Laishram Priyankanta, Manipur's rising star

Imphal, July 29 : Manipur, which has over the years produced many talented persons, has added another feather to its cap through Laishram Priyankanta, a 15-year-old film director, who currently studies in class 9.

Priyankanta has already directed three short films. The amazing thing is that these movies were shot not a professional camera but a mobile phone.

He himself writes scripts, shoots and edits the film and adds the music. And all this is done without any help from any experts.

Laishram has not been trained under any director. It is his determination to follow his passion that prompted him to learn and excel at filmmaking.

His first film Lamuknarure was screened in 2009. The crew for the film was his friends and family members.

His work has gained recognition in Manipur and he has received certificates of appreciation from many organizations.

"When I was in class III, I watched the entire making of a film at my uncle''s house. It inspired me a lot and gave me the feeling to produce one of my own," said Priyakanta .
''I want to produce a film on what is happening in our society. I want to focus more on children. So I am writing a script on that," he added.

"Priyakanta is very talented. Even though he is very young the way he directed us was very professional. He knows how to direct and how to act. His work is really professional and amazing," said Tathoi, Priyakanta relative.

" I was so happy after his film was released. I was really excited to see it. I am really happy to see my son''s work," said Priyakanta''s father

Youth like Priyakanta are brand ambassadors for change that can take place in the Manipur and are a source of inspiration for many.

Sadar Hills committee calls economic blockade

Imphal, Jul 29 : The Sadar Hills District Demand Committee (SHDDC) has announced to impose economic blockade on the two national highways of Manipur from July 31.

It will continue till August 31 and may be extended if committe's demands are not met, a statement said today.

The Committee is demanding a full-fledged revenue district status for Sadar hills, which is now under Senapati district.

The Sadar Hills are dominated by people belonging to Kuki tribe.

The Manipur government was earlier to declare it into a full- fledged district but was stopped after objections from certain community.

District status related stir were also witnessed at Ukhrul and Jiribam areas. The state has nine districts now.

Floods cause havoc in Manipur

Imphal, July 29 : Due to incessant rains in Manipur, water is flowing above the danger level in most rivers and some parts of the state are flooded.

Rising waters of Lilong, Nambul, Waisel Maril, Chakpi and Thoubal River crossed the embankment and flooded some parts of the Imphal city.

Flood waters have not only made commuting difficult but have also entered people''s homes in areas like Uripok, Lamphelpat, Lamsang, Nambol and Langol Grace Colony.
Vast tracts of agricultural land have also been submerged in the floods. Thousands of acres of paddy fields and fish farms have been destroyed.

The affected areas include villages on the outskirts of Imphal and Bishnupur.

"Many farmers who were running fish farms have been severely affected by the floods. Fishes worth lakhs of rupees, have escaped from the ponds. Several houses have also been flooded in water," said Priyokumar.

"Many fields and farms have been flooded. I think income will be reduced by about 40 percent this year. It is worse than last year," said Indrajeet Singh.

The State Government has set up two relief camps in the region at Tammi Chingmi market.

The government has also provided Bamboo mats to the people who are rebuilding the embankment that has been breached by overflowing rivers.

"The water is flowing above the danger level. More than 1000 hectares of paddy fields have been submerged. We urge the private organizations and the government to help us. Many displaced families have taken shelter at government relief camps," said Biren Nongthobam, a villager at the relief camp.

"Being an MLA of this region, I have opened two relief camps, one at the Tribal village and another in Thangtek. I am here to deliver relief materials especially food items to the relief camps for the affected families," said K Sarat Singh, MLA, Konthoujam District.

Recently floods in Assam left more than 2 lakh people homeless. A total of 197 villages and 5.7-lakh hectares area were affected. The worst affected was Lakhimpur.

Imphal police verify city tenant details

Imphal, July 28 : Police here have launched a drive to crosscheck antecedents of tenants to prevent criminals and militants from engaging in disruptive activities while staying in rented premises.

Imphal East district police, led by additional superintendent of police (law and order) Pushpanjali, carried out the drive at Telipati here yesterday and will extend it to other areas of the district as well.

