Tag: kanglaonline

By Rajkumar Bobichand
Films are very influential to the society. Film is one of the most effective mass media. We know that all media technologies that are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication are collectively known as mass media. Electronic media transmit their information electronically and comprise television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other devices like cameras and video consoles.

Films affect us powerfully because the synergistic impact of music, dialogue, lighting, camera angles and sound effects enables a film to bypass our ordinary defensive censors. They draw us into the viewing experience and at the same time – often more easily than in real life – afford a unique opportunity to retain a perspective outside the experience.

Although the number of native speakers of Manipuri language can be approximated around 2 million, Manipuri documentary and feature films have been managing to find a place in the world of film not only in India but also internationally. A number of Manipuri documentary and feature films had brought awards during the celluloid era of Manipuri film. As a vacuum of films surfaced when the public screening and viewing of Hindi films were banned, creative, innovative and talented Manipuri youths started producing Manipuri music albums in digital format. Then, again, at one time when the Manipuri music albums were also banned, the talented, innovative entrepreneurs of Manipuri society creatively adapted to the context of the society and Information Technology, and sudden growth of Manipuri digital films came up. Many sceptics expressed the sustainability of Manipuri digital films taking the small market of Manipuri film into account. But Manipuri digital films not only can survive but also earn international recognitions now. This is why film is an indispensible part of the society. This is a part of the dynamic culture.  Films can play a pivotal role in the society. It is very important. So, we cannot and should not take it easily just as a medium for entertainment.

Because there are advantages and dangers of films in helping us understand and learn cultures and shaping the mindset of the growing minds. As intercultural film specialist, Ellen Summerfield says that film can increase our knowledge about our own and other cultures but film can also misinform, distort, and lie. Film can raise awareness, awaken interest in and curiosity about our own and other cultures but film can also provide superficial experiences. Film can allow us to experience other cultures but film can also provide superficial experiences. Film can enhance our cross-cultural skills (e.g. empathy, listening, and mindfulness) but film can also cause us to fear, dislike, or minimize human differences. Film can develop critical thinking but film can also oversimplify; lull critical skills. Film can develop media literacy but film can encourage passive reception. Film can speak to and evoke emotions and desensitise. Film can make communication patterns (verbal and non-verbal) visible but film can also perpetuate negative patterns of communication. Film can make intercultural concepts visible (e.g. culture shock and assimilation) but film can also trivialise or domesticate human differences. Film can make visible and challenge our values; reduce ethnocentrism but film can also reinforce ethnocentrism. Film can bring to light multiple perspectives but film can reinforce a single perspective. Film can voice to the voiceless; allow new voices to be heard but film can also establish the “voice of authority”. Film can expose and undo stereotypes but film can also create or reinforce stereotypes. Film can give us permission to talk about sensitive and controversial issues; create common basis for discussion but film can also cause a dispute or blow-up – create hard feelings; cause us to feel hurt/offended/angry. Film can reveal our common humanity; create bonds but film can also incite fear and hatred; reinforce notions of “enemy”. Film can create hope but film can also create feelings of hopelessness. Film can provide positive role models but film can also provide negative role models. Film can advocate for peace and justice; promote responsible action but film can also cause us to feel immobilised; promote irresponsible action. Film can leave lasting positive images but film can also leave lasting negative images.

How influential are the films to the society is once again shown by the recently circulated Manipuri digital film, Yaiskul gi Pakhang Angaoba.  The impact of the film to the growing minds is so strong that even a little kid now gives the remark, dashaani-he!, even without knowing the meaning of the loan word to Manipuri language. The growing minds of Manipuri society now use the remark knowingly or unknowingly the relevancy of the vocabulary. The growing minds are very quick to learn the vocabularies used and the behaviours portrayed in Manipuri films. Most of the parents and elders of Manipur society now might have the experience of growing minds using the vocabularies even indecent words…! Now, growing minds of Manipur are very quick to learn and apply the vocabularies, behaviours and images portrayed in the films. Even those who are not experiencing the film start using the vocabularies, following the behaviours and imitating the models portrayed in the films. This doesn’t mean that the Manipuri films are bad but needs to be serious and careful and farsighted the possible negative impacts of the vocabularies to be used, behaviours and images to be portrayed. Manipuri Film Makers, Please Take Care!

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/04/manipuri-film-makers-please-take-care/

By Amar Yumnam
What matters most in sustaining a society? What makes a thriving society different from the one failing to evolve into a higher order? What should be the driving spirit of a society? What binds a society together in her forward movement? It is ultimately Idea that matters. Every society is taken forward and sustained in a cohesive way only by the Idea that drives the members in all their endeavours. Vietnam is now making waves and making tremendous progress because of the idea of nation that binds the people together. China is now the most respected country of the world because of the landmark speed of prosperity driven by the collective spirit of her. What distinguishes the United States of America is the idea of American dwelling in every mind of the country. The Roman civilization had declined because of the cumulative corruption of the Idea that originally led to the emergence of that very civilization. The Soviet Union had collapsed because the original Idea was increasingly compromised and could not continue to be the functional force. The changes in Eastern Europe during the last decade or so to speak of the changes undergoing in the composition and orientation of ideas as the earlier ones could not take the people and countries forward. These institutional changes are eminently important in ensuring and sustaining a population and a country.

Core Elements: One thing we have to be clear in our mind about the nature of the Idea. The core elements of it remain the same but the functioning dimensions undergo multiplication. Here we must note the recent book by two Harvard scholars explaining why rising complexity of a society is a pre-eminent indicator of the capability of that country to move forward. Here a word on the meaning of complexity is important. By complexity they do not by any means imply the population groups becoming increasingly rogue and widespread emergence of hooliganism and extortionism as ruling behaviour of social functioning. It also does not imply use of threat, almost to the extent of elimination of life, by groups claiming to be social thinkers in order to get outcomes of any action in their favour and the state remaining a silent spectator of all these. By complexity they mean increasing diversity of socio-economic functioning, evolution of newer ways of performance based on deepening of knowledge and new institutions to take care of the newer issues. Most sophisticated functions previously unimagined would now be performed as of routine. The ideal atmosphere for such complexities to emerge and evolve successful solutions is the prevalence of democracy. This kind of rising complexity and the successful address of it lead to sustained progress of the society. This trajectory of progress is taking roots today in all the countries where meaningful positive development is taking place. Here everybody would find a place for meaningful social participation in activities suited to each. In these countries, there would be no attempt by non-literates, half-literates and pseudo-literates to occupy the social space for knowledge and dictate terms for others. They would definitely occupy a meaningful place in the society but would never behave as social thinkers, leaders in knowledge arena and directors of knowledge creation. They would certainly have their cravings for knowledge and these would be attended to responsibly by individuals specifically trained for the purpose. 

