Why not ATSUM-T or UNC or NSCN-IM
Transcription
Why not ATSUM-T or UNC or NSCN-IM
IMPHAL FRIDAY 07 NOVEMBER 2014 IMPHAL FRIDAY 07 NOVEMBER 2014 Aliens in their own country Samarjit Kambam -ROLLER COASTER WRITEToday's Thought All political parties die at last of swallowing their own lies. Dr Arbuthnot. More than professional hazards Media : Not a punching bag Professional hazards. A term synonymous and universal with all profession. However how does one explain the hazards that come because one is associated with a certain profession but in fact have nothing much to do with the profession ? A condition for which there is as yet no universally acceptable term but this is something not new to the journalists working in Manipur. Tough to verbally explain or put down in words, but an experience which all journalists in Manipur must have gone through in their profession. The presence of numerous power players each dictating their own interest has only made things more complex. And so it is that journalists here find themselves in a catch 22 situation numerous times. In such a situation it is not uncommon for one of the numerous power players dictating what can be and should be published and what should not be published. The casualty is not only journalism but also the truth. Not wonder then that journalists here have to master not only the craft of their profession but also something much more which may lead to short changing the readers or the listeners. Not that this matter to the power players for whom the ultimate objective is to bull doze their way, never mind if in the process it is the people who lose out. And to think that a number of these power players have attained a certain degree of social legitimacy for whatever they do they do, it is in the name of the public. Some sort of a tragi-comedy for Manipur. It is these elements the public should be wary about. When they care two hoots about the fourth estate, then what will they care about the public ? A question which everyone should start raising now, vocally at that. A number of journalists have fallen prey to the designs of these elements. Some have been killed while others have had to suffer serious injuries. The impact on the physical and mental well being can only be imagined. Some publications have had to suspend publications on one charge or the other while some journalists have been told to give up their vocation. Not at all conducive for the healthy growth of the media and certainly unhealthy for all those who are engaged in the job of disseminating information to the public. So far the journalists of Manipur have been steadfastly opposing the designs of these elements to brow beat the media, but it is nonetheless disturbing to note that attempts to influence the media should enter their train of thoughts in the first place. Food for thought here for everyone. Etc.. etc... No single HIV prevention method can end AIDS : Combination prevention is key Bobby Ramakant, Citizen News Service (CNS) There is no effective HIV vaccine available today. Yet a safe and effective vaccine is critical to the control of HIV globally. He also stressed to fashion combination prevention for ‘hotspots’ of HIV infection. He gave an example of Lake Victoria area in Kenya which has HIV rates comparable to places in Africa with highest HIV prevalence. This area is also known to have low male circumcision rates and unsafe sex work associated with fishing community is also reported. But rest of the Kenya does not have that high HIV rates. Combination prevention needs to be tailored in unique contexts and realities and if we do so, we could prevent “600,000 new HIV infections by 2030” said Fauci. (Concluded) WHO launches new guidelines on management of latent TB infection Shobha Shukla, Citizen News Service (CNS) For the first time, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued guidelines on testing, treating and managing latent TB infection (LTBI) in individuals with high risk of developing the disease. These guidelines were launched today at the Global TB Symposium just before the start of the 45th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Barcelona. “Prevention of TB and the management of latent TB is one of the key elements of the new END-TB strategy of WHO to be pursued primarily in all low-incidence countries”, said Dr Mario Raviglione, Director of the Global TB Programme of the WHO. The new guidelines on the management of LTBI provide public health approach guidance on evidence-based practices for testing, treating and managing LTBI in infected individuals with the highest likelihood of progression to active disease. “These guidelines respond to the request of several Member States for a clear WHO guidance and provide the framework for the development of national guidelines for the management of latent TB” said Dr Haileyesus Getahun, Coordinator for TB/HIV and Community Engagement, WHO Global TB Programme, while releasing the new guidelines. Dr Getahun further said to Citizen News Service (CNS) that, “The guidelines primarily target higher and middle income countries with