“In view of the rising instances of anti-socials, drug traffickers and militants taking shelter in rented houses, Imphal East police have taken the initiative to cross-check tenants to create safe neighbourhoods and instil a sense of confidence among the public,” Pushpanjali told The Telegraph. This is the first time such a campaign has been launched in the state.

Earlier, the police had distributed verification forms to tenants in Telipati area and asked them to submit it with details of the tenants’ names, native places, occupations, respective police stations, names of house owners along with photographs of both the tenants and the owners.

Altogether 159 tenants submitted the forms and the district police yesterday carried out the physical verification.

A similar procedure will be followed in other areas having high concentration of tenants, like Paomei Colony and Sangakpham in Imphal East, between August 1 and 10. The filled and verified forms will be sent to the respective police stations of the tenants’ permanent residences for further verification.

Pushpanjali said the move was initiated after several instances came to light of outstation criminals operating from rented premises in the district. She said three frauds from Tamil Nadu, using the name of a fraud company, had stayed for about four months at Hatta Golapti in Imphal and had fled after collecting about Rs 3 crore from gullible people by promising them households items dirt cheap. “We caught the trio last month from Guwahati, where they were running the same racket, and brought them to Manipur. A few days back, a Sikkim police team came and took them to Sikkim, where they are wanted in a similar case.”

Citing another case, she said an NSCN (I-M) cadre, who had recently shot dead a retired government official in Nagaland, fled the state and took shelter at Wangkhei in Imphal East. A Nagaland police team provided clues about his whereabouts to Imphal East police but the accused fled a day ahead of the raid.
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New session for first batch of NIT to start from August

IMPHAL: The new session for the first batch of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) will start from August at Takyel in Imphal West, though construction of the class rooms and hostels is taking place. Setting up of NIT is one of major projects announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to Manipur way back in 2007. The state government had earlier planned to set up the NIT in the Kyamgei area in Imphal East but it was strongly opposed by the locals on the plea that the chosen site was agricultural land. tnnChief minister Okram Ibobi Singh , who inspected the construction works of the institute's temporarily site at Takyel on Saturday, said the decision to begin the first session of the institute from next month without any delay was taken keeping in mind the expectations of the general public.

He expressed optimism that from the next session, classes would be shifted to the institute's (original) site at Lamphel Pat near the foothills of Langol not so far from Takyel. The government has already acquired the land for the NIT complex there.

Three classrooms and the multi-storied hostels for boys and girls are under construction at Takyel.

While the ground floor and the first floor of both the hostels have been partially completed, construction work of the third is yet to be initiated. Both the hostels have the accommodation capacity of 75 students, at the rate of 25 to 30 students on each floor, official sources said.

Manipur works minister K Ranjit, education minister DD Thaisii, works' chief engineer and other high ranking officials accompanied the chief minister during his inspection.

Meanwhile the Kuki Student Organization (KSO) , Ukhrul district has organized a felicitation-cum-blessing prayer and seminar for successful students of standard X and XII examinations at Litan Sareikhong village in the district.

Ukhrul assembly legislature Danny Shaiza, while encouraging the brilliant students, asked them to study seriously with dedication in order to serve the society in all aspects.

Teachers in Manipur hills decry govt move to bring schools under ADC

IMPHAL: Teachers serving in the hills under the Manipur schools education department have expressed their opposition against the government's decision to bring administration of all elementary schools of the area under the Autonomous District Council (ADC).

Strife-torn Manipur has six ADCs, one each intribal-dominatedTamenglong, Chandel, Ukhrul and Churachandpur districts and two in Senapati. The teachers even threatened to launch an agitation if the decision on the matter was not reviked.

The disgruntled teachers, united under the banner 'All Manipur Hill Teachers' Association' (Amhta), said in a statement that decision was an attempt to degrade the status of education and they would never accept such a government policy.

The teachers also decried the recent order to transform the School Management Development Committee (SMDC) to School Management Committee (SMC) for which an elected ADC member should be chairman and the bank account should be jointly operated by the headmaster/headmistress and the DRDA executive director. Such order is illogical and smacked of a design to further degrade the status of education in thehill districts, the association said.

