Dispur hard talk on killings

Guwahati/Dibrugarh, Feb 3 : Dispur has taken strong exception to “repeated misadventures” by the army, the latest being the killing of a physically challenged teenager at Sonari in Sivasagar district on Thursday, even as the district observed a bandh today in protest against the incident. 

The 12-hour bandh was called by the Assam Tea Tribes Students Association and the All Adivasi Students Association of Assam, two influential organisations representing the tea community to which Bishnu Tanti, the 18-year-old who died, belonged.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi today said the government would not tolerate such acts of killing of innocents. Dispur has ordered an inquiry, to be conducted by Upper Assam commissioner L.N. Tamuli, into the incident.

“It is a very unfortunate incident and I have taken up the matter with the army. Killing of innocent people will not be tolerated and I made that very clear,” he said. Gogoi took up the matter with GOC 4 Corps, Lt Gen. K.T. Parnaik.

The inquiry by Dispur is in addition to a court of inquiry ordered by the army to ascertain the circumstances of the incident and fix responsibility for the killing. Initially, the army had termed the youth, who had to make an effort even to walk, as an Ulfa militant and had even claimed that a pistol had been recovered from his possession. 

The incident has left the police fuming, too. “Such repeated misadventures by the army leaves us facing the public music. The troops return to the barracks but it is we who have to face public ire and control any untoward situation that may arise,” a senior police official posted in Upper Assam said. 

“Such acts are unnecessary and avoidable and eventually only strengthen the militant hand... you cannot afford to be so trigger happy,” he added.

The police force was out in full strength today to quell any trouble during the bandh in Sivasagar. However, no violence was reported from any part of the district. Very few vehicles plied on the roads and government and other offices recorded thin attendance. The bandh had maximum impact in Charaideo subdivision but work at Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited and Gas Authority of India Limited, which have operations in the district, was almost normal.

The Tingalibam tea estate unit of the All Assam Tea Tribes Students Association took out a procession to protest against the killing by the army’s 318 Field Regiment. Tanti was a resident of the garden.

Hundreds of slogan-shouting protesters carrying placards and banners took part in the procession. They demanded strict and exemplary punishment to the guilty army personnel.

Terror prompts tournament venue shift

IPF general secretary Subrata Dutta at the press meet on Monday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Feb 3 : The Commonwealth Powerlifting Federation has proposed to shift the 3rd Commonwealth Powerlifting Championship scheduled to be held here from December 9 to 13, to another city in the country in the wake of the October 30 serial blasts in the state.

The official letter from the CPF general secretary, Richard Parker, to the Indian Powerlifting Federation (IPF) has cited the serial blasts on October 30 

(followed by the those on January 1 and 9 here) as well as the prevailing unrest in the state as the reasons for the move.

Parker has suggested Pune as an “acceptable” alternative venue.

Over 250 powerlifters from the 15 member nations, including England, Australia, New Zealand, Wales, Scotland, Fiji Islands, Northern Islands, South Africa and Canada, among others, besides three provisional member nations were expected to participate in the championship here.

The Indian Powerlifting Federation (IPF) general secretary, Subrata Dutta, on the other hand promised to convince the Commonwealth body about Guwahati being safe if the state government gave a written assurance. However, he apprehended that it would be a low-key affair as several countries had already expressed their reluctance to come to the city.

“I cannot say how many countries I can convince to take part,” Dutta, an Arjuna awardee, said here on Monday.

He said the Indian Powerlifting Federation was in favour of Guwahati because preparations were nearly complete and that it would have to start from scratch if the venue was changed. 

“As soon as we get an assurance from the government, we are going to write to the CPF stating that there has never been any security threat to sportspersons in Assam and that the government would ensure full security for all the participants,” Dutta said.

“The government’s assurance will be a strong endorsement for the IPF’s claims,” he added. 

“We will also cite the examples of the 33rd National Games, Asian Athletic Grand Prix and India International Badminton Championship, among others, which were held successfully here,” said Kailash Sharma, executive president of North East India Power Lifting Association, the organisers of the event. 

Ulfa had given a boycott call for the National Games in February 2007. However, the boycott call was lifted a couple of days prior to the event. 

The rebel outfit said it welcomed hosting of international sports in the state after the Assam Cricket Association appealed for peace prior to the November 2007 ODI between India and Pakistan. The All India Football Federation had proposed shifting the Federation Cup prelims from Silchar last November but the event was eventually held.

Not difficult to find a job: an outsider’s perspective

Umesh Paswan’s wife and two children carry their freshly plucked cauliflowers from the field. Over 90% (random) of people from outside the state have replaced Nagas in almost every profession considered ‘mediocre’. (Morung Photo)

Dimapur: Far away from the bustle of Dimapur, spread across several acres of land close to the Assam border, cauliflowers, peas and chilli plantations cover the area like a green carpet.

Here, Umesh Paswan and his family have been toiling hard to make their living. Hit by rising prices, though, they have had to compromise with vegetable prices this year. In proximity with the Assam border, they can hardly compete with those vegetables that come in from there.

