Tag: Editor

Understanding the dignity of labour Time to stop creating the vacuum

t should be obvious to all. Despite the sharp vigil maintained by voluntary organisations and the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) at Sekmai along National Highway-2, non-locals continue to arrive at the State to pursue a living. Th…

t should be obvious to all. Despite the sharp vigil maintained by voluntary organisations and the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) at Sekmai along National Highway-2, non-locals continue to arrive at the State to pursue a living. This can easily be gauged from the number of such non-locals who have been detected and handed over to the police for not possessing necessary documents during the inspection drive conducted in the last few days.

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Looking back at the last 15 or more years Continuing to cast their shadows

If 2015 revolved around the demand to introduce the Inner Line Permit System or a similar mechanism to check the influx of non-local people into the State and the three Bills passed on August 31 last year,
The post Looking back at the last 15 or more y…

If 2015 revolved around the demand to introduce the Inner Line Permit System or a similar mechanism to check the influx of non-local people into the State and the three Bills passed on August 31 last year,

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Lauding the stand of DESAM PIL against bandhs

The stand of the Democratic Students’ Alliance of Manipur (DESAM) needs to be lauded. Yet at the same time it is also worrying to note that a student organisation has deemed it fit to announce that they will soon be filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against bandhs.

The post Lauding the stand of DESAM PIL against bandhs appeared first on The Sangai Express.

The stand of the Democratic Students’ Alliance of Manipur (DESAM) needs to be lauded. Yet at the same time it is also worrying to note that a student organisation has deemed it fit to announce that they will soon be filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against bandhs.

The post Lauding the stand of DESAM PIL against bandhs appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/lauding-stand-desam-pil-bandhs/

Time for more people to people contact Need to take all aboard

From 1951 to 1972. This cannot be called a climb down but being practical, for remember it is more than clear that the State Government does not have the National Register of Citizens for 1951, as evidenced by the RTI application submitted by a social …

From 1951 to 1972. This cannot be called a climb down but being practical, for remember it is more than clear that the State Government does not have the National Register of Citizens for 1951, as evidenced by the RTI application submitted by a social worker some time back. One is obviously talking about the base year for preparing a fresh Bill in place of the PMP Bill which has been withheld by the President of India. Now with the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System upping the pressure on the State Government to deliver the fresh Bill in the coming Assembly session, the Government need to realise the importance of taking everyone on board before the Bill is finalised and tabled in the Assembly. What happened after August 31 last year should be enough lesson for the Government and everyone else. Let it also be clear to all the native people of the land that what the JCILPS is demanding is a Constitutional measure to protect the interest of the indigenous people in the face of the relentless onslaught of non-local people into the soil of Manipur. It is this which is central to the demand to enact a law so that the future of the native people may be safeguarded. On the other hand the hill people too should come to the understanding that their interest cannot be jeopardised as they are already under Constitutional protection by being included in the Scheduled Tribe category. In such a situation it is the valley people who are facing the threat of unchecked entry of non-local people. However the central idea is to protect the interest of the local people and this fact should not be lost on anyone.

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Don Bosco Maram : Par excellence Letting the students study

Quality education. This is the slogan of quite a large number of student organisations and civil society organisations across the State. While it is still debatable whether the term education should be qualified by the term quality, it is nonetheless s…

Quality education. This is the slogan of quite a large number of student organisations and civil society organisations across the State. While it is still debatable whether the term education should be qualified by the term quality, it is nonetheless significant to note that one educational institution has been working towards this in its own quiet and dignified way. Don Bosco, Maram may not have all the glitz of some institutions here in Manipur, particularly in Imphal and no over the roof exercise of trumpeting its success but it is worth noting that it topped the survey conducted by the National Assessment Accreditation Council of India (NAAC) last year with a score of 3.35 CGPA in the State. First in Manipur and second in the North East region and this says something very, very significant. Important to note too that this institution is situated at Maram, a good 85 kilometres away from Imphal and underlining the crucial point that not all excellent educational institutions need to be located at the capital. Excellent is the word that comes to mind when one talks about this institute for remember Don Bosco, Maram was established only in the year 2000 and the stride it has made in the last 16 years is proof that given the right approach and dedication, excellence can be achieved.

The post Don Bosco Maram : Par excellence Letting the students study appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/don-bosco-maram-par-excellence-letting-students-study/

Feeding false information to SC Spinning out fantastic tales

Either the State Government is dumb or does not think much about playing with fire. How else does one explain the fact that it submitted a totally wrong information to the Supreme Court of India, regarding the payment of compensation to the next of kin…

Either the State Government is dumb or does not think much about playing with fire. How else does one explain the fact that it submitted a totally wrong information to the Supreme Court of India, regarding the payment of compensation to the next of kins of 28 people who were killed by security forces under dubious claims ?