an estimated TB incidence rate of less than 100 per 100 000 population because they are most likely to benefit from the guidelines due to their current TB epidemiology and resource availability”. These criteria are currently met by 113 countries. Resource-limited and other middle-income countries that do not belong to the above category are advised to implement the existing WHO guidelines on people living with HIV (PLHIV) and child contacts below 5 years of age. (To be contd) Samarjit Kambam “Aliens in their own country”. That’s what we the North Easterners really are. Here Roller Coaster Write brings forth to the limelight the collective mental pain and agony of the people of North Eastern India with Manipur in particular. We the north easterners particularly people from states of Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh(sorry for Tripura) are mongoloids. No doubt we have chinky features but we are not Chinese. Nothing can be truer than the fact that the people of mainland India possess the mindset that the North Eastern part of India just beyond the proverbial ‘chicken neck’ is not a part of India. When every students in primary classes residing in the most remote corners of North East India knows the political map of India, the number of states and union territories and their capitals, its sovereignty and history, a big question arises whether the schools of mainland India misses out North East India in their school curricula. Is it sheer ignorance, or deliberate ignorance on their part? Or is India limited only to the Indus valley, Deccan plateau, the Vindhyas, the Aravalli etc where the rivers Ganga, Jamuna, Saraswati, Mahanadi, Jhelum, Krishna, Cauvery and the likes flow, where descendants of Aryans and Dravidians reside? ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was declared the most beautiful national anthem in the world. Has Rabindranath Tagore made a flaw by not mentioning the Brahmaputra river or any region of North Eastern India as he wrote the national anthem of India or has the national anthem failed to deliver the concept of existence of North Eastern region of India to the mainland Indians? Or has the mainland Indians taken an inverted and asymmetrical theme of such a beautiful national anthem? Or is it the idea of North Easterners an inferior race?, to be suppressed, to be bogged down? There are many questions galore which remain unanswered. Bangalore, the capital city of Karnataka has been known as the Silicon Valley of India. But since a few years back it has become the Racism Valley of India. After the issue of Late Loitam Richard, a student of Arharya Institute of Technology, Bangalore who was beaten to death by his hostelmates has remained dead calm, locked away in the closet of a lawful democracy with ‘Justice for Loitam Richard’ never seeing the light of the day, many untoward ugly incidents of hate crimes towards people of North Eastern region of India are cropping up in this big cosmopolitan city like a routine affair. In a big digital city like Bangalore, it really comes as a surprise and wonder that the mind-set of most of the people of the city has transcended to the level of Stone Age. The attack and brutal assault in the night of 14 October towards a Manipuri student T Michael Lamjathang Haokip in Kothanur, a part of Bangalore where he was mercilessly beaten up by a gang of men of the vicinity abusing him with various remarks such as, “If you outsiders know how to eat food that is produced in Karnataka, you must also know how to speak Kannada. This is India not China” has shown that the attack was a deliberate hate crime and reveals that racism towards North East people do exist and has grown exponentially. The ironic part of that incident is that the onlookers sided with the attackers. When one of Michael’s friend came to help, he was surrounded by the gang, snatched his valuables and bikes’ documents. Here also, the nexus between the police and politicians were clearly depicted when a local politician on the pretext of helping them actually allowed some of the attackers to escape. Of late a couple from Nagaland and their friends were assaulted and racially abused by four men near Hesaraghatta on the outskirts of Bangalore on 25 October. The accused foursome was arrested by law enforcing agencies, but for name-sake (as you’ve already known). Now they may be roaming around freely looking for fresh misadventures. Late Miss Reingamphi Awungshi was found murdered in her rented room in Delhi and now the issue has become history with the murderers enjoying their nights in pubs and discotheques or night street-bike racings. Numerous instances of such brutality and murder had happened before. Mention may be made of Nido Tania, a student from Arunachal Pradesh beaten to death by a local gang nearby a hotel in Delhi. The justice – verdict by a trial court with relation to the CBI investigation that the murder was not based on racism by cleverly blending with the SC/ST Act. Would the accused be convicted for murder if ‘ST’ was marked on Nido Tania’s forehead as a tattoo as evidence? Is the