected as consequent upon the attitude of the government at the Centre, no attempt has ever been made to go for institutional reforms at the provincial level. This gives a very facilitating atmosphere for the provincial governance to indulge in any form of nonsense for aggravation of personal benefits. The resultant outcome of these two failures at both the levels of governance in this country has been that the provincial population perceive elections in any form and at any level as having meanings only when there is scope for potential personal gains, immediate or in the near future; elections have no social significance by any means. Well, this is the connection or rather the disconnection between the provincial population and the democratic process in this country. It remains to be seen how the new government in the Centre might think of addressing this terrible lapse in nation-building.   

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/04/indian-democracy-electoral-process-and-manipur-is-there-any-connection/

By B.G. Verghese

Sanjay Baru, former Press Adviser to the Prime Minister has been pummelled and traduced this past week for all the wrong reasons. “The Accidental Prime Minister” does not stab Dr Manmohan Singh in the back but constitutes a reasoned, balanced, sensitive and sympathetic account of his stewardship of UPA-I and an assessment of his, alas, diminished role in UPA-II. There is nothing in the book that was not already public knowledge in recent years, at home and abroad, and commented upon, often out of context and in a spiteful and demeaning manner,by Baru’s current critics.

The Prime Minister and his family understandably feel wounded today, but a re-reading of the book in tranquillity may lend perspective to an honest political biography that fortunately avoids hagiography and does the nation a service by telling the story as it was. At the end, Dr Singh emerges as man who unselfishly and quietly rendered the state considerable service but, latterly, tragically failed to assert his authority above the din of “coalition compulsions” and inner party intrigue in UPA-II. The Government foundered in hopeless indecision and drift.  

In UPA-I, Dr Manmohan Singh was an appointee of Sonia Gandhi, the Party leader and UPA Chairperson. The division of labour was clear. She would manage the party and coalition politics and he, the technocrat, would run the government. The arrangement worked well. The economy prospered and the Indo-US civil nuclear deal and foreign policy initiatives with Pakistan and China were proud feathers in the PM’s cap.

Come 2008. Baru, by then a trusted confidant, left for academic pastures. The PM’s stature certainly contributed to the UPA’s electoral victory. But Sonia Gandhi was ill and an ambitious coterie had begun to push for Rahul Gandhi as prime minister. Mrs Gandhi did not discourage this undercutting of the PM, while Manmohan Singh himself started the process of abdication by repeatedly announcing his readiness to step down in favour of Rahul Gandhi, a callow “youth” with no credentials other than bombast anda family name that he never failed to flaunt.

The States started flexing their “federal” muscles to stymie the Centre without being sternly called to order. As “scam” followed “scam”, some based on “presumptive loss” without taking account of huge collateral gain,  individual ministers began to take their own line with some senior officials unwilling to stand their ground on principle. The Press broke every semblance of credibility with “breaking news” and The Daily Scream “impact” while the Opposition cried murder. Allegation became fact. Due process was scuttled. Parliament was stalled. And the Government remained supine, confused and divided.  

Though he held the trump cards, as none would have dared oppose him if he had cracked the whip, as over the US civil nuclear deal, there being no alternative and none ready to face elections, he failed to act. The coup de grace came with Rahul Gandhi’s contemptuous stab in the back while the PM was representing India at the UN and US. He described a proposed and, indeed, utterly foolish, government ordinance (on not unseating legislators found guilty of criminality until disposal of the first appeal) as “complete nonsense” and “rubbish” whose proper place was in the waste dump. Yet he had been privy to this very decision, as had his mother, but lacked the integrity and gumption to voice his objections at the right time and place.

The Prime Minister had by then sadly decided to swallow his pride and  soldier on so as not to let the side down when the name of the game, within and without UPA-II, was to get him and ridicule him at every turn. For the Prime Minister’s many friends and admirers, like this writer, this was a matter of genuine grief. For the country it was a disaster. Baru has only recorded history – not invented it. The timing of the book was the publisher’s call. The truth would not have been less or more true six weeks later. The Opposition has of course been only too willing to make the bogus claim that they now have “insider” confirmation!

