Page 21 - Northeast India

Missteps in Manipur may introduce dangerous dynamics in NE politics

Any demand for a separate ethnic state for the Zo people carved out of India, Myanmar and Bangladesh could rapidly worsen the security situation in India's northeast

Mizoram awaits govt's help to provide shelter to displaced Manipur citizens

The Mizoram government is still waiting for financial assistance from the Centre for providing shelter to over 12,600 people from ethnic strife-torn Manipur, a senior official said. Mizoram Home Commissioner and Secretary H Lalengmawia said that Chief Minister Zoramthanga had, in May, sought Rs 10 crore as an immediate relief package for those displaced people. "We have not received any assistance from the Centre so far. The state government has raised funds on its own to provide relief to internally displaced people from Manipur," Lalengmawia told PTI on Sunday. He hoped that the Centre would soon sanction funds for these people, who have taken shelter in Mizoram after the ethnic violence broke out in the neighbouring state on May 3. Lalengmawia also said the Mizoram administration has solicited donations from legislators, government employees, bankers and others. "We have completed the collection and I am yet to receive a report of the total collected amount," he said. Accordin

Meghalaya CM calls for political parties to engage on issues in Northeast

Stressing the significance of dialogue, communication, and discussion, he expressed optimism in finding peaceful resolutions to the issues at hand

DCW chief meets undercare Manipur BJP MLA, writes to party chief Nadda

Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal on Saturday said she has been to see Manipur's BJP MLA Vungzagin Valte who is undergoing medical treatment here and has even asked party chief J P Nadda to visit the lawmaker. In her letter on Saturday, a copy of which she shared on Twitter, the DCW chief also urged the BJP chief to extend financial assistance to Valte from the "party's funds." Manipur government spokesperson and Information and Public Relations Minister Sapam Rajan had on Thursday dismissed media reports that claimed that the state government had not taken medical care of Valte after he was injured in an attack in the initial days of the ongoing ethnic strife that broke out in May. "We took care (of him) and regularly got updates on his health condition, even after he was discharged from the hospital. The government condemned the incident. BJP state president Sarda Devi and minister Th Basanta Singh also met him in a hospital in Delhi," he said. Maliwal also sha

CBI takes over probe in case of sexual assault on 2 women by mob in Manipur

The CBI has taken over the investigation in a case of alleged sexual assault on two women by a mob in Manipur in May, officials said on Saturday. A video purportedly shot on May 4, showing the two women being paraded naked, went viral earlier this month, resulting in a massive uproar across the country. The case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a reference from the Union home ministry, the officials said. The CBI has taken over the FIR registered by the Manipur Police against unidentified people in accordance with its procedure.

Chennai publisher held for alleged comments on judiciary over Manipur issue

Chennai-based publisher and blogger Badri Seshadri was arrested on Saturday for his alleged comments on judiciary while discussing Manipur violence in an interview to a Youtube channel. The arrest was made early this morning by the Perambalur district police following a complaint from a lawyer Kaviarasu, a resident of Kunnam, who claimed that he was disturbed by Seshadri's views on the judiciary, during an interview to a Youtube channel on July 22. The police booked cases under IPC sections 153 (provocation with intent to cause riot), 153 A (1) (a) (promote enmity between groups through words), 505 (1) (b) (causing fear and alarm in public) against him. Condemning the arrest, BJP state chief K Annamalai accused the ruling DMK of resorting to arrests as it was unable to handle opinions expressed by the common man.

21 members Opposition delegation on two-day visit to Manipur from today

The opposition has decided to send a delegation of 21 Members of Parliament from 16 parties to the state

Railway Board accords FLS approval for 140-km-long Zubza-Imphal project

The Railway Board has accorded its approval for the final location survey (FLS) of the 140-km-long new railway line project between Zubza in Nagaland and Manipur's capital Imphal. The Zubza-Imphal project will provide direct connectivity between the two northeastern states, resulting in better railway traffic mobility, a North East Frontier Railway (NFR) release said on Friday. The direct connectivity will reduce time of travel and cost and distance of transportation of materials, giving a major socio-economic boost to the region. Infrastructural development such as new stations, road connectivity and goods yards will lead to overall economic growth of the nearby districts, the release stated. Goods movement will become seamless leading to major cost reduction for existing businesses using freight services, it said. Work for the Dimapur-Kohima new railway line project from Dhansiri station of Assam to Zubza adjacent to Kohima is also in progress. Also, work on the Jiribam-Imphal

