Manipur News

The post DESAM lauds Edu minister appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

IMPHAL, Feb 20: The Democratic Students’ Alliance of Manipur (DESAM) has in a release expressed its happiness over the cabinet decision on February 19 to establish a Manipuri language directorate.  The student body also lauded Education Minister for keeping his promise even though a little late and further appealed to provide all the needed facilities of the directorate while establishing it and not to do it just for its namesake. 

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The post Gov art award appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

IMPHAL, Feb 20: The Arts Society Manipur has in a release said that Langonjam Samu Singh of Bamon Leikai Mangjin has been selected for the Governor Art Award 2012 for his excellence in the field of fine arts. The Governor will present the award at a function on March 21 at Government Dance College, Palace compound as per the release.

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The post Fulbright scholarship call appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

IMPHAL, Feb 20: The United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF) has announced its annual competition for  the Fulbright-Nehru and other Fulbright fellowships for Indian citizens for the academic year 2014-2015. Open to Indian students, academics, teachers, policy planners, administrators, and professionals, these fellowships are offered in all disciplines. Application due dates are on July 1, 2013. USIEF expects to offer approximately 100 Fulbright-Nehru fellowships for Indians in 2014.

In addition to providing opportunities for personal, academic and professional growth, Fulbright-Nehru and other exchanges promote mutual understanding between the people of the US and India, a press note said. Fulbright-Nehru and other fellowships have, over the years, helped bring the people of India and the United States closer through educational exchanges. USIEF has administered over 18,000 grants for Indians and US citizens. USIEF alumni have demonstrated strong leadership in all walks of life, including agriculture, arts, business, education, environment, humanities and social sciences, media, public health, and science and technology.

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The post Non-Manipuri burnt to death appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

IMPHAL, February 19: A non-Manipuri who was burned to death by unidentified persons was found abandoned. Police have deposited the dead body at the RIIMS morgue for post mortem examination.

It is said that the incident occurred in the intervening night between 18 February and 17 February. According to information received by IFP from the police, the dead body of the non-Manipuri was found at around 11 a.m. on the bank of the Phousenphai River,  13 km north of Churachandpur police station. The personnel of Moirang Police station came across the body and picked it up. However as the area is under the jurisdiction of Churachandpur police station, the dead body was handed over to the Churachandpur police station.

There were no external injury marks except burn marks on the body. The person is around five feet and a half tall, is dark complexioned and looks like a man of 30 to 35 years said police sources. Churachandpur police brought the dead body and deposited it at the RIIMS morgue.

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The post Who will bell the cat? appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

By Raghavan Srinivasan
Refusal to acknowledge military rapes as a severely punishable barbaric crime by the Indian government has to be viewed seriously.

In their articles in the op-ed pages of The Hindu, both Walter Fernandes (AFSPA: Who rules India?, Feb 12) and Sanjoy Hazarika (An abomination called AFSPA, Feb 12) have argued persuasively that AFSPA should go and that statesmanship of a high order is required to make it happen. They seem to imply that it is the Army that doesn’t want to let go off AFSPA in spite of fervent pleas from the central government and Union Ministers that AFSPA should be replaced by a more “humanitarian law”. I am afraid that the authors are falling prey to the befuddlement created by the central government that it is the Army that is running amok with AFSPA.

The Justice Verma Comittee Report on amendments to criminal law required to secure the safety and security of women has no doubt come up with far-reaching observations on offences committed against women by the paramilitary and police forces. In the section on “Offences against women in border areas / conflict zones”, after considering the plight of a large number of women from areas in Kashmir, the North-East, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh the Committee observes that “impunity for systematic or isolated sexual violence in the process of Internal Security duties is being legitimized by the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which is in force in large parts of our country”.

How can this impunity be neutralised? The Committee has suggested that sexual violence against women by members of the armed forces or uniformed personnel must be brought under the purview of ordinary criminal law. It also argued for the appointment of special commissioners – who are either judicially or legislatively appointed – for women’s safety and security in all areas of conflict in the country. The Committee also recommended that those in command over police or armed forces shall be guilty of the offence of breach of command responsibility for crimes committed by their subordinates.