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Neck deep in too many issues Spare a thought for the future

Neck deep in so many issues that the fundamental point is constantly overlooked. When one talks about the Inner Line Permit System or a similar mechanism to check the large scale inflow of non-local people into the State, one has to also look at the st…

Neck deep in so many issues that the fundamental point is constantly overlooked. When one talks about the Inner Line Permit System or a similar mechanism to check the large scale inflow of non-local people into the State, one has to also look at the strong voice of protest against the three Bills passed by the State Assembly on August 31 last year.

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Landing in yet another controversy Infamy clouding MPSC

Mark tampering to confusing instructions to candidates. And now allegations that there is no reservation for Scheduled Caste and the infamy of Manipur Public Service Commission (MPSC) is complete. Not at all acceptable.
The post Landing in yet another…

Mark tampering to confusing instructions to candidates. And now allegations that there is no reservation for Scheduled Caste and the infamy of Manipur Public Service Commission (MPSC) is complete. Not at all acceptable.

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Gearing up for 2017 to 2019 BJP versus the Cong in NE

BJP versus the Congress. This is primarily what it is going to be when the North East States of Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh go to polls from 2017 to 2019. Early days yet but with the exception of Tripura, where the Left Front has…

BJP versus the Congress. This is primarily what it is going to be when the North East States of Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh go to polls from 2017 to 2019. Early days yet but with the exception of Tripura, where the Left Front has been holding sway for decades, the choice before the voters will obviously be between the Congress and the BJP-one a party which has ruled the country for the greater part of the time after India gained independence in 1947 but now appears to be in the ICU and the other a party which is riding the popularity wave.

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NE India & Sino-Indian rivalry

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled on July 12 that China has no historic title over the waters of South China Sea. China claims most of the energy-rich waters through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.
The…

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled on July 12 that China has no historic title over the waters of South China Sea. China claims most of the energy-rich waters through which about $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes every year.

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Manipur, Myanmar and democracy

“You can change your friend but you cannot change your neighbours”, goes a saying. If we must comment, the saying has a fair dose of truth, even if it does not qualify to be called a universal truth and the same saying applies to neighbouring States/countries. Although there are very few corporate houses in Manipur which can make investment in Myanmar, and Manipur is, by no means, a geopolitical power by itself, people of Manipur have been closely following what are happening in Myanmar, specially the much-awaited transition towards democracy.

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“You can change your friend but you cannot change your neighbours”, goes a saying. If we must comment, the saying has a fair dose of truth, even if it does not qualify to be called a universal truth and the same saying applies to neighbouring States/countries. Although there are very few corporate houses in Manipur which can make investment in Myanmar, and Manipur is, by no means, a geopolitical power by itself, people of Manipur have been closely following what are happening in Myanmar, specially the much-awaited transition towards democracy.

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Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/manipur-myanmar-democracy/

Maternal mortality Complications or negligence?

Frankly we are not sure whether the suspension is required or not but the death of a young mother during delivery at RIMS on July 6 is really tragic. Pending a comprehensive enquiry, one doctor has been suspended in connection with the death. Now fello…

Frankly we are not sure whether the suspension is required or not but the death of a young mother during delivery at RIMS on July 6 is really tragic. Pending a comprehensive enquiry, one doctor has been suspended in connection with the death. Now fellow Gynaecologists have not only openly condemned the suspension order, they are also demanding revocation of the same order within a week.

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Sovereignty or within Constitution?

It’s getting murkier and murkier. Ambivalence and ambiguity have attained indecipherable degrees. Whereas the Government of India has been steadfastly asserting that the political dialogue with the NSCN-IM is within the ambit of the Constitution of India, NSCN-IM leadership has been insisting that the dialogue process is an unconditional one. Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju had went on record stating that the NSCN-IM had given up its demand for sovereignty and the rebel outfit wants a “solution within the Constitution of India”. But recently, NSCN-IM General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah in an interview given to The Hindu categorically stated that they have not given up the demand for Naga sovereignty. He stated, “…The understanding on shared sovereignty has been arrived at because the uniqueness of Naga history is recognised…” Even though the Government has not so far made any comment on the purported point of agreement which according to the NSCN-IM is shared sovereignty, the outfit’s leadership has asserted that the Government of India has agreed to the proposals/demands for separate passports and flags for Nagas. Sharply contradicting Th Muivah’s assertion on sovereignty, one officer of the Home Ministry said that it was a blatant lie. As published by the First Post, the officer dismissed Muivah’s claim by bluntly saying “The sovereignty issue is long dead and gone”. Given all these contradictory and incompatible statements, the dialogue process or more precisely the Framework Agreement signed between the Government of India and NSCN-IM remains an enigma or a political riddle.