At a moment when I am engrossed with the idea that is ruling our land I happened to take an air travel occupying a window seat recently and all by myself. Flying into a metropolis at thirty-six thousand feet above, the residential places look like dead bodies of large worms or concrete remains of a long lost civilisation. The beauty and grace become evident, however, as the aircraft descends and gets closer to the ground. Now it is possible to see the attractiveness of a metropolis and this becomes stronger as the surface movement starts in a car. 

A society anywhere must be much more than this. It should be charming and attractive from afar and should be irresistible from near. This can be so when the competition is based fundamentally on knowledge in that society and the cultural foundations are respected. There are ways and principles of interaction in any society, and these have been evolved over decades if not centuries. These fundamental norms should be honoured even while performing new functions. This is because the core strengths of any society are to be retained even in new realities in order to make the positive changes sustainable. The problem of a society having production gaps is always more acute and problematic than a rich society. But the production gaps can be addressed only by filling knowledge gaps and instilling new ideas in order to take care of the object gaps. Gaps in production (object gaps) cannot be filled up meaningfully only by additional objects. The fundamental solution for a long term address of social issues lies in the building of capacity for creation of new knowledge, and never in rising density of rogue indulgence.

Our society needs an active and involved application of mind on what is the idea of Manipur that we would like us to lead into the future. The future is already here, and we cannot afford our main preoccupation to be something else.  

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/04/the-idea-of-manipur-time-for-deep-introspection/

By Dr. Khomdon Singh Lisam

When I was  in Los Angeles in 1997, I was offered a scholarship in connection with drug abuse and HIV/AIDS  by the National Institute of Health, (NIH) Bethesda , Maryland to visit some of the research institutes  and NGOs in Washington D.C. New York , San Francisco, Tennessee . I was asked to report to NIH . The NIH through the courtesy of  my friend Dr. Patricia Needle , Director, NIH send me the air –tickets and travel itinerary. On the last day of my four days stay in Washington D.C.  Dr. Patricia Needle  offered me a free  tour of Washington D.C in her car .  Washington D.C is full of attractions and it is the city where the world is changed on a daily basis.

We visited some of the places like White House, Capitol Building, Lenin’s Memorial, Washington Monument. After a brief working lunch, we came to the National Museum of Red Indians . The museum showcased  the lives, history, culture of the native Americans. I was intrigued  by an exhibit  showing how Christopher Columbus presented one  native American in his  own distinctive style of dress and headgear  to queen Isabella of Spain  in March, 1493 as evidence of his discovery of America.  The native Americans exactly looked like one of  us. The next exhibit was one beautiful native girl standing in a pensive mood reminding the stories of  native Americans . I  scanned through  some of the  interesting  manuscripts,  books, documents, videos about  native Americans.  The museum vividly showed how the native Americans have been tragically mistreated, disrespected and persecuted over the years . I started  liking for them and their way of life.  I asked  Patricia Needle “ what is the percentage of population of  native Americans in USA” . She replied – “America is a country of immigrants and  the  percentage may be  very small probably below 2%. You are going to visit Tennessee state where there are  more native Americans.  Actually  hundreds of thousands of native Americans died of  epidemic diseases, genocide , internal conflicts. Many of the original tribes and their dialects become extinct.”  This visit ignited my curiosity to know more about aboriginal /indigenous populations of  America and also other countries.

1. Fate of  indigenous people  in America

The native Americans  have been living  in America  for the last 60,000 years. The estimated number of Native Americans  in North America before  arrival of Christopher Columbus on 12 Oct , 1492  ranged  from a low of 2.1 million (Ubelaker 1976) to 7 million people (Russell Thornton) to a high of 18 million (Dobyns -1983  Microchronology and Demographic Evidence Relating to the Size of Pre-Columbian North American Indian Populations”. Science 16 June 1995: Vol. 268. no. 5217, pp. 1601–1604 DOI: 10.1126/science.268.5217.1601).  In the beginning , the European settlers were amazed to see the lives  of native Americans who enjoyed  freedom with abundant nourishment without laws,  without police and without religion . .(Jean Jacques Rousseau, Jesuit and Savage in New France( Tiya Miles-2008, Ties that Bind :The Story of an Afro-Cherokee Family in Slavery and Freedom. University of California Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=xpusu6xQq6QC&pg=PA33&dq=afro+cherokee+smallpox&lr=#v=onepage&q=afro%20cherokee%20smallpox&f=false)

The arrival of   Columbus  and subsequently  by  other settlers from Europe during the nineteenth century wrecked the identity, culture, customs, traditions, language of the native people. From the 16th through the 19th centuries, the population of native Americans declined  due to epidemic diseases brought from Europe; genocide and warfare at the hands of European explorers and colonists  displacement from their lands; internal warfare, enslavement; and a high rate of intermarriage.( , Handbook of American Indians, “Indian Mixed-Blood”,Frederick W. Hodge 1906.) (“A Brief History of Albuquerque”.  www..waybackmachine.org.  http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20080224114408/http://www.uwec.edu/freitard/GroupAndMinority/Albuquerque/History/albuquerqueHistory.htm. Retrieved 2011-08-29.. By 1800, the native population of the present-day United States had declined to approximately 600,000, and only 250,000 Native Americans remained in the 1890s. ( Thorton, Russel (1990). American Indian holocaust and survival: a population history since 1492. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 43. ISBN 080612220X.). The great strike of gold in the foothills of the central Sierra Nevada, California  in 1848 brought misery and death to large number of native Americans. The inter-marriage  between Native American women  and European men because of preponderance of men among the colonists in the early years  is also one of  the important factor for declining the native American population.

Earlier, the Native Americans comprised of  several hundred ethno-linguistic groups speaking  more than 300 dialects  . Now  many  dialects became extinct (The black-and-white world of Walter Ashby Plecker”. Pilotonline.com. http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=74481&ran=162825.)

In most of the states, the percentage of Native American population is between 0.1 % to 0.2%.  In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that about 0.8% of the U.S. population was of American Indian or Alaska Native descent.(Indian Achievement Award”. Ipl.org. http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/A29 ) . Because of population invasion from Europe,  the native Americans have lost their lands, gold, minerals, identity , culture, traditions, language and their existence is felt only in museums.

