Election authorities will scan video footages of public meetings, rallies, etc, during electioneering to see if candidates had indulged in personal attacks against rival contestants.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Chief Election Officer PK Naik said this time round candidates would have to exercise restraint without going beyond a permissible limit during election campaigns.

Those crossing the limit would have to face the music. The idea is to prevent candidates from getting personal at the hustings, Mr Naik said.

There are records which point to personal attacks by candidates. Even in the recent past - in the Parliamentary election in Garo Hills -- political parties and politicians indulged in excessive slander campaigns against each other.

"This videography would also act as an evidence to settle any disputes if a particular candidate comes forward with a complaint against his rival candidate and accuses him of making comments relating to his personal life," Mr Naik said, adding the video footages would assist the Election Commission to gives its final judgment on issues like this.

He, however, said video coverage would be especially done during critical events and that the video recording would be taken up in all hyper-sensitive polling stations on the polling day on March 3.

According to the Chief Election Officer, election observers will also be provided with video cameras to record the election process in the State. They would carry the cameras independently and would be free to take shots.

"As per the Election Commission directions, the candidates would be allowed to spend a total amount of Rs 5 lakh and two vehicles each for their election campaigns," Mr Naik pointed out.

He said the State Government had asked for 40 additional companies of CRPF for the coming Assembly elections, adding necessary precautionary measures had already been taken to deal with militant threat in the border areas.

SHILLONG: The State Government has declared 635 polling stations as hyper-sensitive and 194 as sensitive, out of the total 1582.

Chief Election Officer PK Naik told reporters on Thursday that out of 465 polling stations in East Khasi Hills, 199 had been identified as hypersensitive and only 4 as sensitive.

"In Jaintia Hills, out of the 238 polling stations, 118 have been described as hyper-sensitive and 53 as sensitive, while in West Khasi Hills 79 have been termed as hyper-sensitive and 35 as sensitive, out of the total 173 in the district," Mr Naik said.

Forty-six of the 125 polling stations in Ri-Bhoi district have been declared as hyper-sensitive and 11 as sensitive.

Of the total 339 polling stations in West Garo Hills, 52 are hyper-sensitive and 61 sensitive.

East Garo Hills has, out of the 206, 52 hypersensitive and 61 sensitive polling stations.

Twenty-one and another seven of the 43 polling stations in  South Garo Hills have been identified as hyper-sensitive and sensitive respectively.

"All the polling stations where there are political rivalry, militant threat and possibilities of booth capturing have been termed as hyper-sensitive," Mr Naik said.

He, however, added that the polling stations near the international border and those in elephant-infested areas would be considered as sensitive ones.

During the same time, Congress president Sonia Ganadhi will also campaign in the State along with party general secretary Rahul Gandhi.

The FKJGP also warned book sellers not to charge more than the maximum retail price printed on the books.

While asking parents and students to be aware of such manipulations by book traders, it also asked them to inform the organisation about such cases.

SHILLONG/TURA: A number of politicians of the State may land in trouble for violating the poll code of conduct.

Some sitting MLAs in Garo Hills have allegedly misused government assets like ambulances and others to further their political interests despite announcement of election date in the State.

Congress candidate and MLA from Dalu constituency Samuel M Sangma has drawn flak for violating the model code of conduct by using a government-funded vehicle for allegedly transporting his supporters. The legislator went to the extent of inscribing the words "Donated by Samuel M Sangma, MLA" on an ambulance, which was actually purchased under a Central scheme -- Special Rural Works Programme (SRWP).

Following complaints about misuse of the ambulance by Mr Sangma, West Garo Hills district authorities swung into action and seized the vehicle from the hospital premises in Tura.

Under the SRWP programme, an MLA gets Central funds on an annual basis. An elected public representative can purchase ambulances through the scheme but cannot hold on to them.

Normally, an ambulance purchased under SRWP or any other Central schemes is supposed to be handed over to a hospital management society for public use.

"SRWP funds are given by the government for public use, and no MLA can claim to have donated it spending money from his pocket," election authorities said, while vowing to strictly enforce the model code of conduct.

Similar instances of MLAs claiming to have donated ambulances and other assets belonging to the government have been reported in Garo Hills.

Only recently, an NCP MLA was accused of using another government-allotted ambulance for his personal use.

