North East & Eastern Himalayan: News & Discussion

[Rye]

The priority for development (in terms of security) is probably in the order: the border areas first followed by internal areas. Need to be able to facilitate troop movements on our side of the border to be secure from Chinese threats once development starts in the internal areas.

[vivek_ahuja]

The priority for development (in terms of security) is probably in the order: the border areas first followed by internal areas. Need to be able to facilitate troop movements on our side of the border to be secure from Chinese threats once development starts in the internal areas.

True, but this decision is not made at such a high level in the chain of command. The proper step is that the government releases the total funds required for the overall development while the local leaders (or Military commanders, as may be requried) make these decisions.

Otherwise, this is akin to saying that the PM or his immediate juniors are going to be keeping an eye on the development of each frontier post, which is laughable.

Even when it comes to money and stuff, he needs to be making strategic decisions, not tactical ones!

[Rye]

vivek_ahuja wrote:

The proper step is that the government releases the total funds required for the overall development while the local leaders (or Military commanders, as may be requried) make these decisions.

Good point. Micromanaging from New Delhi will fail since the decision making has to be dynamic and well-coordinated for the money to be spent wisely.

[vivek_ahuja]

Micromanaging from New Delhi will fail since the decision making has to be dynamic and well-coordinated for the money to be spent wisely.

Exactly. You know, even though I guess that I should be happy that this government is doing something as opposed to nothing at all (like many governments before it), and the fact that our troops will be getting satellite phones and whatnot at these posts, I still feel highly depressed for the simple fact of the matter is that our government leaders have learned nothing from the previous mistakes.

They still look at the trees instead of the forest. They still try and interfere with military decisions and acquisitions, and this fact above all else will lead us to yet another defeat on the battlefield against the Chinese despite what all fancy platforms of war we may buy or develop.

[Kakkaji]

Swapan Dasgupta's column in Pioneer:

At last, a PM bats for Arunachal

Swapan Dasgupta

There is a natural cynicism attached to a Prime Minister's visit to a State and the obligatory economic "package" that accompanies it. Past experience has shown that the Centre has an uncanny knack of disappointing the intended recipients of largesse. For India's sake, it is to be hoped that the pattern is not repeated in Arunachal Pradesh -- a State that welcomed a Prime Minister after nearly 20 years. In other words, six Prime Ministers came and went without including Itanagar in their itinerary. The best Arunachal Pradesh got was a visit from Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani in November 2003.

The lapse is all the more amazing when viewed from a strategic angle. There are two Indian States claimed by our neighbours as their own. There is Jammu and Kashmir which Pakistan believes is theirs by virtue of its Muslim majority. Then there is Arunachal Pradesh (previously known as the North-East Frontier Agency) that is claimed by China.

It is obligatory for a Prime Minister to visit Srinagar periodically to announce confidence-building measures to counter jihadi terrorism and separatism. Even HD Deve Gowda and IK Gujral did it. Yet it is shameful that even Narasimha Rao or AB Vajpayee, who had long stints in Race Course Road, did not feel any corresponding obligation to visit Arunachal Pradesh -- a State where there is no separatist movement, no indigenous insurgency movement of any consequence and where the people are unequivocally committed to India. It says something for India's warped values that secessionists are courted and pampered and unflinching patriots left to bask in benign neglect.

China's claim on Arunachal Pradesh is centred on bluff. In 1962, when Jawaharlal Nehru's heart went out to the people of Assam, Chinese forces overran large tracts of Arunachal Pradesh, including Tawang. Yet, interestingly, China withdrew its forces after the ceasefire. If Beijing's claim had been real, would it have withdrawn its forces? Would it have subsequently committed itself to not disturbing "settled areas" along the MacMahon Line?

Actually, China loves to persist with its disingenuous claim as a pressure point on a weak India. Like the rest of the boundary dispute, the claim on Arunachal is a useful handle to test Indian resolve and detect its vulnerabilities.

The astonishing feature of this strategy is that it has succeeded for long. Over the decades, but particularly after China's turn to market capitalism, India's China policy has been unsettled by the pressure from capitulationists. This lobby, disproportionately represented in the Communist movement, the Foreign Service and academia, sincerely believes that India must yield substantially to a stronger China. Even the NDA Government had its share of capitulationists who advocated ceding Tawang to China.

The net result of this "Vichy mentality" was that Arunachal was removed from the development map of India. Manmohan Singh must be praised for committing himself to building a network of highways that links the state and connects it to a railhead in Assam, and resurrecting some moribund helipads. The question is: why has it taken more than 60 years to undertake projects that are imperative from both the strategic and economic point of view? Was it due to the nagging fear that China would once again occupy Arunachal and benefit from India's infrastructural investment?