The ordinance that the UPA government promulgated, which gave effect to some of the amendments in the criminal law as recommended by the committee in cases of sexual violence, did not address this controversial aspect. For that reason, it had come in for severe criticism from activists who have for long been campaigning on behalf of victims of sexual violence by armed services personnel in conflict zones.

Rape has been used as a means of psychological warfare with the express purpose of humiliating the enemy – both men and women – by armed forces from time immemorial. The Indian security forces are no exception to this obnoxious method. Rape during armed conflicts is generally systematic and thorough. Security forces are trained to deploy rape as one of the most effective instruments to bring “terrorists” and “extremists” to their knees in disturbed areas.

It is a fact that women are disproportionately affected by violence – be it during armed conflicts, communal and sectarian violence or caste riots. AFSPA has engendered a gross pattern of violence in which women are routinely raped, sexually assaulted, beaten or killed in their homes or public places during routine search operations and armed actions by the military. Such violations of a sexual nature lead to heightened fear among the targeted population and coupled with the social stigma attached to such violations, become a potent weapon in the hands of the aggressors to subdue their victims.

The widespread and systematic practice of rape and sexual slavery are recognized under the Geneva Convention as crimes against humanity and war crimes. Rape is also recognized as an ingredient of the crime of genocide when committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a targeted group. But the UPA government claims, as pointed out by the authors of articles referred to earlier, that there is no consensus on this issue between the armed forces and the government!

Military rapes and custodial rapes are common in the “disturbed” areas and the guilty have never been punished. Setting up inquiry committees to calm down tempers and then ignoring their recommendations have been a ruse that the central government has consistently employed with a large amount of success. If we recall the earlier commissions set up to inquire into atrocities committed by the security forces under the umbrage of AFSPA, the pattern will become clear.

Justice Upendra, who headed a commission of inquiry on AFSPA immediately after the brutal rape and murder of Manorama by the Assam Rifles, squarely blamed the security forces as the culprits. Till today the report has not been made public and the guilty have not been punished. He says with dismay, as published in the press, that “I submitted all my findings… the security forces are responsible for the killings. There are only suspensions. Why shouldn`t they be arrested and tried?”

The Jeevan Reddy Committee was also set up in the wake of the Manorama episode by the central government with the mandate of “reviewing the provisions of AFSPA and advising the Government of India whether (a) to amend the provisions of the Act to bring them in consonance with the obligations of the government towards protection of human rights; or (b) to replace the Act by a more humane Act.” In 2005 the Reddy Committee recommended the repeal of AFSPA with the candid observation that “the Act, for whatever reason, has become a symbol of oppression, an object of hate and an instrument of discrimination and high handedness.”

If the Verma Committee recommendations evoke a sense of déjà vu, it is no surprise. Here is a Committee which has come up with recommendations, no doubt well-meaning, within a record time. The Finance Minister also reportedly feels that we need a more “humanitarian” law to replace AFSPA. But the Army is against it. What can he do, poor man?

It appears that the Indian security forces have been true to Cicero’s traditions of a “just war” according to which usurping the enemy’s property is a legitimate reason for the war itself. Women were no doubt a part of this “property”, no different from the lawful ownership of other properties by a man. The rape of a woman was considered as a crime committed against the property of a man. Since usurping the enemy’s property is legitimate in war, the rape of a woman – a property owned by a man – is also legitimate! Are women in the disturbed areas also legitimate war booty and battle-camp trophy? This is the question we are forced to ask after repeated stonewalling of all attempts to repeal AFSPA by the central government and Army authorities.

The perfunctory concern of the central government that the morale of the army will be affected if the guilty are punished and AFSPA is repealed seems to be politically motivated. Behind the facade is the gnawing worry of the government that without a draconian law the people of the north-east, Kashmir and other disturbed areas will start asserting themselves, questioning the very foundations on which law and order is administered in this “democratic” India.

The authors have forcefully argued for the repeal of AFSPA. But their expectation that the government will bell the cat is misplaced. The proverbial cat is not the Army but the government itself.