Meanwhile, Chief Election Officer PK Naik told reporters that election authorities would not hesitate to take action against politicians using official vehicles for their poll campaigns. If a candidate is found to be violating the rules, a formal complaint has to be written to the State Election Commission to necessitate appropriate action, he said.

Independent candidate from Kharkutta constituency Projend D Sangma has also filed a complaint with election authorities against Congress legislator Elstone D Marak for violation of the model code of conduct.

In a complaint lodged with the Returning Officer of Kharkutta constituency, Mr Sangma alleged that the Congress MLA had prepared "unauthorised" posters and stuck them in various parts of the constituency.

"Nothing was mentioned in the posters regarding the printing press, number of such posters, etc, which is against the poll code of conduct. By sticking such posters, Mr Marak has seriously violated the rules," Mr Sangma alleged.

Mr Sangma also urged the returning officer to verify the scheduled tribe status of Mr Marak since, according to him, the Congress legislator was born and brought up in Assam and had furnished "false statements" to show himself as a resident of Meghalaya.

SHILLONG: In view of bird flu fast spreading in states like West Bengal and Bihar, a team of experts from Union Ministry of Animal Husbandry and Health reviewed here on Thursday precautionary measures taken by the Meghalaya Government against possible outbreak of bird flu in the State.

The expert team, at a meeting with State Government officials, assessed the situation in Meghalaya and steps adopted or to be undertaken by the State Government to tackle any eventuality due to bird flu.

The team is expected to visit areas of the State bordering Assam and Bangladesh later.

The State Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Department, in association with the Disease Investigation and Disease Surveillance wing, also held a meeting in the Jaintia Hills on further steps needed to pre-empt any case of bird flu.

South Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Ms RD Marak has called an emergency meeting of the District Task Force to chalk out anti- bird flu strategies in the district.

In a statment issued here on Thursday, Ms Marak, who is also the head of the task force, stressed on the need to spread awareness about the disease in the district and called for concerted effort from all concerned to prevent outbreak of the disease.

The District Veterinary Officer said select farmers and BSF personnel would be given training on anti-bird flu measures on February 7.

Addressing a press meet here, Mr Suting said, "political parties have never been a matter of concern for Laitumkhrah constituency as people here scrutinise the personality and potential of the candidate to work for the good of the constituency before giving their votes."

"This can be best referred to late Peter G Marbaniang, who won the seat both as candidate of both APHLC and Congress," Mr Suting said, adding even Robert Kharshiing had won the seat as an HPU candidate once.

He allayed the perception of many that NCP was a "Garo party" which, he said, was misleading as the party had represen- tatives in the Parliament from across the country.

Earlier on Wednesday, Laitumkhrah Block NCP held a meeting to deliberate on various issues relating to preparations for the Assembly elections, besides other prickly issues and problems facing the people of the constituency.

Some of the important issues taken up at the meeting include scarcity of water in most localities mainly due to an improper distribution system, the need for transparency and accountability in implementation of MLA schemes, lack of sufficient job opportunities for the youth and absence of proper career counselling among others.

MDP on Thursrday announced THS Bonney as its candidate from Sohiong Assembly constituency.

A meeting of the party held at Sohiong in presence of party joint secretary B Kular Khongjirem and other leaders unanimously decided to field Mr Bonney as the party candidate for Sohiong seat.

An IFS officer of Orissa cadre, Mr Bonney recently joined MDP along with a large number of followers.

An ad-hoc body of MDP's Sohiong Circle was also formed with THS Bonney as president, John Kharjana as vice-president, Krimas Nongdhar as secretary, Mangkara Nongrum as joint secretary and Phedolis Thabah as treasurer.

Joint Coordination Committee of the HSPDP and KHNAM has released the additional list of candidates, approved by the two parties, for the Assembly elections.

The HSPDP has fielded Bomber Hynniewta from Mylliem seat, DW Lamare from Nongbah-Wahiajer, Kyrsum Had from Jirang, Marcus Lyngdoh from Nongpoh, W Marbaniang from Nongspung and Phira Rani from Laitumkhrah while KHNAM has fielded Tariang Massar to contest from the Rymbai seat.

The victim Mrs Swagata Choudhury (40), a teacher of Jail Road Boys' Secondary School, was returning happily from a family vacation at Puri by Puri Express. Her husband Mr Pinaki (Babla) Choudhury, a lecturer in Mawlai Polytechnique and their only daughter were in company.