It is this defeatist mindset that has also prevented the Centre from coming down hard on the Baptist churches which are anxious for some Arunachal districts to be a part of Greater Nagalim. That the missionaries have not succeeded in undermining traditional institutions is due to the robustness of the Indian identity in the state. All the same, nationalist forces, whether they happen to be in the Congress or BJP, have to be pro-actively encouraged. The Prime Minister's impressive Rs 1,000-crore package is the legitimate due of a people who have kept their faith in India despite repeated snubs.

Manmohan Singh didn't have to explicitly tell China where to get off. For a change, his actions spoke louder than spirited assertions of nationalism that don't come easily to today's Congress.

[Victor]

Manmohan Singh launches several new projects for Arunachal Pradesh

He said a two-lane Trans-Arunachal Pradesh Highway will be built at cost of Rs 5500 crores. The 1840-kms highway will connect Tawang with Mahadevpur, and will pass through Bomdi La, Nechipur, Sippa, Sagalee, Ziro, Daparijo, Along, Pasighat, Roing, Tezu, Mahadevpur, Namchik, Changlang, Khonsa and Kanubari.

This is absolutely gigantic in scope, not just because it is the entire length of AP, West to East, but also because there is not one square kilometer of flat land the entire way--it's all very rugged mountains and jungle. Nothing even close has been attempted in India, not even the Manali-Leh highway.

This, along with the pep talk to the armed forces stationed in AP and many other goodies unloaded all in one go, tells me that Manmohanji might have come back from Beijing with an undigested banana that really hurts. Why else would he wait to do this until almost the very end of his term. Was Chinese obnoxiousness not apparent enough until 2008?

[vsudhir]

This, along with the pep talk to the armed forces stationed in AP and many other goodies unloaded all in one go, tells me that Manmohanji might have come back from Beijing with an undigested banana that really hurts. Why else would he wait to do this until almost the very end of his term. Was Chinese obnoxiousness not apparent enough until 2008?

Andar ki khabar hai that some CBMs he proposed got turned down. Further, the chinis seem to have overplayed their hand, perhaps too confident of their proxies' (CPIM types) abilities in Delhi.

So MMS returns all smiling (and thankful he didn't get Tashkented). The ATV project makes the main story in the largest selling English weekly, AP trip happens and goodies rain down like manna from heaven.

[Paul]

Govt to recruit ex-servicemen for NC Hills
By R Dutta Choudhury
GUWAHATI, Feb 5 – The law and order situation in the North Cachar Hills District has become a matter of serious concern with frequent militant strikes severely affecting major development projects and the State Government has decided to take the services of ex-servicemen to provide security to the persons working in the mega projects like the gauge conversion project of the Railways and the East West Corridor Project of the National Highway Authority. The State Government is also not too happy with the role played by the Army in dealing with the situation in the district and requested the Centre to bring the district under the 4 Corps of the Army.

Highly placed official sources, talking to The Assam Tribune, admitted that frequent militant attacks severely affected the mega projects and there is urgent need for providing security for the personnel engaged in the implementation of the projects. Sources said that the State Chief Secretary held a meeting with the Railway officials to discuss the problems faced by the Railways in implementing the gauge conversion project on January 24, while, the Principal Secretary of the Home Department held a meeting with the officials of the National Highway Authority and the contractors on February 2.

Sources revealed that the Government has decided to take the services of ex-servicemen to provide security to the persons involved in the mega projects on contract basis.

Sources revealed that the Government has decided to appoint 500 ex-servicemen on contract for providing security to the Highway project and one thousand for providing security cover to those engaged in the Railway project. One police officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police would be put in charge of coordinating the activities of the ex-servicemen to be appointed as Special Police Officers (SPO). The SPOs would be provided with sophisticated weapons and the Government has already procured weapons for them. The ex-servicemen to be selected for appointment as SPOs would be given training with the police battalions before being pressed into service, sources added. Concerned with the delay in implementation of the mega projects, the Government of India has also deployed two companies of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) for security of the persons engaged in the Railway Project and two more for the Highway Project.

Commenting on the recent attack on the Kopili project of the NEEPCO, sources said that one additional platoon of police personnel have been posted in the project site. Sources revealed that the militants demanded huge sums of money from the public sector undertaking and the refusal to meet the demand resulted in the attack. Sources also admitted that as the powerhouses of the project are located in remote places, it might be difficult to provide security to each and every person working in the project.

Official sources said that the district council and all political leaders must also play a positive role in educating the common people about the need for implementing the major development projects as apart from the militant groups, the local people sometimes also created problems for the contractors engaged for the implementation of the projects.

Meanwhile, the State Government is not very happy with the role played by the Army in counter-insurgency operations in the NC Hills District. Sources admitted that some operational problems also cropped up in deployment of the Army in the Hill district. Army personnel belonging to the 4 Corps are deployed all over the State for the counter insurgency operations and the GOC of the 4 Corps is a part of the Unified Command structure. But Army personnel from the 3 Corps based in Dimapur have been posted in the NC Hills district, which resulted in some operational problems. The Government of Assam has already requested the Centre to bring the NC Hills under the 4 Corps of the Army, sources added. The Chief Minister has also taken up the matter with the Government of India.