2. Fate of indigenous people in Australia

The ancestors of Indigenous Australians are believed to have arrived in Australia some 40,000 to 60,000 years ago, but possibly as early as 70,000 years ago.( Peter Hiscock -2008,  Archaeology of Ancient Australia. Routledge: London. ISBN 0-415-33811-5, John Mulvaney and Johan Kamminga -1999. Prehistory of Australia. Allen and Unwin, Sydney. ISBN 1-86448-950-2) .

The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon landed in Australia in 1606 ( J.P.Sigmond and L.H.Zuiderbaan(1979-Dutch Discoveries of Australia.Rigby Ltd, Australia. p.19-30 ISBN 0-7270-0800-5 ). Other European explorers followed intermittently until, in 1770.  James Cook charted the East Coast of Australia  for Britain and returned with accounts favouring colonisation at Botany Bay (now in Sydney), New South Wales. ( Wendy Lewis, Simon Balderstone and John Bowan (2006). Events That Shaped Australia. New Holland. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-74110-492-9 ) . The First Fleet of British ships arrived at Botany Bay in January 1788 to establish a penal colony  ( Lewis, Balderstone and Bowan -2006 p. 25). Between 1788 and 1868, approximately 161,700 convicts (of whom 25,000 were women) were transported to the Australian colonies of New South Wales, Van Diemen’s land and Western Australia.( Jan Bassett -1986, p. 258). Early colonial administrations were anxious to address the gender imbalance in the population brought about by the importation of large numbers of convict men. Between 1788 and 1792, around 3546 male and  766 female convicts were landed at Sydney (B. H. Fletcher. “Biography – Arthur Phillip – Australian Dictionary of Biography”Adbonline.anu.edu.au. , http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020292b.htm?hilite=arthur%3Bphillip.) .

The population of Indigenous Australians at the time of permanent European settlement has been estimated at between 318,000 and 750,000,  ( Year Book Australia, 2002 Australian Bureau of Statistics 25 January 2002 )

Other colonies were established by Britain around the continent and European explorers went deep into the interior throughout the 19th century. Introduction of  diseases  and conflict with the British colonists greatly weakened Indigenous Australians throughout the period. A smallpox epidemic was recorded in Sydney in 1789, which wiped out about half the Indigenous Australians around Sydney. It then spread well beyond the then limits of European settlement, including much of southeastern Australia, reappearing in 1829–30, killing 40–60 percent of the Indigenous Australian population.( Richard Broome (1984)Arriving. p.27-28., .(Glynn, Ian; Glynn, Jenifer (2004). The life and death of smallpox. Cambridge University Press. pp. 145–146. ISBN 0-521-84542-4. http://books.google.com/books?id=tL4W3YNMYLIC&pg=PA145.) . Later gold rushes occurred at the Palmer River, Queensland, in the 1870s and it has  brought many immigrants to Australia from Great Britain, Ireland, continental Europe, North America and China. The Colony of Victoria’s population grew rapidly, from 76,000 in 1850 to 530,000 by 1859. (C.M.H. Clark -1971, Select Documents in Australian History 1851-1900 (Vol 2) p.664-5. Angus and Robertson, Sydney. ISBN 0-207-13426-X.) Migration brought large numbers of southern and central Europeans to Australia for the first time . Some 4.2 million immigrants arrived between 1945 and 1985, about 40% of whom came from Britain and Ireland.( Jan Bassett -1986, p.138-9

The population tripled in six decades to around 21 million in 2010, with people originating from 200 countries sustaining the 14th biggest economy in the world.(DFAT.gov.au”. DFAT.gov.au. 19 April 1984. http://www.dfat.gov.au/aib/overview.html ) .

As of June 2001, the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated the total resident Indigenous population to be 458,520 (2.4% of Australia`s total). (Hughes, Helen (November 2008). “Who Are Indigenous Australians?”. Quadrant. https://www.quadrant.org.au/magazine/issue/2008/451/who-are-indigenous-australians.) . In the 2006 Census, the indigenous population as of end June 2006 was estimated to be 517,200, representing about 2.5% of the population (“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Population”. 1301.0 – Year Book Australia, 2008. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 7 February 2008. http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/bb8db737e2af84b8ca2571780015701e/68AE74ED632E17A6CA2573D200110075?opendocument )

There were more than 250-300  languages with 600 dialects spoken by Indigenous Australians prior to the arrival of Europeans. Most of these are now either extinct or moribund, with only about fifteen languages still being spoken by all age groups.( Zuckermann, Ghil`ad, “Aboriginal languages deserve revival”, The Australian Higher Education, 26 August 2009). (“Australian Social Trends” Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1999 )  and another 20 languages are considered to be endangered.( Nathan, D: “Aboriginal Languages of Australia”, Aboriginal Languages of Australia Virtual Library, Dnathan.com 2007

Early commentaries often tended to describe Aborigines as doomed to extinction Following the arrival of Europeans. William Westgarth’s 1864 book on the colony of Victoria observed; “the case of the Aborigines of Victoria confirms …it would seem almost an immutable law of nature that such inferior dark races should disappear.” (Westgarth cited in Richard Broome and Alan Frost (1999) The Colonial Experience: The Port Phillip District 1834-1850. p. 122. HTAV, Melbourne. ISBN 1-86446-412-7.)  Now nobody cares about the existence of the  indigenous population of Australia .

3. Fate of indigenous people  in  Andaman and Nicobar  Islands

The Andamanese are the  indigenous people of the Andaman and Nicobar  Islands. The term includes the Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Onge, Sentinelese and the extinct Jangil. The Great Andamanese, who now number just 52, were originally 10 distinct tribes, 5,000-strong when the British colonised the Andaman Islands. Most were killed or died of diseases brought by the colonisers. Most of the Great Andamanese tribes have forgotten their mother tongues and speak in Hindi now. ( Anosh Malekar, “The case for a linguisitic survey,” Infochange Media, August 1, 2011.)

In 1789, the government of Bengal established a naval base and penal colony on Chatham Island in the southeast bay of Great Andaman. It is now known as Port Blair (after the Bombay Marine lieutenant Archibald Blair who founded it-(Olivier Blaise, Andaman Islands, India, PictureTank, http://www.picturetank.com/___/series/ff5d5b4d962b08bc130471b877292c58/en/Andaman_Isl.,_India_(1).html, )

By 1901, 600 were left.( Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Francesco Cavalli-Sforza-1995, The Great Human Diasporas: The History of Diversity and Evolution, Basic Books, ISBN 0201442310, http://books.google.com/?id=ApuuiwUkEZ0C). Contact with whites and the British in particular, has virtually destroyed them. Illness, alcohol, and the will of the colonials all played their part; the British governor of the time mentions in his diary that he received instructions to destroy them with alcohol and opium. He succeeded completely with one group. The others reacted violently

In 1867,  a British government communication mentioned about organizing a punitive expedition against Andamanese  people on Little Andaman Island. There is evidence that some sections of the British Indian administration were deliberately working to annihilate the tribes. (Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Francesco Cavalli-Sforza -1995, The Great Human Diasporas: The History of Diversity and Evolution, Basic Books, ISBN 0201442310, http://books.google.com/?id=ApuuiwUkEZ0C)..This accelerated the decline of the indigenous tribes of Andamans. At the time of first contact with the British there were an estimated 5,000 Great Andamanese.
 
