Meanwhile, the Election Commission issued notice to Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh on a petition seeking his disqualification from the Rajya Sabha on the ground that he held an office of profit. The Commission has asked him to file a written reply on or before March 31, EC sources said. The Commission's communication to Singh comes on a petition seeking his disqualification on the ground that as Chairperson of Uttar Pradesh Development Council, he held an office of profit and attracted disqualification.

Reacting to the development, Amar Singh said his lawyer would reply to the Commission's notice. He said he respected Constitutional institutions like the Election Commission.

Earlier in the day, Chief Election Commissioner BB Tandon told reporters as per the Constitutional provisions, under Article 102 and 103, a petition (against Singh) has been made to the President, who has referred it to the Commission for its opinion.

"The Commission has to act according to the provisions of the Constitution. The Commission has to follow the legal and Constitutional provisions and send the necessary opinion to the President and that process has started". (Agencies)

According to party sources, the CWC is expected to finalise the party's poll strategy to retain power in the three places and put up a decent show in Tamil Nadu, where it will contest only 48 of the 234 assembly seats under a seat-sharing arrangement with the DMK and its allies, and West Bengal. (UNI)

Six others, who were staying with the two at a dharamshala here, have also been detained, Superintendent of Police Kashinath Singh said. He said the faces of two detainees identified as Sadiq and Anwar exactly resembled the sketches released by the investigating agencies in Varanasi Thursday. (PTI)

The Indian delegation at the talks will be headed by National Security Advisor (NSA) M K Narayanan, who is India's Special Representative on the boundary question, while the Chinese side will be led by Mr Dai Bingguo, Executive Vice Foreign Minister. (UNI)

Judge Abhay Thipsay, who had tried the Best Bakery case here, ordered her custody after she filed an application saying she was surrendering before the Mumbai court following the Supreme Court directive. Zaheera pleaded that she may be kept in the custody of this court and did not want to go to any prison in Gujarat as she feared threat to her life.

The court asked Mumbai police to take Zaheera into custody and produce her on March 13 to decide her application and go through the Supreme Court order sentencing her to jail. Clad in a black burkha, Zaheera appeared before the court at 6:30 p.m and met the Registrar. The judge, who had left for the day by that time, returned to the court and called prosecutor Manjula Rao. Zaheera was in the court for nearly two hours before she was whisked away by police.

Emerging from the court, Rao told reporters that the court has decided not to disclose the prison where Zaheera would be lodged till March 13. Soon after Zaheera appeared before the court, a large number of policemen were deployed in the court premises and mediapersons were not allowed to enter the building. (PTI)

Replying to a debate on the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (Amendment) Bill, Minister of State for Human Resource Development M A A Fatmi said that the state would give No Objection Certificate within 90 days of application to anybody wishing to set up such an institution, or notify a reason for refusal.

If no reason is given, it would construed as grant of NoC from the state, the minister said adding in case of refusal the party can approach the Commission which would in turn take a decision in consultation with the state. The amended bill envisages giving the right to Minority Educational Institutions to seek affiliation to any university of their choice subject to rules, ordinances and acts of these universities. Till now the moinority institutions could get affiliated to only six universities in the country.

Speaking on the Bill, K Swain (BJP) raised the issue of definition of minority and sought to dispel the impression that BJP was against Muslims noting that the name of current President of India, who happens to be from minority, was recommended by the previous NDA government led by BJP.

Swain said that there should be a single law in this country and appealed to the Muslims to come to the mainstream. B K Tripathi (BJD), whose party was supporting the Bill, questioned the government's motive behind bringing it just before assembly elections in various states.

On the definition of minority, Fatmi said apart from Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis, the state governments would notify the status regarding minorities -- like Hindus are in minority in Punjab and Nagaland. The Bill bars the courts -- except the Supreme Court and High Courts -- from entertaining any suit, application or other proceedings on orders of the Commission. (PTI)

Swaraj and former Union Sports Minister Vikram Verma would be fielded by the party from Madhya Pradesh, while Katiyar and former state unit chief Kalraj Mishra have been named for the Upper House from Uttar Pradesh.