[Anindya]

From the Pioneer...

[quote]Ghettoisation and tension arrive with illegal immigrants

Bharti Jain

DHUBRI

ILLEGAL immigration from Bangladesh has not only altered the demographic profile of several border districts in Assam but has also resulted in ghettoisation of villages and towns along religious lines.
So much so, this particular district — where Muslims constitute a whopping 74.3% of the total population, having grown by 29.5% between 1991 and 2001 — is already divided into three demographic zones, with Muslims completely dominating the region south of Brahmaputra, its char islands as well as parts of Dhubri town; Hindus concentrating themselves in Gouripur and areas adjoining Cooch Behar in West Bengal; and Hindus with a splattering of Christians residing along East Garo Hills on Meghalaya border.

Though Hindus, a minority here since long, peacefully co-existed with Muslims in Dhubri town through the latter’s fast-paced demographic growth, of late, local intelligence agencies have been reporting a gradual exodus of Hindus to non-Muslim ghettos and villages. This, agencies inform ET, is primarily on account of Hindu families feeling a sense of insecurity over being “surroundedâ€

[Sanku]

Please please read this please

Shilpa Shetty trumps Arunachal again

Shilpa Shetty trumps Arunachal again
Arun Shourie
Posted online: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 at 2302 hrs Print Email
Every time China advances a claim, watch how our government — and media — react in feeble, confused, and contradictory ways, writes Arun Shourie

Arun Shourie#
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November 21, 2007: We were all at the weekly meeting of the BJP members of Parliament. L.K. Advani was presiding. Two of our colleagues represent Arunachal in the Lok Sabha — Tapir Gao and Kiren Rijiju. They drew attention to the fact that Chinese incursions into Arunachal were not just continuing — these were becoming more frequent and the Chinese soldiers were coming in deeper into our territory. They pointed to the statement of a senior official heading our force that is deployed on the border: the official had felt compelled to disclose in a public statement that there had been 146 incursions in just 2007. The MPs — who know the area well, who tour extensively across the state, to whom local inhabitants regularly and naturally bring information — said that the Chinese were now preventing locals from going up to regions where they had been taking their animals for grazing; that they were being supplied goods from Chinese shops...

They drew even sharper attention to an incident that had occurred just three weeks earlier. For as long as anyone could remember, there had been a statue of the Buddha — well inside Indian territory. Local inhabitants used to go up to it — pray, make their offerings. The local commander of the Chinese troops had told Indian soldiers that the statue must be removed. Our soldiers had pointed out that the statue was well within Indian territory, and so there was no question of removing it. The Chinese had come, and blown off the statue...

I raised my hand for permission to speak. It so happened that I was half-way through a book, Why Geography Matters, by the well-known geographer, Harm de Blij. Setting the stage, Blij points to the clues that one can get from maps, and why it is important to pay attention to them — especially when governments publish them. He recalls ‘a telling experience’ he had in 1990. A colleague of his, working then at the University of Baghdad, had sent him an official map that had been published by the Government of Iraq. The map showed Kuwait as the 13th province of Iraq. At a meeting in Washington, Blij had drawn the attention of the then chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the US House of Representatives to the map and its implications. The gentleman had told Blij not to worry, the US Ambassador, he said, was on top of things... A few days had not passed, and Iraq had marched its armies into Kuwait... The first Gulf War...

But it was the passage that followed that was of urgent interest to us, and I sought Advani’s permission to read it. The passage is as follows — please do read it carefully:

‘Cartographic aggression takes several forms. Some overt, as in the case of Iraq, others more subtle. In 1993 I received a book titled Physical Geography of China, written by Zhao Sonqiao, published in 1986 in Beijing. On the frontispiece is a map of China. But that map, to the trained eye, looks a bit strange. Why? Because in the south, it takes from India virtually all of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, plus a piece of the state of Assam. Now this book is not a political geography of China, nor is the matter of appropriated Indian territory ever discussed in it. China’s border is simply assumed to lie deep inside India, and the mountains and valleys thus claimed are discussed as though they are routinely a part of China. Make no mistake: such a map could not, in the 1980s at least, have been published without official approval. It should put not just India but the whole international community on notice of a latent trouble spot.’

BJP members of Parliament are acutely sensitive to national security issues. Here were two colleagues from the state testifying to what the Chinese were doing in Arunachal, and now here was a book that was warning about what was afoot — a book published far away, a book written by an author who had no interest in either running down China or upholding India’s position on anything. The effect was palpable. Advani said that the two MPs and I should attend the BJP press conference that afternoon, and draw the attention of the media to the facts. Advaniji said that, in addition to explaining the background, I should read out the passage too.