The population of the Andamans was 343,125 in 2011 having grown from 50,000 in 1960. Of the people who live in the Andaman Islands, a small minority of about 1,000 are indigenous people of the Andamans. The rest are mainly divided between Bengali, Hindi and Tamil people from the mainland. (“Andaman & Nicobar Islands at a glance”. Andamandt.nic.in. http://andamandt.nic.in/profile.htm.) . Thus  the influx of outsiders into Andaman  had brought complete ruin of the indigenous population there and they are now on the verge of extinction.

4. Fate of  indigenous people  in Tripura

Tripura was a princely state. A total of 185 Tripuri Kings ruled Tripura for 3000 years until its merger with the union of India in 1949.  Tripura was originally land of almost exclusively of Tripuri people till the nineteenth century. Up to the middle of 20th century Tripuri people were still a majority in the state, but by the  middle of 20th century, the Tripuri people became minority in their own homeland.

In 1901 AD, the population percentage of different communities in Tripura were approximately viz. the Tripuri and other indigenous people including the Manipuri was 74.68%, the Muslim Bengali 25.9 %, the Hindu Bengali were just 8.6%. Just after 100 years apart the percentage of different ethnic races as per the census report of 2001 AD stands as follows, approximately the Tripuri and other indigenous people including Manipuri came down from 74.68% to 31.82%, the Muslim Bengali went down  25.9%  to 8%, where as the Hindu Bengali percentage went up  from 8.6%  to 60%. This is the price they have to pay for merging with the Union of India in the name of secularism and democracy .
At the time of merger, the Borok peoples of Tripura had high hope and aspirations in the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi  that their  identity , political right socio-economic right ,cultural right and educational right will  be protected  and safeguarded . However the reverse is true. From time of partition, the Government of India permitted Bengali refugees from East Pakistan ( now Bangladesh) to enter and settle in Tripura without any restriction  There were no protective measures taken either by the state or the central government to prevent continuous influx of immigrants into the state . The indigenous peoples, who accounted for 95% of the population of Tripura in 1931 census, have been reduced to a mere 31% in the 1991 census mainly due to influx of refugees from East Pakistan. Even the  names of different villages, hamlets, rivers, tributaries, markets, area, hills, hillocks, towns etc had been Changed to suit the tongue of Bengali refugees, who had since became majority population.

The unchecked and uncontrolled  population invasion from East Pakistan has  caused  serious , social, political, economic  and demographic impact which has destroyed the identity , culture and traditions and language of the  indigenous people of Tripura

5. Fate of  indigenous people  in Manipur

Manipur showed signs of human  habitation around 32,000 years back. However the chronology of kings started with Taangja Leela Pakhangba  1445- 1405 B.C. Manipur was a sovereign kingdom till  occupation of Manipur by the British on 27 April, 1891. With the investiture of  Maharaj Churachand Singh  on 29 April, 1892 with  11 gun salutes, Manipur became a princely state of British India.

5.1 Earlier  Migration in Manipur

The accounts of  earlier settlement in Manipur are given in the   ancient books/ puyas like Sagok Lamlem, Thangchat etc. Further information of the people who migrated and settled in Manipur are found in books like  Poireiton Khuntokpa (34-18 B.C.), Nongpok Haram,  Nongchup Haram, Kumbilon, Mayang Khunthok, etc.

In 1475 during the reign of Meidingu Kyaamba two Brahmins namely Banamali and  Haribidyasur, migrated from Cachar. They were appointed as the Brahmins in the service of the Bishnu Afterwards, the followers of the Brahmin were known as Bishnupriya and the place was named Bishnupur.  From the Burmese words “Pheiya”, the temple in which Bishnu was worshipped was known as “Phura “ in Manipuri.  The descendants of the Brahmin who worshipped at the Phura became known as Phurailatpam. During the reign of Medingu Khagemba (1597-1652) , Sanongba, the younger brother of Khagemba revolted against the king and fought a battle. The  battle was concluded on 17th Inga , 1606 with the surrender of 1007 army , 30 elephants , 1000 muskets. The surrendered army included  a large number of Muslims and Bishnupriyas. These surrendered  sepoys spoke Bangali  and there they were called “ Bangal “, later on “ Pangan . They were given free land and Manipuri women and Meitei surnames.  During the reign of Meidingu Charai Rongba (1697-1709), The arrival of Brahmins continued  as before and they were given Manipuri surnames like Aribam Bishnulatpam, Aribam Sagolailatpam, Aribam Tampallailatpam, Samurailatpam, Sanglakpam,Thongratabam  Kongbrailatpam, Hidangmayum. Some  wandering pilgrims  arrived in Manipur and they were given Manipur women and allowed to settle in Manipur. Since Krishnacharya was the guru of the king , his descendants came to be known as the Guru Aribams or the family of the old Guru.

During the reign of Gourshyam, the KHUNTAK AHANBA(1755-59) occurred  when Alaungpaya sent an expedition in 1755  to “instill respect” into the Manipuris . When  Alaungpaya  entered Imphal only to find it empty  for the inhabitants were hiding in the woods.  He massacred more than  four thousands of his Manipuri prisoners because they stubbornly refused to march way into captivity. He had taken thousands of Manipuris as  prisoners. .

The seven year’s devastation (CHAHI TARET KHUNTAKPA) occurred  when the  Burmese King , Bagidaw (1819-1837)  invaded Manipur to punish Marjit Singh  in 1819 AD under the great Burmese general Maha Bandula.. Manipur faced the invasion fiercely  with only 7000 soldiers of which 3000 died fighting. The seven years devastation was concluded  when the Government of Ava recognized  the Independence of Manipur , recognised Gambheer Singh as the King of Manipur with  the signing of  the Treaty of Yandabo on 24 February 1826. At that time, the population of the Manipur valley was hardly 10,000.

In 1835, the British Political Agency was opened for the first time with Lt. Gordon (1835-44) as the first political agent. During Nara Singh’s reign ( 1844-1850) , a large number of Kukis migrated from Burma and they were  settled in various parts of Manipur. During 1876-77, Maharaja Chandrakirty  permitted about 2000  Kukis from Burma to settle near Moirang and south western part of Manipur .