SC/ST Act the end of all? Forget SC/ST, what about justice for murder of a human being? Wasn’t Nido Tania a human being? For the North Easterners justice is like the dark side of the moon, never to be seen. The CBI’s conclusion on Nido Tania’s murder case is a factor which acts as an impetus to heighten the hate crimes against the people of North East. On the night of 15 October two persons from Nagaland who have been working at a BPO were forced to drink liquor and then brutally assaulted for hours at Sikanderpur area in Gurgaon with the attackers prunning off their hair warning them it was a message to all of North Easterners particularly from Nagaland and Manipur that they will be killed if they come there. One of them was rescued by his sister but the other one was dumped on the roadside where he lay till some of his acquaintances spotted him in the morning. The next day again i.e on 16 October, Juliet a Mizoram girl was found murdered inside her residence in South Delhi’s Munirka area with the murderers going scot free having a gala time. The North Easterners are treated like cattle in a slaughterhouse where they can be beaten, tortured and killed at will. A few years ago, my heart sank as I watched a mobile phone video clipping of a young Manipuri girl studying in Delhi being sexually assaulted by her own female college mates in an unimaginably brutal and inhumane way that really sank my heart. The young girl pleaded for mercy but she wasn’t spared, she was stripped naked, molested, hot balm was inserted in her private parts and her hair was shaved. I really wonder how college students of the capital city of India went down to such a lower level of moral degradation. Again, it cannot be taken as co-incidences when various crimes emanated on alternate days at Bangalore, Gurgaon and Delhi. The intention seems to go beyond the realm of chinkese look or oriental feature. Could it be a political game or a syndicate of some religious fanatics instigating a kind of ethnic cleansing? If such a syndicate or organisation exist, their intentions can be spread through its various branches instantaneously in this world of information technology where almost all people in the world are connected virtually. So, you can seriously introspect by yourselves whether the recent serial hate crimes that took place in alternate days in Bangalore, Delhi and Gurgaon were co-incidences. Again, there is no assurance that such hate crimes will not emanate like multiple sclerosis in other metropolitan cities of India. Even though numerous hate crimes or crimes with racist intention had happened before, the lackadaisical attitude of the law enforcing authorities, politicians and judges led to such unwanted status quo further advancing instead of receding. Even though various North East Support Centre and Helpline agencies as well as Nodal offices for crimes against north easterners were introduced in metro cities, the whole hearted personal indulgence of the Prime Minister of India and relevant Union Ministers is crucial for looking into the unfolding of unwanted events to prevent the rate of hate crimes against the north easterners climbing up the chart. Over and above exemplary punishments at fast track courts, it is of paramount importance to enact new anti-racism laws to protect the North easterners from racial discrimination, abuse and crime against them on priority in the Indian constitution. As the idea or knowledge of North Eastern region being an integral part of India seems to be missing in the mind-sets of people of mainland India, it is high time the Prime Minister of India & Co. do something innovative to lift up the status of North East at par with mainland India. Only ‘damage control measures’ after the damage has already been done will not ameliorate the situation. Mr Prime Minister, from where will your “Indian Dream” materialise when you can’t muster up the audacity to protect your own Indian citizens? Please think about that. Such are the harsh realities the North Easterners face in other parts of mainland India and most particularly in cosmopolitan and Metro cities such as Bangalore and Delhi. So many crimes, murders and sexual assaults have taken place in Delhi against North East girls. Its not that the men born and brought up in Delhi are sex maniacs ready to pull down their pants whenever they see a female of the human species. Its the arrogant and contorted mindset of most Delhites which is the tangible factor for crime against women. A huge chunk of the Delhites have this battered mentality and ego that they are the superior race for they were born and brought up in the capital city of India. That is the numero uno problem, a big social issue, an assymetrical mindset that needs to be properly angled, corrected, sanitised and thoroughly cleansed. They nomenclate the North Easterners as “Junglees”. But it is from amongst the junglees who save the face of India in the world of sports many a times. The prevailing scenario of the North East people is that even though we were born in India, we are inferiorly treated as non Indians/foreigners