When Parliament is in session, the press conference is held every afternoon. The large room was packed with journalists. After Sushma Swaraj and Vijay Kumar Malhotra had dealt with events of the day, Tapir Gao and Kiren Rijiju narrated the facts. I set out the context — and read the foregoing passage.

I had hardly concluded that the usual clutch — pro-Congress, pro-Left — was up in arms. ‘When was the book published?’ one demanded. I couldn’t get the relevance of the question: what has the date of publication got to do with the warning that the author had penned, even more so with the facts that the MPs have set out? ‘No, no. As the book must have been available even during the NDA regime, what did your government do about the matter?’ I hadn’t looked up the date of publication. I did now. The edition I had in hand had been published in 2007! It records that the book was first published in 2005! The journalist subsided. In any case, I pointed out, trying to soften the deflation-by-date, the vital thing is not what the book says — the passage from the book just illustrates that, while others are concerned, we continue to sleep. The thing of vital consequence is what is happening on the ground, and this is what my colleagues here — who represent the area in Parliament — have just narrated.

‘But what did the NDA do about the incursions?’ another member of that clutch demanded. First, the head of the force at the border has spoken about the incursions that have taken place this year, in 2007, I pointed out. What could the NDA government have done about them? But assume that incursions were taking place then, and that the NDA government did nothing. Does that in any way become reason for not doing anything today? Please do have some mercy on our country, I said. Here is China claiming our territory; here it is, having begun that well-rehearsed series of steps which precede a grab. Are we going to divert ourselves from that reality by the usual ‘tu-tu, mein-mein, NDA vs UPA?’

‘No, Mr Shourie,’ — it was the pro-Left journalist — ‘but you have to acknowledge that there is no agreed international border between India and China. So...’ That is the Chinese position as articulated by your paper often, I said. It has not been the position of any Indian Government...

By now enough diversion had been created. The press conference was soon over. My Arunachal colleagues were, of course, disheartened — ‘If this is how much the national press cares...’ I was incensed. For years I have seen such clutches divert attention from life and death issues and been unable to do anything about it. Here was another painful instance.

Not only was the question at hand a matter of life and death for our country. It was one on which we had the most recent historical experience to keep us alert. When Acharya Kripalani, Ram Manohar Lohia, K.M. Munshi and others had first drawn attention to Chinese maps that showed vast swathes of Indian territory to be part of China, Panditji had replied that he had taken up the matter with the Chinese and they had said that these were old, colonial, faulty maps, and, as they had just gained independence, they had not had time to correct them. Later, these very maps were used to argue that the areas had always been part of China. Mao had then declared, Tibet is the palm of China, and the Himalayan kingdoms are the fingers of that palm... Did the journalists not remember any of this?

An anchor from a news channel phoned. I saw your press conference, he said. We have been following this story for many months. Can you please come to our studio?... No, I said, I really am very upset at what happened... But I give you my word, he said, we think this is an important issue, and we are going to follow it in the coming months also. I will send an OB-van to your house.

The van came. The late night news. The earpiece in my ear... All set. Delay — quite understandable: some new eruption in Nandigram... Eventually, the anchor and I are talking.

‘But are you sure about the facts or is the BJP indulging in its usual fear-politics?’ the anchor asks. But why don’t you ascertain them from the two MPs who represent the area? I respond. Better still, why don’t you send your own correspondents and photographers to the area? I inquire. We will, we will, I assure you. I was just making sure...

In any case, look at what the ambassador of China has himself said, I remarked. Remember, just days before Hu Jintao, the Chinese President, was to come to India, the ambassador declared, right here on Indian soil, that Arunachal is a part of China...

‘But maybe he was saying it for rhetorical effect,’ said the anchor.

Rhetorical effect? I skipped a heartbeat. Is the Chinese Ambassador also running after TRP ratings like the TV channels? Would an ambassador say such things just for effect? And that too the ambassador of China, of all countries? You mean an ambassador, you mean the ambassador of China of all countries would claim the territory of the country to which he is accredited, that he would lay claim to an entire state of that country for rhetorical effect? I asked. And remember, I pointed out, he repeated the claim in Chandigarh later. And look at the government of China — it has not distanced itself from the claim advanced by its ambassador. On the contrary, its ‘think-tanks’ have held ‘seminars’ in the wake of the ambassador’s statement. In this the ‘scholars’ and ‘diplomats’ and ‘strategic thinkers’ have declared to the man that Arunachal is ‘Chinese territory under India’s forcible occupation’; that it is ‘China’s Tawang region’; that it is ‘Southern Tibet’ which must be brought under the control of the Tibet Autonomous Region. And you call this rhetorical? That is just lunatic...

The anchor was off to the next item. ‘Be that as it may... Another controversy... Thank you, Mr Shourie. Always a pleasure talking to you. Moving now to a slightly less controversial story...’ ‘SHILPA SHETTY,’ he said, his voice rising, ‘has not been in the news since the famous Richard Gere kiss, but we have her back today. Here she is, SHILPA SHETTY...’