The first census of Manipur in 1881 reported a total population of 2,21,070, of which 1,17,108 were Meiteis, 85,288 hill tribes, 105 foreigners, and Muslims, Loi, Kei and Mayang counted for 18, 569 (E.W. Dun: Gazetteer of Manipur, 1886). The figures for 1891 census are not available as the records were destroyed in the Anglo-Manipur War, 1891.

In 1891, with the occupation of Manipur by the British , many Bengali migrants started arriving as clerks, teachers , businessmen to Manipur.

5.2 Permit or Passport System in Manipur during 1901-1951

In 1901, the  Manipur Durbar devised a very effective system of controlling the entry of foreigners (Non-Manipuris) called the Permit or Passport system when the population of Manipur was only 284,465( 1901 Census)  . Indians coming from other parts of India were called foreigners in the terminology of Manipur Administration. This Permit system was brought under the Foreigners Department on 1 November, 1931 . If the foreigners wish to visit Manipur, they were  required to take permission from the then Manipur Durbar and had to pay certain amount of taxes. This Permit or Passport System  served two important purposes (1) it controls and regulate influx of Non-Manipuris (2) it formed an important item of revenue for the state. The said permit system   did not allow  any foreigner to acquire or purchase land properties .                ( FRIENDS-2012) .

The  fees   generated annually during 1901-02 to 1907-08   from foreign migrants was as follows –

Year Receipts in Rupees
1901-02 4,428

1902-03 4,281
1903-04 5,730
1904-05 5,794
1905-06 5,939
1906-07 8,964
1907-08 9,256  
 Source: – UCM (2005).

5.3. Unprecedented Population increase in Manipur  during 1951-2911

The following population table shows unprecedented population growth during 1951-2011.

Year of Census Population Decadal Growth Annual growth
1901 284,465
1911 346,222 61757 6175
1921 384,016 37794 3779
1931 445,606 61590 6159
1941   512,069 66463 6646
1951 577,635 65566 6556
1961 780,037 202,402 20240
1971 1,072,753 292716 29271
1981 1,420,953 348200 34820
1991 1,837,149 416196 41619
2001 2,293,896 456447 45644
2011 2,721,756 427860 42786
Source: -Census Report

It can be seen from the above data that there was an unprecedented  increase in the growth rate  after 1951. .Because  this Permit system was abolished by Mr. Himmat Singh , the then Chief Commissioner on 18 November, 1950 allowing free entry, unchecked influx of outsiders from other states . . In any country , foreigners are not allowed to enter without passport and VISA. India is also following the  same system. But in Manipur , there is  free entry of foreigners from Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal and they are allowed to settle in  any part of  Manipur . All hill districts are worst affected. Senapati, Ukhrul, Churachandpur, Chandel districts are inhabited by Nepalese, Bangladeshis , Burmese and full of Mayangs (outsiders) depriving the indigenous people of their land, properties, jobs and destroying the identity , culture, traditions and language of the people. The inter-marriage between Mayangs and indigenous women are increasing day by day producing a mixed type of  people –losing our identity , dignity and respect.  This silent population invasion is encouraged by our politicians in their  political interest just to win votes. Our  politicians welcome them and they are very happy to make arrangement for their safety , security and stay , enrolling them in the electoral roll, arranging ration cards, BPL cards for them and using them as their  vote bank. This they are doing silently  without  the knowledge of the general masses.

5.4 Adverse effects after  abolition of permit system in Manipur

The abolition of permit system in Manipur has caused immense damage to the Manipur Society :- The Illegal migration from across our borders and influx of  Mayangs ( Outsiders)  has continued unabated for  the last more than 60 years . .

1.  According to 2001 Census, the  population of outside migrants in Manipur was  707,488 as against the Meitei population of 751822, tribal population of 670,782  (UCM) . The influx of outsiders has reduced the indigenous tribal population into minority .Within 20 to 30 years, the Meiteis  also will be reduced to minority as happened in Tripura and other places. After 50 years, with the globalisation, arrival of railways, Dams, Trans Asian Highways  and many other developmental projects , we may be reduced to negligible percentage of population as happened in America, Australia and Andaman and Nicobar islands. 50 years is a short time in the history of  a nation or population.  Are we prepared for this ?

2. With the abolition of permit system in Manipur , the risk of  changing political scenario is very high . Some years ago, one Nepali was elected as MLA . Recently two candidates were aspiring to stand as candidates for MLAs. The proposal was stopped due to intervention by FRIENDS. 

3. The influx of outsiders has  deprived the indigenous Manipuri population of their ancestral land , food,  employment , manual work , education .

4. The inter-marriage between Manipuri women and  outsiders is increasing day by day  with the risk of producing a mixed  population of undefined  ancestry. Some of the  Manipuri  parents are proud of such marriages not knowing the consequences.

5. It has posed a  threat to the Manipuri identity and culture of the indigenous Manipuris.

6. It has posed a threat to Manipuri language , scripts and  local dialects due to ever increasing influence of Hindi as the link language and “Bazar Bhasa “ in trade and commerce.

7. It has posed a threat to survival of local labourers due to controlled and unchecked influx of cheap labourers from other states, from Bangladesh, Nepal and Myanmar  .

8. It has posed a  threat to reservation quota for scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes  as many of them are also eligible under the same reservation quota.

9. It has  deprived  the  job opportunities of  indigenous population

10. It has deprived of  higher educational and Technical educational opportunities  like MBBS, BDS, BSc ( Nursing) , BE etc, of  indigenous population as may of the outsiders are also eligible to apply for the same .

11. It has deprived of  competitive posts like MCS, MPS and other high ranking posts of  indigenous population as the outsiders are also eligible to apply .We  have seen that some of the outsiders holding very high posts in the Government and this is happening at the cost of  our local talents.

12. It has posed a threat to Law  and Order , Public Security and Safety  as many of them indulged in black market , crimes

13. It has posed a threat to survival of small ethnic  tribal groups like Aimol ( 2643/2001), Chothe( 2675/2001), Koirao (1200/2001) , Koireng(1056/2001), , Monsang- 1634/2001) , Moyon ( 1,710/2001), Ralte( 110/2001), Salhte 311/2001)

14. It has increased the spread of HIV /AIDS  as may of the migrant workers are also indulging in high risk behaviour in sex and drug use .