or aliens by counting from the face value of our chinkese looks and oriental features. But if this trend of discrimination against North East people rumbles on it may result in a very ugly repercussion – the rift between the North Easterners and Mainland Indians will get wider and may act as a motivational factor to the frustrated youths to join insurgent outfits. If a person born in India is treated as nonIndian, its tantamount to alienation. If this goes further on, a collective movement may arise wherein the whole North Easterners cry out for separation from Indian mainland. Only quick response lip-service by concerned Union Ministers and leaders of the nation without any result oriented outcome will not serve any purpose. It will always remain like “Which one preceded, the egg or the hen?”. As long as the tainted mindsets of people of such big cosmopolitan cities such as Bangalore and Delhi are not flushed out, there is no assurance that such unwanted incidents will not crop up like a routine affair. Now its time to ring the bell of awareness by the central government to do away with their distorted mindsets. The Govt of India need to include portions of North Eastern topography, its people, historical perspectives and diverse cultures as part of India from primary school level so that the meaning of ‘Unity in Diversity’ holds true and doesn’t simply remain like a price tag attached to a clothing. Presently, the North Easterners particularly students residing in mainland India are always accompanied by a sense of insecurity with the most fearsome question constantly arising in their mind, “Who’s Next?”. Why not ATSUM-T or UNC or NSCN-IM impose economic blockade for 10 years? Dr Khomdon Lisam (Contd from previous issue) There are hundreds of Meitei women married to Naga boys settled in the hills. No amount of force will be able to break up these ties. We want Muivah to be the leader of North East not for Nagas alone. Benefits of imposing ten years blockade along ImphalDimapur Highway Ten years Economic Blockade along the Imphal- Dimapur Highway will be just like a silent Atom Bomb to the valley. We may suffer to the extreme for a limited time. But quickly, we will recover and start looking for alternative ways of sustaining ourselves. How can we achieve sovereignty if we can not sustain ourselves during 10 years blockade. This will be an useful lessons for the valley people, which comprises of Meiteis, Meitei Pangans, Nagas and Kukis. Some of the possible benefits may be:1. The valley people will try their best to be 100% self sufficient in production of rice, fish, vegetables, oils, sugar and other essential items’ 2. The valley people will be compelled to do double cropping and triple cropping to increase food production. 3. All other National Highways connecting Myanmar, Mizoram, Cachar will be developed and maintained bringing the people closer together. Can you imagine, although Tipaimukh produces many highly intelligent officers, 50% of Tipaimukh people die without seeing Imphal during his/her lifetime. This is a gross injustice to the people of Tipaimukh. 4. The valley people will start using their own products in day to day living, at marriage ceremonies and death rituals and they will no longer buy materials from outsiders. 5. The valley people will explore and negotiate with Government of India and neighbouring country, Myanmar for import of petroleum, diesel, Kerosine, LPG, food products and expand the Indo-Myanmar Trade agreement. 6. The valley people will learn what is Time-keeping and work –culture. No Meitei pung will be used. 7. The corruption will die its own death. 8. Elections will be far less expensive 9. The valley people will boycott the Imphal-Dimapur Highway for good. It may be open for cyclists and adventure sports. 10. Politicians will be more honest and more reliable. 11. The valley people will start loving mother land and try for unity of all ethnic groups in Manipur. 12. The administration will become more transparent and more accountable. Suggestions : We, the valley people should have the courage not to use and boycott the Imphal-Dimapur highway. We may suffer for some time but we will be able to recover and find a permanent solution. The Imphal-Dimapur Highway should be completely forgotten and no money should be invested for repairing of this road. I appeal to the Hon’ble Chief Minister, all Ministers, MLAs to consider the following suggestions to make ourselves free from economic blockades. ♦ The National Highways – Imphal-Jiribam, Imphal – Aizawl, Imphal Moreh, Tongjei Maril (Old Cachar road) should be made Four Land Highways not only to bring materials from outside but more importantly to bring the people closer to each other. Presently it is easier and faster to reach America than to reach Tipaimukh. A separate scheme should be prepared and ask for funding as a special package from the Prime Minister and International banks. Omar Abdulla, Chief Minister of J & K is asking the Prime Minister to sanction Rs. 44000 crores for flood relief in Kashmir. We may request only half Rs. 20,000 crores for Manipur. Sanctioning of this money will depend on the language, effectiveness and power of advocacy of our political leaders with the Prime Minister. ♦ The construction and maintenance of the above men- tioned highways should be taken up as No.