Party vice-president Apte would be fielded from Maharashtra, while Chief Whip in Rajya Sabha S S Ahluwalia would be nominated from Jharkhand, BJP General Secretary and Secretary of the Central Election Committee Pramod Mahajan told reporters here. (PTI)

District and Sessions Judge Yashpal Choudhary admitted an appeal filed on the actor's behalf against Chief Judicial Magistrate B K Jain's verdict on February 17 and ordered suspension of the one-year prison sentence and fine of Rs 5,000 imposed on Salman till it gave a ruling. He posted the next date of hearing of the case for April 12, Salman's counsel Hasitmal Sarswat said. Sarswat in the appeal argued that there was no evidence relating the accused to the crime. (PTI)

New Delhi: Rains lashed several parts of the country, killing 39 persons in Madhya Pradesh, 27 in Maharashtra and 5 in Rajasthan so far, with the most extensive damage having occurred in Madhya Pradesh.

In Madhya Pradesh, downpours extensively damaged wheat, gram and lentil crop. Commissioner (Agricultural Production) Iqbal Ahmed told UNI that crops were affected by showers and hail in 34 of 48 districts. ''The affected area is 35,000 hectares. At least 113 persons were injured, 158 animals perished and about 2,100 rural residences sustained damage,'' he added.

The crop damage percentage ranged from two to 60 per cent and farmers would be compensated after an assessment under the Revenue Book Circular, he said. Precipitation in March broke a 70-year record as about 4.5 cm was recorded overnight. The figure was 3.5 cm on March 7, 1936.

Regional Meteorological Centre Director D P Dubey said the unseasonal weather was due to wind circulation in the upper atmosphere near Kutch. ''The weather might begin clearing from tomorrow. Hail may lash Sagar, Satna and Rewa tomorrow and later the circulation will enter Uttar Pradesh,'' he added.

In Maharashtra, hailstorms and unseasonal rains, accompanied by lightning and thunder, have claimed 27 lives, and left a trail of disaster across fields in central and western parts of the state, destroying standing crops worth crores of rupees, since March 3.

Fourteen people have died in central Maharashtra's backward region of Marathwada, while 13 lost lives in western region of Vidarbha, police and official sources said. (UNI)

DMK would be contesting 129 seats, the second lowest since 1967. In 1980, the party contested 117 seats, leaving 117 to the Congress. After signing the agreement, PMK founder Dr S Ramadoss told reporters that he was happy but not satisfied.

Poll accords were based on "the aim and numbers", he said adding that the aim of the party was to defeat the "undemocratic, politically ill-cultured and autocratic AIADMK government".

On the numbers, the party has made 'sacrifices' but was happy with it. He said the DMK was neither "generous as reported by media nor stingy" in seat allocation. (PTI)

Surprisingly enough, following the meeting with Chief Minister, the Assembly Speaker cancelled his China trip all of a sudden. He was to leave for the neighbouring country on Friday itself. Fearing a move against his government, the Chief Minister apparently sought the Speaker's advice to thwart such an attempt. Mr Lapang reportedly assured the Speaker that he would look into the grievances of Mr Danggo regarding West Khasi Hills having lack of representation in the present Ministry. Both the Chief Minister and the Speaker were unavailable for comments.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister JD Rymbai also had a separate meeting with Mr Danggo on Friday. Mr Rymbai told The Shillong Times that he met the Speaker to request him to change the date for Budget presentation scheduled for March 20. "I discussed with him the need for fixing up a fresh date for Budget presentation as the Finance department expressed its inability to submit the same on March 20", Mr Rymbai said.

On the cancellation of Mr Danggo's China trip, Mr Rymbai claimed that the Speaker agreed to cancel his trip so that he could attend the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting on Monday. "We have suggested that the new date for Budget presentation may be fixed either on March 23 or 24", the Minister said.

Asked whether Mr Lapang had discussed the present political situation with the Speaker, Mr Rymbai said: "I am not aware of Chief Minister having such a discussion with the Speaker in their meeting tonight".

SHILLONG: A day after the AICC turned down the demand for a change of leadership in the State, the pro-changers in the Congress asserted their right to have a new leader for the government not performing to everyone's satisfaction. A section of dissident Congress MLAs have been targeting State Home Minister HDR Lyngdoh, Health Minister Sayeedullah Nongrum and Urban Affairs Minister Friday Lyngdoh for "their performance much below the expectation".

They are demanding the removal of these Ministers. But the Chief Minister continued to undermine the need for a reshuffle, they said, adding: "his arrogance resulted in dissidence in Congress and ultimately compelled the dissident group to demand for a change of leadership".