A memorandum to this effect was also submitted to the governor recently with an appeal to annul the decision. Stating that the government has failed to take up any positive action towards their grievancesdespite the memorandum, the association threatened to launch a strike.

Emotional Disintegration Between Hills And Valley

By Jubilate Kazingmei

In appreciation of your editorial 5, 6 and 8 July I wish to write this rejoinder to build mutual understanding. Socio political blame game is the worst game in society because it offers no remedy to any ailment that stunts the societal growth and harmony. In an ethnocentric politics of a state like ours it is easy to blame, envy and ridicule one another as we are not above narrow ethnic emotions and because we owe loyalty to our respective ethnic group irrespective of what profession we are in. unfortunately beyond cosmetics of language often expressed in media it is not difficult to see such emotions that makes readers view it with close mind. Media is other wise one that plays a vital role in making all of us feel as part of the whole. But in Manipur even our esteemed Human Rights activists are bound by such narrow ethnic emotions and that is how our honourable CM father figure of all communities in the state also glorified the violent 18th June uprising. So they say, “what would be expected of iron when even the Gold rust?” It is rather important to understand each other’s position.

The Hindu caste system and the practice of untouchability was largely responsible for the socio cultural and emotional disintegration between the hills and valley. But it may be wrong to entirely blame the valley people for the misfortune of the hill people. Rather democracy being rule of the majority it is inherent in the system that it is difficult to adequately safeguard the interest of ethnic minorities and that is happening in the whole of NE causing a violent awakening of ethnic nationalism in the entire north east. By the scheme of Provincial Autonomy enacted by Govt. of India in 1919 and 1935 the tribal areas of NE was scheduled as excluded area and the longtime administration insulation by the British was responsible for our backwardness. The British who wanted to retain the tribal areas in the north east as imperial colony did everything they could to check emotional integration between the two.

But after India’s independence Jawaharlal Nehru brought hill people of the NE into Indian dominion and in order to win their confidence and promote their closer contact and intercourses with the non tribals, moved the historic objectives resolution in the Constituent Assembly in 1947 which shaped the making of the Indian constitution. This Resolution proclaimed that India would be an independent sovereign democratic republic wherein inter alia “adequate safeguards shall be provided for the minorities, backward and tribal areas depressed and other backward classes”. The constitution makers therefore recognized the necessity of a separate political and administrative structure for the tribal areas of the erstwhile province of Assam by enacting the sixth schedule in the constitution guided by three major considerations; (i). the necessity to maintain the distinct customs, socio economic and political culture of the tribal people of the region and to ensure autonomy of the tribal people and preserve their identities, (ii).the necessity to prevent their economic and social exploitation by the more advanced neighboring people of the plain and (iii). To allow the tribal people to develop and administer themselves according to their own wisdom and geniuses.

Therefore the “Alternative Arrangement” demanded by the UNC is constitutionally legitimate. Now therefore, when one says “not an inch of Manipur territory will be acceded” one is simply making a statement of power relationship between the dominant over the dominated.

Demand for political self determination is not a crime, it is rather legitimized by the United Nations and you will agree this is Birth Right of very people in the world big or small. I’m sure the anti merger lobbyists of the valley will share this view.

When the tribals protest against development disparity it is wrongly perceived as an issue of inequality as ridiculed in your editorial. I wish to remind you Sir, and others who has the same perception about it that it is not an issue of “Equality” but “Equity” that we are not receiving our due share. For instance in all assembly constituencies except two the valley has twenty thousand plus electorates whereas, in almost all assembly constituencies in the hills except six we have thirty thousand plus to fifty thousand, yet. Delimitation was prevented by virtue of being majority community thereby depriving our right to more representation of tribals in the assembly. Competent tribal officials are denied the right to hold official position of Chief of Govt. departments and are placed as OSDs.

True, Imphal is the state capital but does that mean every institutional opportunities should necessarily be concentrated in the valley alone and run educational services in the hills merely to maintain literacy rate in the state? Our job opportunities are deprived, that is how valley people died in Gargil war as tribals, that is how many Ahmeds & Muhamads are recruited as primary school teachers in the hills and protected by authority. It is not the material wealth of the valley people we envy about and complain, but the chauvinistic attitude! Identifying the valley alone as Manipur. For instance “Kangleipak” I guess means only the valley.