(The author is the President of Lok Raj Sangathan, a political commentator and writer. He can be contacted at : raghavansrin@gmail.com)

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The post Big fat weddings appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

Keeping in line with the adage that change is the only constant in life, weddings in Manipur are fast becoming a social marker for being ‘cool’ or ‘in’. Gone are the days of wedding invites being printed matter on a slip of white paper distributed among far off relatives and social friends with a few humble flower petals and traditional offerings of what is known as the Kwa tanga for immediate neighbors. In its place have come in custom made invitation cards with poetry thrown in, complete with maps indicating the bride and groom’s places marked out. If at one time, wedding photos meant what friends and relatives clicked, there are now a battery of professional photographers who take special wedding assignments and cover every single detail of the various rites and rituals. In fact, it is not just weddings anymore as the pre nuptial rites have become more fancier, elaborate and more expensive. The concept of wedding cakes is no longer an alien concept but become an integral indicator of just how ‘connected’ the couple who are to marry is in the social scheme of things. Was it always like this? Yes and no to both.

A decade or so, there were still the big fat weddings but they belonged to the high flying elites: when offspring’s of politicians, bureaucrats and landed gentry got married, everyone knew there would be something to set the weddings in these circles apart from the rest. One such wedding that got a majority section of the Manipuri society talking was the one between the families of a former top police officer and a top politician then. The wedding invitation was a rolled out velvet text reminiscent of the earlier royal era. Another high point that got much talked about then was TV monitors being used to beam the wedding proceedings. The truckloads of wedding presents given by the bride’s family and other high-ranking officers who attended the wedding remained high talking points then. The concept of the big fat wedding in Manipur has since, gone through a sea change. While all rites and rituals stay more or less compact, the external trappings have become larger than life and straight out of the wedding spectacles that one sees in Hindi or even international films. If a powerful contractor can have a Disco Jockey playing music for friends of the bride and groom, there is also the story of a former politician whose son organized a stag party where foreign dancers were flown in. The former happened recently in Thoubal while the later took place some years ago in Delhi. With easy money flowing in amid the age of power brokers and contractors holding sway, there will be no limit to wedding extravaganzas in the state. Rather, the more the rich splurge it out, the more it will benefit a whole retinue of small local enterprises starting right from handloom designers to make up artistes to wedding hall decorators to caterers to sound and light support staff.

The catch comes when the majority population with lesser financial resources than the select elite gets swept in the push and pull factor of ‘happening weddings’. For though it is true that big fat weddings in Manipur are no longer solely confined to the select few but well within the rich of new age locals flourishing outside the state and abroad, to many, the pressure of keeping up with ‘others are doing’ can be a vicious cycle of social pressure, debt and unhappiness all around. Even without the trimmings of a big fat wedding, a regular one still involves quite a substantial amount of money after the cost of wedding presents for the bride and other costs are taken into account. On the groom’s side too, there are the burden of various customs that it has to pay for, including keeping a good supply of alcohol to keep the groom’s friends entertained and in happy attendance. Bit fat weddings spell good business for small players, whose products get used at different levels but are bad news for those with tight purse strings. Additionally, they are no guarantee that the life of the wedded couple will be on of homely cheer and good will. Fortunately enough, there are a few who can afford to go for wedding spectacles but still prefer to go for low profile, no fuss ceremonies without the trappings of power, pomp and show. It is but a matter of to each, his own. While many are of the opinion that weddings are a one time event and that it must be done in style, others are equally adamant that such ceremonies do not have to mean a huge amount of money being spent. For those attending weddings big or small, weddings only mean one thing: the pressure of having to dole out cash presents or gifts!

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The post Issues for the upcoming Manipur Legislative Assembly Budget session-March, 2013 appeared first on  KanglaOnline.com.

By Dr. Khomdon Lisam
Now the  Manipur Legislative Assembly Budget session is likely to be started from the first week of March, 2013. The Budget session is the most important event of the State Legislative  Assembly.  But there will be sufficient  time to discuss and pass resolutions on core issues of Manipur. What we require today is not increased fund flow or  mega structures but to bring about lasting peace, equality , solidarity and unity of all ethnic groups in Manipur. This should be the top priority of the  Manipur State Assembly and the Manipur Government.