To change the leader of the MDA government, there should be a change of leadership in the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), and for such a change in the CLP leadership, sources said there must be a minimum of 15 legislators out of 29 MLAs in favour of such a change.

"After having at least 15 legislators on our side, we'll forward the list to the AICC either through the CLP secretary or the MPCC president for necessary action", some MLAs said. Even though they refused to make any comment on whether they were part of the dissident group, the legislators asserted the urgent need for a reshuffle in the Ministry to replace all the incompetent Ministers.

"Though the reshuffle is the prerogative of the Chief Minister, but as responsible public leaders, we have the right to express our views and opinion. We want to send a strong message to Mr Lapang that until and unless this problem is addressed and certain Ministers are replaced, unrest in the party would continue", they warned. 

They reminded the Chief Minister of his assurance for rotation of Ministers, which "he all along failed to honour".

Asked to comment on the state of affairs in Congress, CLP Secretary Charles Pyngrope pleaded ignorance about dissidence in the CLP. However, he said even if there was a move, the AICC felt that any change of leadership would adversely affect the party's poll prospect not only in the State, but also in Asom which is going to polls next month.

Talking to reporters, Mr Shylla said that in the past all the Bills passed by the Council were submitted to the Governor through the State Government, but Rule 2 Sub-rule 2 sub clause 3 of the Sixth Scheduled clearly stated that any Bill passed within the jurisdiction of the Sixth Scheduled could directly be submitted to the Governor for his assent.

He informed that the five bills which was submitted to the Governor include Khasi Hills Autonomous District (Constitution and Administration of Community Development Organization) Bill, 2006, KHADC (Appointment and Succession of Sirdar and Headmen of Riangsih Sirdarship) (first amendment) Bill 2006, (Appointment and Succession of the Sirdar and Headmen of Sirdarship) Bill 2006 and the KHADC (Taxes on Entry of Goods) Regulation Bill 2006.

SHILLONG: Four dacoits identified as Lamphrang Mawlong, Emanuel Langrin, Dajied Kharsnar and Wanstar Nongsak surrendered before the West Khasi Hills police on Friday afternoon at Nongstoin. Police said the four dacoits were involved in several criminal activities in the district. With their surrender police now expect that criminal activities in the district would come down.

In a statement issued here, the police department said that under the Section 115 of MVA, the East Khasi Hills SP, in the interest of the safety of the public imposed no entry of trucks to the city from Mawryngkneng and Mawiong side on all days except for Sundays and holidays. However, the trucks carrying essential commodities were exempted from the restriction.

Truckers coming from Mawryngkneng side would have no entry from 4:30 pm to 6.30 pm, Sohryngkham side trucks would be restricted entry from 4.30 pm to 7 pm, while for those coming from Madanriting side would be denied entry from 7 am to 11 am and again from 1.30 to 7 pm. The truck coming from Mawiong-side would have no entry from 7 am to 11.30 am and 1 pm to 7.30 pm everyday. On Saturday, the restriction for trucks coming from Mawryngkneng side is up to 10 am, while for those coming from Sohryngkham and Madanriting side would have to wait on the city outskirts up to 12 pm.

SHILLONG: The NCP is confident to have a favourable verdict from the Supreme Court in its case against the five NCP legislators who deserted the party to join the Congress after the Assembly elections in 2003. The apex court, which is hearing case for sometime now, has reportedly listed the case for hearing later this month and the verdict is likely to come by June.

Supreme Court lawyer Amit Kumar filed a petition on February 23 last on behalf of the NCP urging the court to expedite the process of hearing the case. NCP leader Edmund Sangma said the counsellor pleaded to dispose off the case since it was a time bound one.

"The argument of the lawyer is that once the term of the present Assembly gets over, the case will not have any validity", Mr Sangma said indicating that the SC gave direction to list the case for hearing either last part of March or early part of April.

Shillong: The State Government will take up the issue of re-opening the border haats with the Centre, Minister in-charge Border Trade M N Mukhim on Friday said.

Commenting on the recent reports regarding the desire of the border people to open border haats , Mr Mukulm told reporters that as the economy and social life of the people depended on border markets, there is a need to look into the matter of opening the border markets adjacent to Bangldesh border.

The State Government had taken up the matter in the past with the Centre, but the matter is still pending. As the issue also concerns the Bangladesh, the Centre needs to follow up the matter with that country. 

Earlier, Mr Kyndiah and Nongshken MLA had urged the Centre to open the border haats.The Centre had also sought reports from the Deputy Commissioners of the State regarding the viability of opening border markets.