True, tribals also live in the valley and in fact? I have been here for the past 16 years, one fine morning my neighbor on the left said “Tangkhuls should not be spared” and he made it sure that I hear it, on another day another neighbor on my right said “Tribalsingna Tampakda laaklaka peishaa daalaka aphao shai”. A few years ago some people went around Dewlahland, Nagaram, Tangkhul avenue and Chingmeirong with blaring loud speaker announcing Tangkhuls should not be given house rents in the valley. Essential commodities should not be sold to them. I understand these things were emotional reaction against offences committed by a few rascals. However with all such happenings we definitely don’t feel at home and we are equally insecure for that matter even in Nagaland, as you rightly pointed out that in such a situation “madness is only a step away”. Empathizing rather than intellectualizing the issue may be more practical to reconcile the issue.

Radical movement on both sides apart, the autonomous district council and the sixth schedule was a gift of Indian Constitution to the tribals of the NE for self governance and reconciliation, the inclusion of which in the Indian Constitution was not without protest even those days in the constituent assembly by the representatives of the plain people in the erstwhile Assam state. However, the sixth schedule has failed to satisfy the aspiration and expectations of the hill people for reasons that is does not confer real autonomy as the word implies. The ADCs have to depend on their respective state governments in matters of financial allotments and assistance. Mere increase of political power or autonomy without reference to financial autonomy and feasibility is considered no good solution. In the event of reorganization of states in North East India in 1971 a number of developmental functions were conferred on the ADCs but even this was considered a fragile arrangement as it did not have statutory support and the ADCs had to depend on the changing political relations with the state leadership. The development activities of the ADCs depends on the political party or leadership that runs the state administration. Even on subjects conferred to ADCs, state could make laws and override legislation made by the ADCs. It can even be suppressed and suspended by the state.

In Manipur the ADCs are not yet given sixth schedule. Sixth schedule is a constitutional mechanism for devolution of power to the hill people for self governance but this constitutional provision require collection of revenues to run the ADCs. Therefore, the hill people are sensitive about their rights particularly over land and forest. There is also the provisions of paragraph 3 (i) (g) of the sixth schedule which requires the ADCs to regulate appointment and succession of Village Chiefs and Headman which is strongly objected by the tribals as it violates their tradition of of heredity. More powers particularly power of access and control over resources are demanded but without converting tribal land into revenue land. There is therefore, confusion among the hill people themselves, while one group demands sixth schedule another group rejects it and in between the state makes no move to solve the deadlock. However, the state cannot be blamed for the stalemate entirely. Rights and responsibilities are two sides of the same coin. If the hill people want more financial power it is fair to realize we also have financial responsibilities to fulfill at least for self governance and it should also be fair for the Nagas to reconcile their own confusion as one group accepting ADC as status quo, second group demanding devolution of more power to the ADCs through sixth schedule, third group demanding alternative arrangement and the forth group demanding sovereignty, all at a time indicates we have no demand at all.

'Tribal rights in Manipur being sabotaged'

DIMAPUR, JULY 10 : The Naga People’s Organization (NPO) has strongly condemned the attempt to assault the General Secretary of COPTAM by some unidentified persons on 28th June, 2011 at north AOC, Imphal. Such act of causing harm to Tribal leaders by any communal forces is uncalled for and unjustifiable, stated a press note issued by M. L Markson, President, NPO.

“It is an attempt by some anti-tribal elements to sabotage the genuine efforts and demand of the Tribal Rights in Manipur”, the press note stated while demanding from the State Government to book those responsible at the earliest without which safety of the Tribal leaders will not be compromised.

While endorsing the movement of the COPTAM, the NPO expressed resentment over the incident and suspected some anti-tribal elements behind such attempts to derail the Tribal movements against State Government’s policy to deny rights of the Tribal in Manipur.

“The birth-rights of the Tribal to protect its constitutional rights, identity, land, resources, political and social rights can never be denied by the State Government. For which, the tribal in Manipur will collectively and unceasingly struggle together until the due rights are achieved”.