According to information reaching here, at 5.30 am when the train came to a halt at Datun Station in West Bengal, taking advantage of the darkness when most passengers were asleep, apparently somebody snatched her handbag containing valuables.

The brave lady gave the thief a hot chase across the platform and retrieved the bag.

As she was returning to the compartment, where her husband and daughter were asleep, the train was already in motion. Her desperate bid to board the moving train resulted in disaster.

She fell on the track and here chest and right arm were severely mauled.

Some railway staff picked her up and took her to the nearest hospital.

Woken by the shrieks, the co-passengers tried to stop the train by pulling the alarm chain, but in vain. Only after the train reached the next station - Kharagpur - the husband could alight and leave by road for the place of the accident.

Meanwhile, Mrs Choudhury died of excessive bleeding on way to Kharagpur where she was being rushed for better medical attention.

Later, police handed over the body after completing all legal formalities, and her last remains were consigned to flames at Kharagpur.

In a statement issued here on Thursday, MTPG chairman Michael N Syiem said the Union Ministry of Tourism had sanctioned an amount of Rs 5.23 lakh as second instalment for Eco Tourism at the Lumpongdeng Island, Umiam Lake.

The organisations has been demanding release of the amount for nearly five years.

"The Government is yet to consider our request even after numerous written and personal requests to the State Tourism Department," Mr Syiem said.

An ultimatum was submitted to the Tourism department on January 16 to immediately release this amount failing which the MTPG would stage a one-hour hunger strike on January 26.

The HSPDP, which is campaigning on the separate state for Khasi-Jaintia poll plank, has been putting in effort in different places of Khasi and Jaintia hills to woo voters.

A general convention of the party was held on Friday at Mawkyllei-Lyngdoh Nonglait village of Pariong constituency graced by the presence of party leaders including its candidates Dr A Pariong, Mr Tuberlin Lyngdoh, ex-MLA, and others.

Speakers on the occasion stressed upon the necessity to have a separate Khasi-Jaintia state as this is the only way to protect the Khasi land from the foreigners and preserve the identity of Khasi people.

"Many portions of our land had been usurped by "foreigners" the leaders claimed while cautioning of a total wipe out of the indigenous tribe.

In a statement, the Association said letters had been sent to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Managing Director of Atomic Energy, Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs PR Kyndiah, Robert Kharshiing, MP Rajya Sabha, expressing opposition to set up any uranium project at Photkylleng-Pyndengsohiong under Langrin Syiemship by any company.

Airing its strong protest on uranium mining project, the association criticised KHADC CEM HS Shylla for turning a deaf ears to their demand. "In spite of opposition from all quarters, Mr Shylla went ahead to forcibly implement the project for his own personal gain," the statement said.

It lambasted the nonchalant attitude maintained by public representatives on the matter.

Jaintia Hills district administration has promulgated an order under Section 144 CrPC prohibiting wall writing, pasting of posters, papers or defacement in any form, or erecting/displaying of cut-outs, hoardings, banners, on any public property or premises. However, prior approval from the house owner and final approval from the District Magistrate can be sought for the same purpose. The administration also prohibited use of PA system between 10 pm and 6 am. The order comes into force with immediate effect.

The District Election Officer, Jaintia Hills District has set up Control rooms-cum-Complain Monitoring Cells on which any complaints and queries on electoral issues may be made, a release said. For War Jaintia, the cell is located at the office of the SDO (Civil), Amlarem, for Raliang at the office of the BDO Laskein, for Nartiang at the office of the BDO Thadlaskein, for Nangbah-Wahiajer at the Range Office, Soil and Water Conservation, Thadlaskein for the Jowai at the Election Office, Jowai.

As Meghalaya gears up for the polls the picture that clearly emerges yet again is the paucity of women candidates in this matrilineal state. Dr Jova Marak who had begun to make politically sound statements and was all set to contest the elections from Nongstoin suddenly withdrew from the fray? What were the compulsions that drove this contestant out of the political battle-field?

Of the major political parties which have fielded candidates this time around the UDP has one woman candidate, Congress and NCP both have two women candidates each, the MDP has one who is a renegade from the Congress. HSPDP, BJP and KHNAM have no women candidates. Interestingly, Irene Hujon, a woman activist has decided to contest from a party that has little clout in Meghlaya. So she will have to move on her own steam. The convenient argument of most political parties is (a) that women do not come forward to ask for tickets (b) those who do ask for party tickets are not winning candidates. But the fact of the matter is that very few women have the money or the muscle to defeat their male contestants.