Umesh has no choice but to overlook those difficulties since he considers himself lucky enough to even being leased out two ‘bighas’ of land by a Zeliang man from Jalukie.

Not very far from there, across the other side of Dimapur, hundreds of daily wage earners enter the state every month in search of work. Holed up in suffocating temporary shelters near brick kilns, these people have only one thing in mind – to make their living.

Ignorant of the change in demography with some Naga villages having more aliens than local people, Nagas would rather earn easy money than plough their own land.

Closer home in the central part of the fast growing town, thousands of outsiders make their living doing jobs considered lowly for Nagas. These cart pullers, labourers, sweepers and others work against all odds to save enough to bring up children to become doctors and scientists. Umesh who has lived here since 1980 says much has changed for him since he arrived from Bihar.

The land that he cultivates is not very fertile but he is happy that he has a place where he can earn, he says.

“I could not in Bihar because I did not have land.”

Similarly for Sanjay Kumar, he got into his business – cart pulling – less than two weeks after his arrival in Dimapur. “It is not difficult to get a job,” Sanjay had told this daily in a chat up on January 3 last.

A landowner in Zani had also mentioned that he is happy leasing out land to “non-locals” because it makes things easier for him. Oblivious to the damage caused due to such slack mindset, Nagas have lost most ‘mediocre’ jobs to outsiders.

Despite the unaccounted number of outsiders replacing Nagas in so many jobs across the state, hard work still eludes many Nagas.

People like Umesh and Sanjay rush through their lives making the most of their everyday earnings while some Naga people consider them pests – how many would then replace them if need arose?

ANLA sinks with top guns

20 cadres of Adivasi outfit surrender

Nagaon, Feb 2 : The five-year-old Adivasi National Liberation Army today lost its rudder when its commander-in-chief surrendered before the army at Karbi Anglong along with its other top military cadres. The surrender came not long after the arrest of its previous commander-in-chief John Toppo in Nagaland and founder Nirmal Tirkey in Jharkhand. The current chief, Biren Gond, alias Sanjay Lakra, who took charge just a month back after Toppo’s arrest in Dimapur in December last year, is said to be the man behind the surrender. He laid down arms at the surrender ceremony at Sariajan in Bokajan subdivision along with Udalguri district commander Bharat Rajwas, alias Rajib Dhan, Golaghat commander Arjun Gour, Sivasagar commander Francis Tirki, alias Sanjib Ghatowar, and Karbi Anglong district commander Uttam Dhangra, alias Rahul Tanti. At least 15 cadres followed their leaders. “The new commander-in-chief confirmed the intention of senior ANLA cadres to surrender a few days back. Right now the group does not have any senior or responsible member other than 80 to 100 grassroots cadres. It is rudderless at the moment,” said a senior police official. Floated in 2003 with Karbi Anglong and Golaghat as its base, ANLA became the militant face of the Adivasi demand for Scheduled Tribe status by 2005, with help from the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (I-M). It grabbed the headlines in December 13, 2007, when it triggered a blast on the Rajdhani Express at Chongajan, killing four persons. The militant group had expanded its base to Udalguri, Kokrajhar and Sivasagar districts after establishing itself as an influential organisation in Karbi Anglong and Golaghat. “The ANLA had plans for January 26 but Republic Day passed off peacefully as all its senior cadres had decided to surrender before that,” an army source said. The rebels today surrendered eight 9mm pistols, a carbine, 66 detonators, two timer devices, five IEDs, 129 live ammunition at the ceremony attended by Brig. Ranbir Singh of 181 Mountain Brigade, commanding officer of 6 J&K Rifles, Col Pawan Bhardwaj, Maj. Gautom Pathania, also from 6 JK Rifles, and Bokajan civil SDO P.K. Gogoi. The path for today’s surrender was chalked out on December 26 last year, when four senior cadres, including Nirmal’s deputy Sanjay Bhengra, were arrested in Bokajan. “We collected the names of all the hardcore ANLA cadres still involved in the movement in Adivasi-dominated areas of Assam. All those top leaders surrendered today,” said an officer of 6 JK Rifles.

Rathod notches up double crown

RVC-A win 60km team event, RVC-B top 80km event

National Endurance

Riders astride their mounts at Dibrugarh on Sunday. Picture by Eastern Projections Dibrugarh, Feb 2 : Maj. Bharat Singh Rathod of the Army Services Corps, Eastern Command, won the 60km and the 80km endurance ride in the individual category to bag a double crown in the four-day National Endurance Championships here today. The meet was organised by the Equestrian Federation of Assam (EFA) and came to an end at the Ethelwold tea estate today. In the 60km ride, Maj. Rathod riding his horse Badal, completed the ride in two hours 59 minutes and 22 seconds with an average speed of 20.07 km per hour. In the 80km ride, he rode another steed — Tanishq — to complete the ride in four hours, 49 minutes and 54 seconds to complete the ride. In the 60km ride, Maj. Rathod was followed by Sanjay Yadav of the Remount and Veterinary Corps astride his horse Monu and Jitender Singh of EFA astride Shamili. In the 80km ride, Maj. Rathod was followed by Ramesh Kumar of RVC astride his horse Prince Top and Deep Chand of RVC astride New Star. In the team 60km team event, the RVC-A team represented by Mukesh Kumar (He Man), Sanjay Yadav (Monu), Sanjay Singh (Herculesh) and Amit Yadav (Janbaj) bagged the first position. In the 80km team event the top position went to RVC-B team, which was represented by Ramesh Kumar (Prince Top), Deep Chand (New Star), Sanjay Yadav (Vishal) and Rakesh Kumar (Monu).