5.5 The Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation , 1873  and Inner Line Permit

On 27th August, 1873, the British India declared provisions of Act 33 Vict.Chap-3, Section 1 to be applicable to districts o Kamrup, Darrang , Nowgong , Sibsagar, Lakhimpur ( Garo Hills) , Khasi and Jaintia Hills, Naga Hills , Cachar for the peace and government of the said districts . During this period, Manipur was a sovering country and therefore the regulation  did not cover Manipur . Under this system,  no  citizen from other parts of India (Outsider)  are  not allowed to enter the boundary of a State without a valid pass called Inner Line Permit  issued  by a competent authority under the regulation . These passes are usually issued by the State Deputy Resident  Commissioners / Deputy Commissioners / any other officer authorised by the state Government .  The main objective of the Inner Line Permit system was to provide  a special protection of the  distinct identity  and safeguard for the peaceful existence of the indigenous  people of  the state / district.

If any person so prohibited enters the such line without a pass  shall be liable to conviction before a magistrate ( to imprisonment of either description which may extend to one year , to a fine not exceeding Rs. 1000 or to both ) The pass will be issued by the competent authority and will require payment of such duties and fees . as the state Government may deem proper.

Any rubber, wax,  ivory or other forest product, (or any book, diary, manuscript, map, picture, photograph, film, curio or article of religious or scientific interest) found in the possession of any person convicted of any offence under this Act  may be confiscated to State  Government by an order to be passed at the time of conviction by the Magistrate.

If the Magistrate has reason to believe that any article which if found in the possession of a person convicted under this Act would have been liable to confiscation under  sub-section (1) has been acquired or wholly or partly written, made or taken by such person beyond “the Inner Line”, the Magistrate after giving the person in whose possession the article is found an opportunity to show cause why an order under the sub-section should not be passed in respect of the article any, unless it is proved that the article was not acquired, written, made or taken as aforesaid, order that such article be confiscated to Government. It shall not be lawful  for any person , not being the native of the district to acquire any interest in land or other product  of land without sanction of the state Government .

Even after independence , the Government of India   implement this Inner Line Permit system in Nagaland , Mizoram and Arunachal. Under Article 29 (Protection of interests of minorities), any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same.

5.6. Benefits on Inner Line permit system  to the people of Manipur

1. Protection of land and immovable properties  from outsiders . Our  land immovable properties  will  remain intact as no outsider will be allowed to acquire or purchase land

2. There will be reduced unemployment problem in the state . Our youths will not be deprived of the their job opportunities as the outsiders will not be eligible for recruitment to permanent posts due to want of domicile certificate .

3. Our youths will not be deprived of   higher posts like MCS , MPS as the outsiders ill not be eligible for  appearing in such competitive examinations due to want of domicile certificate .

4. Our youths will not be deprived of the higher  education opportunities in MBBS, BDS, BE  as the outsiders will not be eligible to apply due to want of domicile certificate .

5. The indigenous Manipuris will not be deprived of  manual works

6. Only the indigenous Manipuris  will become proprietors of shops and establishments and they can run the market , fix the market price and dominate in the business .

7. The indigenous Manipuris will  be elected in general  and other elections as the outsiders will not be enrolled in the Electoral Roll .

8. Only  genuine candidates ill be elected as the outsiders will no longer have political voice and their  localities ill no longer be considered as vote bank .

9. The taxes  collected from outsiders will become an important source of revenue in the state .

10. The inner line permit system will  bring peace and harmony among the people and between the natives and outsiders and will reduce crimes .

11. The inner line permit system will help in protection and preservation of identity and culture of  various ethnic groups in Manipur .

12. The inner line permit system will help in protection of territorial integrity of Manipur

13. The inner line permit system will prevent criminals from entering Manipur.

14. The inner line permit system will help in improving the socio-economic status of the indigenous Manipuris

15. The inner line permit system will help  in improving the dignity and self respect of the Manipuris

16. The inner line permit system will help in reduction in the number of   outsiders in Manipur –thus reducing tension, anxiety , conflicts and improve mutual respect between Manipuris and Non-Manipuris

17. The inner line permit system will help in prevention and control of various  diseases like  Dengue, Leprosy, Malaria ,. HIV, AIDS and STIs,

17. The inner line permit system will help in protection of small ethnic groups like Tarao , Purum , SULTE , RALTE  ho are facing extinction .

5.7. Earlier Assurances of the Government of Manipur

1. On 22 July, 1980, the All Manipur Students Union(MSU) and All Manipur Students Co-ordinating Committee (AMSCOC)   signed an agreement with the Government of Manipur to initiate identification, detection of foreigners from 1st August, 1980  of all outsiders and send them back home.

2. On 9 November, 1994, a second such agreement as signed by the AMSU with the Government of Manipur.  There have been  a series of protests and movement for introduction of Inner Line Permit system in Manipur .  The response of the state government is quite encouraging .

3.On 30th June, 2006, FRIENDS had submitted a memorandum to the State Government for introduction of Inner Line Permit in Manipur

4.On 2nd March, 2006, I . Hemochandra , Hon’ble MLA had initiated a discussion on Inner Line Permit in the Manipur State Assembly

5.On 26 August, 2011, Shri N. Mangi Singh  Hon’ble MLA put up a Calling Attention Motion on Inner Line Permit System in Manipur in the Manipur Legislative Assembly and the matter is pending with the State Cabinet since 27 August, 2011 .

6.On 27 August, 2011, the State Cabinet under leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister, Manipur  had discussed about the need to introduce the Inner Line Permit system in Manipur .

7.On 5th November, 2011, the FRIENDS had submitted the report of the Expert Committee on Inner Line Permit to the Hon’ble Chief Minister, Manipur 

6.  Do we need a Special  Status under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution.

On 26 October, 1947 Maharaja Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) signed the  instrument of accession  and sent it  to Lord Mountbatten, the then Governor General for acceptance, Under the  Instrument of Accession, the Government of India would be responsible for defence, communication and external affaires. On 27 October 1947, Instrument of Accession was accepted by the Governor General (Subjects proposed for transfer included Defence, External Affairs, Communications and Ancillary items). On 26 January 1950, The Constitution of India comes into effect – Article 1, under which the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)  was a part of the territory of India and Article 370, giving a special status to the State were applied to J&K. On 26 January 1950, The Constitution (Application to J&K) order 1950 was  issued under Article 370. In February 1954, The Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir ratified J&K`s accession to India. On 14 May 1954, the recommendations of the Constituent Assembly were duly incorporated in the Indian constitution through a Presidential order.

Maharaja Bodhchandra signed the  Instrument of Accession on 11th August, 1947.  Under the  Instrument of Accession, the Government of India would be responsible for defence, communication and external affaires. The merger of Manipur with the Union of India remains controversial as the Constituent Assembly never ratified the  Instrument of Accession or the Merger Agreement.