From amongst the first timers, the front runners in this uneven race thus far are Dr Bibilynda Wahlang from the NCP who is contesting from Mairang and Ampareen Lyngdoh from Laitumkhrah. Deborah Marak and Irene Lyngdoh are old players of the political chessboard. They are more than a match for their male opponents. Their body language matches that of any male politician and both have enough female brawn to control their respective turfs. Whether they win or lose is a different matter. But they will both give their competitors a stiff fight.

Whenever women step into politics their ‘family background’ suddenly becomes a topic of avid discussion. You have male chauvinists who themselves have questionable morals, suddenly mouthing platitudes about family values. Morality is the tool generally used to discredit women as if politics is an entry into the sanctum sanctorum of a religious fold. Even a society that repeatedly elects a man with over a dozen ‘wives/mistresses’ and who flaunts his relationship with them without any squeamishness, has different yardsticks when it comes to women. Is this a way of saying that men are more equal than women so they have a right to play around with morals? And that a woman who is divorced because of very constraining reasons, is morally decrepit? What a hypocritical society is this? And yet this hypocrisy and the stiff yardstick that we apply to women candidates are the very reasons why women still shy away from politics. 

This society permits men to play around with women and even other mens’ wives but will squirm if things happen the other way round. Now the question is who has made the rules? And why are the rules so unfair? Lest I be accused of promoting a promiscuous society and be excommunicated from my religious group, let me clarify that such is not my intent. The only reason I am putting forward these examples is because Meghalaya claims to be a matrilineal society but is actually a society that sees itself from a very strict patriarchal lens. Every woman is expected to fit into the paradigm that this lens proposes.

As it is, the gendered or sexual division of labour already prohibits women from entering the political arena as active participants. Women continue to be care givers to the elderly and handicapped and it goes without saying, to children whom they give birth to. As long as this sexual division of labour persists women will be greatly handicapped. That is why I have great respect for women who break out of this socially constructed prison which aims to make them perpetual captives within the domain defined by a patriarchal society. They may not be politically as savvy as men but they cannot be accused of insincerity. And if there have been women MLAs who are accused of corruption, well, we hope they will be judged by the same yardstick that is used for every corrupt male politician. One is not proposing that corruption is a male prerogative. One is only stating that corruption is a universal malaise and ought to be treated as such without giving it a gendered nuance.

The ambivalence about women’s own positions vis-à-vis those who take the political floor comes to the fore during elections. It is a fact that men would not be able to win elections if they did not have strong women supporters, women polling agents, women election agents, and, above all, some women to manage the community kitchens that come up during elections. Men are so ill at ease in the kitchen or pretend to be clumsy doing such ‘women-related work’ that their wives will gracefully tell them to go and sit in the living room doing what men do better, which is to talk and order others around. That is not the luxury that a female candidate can afford. She also has to be the kitchen mistress shelling out money for daily marketing so she knows the price of onions and sugar and that makes her a better economist than any male who does not even set foot into a grocery store or a vegetable market. Should that not give women an edge in politics?

One can talk of hi-falutin ideas but what matters to the lowest common denominator is a better livelihood, more affordable education, a responsive health care system which only a woman who has gone through the trauma of child-bearing is likely to understand and which men can only talk about in the third person. Ideas are good only if they are executed promptly and with precision. One reason why health care in this state is so decrepit is because the health portfolio has never been given the importance it deserves. hardly ever been held by a woman. Meghalaya had a medical practitioner as health minister but he swindled more money buying expired medicines and medical equipments that he worsened the situation during his time. There are many who still hope that a woman medical practitioner who is in the fray will be elected because she would have greater sensitivity. Dr Wahlang has been serving the people of Mairang. Moreover, she lives in Mairang and not in some posh bungalow in Shillong. The fight in Mairang will be between money power and genuine service. We will have to wait and see whether money really wins elections.