Cops try to nab those who are passing off Myanmar video as Manipur incident

Manipur Police said efforts were underway, by tracing IP addresses, to nab those responsible for circulating a "fake news" item in which a video of the killing of a woman in neighbouring Myanmar was being passed off as an incident that took place in the northeastern state. Cyber Crime police station has registered an FIR in this connection and is investigating the matter. The video shows the killing of a woman by armed men in Myanmar. The clip was being circulated to incite rioting and efforts are on to arrest those who are spreading the fake news, the police tweeted. "FIR registered for spreading fake news: On 24/07/2023, Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS), Manipur registered a case in connection with the viral video of a woman being assaulted and killed by a mob including armed men (which happened in Myanmar), which has been falsely depicted as a case of Manipur. "Attempt is made to identify and arrest the accused persons for spreading false news with intent to disturb public ...

Oppn protests in Parliament premises, demands PM's statement on Manipur

Leaders of several opposition parties on Monday staged a protest in Parliament complex demanding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi make a statement in the House on the Manipur issue. Holding placards and banners that read "INDIA for Manipur" and "INDIA demands PM's statement on Manipur", the opposition parties raised slogans against the government in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Parliament complex. Speaking to reporters, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said it is the prime minister's duty to make a comprehensive statement in Parliament on Manipur violence. "It is shameful that the prime minister is making a statement outside the House, when Parliament is in session. It is his duty to make a comprehensive statement inside Parliament on Manipur violence," the Congress leader said. "We are requesting the Chairman of Rajya Sabha and the Speaker of Lok Sabha that the PM should make a statement on the situation in Manipur. We want a discussion under Rule 16

Manipur Naga groups demand inmediate justice for women paraded naked

Several Naga civil society organisations in Manipur, including the powerful United Naga Council, All Naga Students' Association Manipur (ANSAM) and Naga People's Front, have strongly condemned the inhuman act committed against the two women by a mob on May 4. The UNC asked the Manipur government to take up the case in a fast-track court to deliver justice instantly. The government must initiate necessary steps for immediate booking of all the people involved in such dehumanizing crime, the UNC said in a statement. Referring to the viral video clip, the UNC said the incident was extremely deplorable. The inhuman act meted out to the women who were stripped naked, groped and paraded in a broad daylight on the highway towards a paddy field is highly deplorable, the UNC said. The UNC said the beastly act of sexually assaulting right on the nose of the law enforcing agency and unleashing a reign of terror has shattered the basic principles of democracy. The prestige and dignity of our

Instruments of war: Bandit Queen to Manipur

A gendered perspective on conflict - local or international - is essential because women are often targeted as part of conflict strategy

FM urges RRBs to focus on improving credit-deposit ratio by lending in NE

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday reviewed the performance of Regional Rural Banks of the northeast region and asked them to improve the credit-deposit ratio by giving more loans. During the meeting with heads of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), she exhorted them to work towards meeting the credit requirements of rural people of the Northeast, the finance ministry said in a series of tweets. Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi, SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara, PNB Managing Director Atul Kumar Goel and other senior government officials of northeastern states and bank representatives were present at the meeting. The Finance Minister stated that emphasis should be on giving as much credit to the priority sector as possible. "Smt @nsitharaman directed the Secretary @DFS_India to review individual #RRBs in presence of their sponsor banks and to identify their strengths and specific issues affecting their performance," a tweet said. She said that a roadmap has to be prepared with

GST collection, devolution a success story in NE states: FM Sitharaman

The North Eastern states have scripted a success story in the collection and devolution of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman said here on Friday. According to the 2023 RBI report on state finances, the eight NE states have registered a compounded annual GST hike of 27.5 per cent, she said. Sitharaman was speaking at the Investiture Ceremony for conferring the Presidential Award for Specially Distinguished Record of Service' to officers and staff of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). Assam was the first state to ratify the GST Act, four days after it was passed and since then there has been a 12 times increase in the collection of taxes, the minister said. Assam's sales tax collection prior to the implementation of the GST was Rs 558.26 crore but this has increased manifold to Rs 7,097 crore. Sikkim and Meghalaya too have registered a significant achievement with the former's collection increas

Manipur has double-engine govt, still burning for over two months: JD(U)

The JD(U) on Thursday attacked the Centre and the BJP administration in Manipur asserting that the northeastern state is burning for more than two months even though it has a double-engine government. Referring to the incident in which two tribal women were paraded naked and molested by a mob at a village in Senapati district, JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh said it is horrific and shocking. The north-eastern state has the double engine government of BJP. But still, it is burning for more than two months. What happened to the 56-inch chest of the PM? The violence in Manipur shows no signs of stopping, he tweeted. BJP leaders use the term "double engine" to refer to the party being in power at the Centre as well as in a state. Innocent people are being killed; women are being brutally tortured. The assault on women in Manipur is horrific, shocking and disturbing, Singh said in the Twitter post. Tension mounted in the hills of Manipur after a May 4 video surfaced on Wednesday sho