The composer and lyricist of this album is Mr Herlambok War and the music is arranged by Mr Teibok Laloo. Altogether there are 11 songs in the album which were sung by popular local artist Herlambok War, Wandahulin, Rimika and Iwiwanini Kharlukhi. It may be mentioned that the album is being produced by Carol Productions, the makers of the film "Mandy".

Meanwhile, the District Magistrate of West Khasi Hills has promulgated an order under section 144 strictly prohibiting the use of such explosives and chemicals in any form in all the rivers under Nongstoin Sadar Sub-division. The order comes into force with immediate effect.

The order comes in the wake of complaints of illegal use of explosives and chemicals by some persons in the neighbouring rivers and streams, resulting to mass destruction of fishes and other aquatic lives which is also detrimental to the quality of water meant for human and agricultural purposes.

Shillong: In a bid to popularise fish farming in the State and also to educate the people on the different aspects of fish farming, the Department of Fisheries will organise a two day Fish Festival at All Saint's Hall, Shillong from March 16.

During the festival, there will be a display of the indigenous methods of fish catching in different areas of the State both in the plains and hilly areas. Different species of the exotic, common and rare indigenous species of fish also will be exhibited in the specimen jars. The highlights of the festival will, however, be the sale of fresh fishes and processed fish products produced locally by the enterprising fish farmers from different parts of the State.

Simultaneously, the two-day exhibition-cum-workshop on the prospects and export potentials of the indigenous ornamental fishes of Meghalaya will also be held in the same premises. Eminent scientists from Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA), Kausalya Ganga, Bhubaneshwar, Orissa as well as scientists from ICAR, Pisciculture Department of St. Anthony's College, Shillong are expected to participate.

Head of Pisciculture Department, St. Anthony's College Dr R N Bhuyan, Senior Scientist, (CIFA) Bhubaneshwar, Dr Saroj Swain, Assistant Director MPEDA (Marine Products Export development Agency) Guwahati Anil Kumar will address the workshop.

ICAR scientists have already identified 252 different species of ornamental fishes found in the State. Some of them reportedly have very high value in the international markets, especially in the Far East like Singapore and Hongkong. It is expected that organising the twin programmes will project the activities of the department in a positive way and will educate the general masses on the gainful, sustainable alternative for economic growth.

The search resulted in seizure of cash of Rs 2.21 crore, unearthing jewellery and other valuable assets worth Rs 80 lakh, detection of three bank lockers and several undisclosed bank accounts, undisclosed concerns, incriminating books and documents relating to investment in house, flat and land. The group has so far made a declaration of Rs 10 crore. The search is yet to be concluded.

In an outrageous serial terrorist strike on the holy city of Varanasi, the ancient Sankat Mochan temple packed with Tuesday worshippers of Lord Hanuman was rocked by a huge blast and two bombs exploded soon after at Cantonment railway station, leaving a total of 16 people dead, and 48 seriously injured. The attacks bore hallmarks of Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. Six live explosive devices were discovered in different parts of the city.

The attack saw the Central agencies pointing fingers at the Mulayam Singh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh for ignoring intelligence alerts in the aftermath of the last year's attack on Ayodhya by a gang of jehadis belonging to LeT or the Jaish. The advisory pertained to religious places in Varanasi, besides Mathura and Hardwar. The latest incidents suggest the slide of the country's largest state into lawlessness. The terror attack coincides with rising communal temperature in the volatile state in the wake of what is seen as a massive mobilisation of Muslims over Danish cartoons featuring Prophet Mohammad, the visit of US president George Bush and the vote against Iran.

If willingness was seen as suspect, the uncertainty over the government's fate may have sapped the capacity of the administration in a state where officials are notorious for trimming their reflexes to suit political currents. While terrorist struck, Varanasi district's top officials - DM and police chief were in attendance at the wedding of chief minister's nephew in his native village in Etawah. Mulayam's different stints in Luknow have seen a spike in crimes. While his first two terms escaped adverse scrutiny because of his projection as an "OBC secular bulwark against upper caste majority communalism", this time he comes in for flak for not reining in criminals.