The very fact that a good number of women candidates in Meghalaya are either divorcees or widows suggests that it is difficult for a ‘married’ woman to enter the fray unless she is married to a gender-sensitive man. That women can come forward and offer their services to the community as legislators, despite the obvious constraints, depicts their inherent strengths. It is time that society recognizes these strengths and gives women their due place in politics. I would urge women who head the Womens’ Wing of their respective parties to strengthen their organizations, build the capacities of other women and groom them for politics. It is regrettable that the Congress party which is headed by a matriarch and whose male constituents literally bow before the might of Sonia Gandhi should be fielding only two women candidates. What is this if not hypocrisy? The domineering Margeret Alva should have wondered why her party which is trying to push the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament should have just two women candidates. Does this not negate the whole issue?

The problem with women’s empowerment and their inability to capture the political space is because women are themselves conditioned to think like men and to pass value judgments on other women even while sparing men who commit bigger crimes. Women’s empowerment in Meghalaya is still in its infancy. That brings me to one pertinent question. What has the Meghalaya State Commission for Women done in three years? That women are still in the pits as far as political consciousness is concerned should inform us that the Commission has failed in its basic duty. Having said this I would end by saying "More Power to Women". Give women the political space and see what they can do!

As the festering Maoist guerrilla struggle spreads from western to eastern Nepal, India is wary of its impact on the bordering Indian States of Bihar, West Bengal and the North-eastern frontier areas, which are already ravaged by prolonged insurgency and ethnic strife.

Intelligence sources say the immediate fallout of the Maoist movement has been evident with the Maoist cadres establishing links with the People’s War Group (PWG), which operates in the entire belt of Indo-Nepal border from Bihar to North Bengal and maintains close links with several North-eastern rebel groups, particularly separatist ULFA and the NDFB of Assam. This, they fear, will open up a new conflict zone on the very sensitive ‘Siliguri corridor’ that connects three neighbouring countries of Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh and widen the trans-border movement of illegal arms and rebel groups to facilitate logistic and operational supports.

Intelligence officials claim in the past six months, Maoist leaders held several meetings with the fledgling Kamtapuri Liberation Organisation at Naxalbari in the Jalpaiguri district of North Bengal. This came to light after the Siliguri police arrested one Durga Rajbanshi, a suspected Maoist, in October 2007. The police claimed the Maoists, facing a heavy counter-insurgency offensive by the Royal Nepal Army since November last year, are desperately looking for arms and armed training facilities for their cadres.

The anxiety in the Indian security establishment is palpable from the fact that the ‘red rebellion’ in Nepal may activate the isolated and dormant Naxalite groups in eastern India. As many as nine Maoist parties from Nepal, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh forged a regional network, Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organisations of South Asia (CCOMPOSA), last July. Four Indian radical left groups—the Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist of Andhra Pradesh, also known as PWG), the Maoist Communist Centre of Bihar, the Revolutionary Communist Centre of India (Maoist) and the Revolutionary Communist Centre of India (MLM), have bases in rural and backward North Bengal.

Bangladeshi organisations include Bangaldesher Samyabadi Dal (M-L), Purba Bangla Sarbahara Party—both CC and MPK groups. Other two parties are Ceylon Communist Party and the Communist Party of Nepal.

The main objective of the forum is to expand the strong rural-based Maoist struggle throughout the eastern Himalayan areas reeling under illiteracy, acute poverty and economic deprivation.

Alarmed by the emerging security implications of the nexus between the Maoists and eastern-India based militant groups like PWG, KLO etc., the Union Home Ministry had convened a special meeting of top police and Intelligence officials of the North-eastern states, including Sikkim, at Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim early March this year to discuss the security threat and coordination measures among security agencies and state law enforcement authorities.

A top official of Sikkim government expressed concern on the growing militant activities in neighbouring states, which may affect the state. Sikkim’s geographic continuity and location, connecting the strategic corridor—the 22 km. wide ‘Siliguri neck’, heightened security risks and responsibilities.

"We know they (Maoist rebels) have contacts with the PWG groups, which might provide the former with safe corridors and required arms supply," he said, adding all the frontier states had been alerted and asked to step up security vigil along the long, porous international borders.

Senior police and Intelligence officials have, however, tried to underplay ‘the spillover effect’ of Nepal’s Maoist movement and its linkages with the PWG, Naxailties and KLO on the North-eastern insurgency scenario. They recognise the region’s vulnerabilities to the increasing involvement of the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) operatives in Nepal and Bangladesh in anti-India activities, including propping up North-east based armed groups and providing them with arms supply and training for carrying out subversive operations.