The sound on my earpiece cut. Shilpa Shetty had once again trumped poor Arunachal.

Both sets of exchanges — at the press conference as well as over the TV news channel — had been typical. In part, the problem is extreme, brazen partisanship — and this takes two forms. One is the premise of many: India can never really be in the right: you just have to see the play Musharraf’s devious formulae have got in many of our magazines — the presumption is that we are in the wrong in Kashmir, and so we are the ones who must bend, and go on bending till Pakistan expresses satisfaction. This premise is compounded in the case of many others by commitment: you can rely on several of our colleagues to see merit in China’s stance on everything. The second variant is domestic predilection: the BJP is evil incarnate; because the BJP has raised the issue, the issue itself must be trashed. That is how the mortal danger from Bangladeshi infiltrators has been shouted out. That is how the dual-faced, anti-national politics of many in Kashmir has been shouted out. That is how appeasement of narrow sections for votes is routinely shouted out. That is how what is happening in Arunachal is being shouted out.

And then there is what has become the nature of the media: the obsession with the sound bite on the one side and with the next ‘breaking news’ on the other. Issues like Kashmir, the nuclear deal, the way China is translating its economic strength into military might — these require more than a sound bite. The media has no time for that.

Similarly, to deal with China, to counter Pakistan’s proxy war, the country must sustain a policy for 20-30 years. And for that, you have to keep readers and viewers focused on that issue for decades at a time. But the media is fixated only on what it can project as ‘breaking news’ in this shift — what was ‘breaking news’ in the last shift is ‘old hat’ by this one.

Even more than partisanship, and the obsessions of the current media with the next ‘breaking news’, the problem is superciliousness — this has become the reigning ideology today. What we see every day in papers — that ‘Shilpa Shetty over Arunachal’ business — was brought home to me directly one day. We happened to meet while flying to Mumbai — the owner of one of the country’s foremost newspapers and I. I accosted him about what his paper was carrying on Kashmir — every allegation, every smear that any and every secessionist thug was spitting out at our country and our forces was being carried on the front pages of his paper as fact. Aren’t you reading the nonsense that your paper is printing on Kashmir? I asked. And I gave examples from the preceding few days. The entrepreneur listened. And then exclaimed: ‘Arun bhai, yehi to faraq hai aap mein aur hum mein. Aap abhi bhi hamara paper padhte ho!’ — ‘That is precisely the difference between you and us, Arun bhai. You still read our paper!’

That such a person no longer bothers to read his paper was just a pose. His real message was, ‘Kashmir, did you say? I am above such trifles...’

This weak-kneed government is a problem, of course: its nominal leaders have lifted helplessness to new heights. But the even graver problem now is that the one instrument by which it could be shaken up, the media, has become a problem of its own.

Make no mistake: China watches all this. It watches the feeble, confused, contradictory ways in which our government, and even more our society, reacts each time it advances a claim. And it pursues its policy:

• Claim;

• Repeat the claim;

• Go on repeating the claim;

• Grab;

• Hold;

• Let time pass.

And they will reconcile themselves to the new situation. Has the policy not succeeded in regard to Tibet? No Indian Prime Minister will dare mention the word ‘Tibet’ or ‘Taiwan’ — lest doing so offends China. But China will go on claiming what it wants — for reasons that we must understand!

But why think of Tibet and Taiwan? Has the six-step policy not succeeded in regard to Aksai Chin? In spite of the unanimous resolution that the Parliament passed at the time under Panditji, is there an Indian leader who will today demand that China hand back Aksai Chin? And do you think that when they deliberate over what they are to do in regard to Arunachal, the Chinese do not remember the success they have achieved in Aksai Chin?

[Rudranathh]

Shilpa Shetty trumps Arunachal again

They drew even sharper attention to an incident that had occurred just three weeks earlier. For as long as anyone could remember, there had been a statue of the Buddha — well inside Indian territory. Local inhabitants used to go up to it — pray, make their offerings. The local commander of the Chinese troops had told Indian soldiers that the statue must be removed. Our soldiers had pointed out that the statue was well within Indian territory, and so there was no question of removing it. The Chinese had come, and blown off the statue...

These wretched chinese swines eat any $hit they get and behave like $hit. These cursed people are a blot on humanity and have to be responded in the only manner that they understand. The taliban blew the bamiyan statues and got bombed from the sky to stone age, now that the chinese have blewn the buddha statue they are facing the wrath of god in the severe dispurtions that they have faced due to snow storms. These wretches will be reduced to live perpetual poverty.

[derkonig]

^
mullah rudra...
AoA to that.
like they say in BENIS..may more such biss pee on chin

More importantly,

China food crisis

[Rudranathh]

Top priority of UPA is development of NE: PM

Feb 19 : The Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh has blamed the ruling Left Front government in Tripura for not expediting developmental work.