-1 priority under state PWD. The Ring Road of Imphal can wait. ♦ Establishment of a separate cadre of National Highway protection force as a part of the State Force to ensure security of drivers and vehicles and smooth passage of vehicles along all national highways in consultation with the Government of India. ♦ Encourage double and triple cropping to increase productivity and attain self sufficiency in agricultural products as a time-bound Programme by invigorating agriculture department, training of farmers, ensuring availability of fertilizers, improving irrigation facilities etc. Rice, Potatoes, Onions, Vegetables etc can be made self- sufficient by utilising thousands of hectares of paddy fields, which remained un-utilized after harvest. Support price for important agricultural products should be declared. ♦ Encourage and support expansion of private fish farms to make the production of fish self sufficient. Let the officers go to the field instead of working on the tables. ♦ Encourage and support companies producing medicinal Oxygen and Nitrous oxide in Manipur. ♦ Encourage and support bulk production and storage of LPG in Manipur. Four months supply should be stored at any point of time. ♦ Improve the functioning of the Manipur State Drugs & Pharmaceuticals, Imphal on modern management lines to cater to the needs of the state to make it business friendly and profit making. This company should not meet the same fate as that of Spinning Mill, Sugar factory, Cement factory, Cycle Corporation and MSRTC which brought ruins to Manipur due to bureaucratic bungling and mismanagement. ♦ Increase the capacity for bulk storage of Petrol, Diesel, Kerosine for at least four months supply in collaboration with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd fulfilling the legal requirements for the safe storage and handling of these materials. (To be contd) Music- Center of my life Andrew Heanngam Pamei Music is the center of my life and it is the foundation of how I live. Everybody knows what music is and all have heard a form of it but most people underestimate the value and power music has in our everyday lives. Whether they know it or not music can affect the mood of the people and influence their behaviors as well. Music is so much more than it is made out to be and it is a core aspect of life itself. Music is an art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony and color. “I see life in terms of music”, said the great scientist Albert Einstein. Very truly said, and I agree with this saying of the great scientist, not because I’m a music lover, but because music has changed the entire perspective of my life. Music has such a profound impact in my life that, at times, it seems to be like moonlight in the gloomy night of my life. It enfolds me in a blanket of comfort, giving me an inspiration in moments of loneliness and sorrow. Music in itself is the harmonious articulation of people’s thought and passions utilized as a meaningful and complex expression of universal communication. Music cre- ates a gateway, in which, I am able to empower my own world of imagination and sensitivity. Though I’m not a great music composer, I have had the experience and joy of composing two simple gospel songs sung by a younger sis- ter of mine, Valentina Pamei, who studies at Sacred Heart School Loktak Project. I love to play keyboard (piano), and as I play intensifying versions of my songs and worship hymns of “All you hills” and the “Joyful Melodies”, all the anger, fear, love and hatred transform into some sort of electrifying energy that heightens the musical notes into another level. The piano keys are black and white but they sound like a million colors in our mind. And when we play, never mind who listens to us. To me music is kind of like a woman. You don’t know why you like them but you do. And the kingdom of music is not the kingdom of this world; it will accept those whom breeding and intellect and culture have alike rejected. The commonplace person begins to play, and shoots into the empyrean without effort, whilst we look up, marveling how he has escaped us, and thinking how we could worship him and love him, would he but translate his visions into human words, and his experiences into human actions. Perhaps he cannot; certainly he does not or does so very seldom. Music gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything. Martin Luther once said, “Music is the art of the prophets and the gift of God”. Indeed, it is the gift of God and I don’t deny that fact, and the aim and final reason of all music is none else but the glory of God. Music is enough for my lifetime but my lifetime will never be enough for music. God bless you all. The writer is alumnus of St. Joseph’s school Imphal, class of 2011, Herbert school Imphal, class of 2013(Science). He can be reached at [email protected]