Eastern UP, of which Varansi is the nerve centre, has been among the worst-hit. The region, which is awash in gangs and guns, has also seen an inexplicable growth in madrasas particularly on the Nepal border, causing concern to central agencies who have repeatedly asked the state administration to probe the source of funds as well as the background of students. The region forms part of the trail which infiltrators from Bangladesh use to reach Nepal's Terai region. The BJP blamed the 'soft' policies of the UPA government and the 'minority appeasement politics' of the Samajwadi Party government for the expansion of jihadi terror. "The UPA government has not taken any stern steps to combat terrorism. Instead, it has sent a clear message that it is soft towards terrorists," a BJP spokesman said.

When an al-Qaeda-like Islamist network strikes a country outside the Muslim world, it tends to trigger a civilisational problem. It cannot be anyone's case that the founder of Islam advised his followers to mix religion with the texture of governance. Arguably, the definition of certain terms in Islamic scriptures give rise to dichotomous interpretations but by applying one's mind rationally any ruler should be able to separate right from wrong in the context of exercising such interpretations in the course of administering his or her state.

It does seem apparent, however, that the fillip to utilising religion as a plank led to the creation of Pakistan. Hence one does not know for sure whether the current version of Islam being invoked by terrorist organisations is reflection of the Hindu-Muslim divide in the alternate vein. The most crucial aspect of restraining Islamic outbursts - the Varanasi outrage portrayed a recent one - is for our intelligentsia to forcefully drive home one single minded maxim, namely, the Hindu and Islamic values of life have become dissimilar in the new age. The Hindu-Muslim unity has gone haywire.

The terrorists' war against India, as Aeschylus said 3,000 years ago, truth is the first casualty. Solid, reliable facts and objective truths, always hard to define, become more elusive in times of heightened conflict. The "war on terror" is a new sort of conflict, but truth is certainly embattled and the facts themselves are under heavy fire from all sides, and are daily receiving near-fatal wounds. There is ample evidence that Pakistan while talking peace is recruiting terrorists to destabilise India.Never mind the moral high ground - even the low ground, where the plain facts of a case are established, is getting muddier, more slippery and harder to hold on to by the day. But then, one can argue there is nothing plain, nothing unbiased, about a fact.

Pakistan's self-investigation followed by self-exoneration is never convincing. However, it's hard to work up genuine sympathy for a failure of niceties toward people who would never consider upholding such niceties in return - to stick up for the human rights of people who despise the idea of human rights. And yet the growing evidence of ugly behaviour by Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf is becoming intolerable for India. Anyone who offends against the sacred freedom of Indians in the name of Islam is reprehensible, and the more so if he or she does it in the name of freedom - as in Kashmir. There is no forgiveness for acts of hatred. Daggers thrust in the name of liberty are thrust into liberty's heart. Ttruths allow us - indeed encourage us - to judge attacks by fanatics harshly. But even as we judge others, we should look in the mirror and say the words again. INAV

For many kids and parents across the country, the spicy and crispy wafers may be a pleasant medium to refresh ones mood and bring some respite to a hungry stomach. But for hundreds of women in Indore' Malwa, the potato chips hold a greater significance, as it creates ample job opportunities for them.

The women associated with the potato chips business are happy with the work opportunity and reward they are drawing out of it. "This Malwa potatoes contain less sugar, the potatos do not get red, and the original colour stays. The potatoes that come from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Gujarat lose the original colour. The Malwa potatoes are in demand all over India", said Pushp Thakur, a chips businessman.

Even the waste of potatoes is useful as a good fertiliser for agricultural purpose and does not cause pollution of any sort. "The potatoes' waste does not pollute the water and land, this waste is a very good fertiliser for agricultural purpose. We are doing this business for twenty years and we have never suffered due to any bad news here", said Manoj Sani, another chips businessman

"I am into farming since childhood and never came across any difficulty due to the waste material of potatoes", said Radheysham Shadambari, a local farmer

Slowly but steadily this small scale business is becoming very popular, giving employment to about ten to twenty thousand people through it. Evidently, about 80 to 100 trucks of potato chips are sent to different parts of the country on daily basis.  "In my village there is no work, so I have come here to earn. Many people from my village have come here to work. We are satisfied with the money given to us. We work for four months here and earn about fifty rupees a day," said Rupa, a worker

The natives here derive great satisfaction from the fact that due to potatoes they have a source of income to manage their livelihood, preventing them to search for job elsewhere. (ANI)