Addressing an election rally at Udaipur in South Tripura today, Dr.Singh alleged that the state government has failed to utilize funds allotted by the centre in different schemes.

The Prime Minister said that the UPA government at the centre has given top priority for the development of North-Eastern states including Tripura.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Election Commissioner Mr.Balakrishnan reviewed the Poll arrangements at a high level meeting in Agartala today.

[Rudranathh]

Campaigning in full swing for assembly elections in N-E

Campainging goes in full swing in three of the north eastern state of India i.e Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland ahead of the state assembly election.

The Tripura administration has deployed 191 companies of additional central paramilitary forces, of the 200 companies already in Agartala, to ensure smooth electioneering in the build-up to the 23rd Februray Tripura assembly elections.

The nine remaining companies will be deployed after the last date of campaigning on 21st February.

According to state police chief K T D Singh, the BSF has already sealed the 856 km Indo-Bangladesh border to stop the movement of insurgents and to contain any attempt of influx into the state from the neighbouring country.

PM to campaign in Tripura on Tuesday

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will campaign in the Marxist-ruled Tripura where the Congress is making a determined bid to gain power.

Singh would be addressing a public meeting at Udaipur near the state capital of Agartala, sources said.

The Prime Minister's visit comes a day after Congress President Sonia Gandhi's whirlwind tour during which she launched a scathing attack on Left Front government ahead of the 23rd February assembly election.

For the first time, the elite Indo-Tibet Border Police was deployed in the state, and the jawans with their distinct camouflage have taken charge of all the city corners.

Besides the ITBP, CRPF and BSF personnel in their full gear and weaponry were fanning out to all the vulnerable spots.

Meghalaya witnesses hectic activities of electioneering

Meghalaya is also witnessing hectic activities of electioneering where election for 60 member assembly will take place on 3rd March.

Monday was the last day for withdrawal of nominations for the Meghalaya Assembly elections, scheduled for 3rd March.

State Chief Electoral Officer, P Nayak told media persons said that 635 polling booths have been identified as hyper-sensitive and security has been stepped up in the state to ensure a calm environment during the elections.

Campaigning on in Nagaland

Campaigning is also on in Nagaland that goes to the polls on 5th March.

A total of 287 candidates are in the fray for the Assembly elections, after Monday's scrutiny of nomination papers.

The aspirants represent 10 political parties as well as independents vying for the 60 Assembly seats in the state.

The last date for withdrawal of candidature is Wednesday.

[Rudranathh]

Mizoram flags off 'Game On! Youth Sports'

Aizawl, Feb 19 (UNI) School students and officials gathered at the AR Ground here today to witness the launch of the International Alliance for Youth Sports (IAYS)'s flagship programme of Game On! Youth Sports in Mizoram.

The event followed a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Mizoram government's education department and the Florida-based IAYS here yesterday.

The MoU aims at preparing young children to reach higher levels in various sports disciplines, to reduce repetition and dropouts among school children, Education Minister Lalthangliana said today.

Kickstarting the Game On!, IAYS president and CEO Fred Engh said, ''We are beginning a truly special journey today that will make a difference in the lives of thousands of children throughout this country. I have seen the impact Game On! has had at firsthand, I can not wait to see it change young lives here too. I can not wait to see the smiles on children’s face, and the excitement in their eyes.

Mizoram is the first Indian state to join many countries and regions in the IAYS’ Game On! Youth Sports.

The Game On! Youth Sports will be carried out under pilot project for the 10 schools/sports academies. Training for coaches/instructors under SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan) sports academies will be conducted by IAYS and will as well seek support from donors or funding partners for Game On! Youth Sports programme in Mizoram whereas supervision, monitoring and evaluation cell will be set up at block, district and state level of SSA Mission, officials said.

Upon success of the Game On! in the 10 piloted schools, the Mizoram government will agree on purchasing a minimum number of the Game On! individual school package programmes to be distributed throughout Mizoram schools and sports academies, the minimum number of which will be agreed upon by IAYS and the government of Mizoram,'' they said.

[Rudranathh]

Arunachal needs proactive, resource-based strategy: Governor

Itanagar, Feb 20 - Arunachal Pradesh Governor Gen(Retd) J J Singh today stressed the need for a proactive, resource-based and time-bound strategy for development of the state and said the Centre should give foremost priority in this direction.

Addressing the gathering here at I G Park this morning on the occasion of 22nd Statehood Day celebration, the former Army Chief pleaded the Centre not to subject Arunachal to the theoretical 'cost-benefit' analysis and added that money spent in the state was not 'expenditure, but investment'.

''Whatever support we get from the Centre will be used in an innovative and productive manner and we will work hard in improving our administrative mechanism so that better quality of life is made available to the citizens,'' he said.