Today Shri O. Ibobi Singh, our honourable Chief Minister stood by the voice of the people. He said a big “NO” to the demand of NSCN-IM and UNC  for  Alternative  Administrative Arrangement outside the purview of the Manipur State Government even upto the extent of his resignation as Chief Minister. This is highly commendable. The people of Manipur shows indebtedness and gratitude to our honourable Chief Minister for  his courage to take  the  right decision. But this is a temporary relief.  The symptom will come back again just like malaria fever.  We have to find a cure before it is too late.  

Manipur belongs to more than 33 ethnic groups including Tangkhuls, Marams, Maos, Kabuis, Marings, Chothes,  Khongjais etc.  The term Naga and Kukis were invented only in the nineteenth century to prevent us from being united and to encourage  us to fight to serve vital interest of the British. The same British policy of “divide and rule” was followed by the Government of India by incorporating many discriminatory provisions in the Indian constitution. It is time for us to re-look into the Indian Constitution. We should remember what  B.R Ambedkar said on September 2, 1953  in the Rajya Sabha “my friends tell me that I have made the Constitution. But I am quite prepared to say that I shall be the first person to burn it out. I do not want it. It does not suit anybody….”

The problems of Manipur started with the adoption of Indian  Constitution. Manipur  had its own de jure constitution before India wrote her own.  Manipur  had  a democratic form of Government before India  become a democratic country in 1950. The Manipur kings used to wear Tangkhul traditional dress at the time of coronation. The Meiteis, Nagas, Kukis have very close relations in our history.  The Manipur kings protected the solidarity and unity  of all tribes preserving the autonomy of the villages chiefs. The Manipur king  was responsible  for  defence and economy  of villages.  He never interfered in the internal affaires of the villages. The king himself said : “I am the thread – that  makes  the beautiful garland of different flowers of  various colours of various tribes”.  The  Manipur king used to sing “ Chingna koina pansaba, haona koina panngakpa“ . The Tangkhuls, Marams, Chothes, Kabuis, Marings, Khongjais  used to protect and used to give shelter to  the kings and princes on many occasions.  They  fought many battles for the kings to  protect the kingdom of Manipur from the enemy. This practice of unity in diversity  as the unifying strength of Manipur is rarely visible in the history of other nations. This is the secret of  having a Manipuri civilization lasting for more than 2000 years although other  civilisations had collapsed before time. The Mughal empire lasted for only 332  years,  Ahom kingdom -598 years, Mysore kingdom-548 years, Maratha kingdom 144 years, Hyderabad  Nizam – 224 years.  But this proud history of Manipur has been relegated to an useless stuff by the Government of India .  India’s history  is the history of Mughal Empire or Maratha empire or  Hyderabad Nizam or Mysore kingdom . Manipur history does not form even one page of Indian history. Rather , the Government of India had committed a series of blunders during 1947-1950 which are beyond the scope of  International laws .   G.K. Pillai, former Union Home Secretary said on 27 September, 2011 “ we have to build trust by dealing
with the core issues of Manipur . An apology , say by the Prime Minister or the Home Minister, for the past mistakes could be a start”.  Indirectly G.K. Pillai had made a wake up call to the Manipuris. But we failed to wake up to this wake up call .  We feel that an apology is not sufficient. The Government of India has to correct the past blunders through constitutional amendments. The Government of India has to learn from Manipur history how to sustain a civilisation for more than 2000 years.

Today, Manipur is sitting on a volcano or ticking time bomb . Any time it may explode into a catastrophe for which the Government of India will be entirely  responsible .  We should ask ourselves –  what  may be  the root cause of this conflict situation and is there a cure ? Now it is time for  all Manipuris to listen to our hearts and to listen to this  wake up call instead of  indulging in symptomatic treatment of core issues.