But many top ranking officials from Assam do not foresee the ideological expansion of the Maoist struggle to the North-east, as the nature of insurgency is quite different in this part. While the red rebellion in Nepal and the radical left struggle in some parts of eastern India was essentially a product of caste and class conflicts, insurgency in the most part of the North-east was ‘ethno-generic’ in content. Assam government is quite aware of the nexus between the KLO of north Bengal and ULFA and Bodo militant groups, providing mutual logistic and operational support. Both Assam police and its West Bengal counterpart had been closely working together to curb the inter-state militant activities. Trans-border militancy and proliferation of small arms in North-east India are major security concerns for the frontier states of the region, as insurgency and ethnic violence engulfed the whole area, and over the decades, assumed complex dimensions because of the developments across the international borders that surround the region.

Though the region was free from external threat after 1962 Chinese aggression, the internal security concerns continued to increase with the proliferation of armed groups and incessant inflow of illegal arms in the region that were procured by the various militant groups to fight the Indian security forces and sustain the insurgency. Currently there are 30-odd armed groups operating within the region and most of them have set up training camps in the neighbouring countries, especially Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Insurgency, and for that matter, any kind of armed conflict requires huge mobilisation of funds to procure arms, training of men and meet all logistics and operational costs, and that is where a vicious cycle of illegal and clandestine activities begins to work. They need money to buy arms, and there are three possible sources—illicit drug trafficking, extortion and external support. The North-east where insurgency has continued since 1950s, witnessed both lows and highs of violent upsurge over the decades. This was mainly due to two major factors. One, the Pakistan factor which continued to remain the main source of support; in fact, it intensified after the humiliating defeat in the 1971 war and creation of Bangladesh, when Pakistan through its powerful ISI network, launched its proxy war against India both on the Western front (J&K) and the Eastern and North-eastern frontiers.

Almost all the major armed groups, the Nagas (NNC and NSCN) and the Mizos (MNF) to begin with and followed by groups based in Assam (ULFA, NDFB) and the Mizos (MNF) to begin with and followed by groups based in Assam (ULFA, NDFB) Manipur (PLA, UNLF, PREPAK etc.), Tripura (ATTF, NLFT) and Meghalaya (HNLC and ANVC) have received active or indirect support from Pakistani ISI network.

The second factor has been the impact of the geo-political developments in neighbouring countries, especially Myanmar and East Pakistan and later Bangladesh, on the security scenario in the North-east vis-à-vis separatist armed conflicts in the region.

Between the 70s and the mid 90s, armed conflicts were widespread throughout the region as the North-eastern insurgents established links with rebels groups in the adjoining Asian countries and received training in weapons and explosives. They had also built up huge bank of arms, mainly small weapons and rapid-fire assault rifles that were easily available in the arms bazaar around the famous Chittagong port that links the sea routes of South and South East Asian countries, which enabled them to sustain their armed campaign.

The ceasefire with the NSCN (IM) since 1997 and ongoing peace-talks with the Naga rebel leadership along with the counter-insurgency operations may have brought down the level of violence to some extent, but sundry incidents of ambush and encounter in parts of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Manipur continue.

Police and security officials also claim mutual cooperation between India and the governments of Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh has helped curb the movement of arms into the region. But then, seizure of small arms such as grenade, explosives, China made 9 mm pistols, AK series of assault rifles, US—made carbines at regular intervals by the law enforcement and security personnel clearly suggest the availability of arms.

Considering the terrain and porous borders especially between the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura and neighbouring Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, it is very difficult to track down the movements of small groups of people. As far as the Mizoram-Myanmar border is concerned, there has not been any major arms movement into the state. There might be individual cases of arms smuggling as physical verification of every vehicle and people was not always possible. (INAV)

The Bhutanese King Synge Wangchuk has opted for democracy, and the first election to the Parliament will be held in March. But no decision has been taken either by the Bhutan or Nepal governments about the fate of 90,000 Nepali-Bhutanese, who wish to return to their adopted motherland to participate in the electoral process. The main cause for the stalemate is the casual approach of the Nepal government which is holding futile customary negotiations with the Bhutan government. Kathmandu wants to keep the refugee problem alive so that it could squeeze foreign aid from different donor countries which may not sustain it for an indefinite period. The Nepal government has denied the report although there might be some element of truth in it. The international agencies are also finding it extremely difficult to continue financial assistance to these refugees who have been living in various camps in East Nepal since 1991.