Referring to the packages announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his recent visit to the state, General Singh said the announcement of package was just a beginning and a great amount of will power and hard work would be required to convert this package into reality.

''We will have to undertake a complete government process re-engineering to shift ourself from the programme mode to the project mode,'' he said and added, ''Many reforms need to be undertaken in the administrative, engineering and policy machinery to ensure that the process of development continues at the optimum speed so as to reach to the poorest of the poor of the state,'' he commented.

He said the state need to overcome the petty differences and also the localised development approach, and come up with a common pan-Arunachalee feeling.

''We have to come out of the 'bandh' and 'ultimatum' culture as frequent bandhs and ultimatums are not only detrimental for our growth but they also weaken the very basic fabric of the state,'' he advocated and appealed to the people to become partners in government endeavours to achieve the general target of development.

[derkonig]

Mizoram flags off 'Game On! Youth Sports'

International Alliance for Youth Sports (IAYS)

'international' and 'youth' in the name pretty marks it as some EJ promoted thing.

[Rye]

Seems to be a genuine sports org


link

Came across a Japanese Mizo community.

http://japanmizo.com/florida-base-iays- ... in-aizawl/

[ashish raval]

Shilpa Shetty trumps Arunachal again

They drew even sharper attention to an incident that had occurred just three weeks earlier. For as long as anyone could remember, there had been a statue of the Buddha — well inside Indian territory. Local inhabitants used to go up to it — pray, make their offerings. The local commander of the Chinese troops had told Indian soldiers that the statue must be removed. Our soldiers had pointed out that the statue was well within Indian territory, and so there was no question of removing it. The Chinese had come, and blown off the statue...

I bet it is about time to heavily mine or put roadside bombs which can triggered only by Indian Army in the Arunachal. The next time they come instead of going back to china they will go upwards in the sky forever.

[Victor]

Relatively unknown fact--there are about 12,000 Sikhs in Assam of whom about half are Assamese Sikhs (as opposed to Punjabi Sikhs, ie. they are mostly of local stock, look "North Eastern" and cannot speak Punjabi). Major reason was the remoteness of the region which did not afford easy mingling with the mainlanders after settling down there over a hundred years ago.

This is for those who may think the Assamese are "anti outsider".

From the Assam Tribune:

Assamese Sikhs enriching literature
[quote]Prabal Kr Das
NAGAON, March 10 – It is an achievement, which would have few parallels in any other part of the country. A martial race has displayed its dedication to the cause of literature. The Assamese Sikhs of Borkola are now an integral part of the fifth special annual convention of Asam Sahitya Sabha at Sankar-Nanak-Ajan Peer Khetra at Dakhinpat.

In the ongoing event, the Assamese Sikh occupied several important posts including vice president and adviser.

Today, Durbar Singh, assistant secretary, reception committee mentioned the role of Assamese Sikh in moulding the history of the region. He said that in 1960, the Sikhs of Nagaon too moulded public opinion. In 1972 and 1974, the Sikhs of Nagaon took part in agitation over language and food supplies.

In the foreigners movement, between 1979 and 1985, the community had two martyrs- Chandan Singh and Karam Singh, he added.

Retired lecturer and academic Pritam Singh noted that the Assamese Sikhs of Borkola have come out in large numbers to participate in the convention. “We are happy to be part of a noble endeavour like this.â€

[krithivas]

1 million face famine amid 'bamboo death'
Plague of rats eats Indian region's entire paddy crop

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23673239/

This appears to be a repeat phenomenon and GoI/Mizoram as usual was ready ....

R. Krithivas

[Sanjay M]

Bhutan's Democratic Elections

The people of Bhutan seem so orderly and responsible. It's so refreshing to have that in our part of the world.

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=bhutan

[joshvajohn]

I think it is time for India to honour Bhutan's King for allowing the democratic election in this small country.

This is a publicity for democratic values around this place.
May be Bharat Ratna can be given to the Bhutan's king as he has been very helpful to India's strategic plans.

[Rye]

Instead of symbolic gestures -- such as Bharat Ratna or whatever pathetic joke of an award is given to jokers like Teesta Setalvad and "eminent historians" like Romila Thapar -- followed by complete absence of thought/"benign neglect" on Bhutan for the next few decades/centuries, it may be more prudent for the GoI to ensure that Bhutan is continously engaged by this admin and all future govts at a fundamental level to share our experiences with running a democracy. Such a "benign neglect" policy has been a disaster in Bangladesh.

Such engagement is crucial to ensure that outside powers do not try to get a foothold in Bhutan by creating trouble as they have done all around India's neighbourhood. This is the lowest cost way of ensuring Bhutan's stability down the line -- it has to come from good HumInt that allows the govt. to take corrective actions well ahead of time, before the situation reaches a point of no return.

[Rye]

http://www.indianexpress.com/story/293400.html

From Indian Express: Kudos to Gov. JJ Singh.