Sir,

The seven states of South India - MP, Mah, AP, Orissa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu & Kerala is equal to the size of Iran (16,48,000 Sq. Km). The population of Iran is 69.5 million while that of South India is 37.2 million (37,21,21,870). Iran is rich in oil and is one of the major oil producing countries in the Middle East and the Arab world. Due to the exhaustion of oil and coal by the year 2025 A.D. - (Pres. Bush of USA), many countries will be going back to water, electric energy, solar and wind energy and nuclear energy. India has few nuclear plants for producing electricity and others alike, in Mah, Tamil Nadu and Orissa. India uses 3% of nuclear energy. For peaceful use of nuclear energy, India should not have opposed the use of the same by Iran. Half of the world, starving population depends on developed countries. Why should we oppose or envy Iran in trying to climb up to be one of the developed countries? India should have developed nuclear energy three times of what it is developing now. If we have one billion empty stomachs, we also have two billion hands to work. What we really need is food and tonic for our brains and the will to do it.

Yours etc.,
K.M. Khonglah
Shillong

Sir,

In our rural area, during the Congress rule of S.M. Krishna in Karnataka, there was a gang rape and murder of a poor 18-year old girl. After police investigation, the result: suicide. A prominent dalit leader was also brutally murdered. Still there is no trace of the culprit.

During Dharam Singh's Congress and JD (S) coalition, there were rapes of two minor ST girls and were subsequently poisoned to death. After some furore, police went through the drama of catching the culprits. Ironically, within six months they were released on bails. The CM and Home Minister beat his earlier records in PWD and of other Congress CMs. He used to auction each and everything in his home department.

Such gruesome atrocities on women and dalits were rampant during Congress rule. Amazingly, the conviction rates nose-dived to almost zero. Under massive corruption, the weakest, especially women and dalits, become major victims. These ground realities are contrary to the Congress claims.

The downfall of corrupt Congress in South has started with Karnataka and will have its domino effect. Due to the lip service it pays to the downtrodden, women, dalits and massive corruption, Congress is going to be in a pathetic state such as in the north. Despite all these, one wonders where are the microscopes of some NGOs, NCW and NHRC? Are they limited to nitpicking in non-Congress and non-Communist ruled states?

Yours etc.,
R K Mani,
Bangalore

Giving a series of directives to 88 observers, the CEC said that during the forthcoming elections not more than three vehicles would be allowed to come within 100 metres of Returning Officers (ROs) and Assistant ROs office at the time of nomination. To curb overcrowding, only candidtes, their proposers and four others would be allowed to enter the office of ROs at the time of filing nominations. The Observers have been asked to make sure that affidavts detailing the movable/immovable assets, qualifications, convictions, cases pending in courts were displayed prominently and made available for public scrutiny. (PTI)

Meanwhile, the distict commandant, home guard, Kamrup distict, here has informed that 800 home guards would be deployed for the ensuing assembly elections in the districts. (UNI)

Aizawl: Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga today dismissed any political solution to the boundary dispute between Mizoram and Assam at the State level. Addressing the 7th session of the Fourth Mizoram Legislative Assembly the House, Zoramthanga said the boundary issue was not something that can be settled through talks held at the Chief Ministerial level but it needs to be ratified through the Constitution.

''The boundary issue is not something that can be setttled at the Chief Minister's level. But there is a solution under the Constitution of India which would come under discussion in Parliament. In this respect, I have already approached the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. I hold high hopes that the problem would be solved through Parliament'', Zoramthanga said.

The Chief Minister also said while the criticisms from the Mizoram people's Conference and the Zoram Nationalist Party over the lack of action on the boundary dispute issue is understandable, criticisms from the Congress cannot be accepted since the Congress had been party to the signing of the memorandum of understanding by the MNF and the union government in 1986.

''The Mizoram Congress knows very well that the boundary issue was not taken up during the MNF's talks with the Centre because it could create a bottleneck in the peace talks. It was agreed between Rajiv Gandhi and us that the matter be left as it is since it could be settled constitutionally,'' Mr Zoramthanga said. (UNI)

Itanagar: The Arunachal Congress (AC) on Friday alleged that construction of the Lower Subansiri project by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) at Gerukamukh bordering Assam and Arunachal is against the interest of the State. The AC alleged that the proposed construction of the 2,000 mw dam could spoil the age-old relations between the two sisterly states. 

Assam's claim that the project over the Subansiri River was in its area though it was in Arunachal's territory and that State's demand for recruitment of its people in grade III and IV jobs has sent a wrong message, party president Kamen Ringu claimed in a release.