The local people are up in arms against the refugees whom they hold responsible for destroying the forests and creating social tension in these areas of East Nepal. One thing is certain that the local people are fed up with these refugees who do little work but get food, shelter and clothing from aiding agencies. These hapless refugees do feel homesick and they want to go back to their homes in southern Bhutan but they are pessimistic keeping in view the outcome of the seven rounds of talks held between the Nepal and Bhutan governments during the past 13-years.

A joint ministerial delegation of Nepal and Bhutan will meet again during the first or second week of February and discuss the problem of the Bhutanese refugees who may have become the victims of their involuntary action of raising the banner of revolt against King Jigme Singye Wangchuk thereby establishing a democratic state. The Bhutanese government came heavily upon these agitators which forced them to flee to Nepal. Some of them do not even know why they joined those elements who had planned to start a struggle for democracy but now they find themselves in a hopeless situation which is beyond the control of the Nepal government.

There are allegations that ethnic Nepalis got moral support from Nepal though it has been denied by the government in Kathmandu. The Nepali influx began in sizable numbers during the late last century but the main migration has been more recent because of stark poverty and overcrowding in Nepal. According to one estimate there were 60,000 Bhutanese citizens of Nepalese ethnic origin living in Bhutan in 1930s whereas one-third of Bhutan’s population in 1980s had been Nepalese which created the identity crisis for local Bhutanese people.

The influx of the refugees from southern Bhutan started in 1991 which slowed down during 1993-94 but still continues. The Nepal government was never equipped with the required finances to ensure the survival of these Bhutanese refugees. It requested international agencies to come to its rescue and save these creatures from hunger and epidemic. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) swang into action and left no stone unturned to feed the refugees who were crossing the border in thousands in the beginning. It is still continuing with its assistance to these refugees who are residing in various camps in East Nepal viz. Timai, Sanischare, Goldap, Baldangi, Khudanabari etc. The Nepal government has taken some effective measures to stop the inflow of the refugees though it is too late.

The Nepal government favours an honourable return of all the Bhutanese refugees who had come to Nepal from southern Bhutan. It argues that 90 per cent of these refugees were in possession of the documents which prove their Bhutanese nationality. Nepal denies that it had encouraged the ethnic Nepalis to migrate from their homes to East Nepal. Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala had discussed the matter with King Jigme of Bhutan during the SAARC meeting in April last year at Dhaka but the outcome was negative as both sides remained adamant on their respective stand regarding the status of the refugees.

India has kept itself aloof from this controversy because its involvement may annoy either of two nations which are trying to prove their stand as the correct one. India has made it clear that it is a bilateral issue, hence both the countries should solve it without involving India which revenue papers, home addresses etc. which will prove helpful in the process of identification—by a competent authority.

It was a pathetic scene when I visited the camps in East Nepal. Children have become the victims of malnutrition and their woes have been heightened due to the hostility of the local people. At the Timai refugee camp, there was a lot of sympathy for the donor agencies. Water supply seems to be inadequate and the refugees have been residing in small and dingy huts.

According to officials of the operation management and implementation unit, Jhapa, they have been successful in verifying the documents of those who had come to the camps. They said 97 per cent of the documents of Bhutanese nationality were found in order and now it was the duty of the concerned government to prove them wrong. They said these refugees had citizenship certificates, marriage documents, and land record papers.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has spent $15 million so far in supplying food material to refugees. The Nepal government is in a fix over the uncertainty about the financial support from international donors and it can ill-afford to give them any type of aid keeping in view meagre financial resources.

There were sharp contradictions between Nepal and Bhutan governments over the status of the refugees though gradually both sides started coming together which led to the resumption of negotiations to solve the problem. Nepal tried to internationalise the refugees issue but it had to eat humble pie as some of senior leaders of the ruling party opposed the move. Nepal has stressed that all Bhutanese refugees should be honourably taken back as they have been forcefully evicted from their homes in southern Bhutan. Nepal succeeded in getting international aid when it pleaded that government will not be in a position to feed them.

Bhutan and Nepal had agreed to constitute a joint ministerial level committee which has met thrice to find out the way to solve the problem. Both sides had agreed to categorise the refugees and now a 10-member verification team has been constituted to ascertain the status of the refugees vis-à-vis Bhutanese nationality etc.