The Government of India is trying to suppress the Manipuris by using various tactics such as  denying our constitutional rights , by population invasion and playing divide and rule policy and instigating one ethnic group to fight with another group and imposing Armed Forces Special Power Act.

7. What the State Government need to do now ?

The State  will welcome any foreigner or outsider as tourists, students or patients for undergoing medical treatment  or for doing business .They may come for work subject to issue of work permit.   But they need to have a Pass which need  verification and updating from time to time . The State Government need to do three things :-

1. The State Government should rigorously implement the Foreigners Act-1946.

2. The Manipur State Assembly may pass a strong resolution to move the Government of India to provide a Special Status for Manipur under article 370 of the Indian Constitution  as done in case of  Jammu and Kashmir . But this may take time and may not be possible within a short time.

3. In the mean time, the Manipur State Assembly may pass adoption of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation -1873 for Manipur to check, control and regulate influx of outsiders

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/04/inner-line-permit-system-in-manipur-lessons-to-learn-from-other-countries-and-states-and-what-we-need-to-do/

By B.G. Verghese
As the Army charade grinds on, sections of the media have displayed a lack of sensitivity in upping the ante, howsoever inadvertently.  An extravagant five deck, seven column banner headline in a leading paper hinting at an unauthorised “march on Delhi” during a particularly delicate period of strained civil-military relations, was by its very display alarmist. Although the idea of a coup was dismissed, the story ominously pointed in that direction after 11 weeks of investigation.  The Allahabad High Court is mistaken in ordering a ban on publication of troop movements at any time. But what is at issue is not troop movements per se but the hint of something more sinister. An editorial or op-ed commentary on the lack of coordination and communication would have better served the intended purpose. And that is probably the real issue that needs to be addressed.  

More importantly, the Government has introduced legislation to bar manual scavenging, cleaning septic tanks or handling shit. This ignominious and degrading caste calling has been a blot on India’s civic life and an assault on the constitutional right to a life with dignity. The draft Manual Scavengers and Rehabilitation Bill, 2012, however, calls for the conversion of all manually-handled (insanitary) latrines into sanitary ones within nine months of notification, or their demolition. Implementation is to be monitored by the National Commission of Safai Karmacharis and sanitary workers are to be trained in new skills and assisted to start alternative occupations.  

It has taken unconscionably long to do something that Gandhiji and national pride would have had us do within the first decade of Independence. Bindeshwar Pathak of Shaulabh Shauchalaya stands out among the very few who tried to do something to remedy the situation through his sanitary pour-flush latrines.  Will the proposed official Bill work, even if it is allowed to go forward?

The enormity of the task has been spelt out by the Centre for Science and Environment in its latest State of India’s Environment Report, No.7, “Excreta Matters”. This focuses on the parlous state of water and sanitation in urban India, based on a 71-city survey. The findings are grim. India’s urban population, currently 340 m, will rise to 600 m or 40 per cent of the population by 2030, with 68 million-plus cities.  Though the Government claims that 90 per cent of urban India has access to safe drinking water and 64 per cent to sanitation facilities, water quality is cause for increasing worry with untreated sullage and open defecation spreading contamination. Quantitatively, agriculture still consumes over 70 per cent of available water while industry, municipalities and ecological uses demand more. City supplies are coming from ever more distant and tenuous sources as a supply-side solution while untreated waste and return flows, leaking pipes and taps, unregulated groundwater pumping and inadequate toilet facilities are spreading pollution.  Low flows are converting rivers into drains.

Growing urban-rural discord is being manifest in water allocation and demand management leaves much to be desired. Water allocation, pricing and treatment norms vary across and within states with water having long been considered a free social good, rather than an economic good. The State is prone to outsource its municipal water and sanitation functions  and the well-to-do often make do with better facilities and allocations or have the option to buy water at higher rates or depend on the Rs 2000-crore plus bottled water industry. Slum colonies and shanty towns are worst off in terms of water availability, sanitation and pollution. Sewage treatment is disconnected from water supply           

In 2008, the Government resolved that that by 2015 it would correct the shame of one in six urban dwellers and overall 60 per cent Indians defecating in the open, 26-50 per cent urban households being denied adequate sanitation, with only 30 per cent having access to sewerage and 37 per cent of all wastewater being left untreated.  In many areas flushed toilets empty out into nullahs/rivers while decreasing flows have decreased the assimilative capacity of streams. A lot more money has been allocated for sewage treatment, drains and river clean-up under urban renewal programmes. But merely upgrading infrastructure in the city does not mean that good, treated water is returned to rivers and aquifers. The CSE argues that water supply and sewage treatment remain disjointed and faecal flows pollute rivers. States and municipalities cannot carry the burden while well-to-do people and districts are subsidised.

The example of Chennai is cited. Here the Cooum and Adyar rivers and Buckingham Canal are cesspools despite considerable investment in sewerage. Yet the State Pollution Control Board counts 423 industrial effluent and excreta outfalls emptying into the city’s waterways. The cost of total water supply in the city is Rs 13 per kilo-litre but gets inflated to Rs 17 per kl if leakage losses are taken into account.    

A large volume of water is required just to transport excreta from individual toilets to sewage treatment plants/outfalls. More economic flush toilets have been designed. Better still would be to design eco-toilet systems where transportation and distant discharge are avoided and valuable chemicals contained in excreta and urine residues are recycled as organic manures. 

Scavenging must go but water-sewage-excreta disposal must be built into a viable and partly self-sustaining system on the basis of equitable user charges. It must also mesh with the draft National Water Policy that is poised for adoption. This clutch of issues is as urgent as any from an economic, health and right-to-dignity point of view.

Meanwhile, four years after the passage of the Right to Education Act, the Supreme Court has upheld its validity and applicability to all but unaided minority schools and boarding schools for children in the age group of six to fourteen.  This is a child rights act that the state should have endeavoured to deliver by 1960 in accordance with Article 45 of the Constitution. However, the new urgency will be welcomed though the State should assist private unaided schools to meet the additional liability and, more generally, ensure a sufficiency of trained teachers, books and infrastructure to ensure that all round quality marches with quantity.

The Education Commission had in 1966 advocated common schools to promote social and cultural mixing in a highly plural society with huge income differentials. Cultural barriers are more likely to break down at an early age when children are less conscious about class, caste, colour and community. In any event it is a constitutional mandate that must be fulfilled as a step towards building Fraternity and equal opportunity.  