The proposed national park around the project would displace around one lakh indigenous Arunachalees and deprive them of their traditional rights over the natural resources, he said. The NHPC dam has been reportedly planned on condition that no other project should be taken up on the upper reaches of the river, he said.

When the upper course of Subansiri has an identified power potential of 9,700 MW to be tapped through 21 projects, Arunachal can not remain silent when its resources were being exploited without giving legitimate rights to its people, Mr. Ringu said, adding. (UNI)

Zoramthanga exhorted the Mizos to strengthen the bond of brotherhood amongst the different Mizo ethnic sub-tribes living in the state and neighbouring states of Assam, Manipur and Tripura. ''Emotional and traditional unity would result in the ethnic unity among all the Mizos and the spirit of the Chapchar Kut, where no enmity or arguments with anybody was allowed, should live in all our hearts,'' he said.

The festival was also celebrated in many places in the state and outside inhabited by ethnic Mizos. The festival began at the time when Mizos practiced shifting cultivation and spent this time of the year leisurely. (PTI)

New Delhi: An Assamese film will throw new light on legendary 17th century princess Joymati, portraying her as a politically conscious and farsighted woman and not just as a symbol of love and sacrifice.

"Joymati is always portrayed as a Sati, who sacrificed her life for her husband. But her political consciousness and farsightedness have always gone unrecognised. My film, ‘Joymati - the Saviour’, will concentrate more on that aspect," director Manju Bora told IANS here.

The Ahom princess was also the theme of the first Assamese movie by the same name, made way back in 1935 by pioneering filmmaker Jyotiprasad Agarwala. Joymati was the wife of prince Godapani of the glorious Ahom dynasty that ruled Assam for about 600 years from 1228 AD to 1826 AD. During a black phase of the period from 1662 to 1677, king Chulikfa started killing or crippling the princes of the dynasty to prevent them from removing him from power.

Failing to trace prince Godapani, Chulikfa’s army picked up his wife Joymati. But despite brutal and inhuman torture, the princess did not reveal the whereabouts of her husband. She finally died after continuous torture for several days. "Love for husband was definitely a reason for Joymati’s refusal to reveal the whereabouts of her husband. But she also knew that her husband was the only person who could end Chulikfa’s terror rule. I am making this film to highlight the socially and politically conscious Joymati," said Bora.

"Joymati’s self-sacrifice bore fruit later, as Godapani gathered strength in his exile and came back to oust Chulikfa from power," she said.

While it is always difficult to make a period movie, there is a need to look at them from a broader perspective, said the director. Her earlier films, "Baibhab", "Aakashitoraar Kathare" and "Laaz", have won several prizes in different film festivals. (IANS)

GUWAHATI: "In Search of Job", a small-budget documentary film of 14 minutes duration depicting the struggle and pain of the unemployed elephants of Assam have been selected for screening at the Silver Lake Film festival, Los Angeles starting from March 23 after creating waves amongst the documentary film makers of Asia, and has been honoured by a renowned French organization.

The festival's Fusion Asian Cinema Program Director Erika Kao-Haley, said that the film has been specially invited and the film-maker Mrinal Talukdar, to be one of their featured filmmakers.

Mr Talukdar, who is a print journalist based in Guwahati, made the film in 2005 on the theme of plight of 1200 unemployed domesticated elephants in Assam, along with their mahouts who are desperate to find an alternative means of livelihood on the road for their survival. Their owners have run out of means to sustain them and can't even find a job for them after the Supreme Court of India had imposed ban on timber felling in the North-East in 1997 in view of rampant destruction of forest cover in the region.

The film was screened in the South Asia Documentary Film festival, New Delhi earlier this year and earned rave reviews and then was also screened in the BYFF, Puri besides the Jadavpur University Film festival. The Centre for Civil Society (CCS), New Delhi organised a special screening of the film for the MPs of the Northeast last week at New Delhi to build public opinion and move the policy makers. The Silver Lake Film festival is one of the top five festivals of Los Angles. This is the only major, non-genre film festival singularly focused on presenting the best of independent films in the global entertainment capital.

It is also the only major film festival in the U.S. showcasing independent films where the majority of independent filmmakers actually live and work. According to Erika, "last year we screened more than 275 independent films." Meanwhile, the Paris Based "Des Elephants Et Des Hommes," has also included the documentary in their 'Hall of Fame' as one of the important movies made on elephant.