Today, our Hon’ble  Chief Minister also has to act in the same way like the  Manipur king did to bring equality among all tribes in Manipur . I request our  Hon’ble Chief Minister  to take up some actions which will bring a permanent cure to our conflict situation and which will bring not only  long lasting peace, prosperity and development of Manipur  but also equality, communal harmony,  social integrity , solidarity and unity of all ethnic groups in Manipur . Our Hon’ble Chief Minister is enjoying absolute majority in the house and he  is a very  effective leader of the house .He is therefore in a comfortable position to  initiate some actions which will last for at least  one hundred years. That way, the people of Manipur will remember him as the “ People’s Chief Minister“ .  Recently the Organisation for Solidarity and Unity of North East India ( OSUNE-India, Manipur ) has submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister , the President, the Home Minister, Madame Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi with copies to His Excellency, the Governor of Manipur, the Chief Minister of Manipur, the Deputy Chief Minister , Manipur  with a request to initiate adequate actions for amendment of  Article 371C of Indian Constitution. This we have done after wide consultation with many eminent persons including retired  judges, Lawyers, Academicians, civil society representatives.  The Indian Constitution may be perfect in many aspects but the article 371C is extremely discriminatory , harmful and dangerous to Manipur . We should try to bring equality , solidarity and unity among all ethnic groups of Manipur through amendment of the article 371C of  Indian Constitution. We have submitted seven demands , which are as follows :-

1.The whole state of Manipur should be declared as hill state.

2. All the ethnic groups in Manipur may be brought under one uniform Land Law

3. The Article 3 of Indian Constitution  regarding alteration of state boundaries   shall  not apply  to Manipur to protect the 2000 year old  territorial integrity of Manipur  and other smaller states

4. The rights , identity, customs , culture, traditions , religion , land ,  language, script , mineral resources  of  indigenous people of Manipur will be protected.

5. All indigenous religions of the Manipur  may  be recognized by the Government of India

6. The  Manipuri script ( Meitei Mayek) should be included in the coins and currency bank notes

7. The Constitution of India may provide  for establishment of an Upper House  ( State  Legislative Council ) with a minimum of 40 members  with provision for 10 nominated members.

In addition,  the Manipur State Assembly under the leadership of  the Hon’ble Chief Minister and Hon’ble Speaker  need to adopt a resolution for inclusion of the  Meities under the Scheduled  Tribe category of the Indian Constitution to bring equality among the tribes as  demanded by the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee, Manipur.   Further , The  Manipur State Cabinet has taken a decision on 12th July, 2012 to adopt  the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation , 1873 ( Inner Lien Permit System)   in Manipur . On 13th July, 2012, the Manipur State Assembly had also taken a resolution to implement the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation , 1873  ( Inner Line Permit System ) in Manipur . The copy of the resolution was submitted to the Union Home , Minister , Government of India on 3rd August, 2012. The Manipur State Assembly may pursue the progress of  action taken up so far by the Government of India in this direction. These nine proposals may be discussed and a resolution may be adopted to pursue  these with the Government of India  for bring lasting peace, prosperity and development of Manipur . These nine proposals will have curative effect to the long standing ethnic conflict in Manipur.

We have given proper justification for each of the nine proposals which have been published in prominent local English newspapers. The Government of India has offered  amendment of Article 371A of  Indian Constitution to NSCN-IM to satisfy some of their demands . Then why not we, Manipuris demand amendment of Article 371C of Indian Constitution to bring equality, communal harmony, social integrity , solidarity and unity of all ethnic groups in Manipur . What we require is the  will , determination and commitment of  the Hon’ble Chief Minister,  cabinet Ministers and learned MLAs to place these agenda before the Manipur State Assembly and to adopt a resolution to recommend it to the Hon’ble Prime Minister to place it before the Parliament. This is the agenda of the people.  If we continue to follow the dictates of Government of India  without questioning ,we   will be nowhere . We should always remember that the Government of India has it own hidden agenda  for  encouraging us to fight. Now the hidden agenda is no more hidden as evident from so many instances during the last 15 years.  This is a cause which is worth fighting for and worth dying for. Let us live together or die together.

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