[quote]
Governor J J Singh brings Arunachal’s voice to Delhi

Raghvendra Rao

Posted online: Monday, April 07, 2008 at 0009 hrs IST

NEW DELHI, APRIL 6
An Arunachal Pradesh MP left quite a few red faces in Parliament recently when he said they could approach Beijing for a rail line if Delhi couldn’t deliver. Now, the state has found an unusual votary in Governor J J Singh. While it’s chief ministers who are known to chase state-specific developmental issues in New Delhi’s power corridors, the former Army Chief has taken up that role for the easternmost frontier state.

Since he moved into Arunachal Pradesh Raj Bhavan two months ago, Singh has held one-on-one meetings with Union Ministers for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Communications and Information Technology, Defence, Surface Transport and Railways, presenting the state’s aspirations, showcasing its potential and demanding its due.

The General’s ideas range from opening up the Mechuka and Tawang sectors to foreign tourists and fast-tracking the work on a greenfield airport at Tawang, to getting Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd to provide mobile telecommunication in Arunachal’s border areas and relaxing Restricted Area Permit (RAP) and Protected Area Permit (PAP) for foreign tourists, while simultaneously streamlining the system of issuing Inner Line Permits (ILPs) to Indian nationals.

And one of the primary items on Singh’s agenda is a railway line. During his meeting with Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, the General gave the example of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway to make his point on economic viability versus social and strategic needs.

Singh is learnt to have impressed upon Lalu the strategic significance of a railway line, citing the challenge of “troop movementâ€

[Vasu]

In all my tirades to my friends and family about the UPA government, ably supported by puppets, I think the decision to send JJ to Arunachal was one of their best decisions.

This is of course if its for all the good stuff behind the scenes.

[svinayak]

In all my tirades to my friends and family about the UPA government, ably supported by puppets, I think the decision to send JJ to Arunachal was one of their best decisions.

This is of course if its for all the good stuff behind the scenes.

Did they have any choice

[Venkarl]

http://www.indianexpress.com/story/293400.html

From Indian Express: Kudos to Gov. JJ Singh.

An Arunachal Pradesh MP left quite a few red faces in Parliament recently when he said they could approach Beijing for a rail line if Delhi couldn’t deliver.

Wonderful. Best way to slap the New Delhi's governance. Any common man would prefer that, if the other side of the international border is getting developed(ofcourse, that betterment in life would cost his/her soul). New Delhi must have gotten some jolts by hearing an MP saying that. Atleast this should wake our babus up and make them focus on NE States' development in a short time.

[Rye]

Arunachal Pradesh MLA Mr. Rijiju's statement was posted on this or some other thread recently. He decried the lack of attention being paid to AP and the NE by the GoI.

[Singha]

one of the most prominent and respected assamese writers has been jyoti prasad agarwalla. there are many very old marwari families in tinsukia area.

[Atish]

My Uncle published a Hindi translation of all of Jyoti Prasad Agarwalla's works. Was inaugrated by the President SD Sharma. So I have been to the inside of Rashtrapati Bhavan for the ceremony.

Atish.

[putnanja]

Stung by the superior infrastructure in China, the Government has altered guidelines to ease the construction of roads in hilly border states

[putnanja]

Strategic helipads in Arunachal to be upgraded

[Vasu]

In all my tirades to my friends and family about the UPA government, ably supported by puppets, I think the decision to send JJ to Arunachal was one of their best decisions.

This is of course if its for all the good stuff behind the scenes.

Did they have any choice

I think I missed this part of the discussion. Please tell me more, acharya ji!

[svinayak]

Did they have any choice

I think I missed this part of the discussion. Please tell me more, acharya ji!

Neglect in the 40 years have made this inevitable.

[Kati]

Happy Rongali Bihu to all.

[Ujjal]

Happy Bihu to all

[Paul]

[quote]ULFA man’s diary may open Pandora’s box
By A Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Sept 23 – The diary of Prabal Neog, the arrested commander of the 28 battalion of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) may lead to unearthing of the outfit’s links with others, and the security agencies are now cross checking the phone numbers recorded in the diary. Prabal was arrested along with his wife in Tezpur on September 17 last and highly placed police sources said that he turned out to be a “tough nut to crackâ€

[Arunkumar]

Didn't know something of this sort existed.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chutiya_kingdom

and also this ......

http://www.indiauncut.com/iublog/articl ... d-rejoice/

[Victor]

There is a place called "Chutia Gaon" in Assam also. This actually caused us much merriment when we were kids growing up outside Assam. However, "Chutiya" is neither an Assamese spelling or pronounciation, there being no "ch" sound in Assamese. The correct form is "Sutiya" which nobody in Assam has bothered to correct since relatively few Assamese spoke or even heard Hindi until recently. Thus, the Assamese pronounciation for checks (cheques) is "sex".