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It’s getting murkier and murkier. Ambivalence and ambiguity have attained indecipherable degrees. Whereas the Government of India has been steadfastly asserting that the political dialogue with the NSCN-IM is within the ambit of the Constitution of India, NSCN-IM leadership has been insisting that the dialogue process is an unconditional one. Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju had went on record stating that the NSCN-IM had given up its demand for sovereignty and the rebel outfit wants a “solution within the Constitution of India”. But recently, NSCN-IM General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah in an interview given to The Hindu categorically stated that they have not given up the demand for Naga sovereignty. He stated, “…The understanding on shared sovereignty has been arrived at because the uniqueness of Naga history is recognised…” Even though the Government has not so far made any comment on the purported point of agreement which according to the NSCN-IM is shared sovereignty, the outfit’s leadership has asserted that the Government of India has agreed to the proposals/demands for separate passports and flags for Nagas. Sharply contradicting Th Muivah’s assertion on sovereignty, one officer of the Home Ministry said that it was a blatant lie. As published by the First Post, the officer dismissed Muivah’s claim by bluntly saying “The sovereignty issue is long dead and gone”. Given all these contradictory and incompatible statements, the dialogue process or more precisely the Framework Agreement signed between the Government of India and NSCN-IM remains an enigma or a political riddle.

The post Sovereignty or within Constitution? appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/sovereignty-within-constitution/

Racial discrimination & intolerance of diversity

It appears that racism runs deep in Indian psyche. A girl from Manipur was subjected to all kinds of harassments at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi at the hands of a semi-literate immigration official just because she looks different from typical mainland Indians. Yes, people of the North Eastern region look different from mainland Indians and for too long they have been at the receiving end of racial discrimination and harassment. It would not be any exaggeration to say that people from the North East (both students and professionals) have been taunted and haunted by racism at different cities of India, most prominently at Delhi. The semi-literate immigration official may be a patriot but he is definitely a bigot and a racist to the core. The official may have statistical knowledge about the number of Indian States and it was this question he threw to the Manipuri girl to ascertain her Indianness, but ostensibly he has no idea there are people in India whose looks are different from mainland Indians belonging to the Aryan and Dravidian stocks. That is why, we call him semi-literate. Unfortunately, racism seems to have afflicted vast majority of the Indian people if hate crimes, rapes, murders, physical assaults and discriminations, all fuelled by racism seen in different parts of India which are/were directed against people from the North East are any indication. These humiliating incidents tend to project that racism has been ingrained in the worldview and thought process of majority of the Indians, particularly those belonging to Aryan stock. If this is true, the oft-repeated national slogan ‘unity in diversity’ will only remain a mere rhetoric.

The post Racial discrimination & intolerance of diversity appeared first on The Sangai Express.

It appears that racism runs deep in Indian psyche. A girl from Manipur was subjected to all kinds of harassments at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi at the hands of a semi-literate immigration official just because she looks different from typical mainland Indians. Yes, people of the North Eastern region look different from mainland Indians and for too long they have been at the receiving end of racial discrimination and harassment. It would not be any exaggeration to say that people from the North East (both students and professionals) have been taunted and haunted by racism at different cities of India, most prominently at Delhi. The semi-literate immigration official may be a patriot but he is definitely a bigot and a racist to the core. The official may have statistical knowledge about the number of Indian States and it was this question he threw to the Manipuri girl to ascertain her Indianness, but ostensibly he has no idea there are people in India whose looks are different from mainland Indians belonging to the Aryan and Dravidian stocks. That is why, we call him semi-literate. Unfortunately, racism seems to have afflicted vast majority of the Indian people if hate crimes, rapes, murders, physical assaults and discriminations, all fuelled by racism seen in different parts of India which are/were directed against people from the North East are any indication. These humiliating incidents tend to project that racism has been ingrained in the worldview and thought process of majority of the Indians, particularly those belonging to Aryan stock. If this is true, the oft-repeated national slogan ‘unity in diversity’ will only remain a mere rhetoric.