Rajya Sabha adjourned over oppn demand for discussion on Manipur situation

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 PM on Thursday after opposition members created uproar demanding a discussion on the Manipur violence issue under Rule 267. Soon after the House met at 12 noon, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar accepted eight notices by members for a short duration discussion under the rule. Leader of the House Piyush Goyal said the government has no objections and was ready for a discussion. When the chairman allowed the notices for a short duration discussion on Manipur, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge raised objections and said all the business of the House be suspended first and their notices for a discussion on Manipur under Rule 267 be taken up. "How the Leader of the house suddenly gets up and says we are ready for a discussion. We have given notices under Rule 267 for suspending all other business of the House and then take this us. Let prime minister give statement and we will discuss," he told the chairman. Rule 267 of the Rajya Sabha pertai

Manipur violence: Villagers seek deployment of more central forces

As Manipur grapples with ethnic violence involving Meiteis and Kukis, several other communities in its villages are also suffering the perils of conflict, living amid danger and uncertainty every day. In Ward Number 9 of Kwatka Municipal Council between Phuoljang and Phaogakchao villages, there is palpable fear among inhabitants as they face unannounced gunfire and the alleged "nonchalant attitude" of local authorities. In the humble settlement dotted by small huts, fresh scars of violence are etched on walls and roofs that bear innumerable chinks caused by bullets from the relentless crossfire. Inside, the furniture and kitchen utensils are riddled with countless holes, each one representing a bullet that pierced through the fragile walls and serving as a haunting reminder of the danger that lurks outside. Speaking on behalf of the villagers of Phaogakchao, Wahid Rehman describes the dire situation they find themselves in. "We are living on the edge, with no certainty about the .

Congress wants to trigger violence by sending leaders to Manipur: Thakur

Union Minister Anurag Thakur has alleged that the Congress wanted to trigger violence in Manipur by sending its leaders there while asserting that some parties were not comfortable with peace in the country. Interacting with reporters in Hamirpur on Sunday, he said on one hand, the Congress party was claiming that Manipur was plagued by violence and on the other its leaders were visiting the northeastern state "without any purpose". "No untoward incident has been reported from Manipur in the past 10 days. But the Congress wants to trigger violence by sending its leaders there, which is unacceptable," he said, adding that some leaders and parties are not comfortable with peace in the country and the Congress is one of them. Thakur, who is on a four-day tour of his Hamirpur constituency to supervise the relief and rescue operations, said the Congress government has not spared the common man even in the face of a major calamity as it went on to raise the Value Added Tax on diesel. The

Manipur violence: Warring groups use quadcopters to target each other

Technology has become both a boon and a bane in the restive Manipur state. While Army and Assam Rifles are deploying drones to rescue and save people, clashing ethnic groups are using quadcopters to target each other. It has been noticed by security agencies that quadcopters have been put to use by warring factions - Meiteis, mostly concentrated in Imphal valley, and Kukis, mainly on the hillside - to know each other's positions, officials said. There have been places like Phougakchao, Kangvai Bazar, and Torbung Bazar in the southwest part of Manipur where the quadcopters have been put to extensive use by the two communities where their villages face each other. The security forces have created buffer zones at these places to keep the agitated communities away from each other. However, Loibol in Senapati district and Leimaram in Bishnupur district have been hotspots during the violence despite the presence of security forces, the officials said. Mistrust runs deep in the two ...

BJP ally NPP to oppose implementation of Uniform Civil Code in Arunachal

The Arunachal Pradesh unit of the National People's Party (NPP) has decided to oppose the immediate implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the northeastern state. The decision was taken at the state executive meeting of the party here on Saturday, NPP state general secretary Paknga Bage said. NPP state working president Likha Saaya told reporters, "Though NPP is in alliance with the BJP on developmental issues, but the regional party follows its own ideology". The party unanimously adopted a resolution at the meeting opposing the UCC, citing the state's diverse multi-ethnic and multi-tribal composition, as well as its strong customary and traditional identity, Bage said. Elaborating the reason as to why NPP is opposing UCC, Bage said since Arunachal Pradesh has its own unique laws, the NPP has unanimously adopted a resolution to go with the customary laws with certain modifications. "The state and the central governments should focus on codifying the existing customary