A few years ago, for whatever reason I was gifted a handsome bronze plaque proclaiming “The Buck Stops Here”. Being of no relevance to me, I presented it to the Prime Minister in the hope that, placed on his desk, it would be an unambiguous assertion to all and sundry as to who was in charge. I do not know what happened to that plaque.

ManmohanSingh’s legacy will survive this traumatic denouement. As he himself has stated, history will be kinder to him than his present-day critics, who lack his personal integrity and vision. Typical of the man, he and his gracious wife, will move out of the official prime ministerial residence, No. 7 Race Course Road, to his permanent retirement abode in Delhi a day before the poll result is announced – a principled gesture that says so much in a smash-and-grab political culture.

The NDA will most probably come out on top in the poll; but it is not certain to this writer that it will gain a majority on its own. And if the gap is wider than the “low” opinion forecasts, who knows the NDA-Plus partners may decide they want a leader who will unite the country. Modi remains a divisive and ruthless figure despite his new rhetoric. Silly interlocutors ask why he does not apologise for 2002?Wrong question. Why should he when he denies any wrongdoing. The right question is why he consistently refused to express remorse at the terrible carnage under his watch. Read the press notes officially issued in 2002 and his broadcasts and speeches. There is not a trace of remorse: only the promise of terrible revenge. The elections will soon be over but not the 2002-related trials and due process.

Regrettably, as the election campaign has continued, communal polarisation has deepened all round. The latest barb was on Ambedkarjayanti when the BJP and Modi personally said the Congress had sought to favour Muslims and Christians at the cost of Dalits, witness the Sachar and Ranganath Mishra Reports. According to a BJP pamphlet distributed that day, “About 15 crore converted Christians and Muslims will become eligible for reservations along with 22 crore members of the Scheduled Castes”! (Indian Express, April 15).

This comes at a time when in Iran, the long-persecuted “Bahai’s of the world” have been gifted by Ayatollah Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani, a prominent cleric, an illuminated work of calligraphy of a paragraph from the writings of Baha`u`llah, the Prophet-founder of the Baha`i Faith. Ayatollah Tehrani states on his website that this “symbolic action (is intended to) serve as a reminder of the importance of valuing human beings, of peaceful coexistence, of cooperation and mutual support, and of avoidance of hatred, enmity and blind religious prejudice.” This is a message of remorse and reconciliation.

Are we in India listening?

www.bgverghese.com

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/04/much-ado-about-nothing/

By RK Lakhi Kant
 
As the women carry heavy loads of firewood
Down the busy roads;
On a high of wealth, does the younger generation know
How life is going about in the impoverished homes
In the neighborhoods of New Delhi;
Is it justice? – The poor left on their own with a few currency notes;
Does the city planning include them,
And their way of life;
A life removed from what they know reality to be like, as at home;
An enforced, business like equation now – but,
In all fairness, say the rich.
 
Reality for the younger people; for them,
High rise colonies and microwave cooking is life’s reality;
The poor pay with hard labor for the ‘inebriated with money’ class;
 
Further down the freeway as I take a walk,
A poor man with a big sack on his head
Waits for the traffic to halt at an awkwardly placed red light;
Designer cars and motorcycles whir and roar
Like a mammoth giant, as the man wobbles across.
 
Every zebra crossing made on this stretch of road is
At the wrong place, pushing the walkers out of contention;
Commitment to the machines;
Men don’t matter;
In the hurry which has now become the pace of life.
 
Their lives are miles apart;
One doesn’t see beyond his convenience,
And the other watches from a distance these people speeding by
Everyday;
The mind is too miles apart; one trapped in the misery of life,
And the other seemingly safe from that but not necessarily
Doing something understandable and good for all;
For it is the duty of those who lead to find a way for all;
How long can we remove ourselves from a real life
Situation where everyone will be happy; Yes, it is possible;
See how the bell chimes, calling for attention.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/04/beyond-the-beaten-track/