The post Racial discrimination & intolerance of diversity appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/racial-discrimination-intolerance-diversity/

Proposing base year of 1972 Time for all to fill the vacuum

Base year of 1972. This is what has been proposed in the new draft Bill the State Government is currently working on in place of the Protection of Manipur Peoples Bill, which has been rejected by the President of India. A huge deviation from the base y…

Base year of 1972. This is what has been proposed in the new draft Bill the State Government is currently working on in place of the Protection of Manipur Peoples Bill, which has been rejected by the President of India. A huge deviation from the base year of 1951 which was included in the previous Bill and this can be taken to mean that the State Government is ready to climb down from its earlier stand.

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Dowry system, the truth behind female foeticide

Frankly, we are not sure how rampant is female foeticide in Manipur. But the news report about the State Government’s failure to implement the PCPNDT Act 1994 (Preconception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques Act) effectively enough is still disturbing. No doubt, Manipur is always having more than its own share of violence against women including rapes, murders, rapes plus murders etc.

The post Dowry system, the truth behind female foeticide appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Frankly, we are not sure how rampant is female foeticide in Manipur. But the news report about the State Government’s failure to implement the PCPNDT Act 1994 (Preconception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques Act) effectively enough is still disturbing. No doubt, Manipur is always having more than its own share of violence against women including rapes, murders, rapes plus murders etc.

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Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/dowry-system-truth-behind-female-foeticide/

Playing political game behind Sports University?

Something is seriously wrong or some people are deliberately playing a nasty game of spoilsport. It appears that there is incongruence between the State Government and the Government of India, particularly Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
The pos…

Something is seriously wrong or some people are deliberately playing a nasty game of spoilsport. It appears that there is incongruence between the State Government and the Government of India, particularly Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

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‘Disturbed’ status & AFSPA: A suffocating combination

Ostensibly, New Delhi’s infatuation with the dreaded Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA in short runs deep as far as the North Eastern region is concerned. Even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the Government of India in condoling the demise of NSCN-IM Chairman Isak Chishi Swu, the Government of India came up with the obnoxious decision of declaring the whole State of Nagaland as disturbed areas.

The post ‘Disturbed’ status & AFSPA: A suffocating combination appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Ostensibly, New Delhi’s infatuation with the dreaded Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or AFSPA in short runs deep as far as the North Eastern region is concerned. Even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the Government of India in condoling the demise of NSCN-IM Chairman Isak Chishi Swu, the Government of India came up with the obnoxious decision of declaring the whole State of Nagaland as disturbed areas.

The post ‘Disturbed’ status & AFSPA: A suffocating combination appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/disturbed-status-afspa-suffocating-combination/

NE, tourism potential and poor connectivity

It would not be any exaggeration to say that Korean movies, dramas, music and television serials have struck a chord with the people of Manipur, particularly the youngsters. Even Korean hair-styles have become quite popular among many punky youngsters. It was in this backdrop that Republic of Korea’s ambassador to India Cho Hyun expressed keen interest to establish business relations and foster better people to people contact between South Korea and the North East region.

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It would not be any exaggeration to say that Korean movies, dramas, music and television serials have struck a chord with the people of Manipur, particularly the youngsters. Even Korean hair-styles have become quite popular among many punky youngsters. It was in this backdrop that Republic of Korea’s ambassador to India Cho Hyun expressed keen interest to establish business relations and foster better people to people contact between South Korea and the North East region.

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Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/ne-tourism-potential-poor-connectivity/

Political dialogue: Completing or negotiating the journey left by Isak

Certainly it would have been a considerable solace to all the people mourning the demise of NSCN-IM Chairman Isak Chishi Swu. Government of India’s interlocutor for the political dialogue with NSCN-IM RN Ravi was quoted as saying “It will not take long to complete the journey left by Isak. We are confident to complete the peace process soon”. Another senior Government functionary was reported as stating that the passing away of NSCN-IM Chairman Isak Chishi Swu was unlikely to impact the outfit’s ongoing negotiations with the Centre for a permanent settlement of the Naga issue.

The post Political dialogue: Completing or negotiating the journey left by Isak appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Certainly it would have been a considerable solace to all the people mourning the demise of NSCN-IM Chairman Isak Chishi Swu. Government of India’s interlocutor for the political dialogue with NSCN-IM RN Ravi was quoted as saying “It will not take long to complete the journey left by Isak. We are confident to complete the peace process soon”. Another senior Government functionary was reported as stating that the passing away of NSCN-IM Chairman Isak Chishi Swu was unlikely to impact the outfit’s ongoing negotiations with the Centre for a permanent settlement of the Naga issue.

The post Political dialogue: Completing or negotiating the journey left by Isak appeared first on The Sangai Express.

Read more / Original news source: http://www.thesangaiexpress.com/political-dialogue-completing-negotiating-journey-left-isak/