The next round of the talks will be held in Kathmandu in February which may be decisive one because it will dwell upon the exact mechanism which would be adopted to ensure the entitlement of the refugees whom Bhutan will be ready to accept. INAV

Sir,

January 23, 2007, marked the 111th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. But most of us forgot this day. It is very sad to see that today not many people remember about the great leader and freedom fighter. Especially the children of this generation do not know much about him. It is very sad to see that there are hardly any enthusiasts left who want to really celebrate this occasion.

I was particularly saddened at an event in my locality. We have a library in our locality named after Netaji. Hence every year we mark this day with great enthusiasm, decorating the library, buying new books etc. But with every passing year, the number of enthusiasts has decreased. This year was no different. In the morning when we went for a procession to commemorate the day, there were hardly 10 people for the procession. Even later in the day, not many came to the library to pay their tributes to the great leader.

This is a small example of how India remembers her leaders and heroes. I hope that in the coming years, people will learn to respect our heroes and take out time to pay tributes to them.

Yours etc.,
Reetasri Bhattacharjee,
Shillong (via e-mail)

Sir,

India has finally succeeded in preventing Carla Bruni from accompanying her loverboy Nicolas Sarkozy to India.

I dare say that we are going overboard on Bruni. It’s all because Indian government is run not by the people’s representatives but by a band of Hindu and Muslim fundamentalists who dictate terms to our political leaders from behind the scene.

The Bruni incident compels me to hang down my head in shame and say that I will hold my head high only after India frees itself from the clutches of the chauvinist forces.

Yours etc.,
Omar Luther King
New Delhi (via e-mail)

The militants vowed before the GOC 4 Corps Lt Gen BS Jamwal at Tamulpur base of the Army near India-Bhutan border in Baksa district of Assam to join the mainstream.

They deposited as many as 26 nine mm pistols, ammunition and grenades. Over 150 ULFA militants surrendered in the State during the last six months.

Welcoming the militants to the mainstream, Gen Jamwal said the Army had been entrusted with the responsibility to fight insurgency, not the insurgents who are just misguided youths of the society.

The GOC said the Army had been maintaining constant pressure on the ULFA and that led to recent surrenders of large number of militants in the state. He said frustration and disillusionment had gripped a large number of cadres of the outfit.

Meanwhile, Senior journalists and writers of Assam have called upon the people of the State and the North-East to defy the diktat of militant outfits and celebrate the 58th Republic Day.

Four militant outfits including ULFA have slapped a ban on Republic Day celebrations and called for a general strike on that day.

Assamese litterateur Nirupama Bargohain and veteran journalist Dhirendra Nath Chakravorty are among the noted personalities who have urged the people to defy the militants' ban. They have requested the people to hoist the national flag atop their houses and in their own localities on Republic Day.

In a statement, they said that Republic Day should be celebrated by Indian citizens in recognition of the sacrifices made by the martyrs.

They also urged the people to participate in a function being organised by them at the Guwahati Press Club campus at 11 a.m. on January 26.

Two anti-left like-minded parties - the LJP and Trinamool Congress - had approached the NCP to forge an electoral alliance to avoid splitting of anti-Left votes.

The NCP will contest the election alone to show its strength, said Nirmalya Dasgupta, party's state unit president said here on Thursday.

"The Assembly election will be an acid test for the party. If we survive the test, it will make the NCP's presence felt in the electoral battle in the Left-ruled state in the future," he pronounced.

The party will contest in the four Assembly constituencies in the coming Assembly in the Leftist heartland. Sanjib Deb and Dwijendra Chandra Sahaji will contest from Barjala and Badharghat in West Tripura district while Bhopendra Lal Bhowmik and Khanna Marak will contest from Matarbari in South Tripura district and Chamanu in Dhalai district.

The NCP also announced its manifesto for the upcoming elections. The party's manifesto focused on various problems in the State. Formulation of proper recruitment policy, regularisation of all fixed pay employees, empowerment of State's Autonomous District Council (ADC), harassment of indigenous tribes in the name of counter insurgency operation are the among poll planks of the party.

He further said that party's stalwarts like Union Minister for Agriculture Sharad Pawer, PA Sangma and Tarik Anwar are expected to visit the poll bound state to campaign for the party.