Simultaneously, the harshest punishment must be awarded to the killing of the girl child and female foeticide. The battering to death of Baby Afreen in Bangalore is only the latest in a despicable story of mass murder. Poverty and “sentiment” cannot justify such evil.

Finally, Mamata Banerjee’s megalomania constitutes a danger to democracy. She is becoming increasingly authoritarian and partisan and is fast losing public and, one must suspect, her own party’s support by her errant and arrogant conduct.  
www.bgverghese.com  

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/04/getting-it-right/

Kamesh Salam, who is at present in Belgium attending the bamboo world congress; former president of World Bamboo Organisation, Bamboo and Environment consultant to not only India but also Austria and Bhutan, and many other organisations. At present serving as the executive Director of South Asia Bamboo Foundation, he is a busy man. Here is an interview of him, of his art and his concern of environment taken through e-mail by Imphal Free Press.

IFP:Tell us something about your education, of your days in Ram Krishna Mission and Punjab  University?

Kamesh:My schooling in RKM , Purulia and my college in PU has broaden my exposure to the rich and variant India culture that shaped my career. My curricular activities in fine arts in School learning under renowned gurus have help in my creativity. My association with International community students as the President of Jaycees Continental Club, Chandigarh has also help in developing my networking skills with international Community. The industrial exposure obtained while I was working as a student also helped me to shape my work culture.

IFP: What prompted you to get interested in Bamboo and Environment by and large? Any inspiring event/individual worth mentioning?

Looking back to my state or the region, I wanted to promote some materials which is not imported from outside but can provide gainful employment through value addition. It is bamboo. My maternal Grandfather Shri Keisham Tombi Singh who was one of the founders of handicrafts and handloom in the state has influenced a lot in my early childhood days. He did a lot to promote pineapple and woolen fiber etc. in the state. But not of a success. As such I found bamboo and cane as an alternative apart from the environment benefits we all know.

K: You were also member of the All India Handicraft Board before you zeroed in to bamboo. Tell us more about it?

I was one of the first member of AIHB of ministry of Textiles but my contribution was as it was mostly a policy making body and meetings were erratic my inputs were not significant . But during the NDA government I was made the Board of Director of the North Eastern Handicrafts and Handloom Development Corporation Ltd. (NEHHDC) for five years, where I did contributed a lot for the promotion of handicrafts and handlooms of the region. But to be frank, this corporation is working only for the bigger states and states like Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram etc. are totally ignored in their promotional programs in spite of my repeated inputs.

IFP: How is your collaboration with the Manipur Cycle Club? We heard that you have purposely come from Guwahati for a workshop? Could you share a bit about the workshop?

K: I have found a dedicated team in the MCC and that’s how I came in touch with them. My exposure in West Africa and my interaction with Bamboo cycle designer Mr. Mc Calfree in San Francisco during the American Bamboo Society Annual Meet in November 2008 has made me exposed to bamboo cycles. Also MCC had plans in its agenda to promote bamboo bicycle as such I found them a good partner in this venture. For this workshop bamboo has been procured from Katlamara, Tripura called “kanakias” in local language. We have also engaged renowned Manipur Designer Mr.Sukumar Haobam, first NID Graduate from Manipur, Mr. Lishram Bhubol Singh, Bamboo expert and State Awardees and a group of talented artisans and glass fiber technologist under guidance of Mr. Kula Singh of Manipur museum. Also with inputs of the dedicated MCC team the workshop has been a great experience and an experiment.

IFP: What are the achievements of World Bamboo Organization particularly during your tenure as the president of the organization?

K: In my tenure I did tried to bring the researchers close to the developmental programs as such instead of discussing only scientific research papers, developmental agencies were also given platform at the bamboo congress. Also during my time I did tried to make world Bamboo congress as self-sustaining programs as it’s difficult to get government funding for such activities. Also another issue was to project bamboo development outside China.

IFP: What are the main issues which are to be addressed in the coming world Bamboo conference, to be held in Belgium this April?

K: The 5 day event will include lectures divided into distinct categories relating to Science and Society (culture and economics) and Bamboo Design, Innovation and Architecture (constructions and products). Focus will be on current status and future potentials include Regional Reports and conclude with a workshop entitled, “Bamboo – a 50-year Perspective”. Another day will consist of optional tours of interest. The investment meet will be attended by the policy makers, bamboo experts, Officials from EU and UN, investors, Apex Chamber of trade and industry associations, bamboo Industrial groups etc. from South Asia and Europe and America. High level delegations from Indian states are attending the meet to focus investment in their states including the Chief Minister of Meghalaya.

With a rapidly increasing interest in bamboo products and materials along with skyrocketing demand for information related to bamboo, the World Bamboo Congress will be the VENUE for people seeking information about bamboo as well as progressive corporations with focus on new bamboo products for the green market. The World Bamboo Congress is positioned as a catalyst for dissemination of the most current scientific and field research information available worldwide in order to effectively expand the world’s current bamboo plantations as well as planting areas where selective species will flourish.

IFP: How is India faring with the international Bamboo movement?

K: India has 20% of World’s bamboo resources but has not done well in all fronts as far as bamboo development is concern. The present system of cultivation and harvesting is still unscientific and the utilization is also mostly for paper and pulp, house hold and domestic consumption, illegal exports, handicrafts etc. With the lack of a clear policy by the Indian Government there is no proper direction in the bamboo development growth in the country. On the other hand China and South East Asian countries are doing very well, as such we need to look toward east if we have to develop the Indian bamboo or the North Eastern part where more than 50% of Bamboo resources of India are available.

IFP: Why is the National Bamboo Mission under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation? Has not the Ministry of Environment and Forest any role to play in this regard?

K: As a person who was one of the architects of formulating the National Bamboo Mission, by preparing the Detail Project Report under the Planning Commission of India; the recommendation was to put bamboo under the ministry of Agriculture, so that is taken like any other plantation crop such as tea, rubber, coffee, jute, spice, coconut etc. Structurally, the National Bamboo Mission is chaired by Agriculture Minister. The highest decision making body of NBM includes the Minister of Forest and Environment. Below, there is the official-level National Steering Committee chaired by the Agriculture Secretary. Similar bodies have been created in the states as well. NBM funds released to the Forest Departments for Commercial Plantation of Bamboo are in the form of 100% grant. In almost all the states of India the National Bamboo Mission activities are being implemented by the State Forest Department. Practically you can say that the Agriculture Ministry provides fund to forest department to implement the Bamboo Mission activities. Also the National Bamboo Mission Cell , the Ministry of Agriculture has no technical staffs to run the mission as mandated.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/04/kamlesh-salam-and-the-bamboo-world/