Assam SEC joins Congress, seeks LS ticket

Samudra Gupta Kashyap


Feb 02 Related Stories: Seat-sharing: NCP for 50 pc seats in MaharashtraAndhra CM faces tough task ahead of Assembly sessionCong, NCP seat-sharing: Pawar may demand more seatsVenod Sharma: The man who could have been CMCong rules out national alliance in LS polls

Guwahati: Chandra Kanta Sharma, state election commissioner of Assam, has resigned from the post and joined the Congress party and sought nomination of the party for the Mangaldoi Lok Sabha constituency.

Sharma, who was appointed state election commissioner by the Congress-led Government after his retirement as commissioner and secretary in the general administration department in 2006, resigned on Saturday and joined the Congress party yesterday.

"I have a strong family background of freedom fighters. My father was a devout Congressman who took active part in the freedom movement. There is also tremendous pressure on me from people in the districts that come under Mangaldoi Lok Sabha constituency to contest the forthcoming elections," Sharma said.

Sharma's tenure as state election commissioner would have ended in 2011. "But, since I have already conducted the panchayat elections successfully, and since there is nothing much to do in the next two years, I decided to quit and join active politics. And, Congress is my obvious choice," he told 'The Indian Express'.

Assam chief election officer quits; joins Cong

Caught in a barrage of controversy Assam state Chief election officer has put in his papers and joined the Congress on Sunday.

According to information, C K Sarma who has been working as the state's chief election officer is seeking Congress ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. He already talked to a few party leaders of the APCC. As the news was spreading like wild fire, Opposition AGP and BJP unitedly upped ante on him and asked him to step down to retain the sanctity of the Election Commission.

Sarma put in his papers on Sunday but he is not sure of party ticket for the upcoming Lok sabha polls.

Positive development

It is a positive development that the Union Home Minister, P Chidambaram has started talking tough on the problem of infiltration of foreign nationals to India but he must take bold steps to translate his words into reality to protect the interests of India and its indigenous people. The Union Home Minister recently assured an all party delegation of the Assam Legislative Assembly that the Centre would adopt a zero tolerance policy on the issue of illegal migration, which is a positive development because the Centre has finally realised the importance of adopting a tough stand to deal with the problem. The Centre must now act fast before it is too late to deal with the problem without allowing vote bank politics to come in the way or else the situation in Assam and other parts of North East may soon go out of control. The Government must expedite the process of sealing the border with Bangladesh and additional deployment of Border Security Personnel (BSF) should be made along the international border to prevent fresh infiltration. The process of detection and deportation of foreigners should be expedited by properly utilising the personnel of the Border Police wing and if required, the strength of the wing should be expedited. Only creation of additional tribunals under the provisions of the Foreigners’ Act will not expedite the process of detection and deportation of foreigners and adequate facilities should be provided to the tribunals to allow those to function properly. Only detection of foreigners will not solve the problem as deporting the persons declared as foreigners by the tribunals is a difficult task because of the fact that the Government of Bangladesh always refuses to accept those sought to be deported as its own citizens. The Centre must also take up the issue forcefully with the Government of the neighbouring country.Updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and providing identity cards to the Indian citizens on the basis of that are vital for detection of foreigners and for that also, the Centre will have to play a major role. The Centre must clear the modalities for updating the NRC as soon as possible and amend the Citizenship Act to enable the State Government to go ahead with the process. It is also a positive sign that setting aside political differences, members of all the parties of Assam having representatives in the State Assembly joined hands to put pressure on the Government of India to deal with the problem of infiltration of foreigners and to seal the international border. There was a time when the major political parties did not see eye to eye on the issue because of the fact that every party was keen on maintaining their traditional vote bank. But for the first time, all the major parties of Assam joined hands and the parties should also join hands in solving the other major problems concerning Assam including the problem of insurgency by setting aside their political differences. source: assam tribune editorial

Hindus attack Christians on Indian island of Assam

By Nirmala Carvalho

After the ordination of a priest, a group of Catholics were attacked by hundreds of Hindu fanatics on the island of Majuli in Assam.

It was supposed to be a day of celebration, but instead it turned into the latest example of violence by Hindu radicals against Christians and the conversion of tribals. Hundreds of Catholic faithful were beaten, humiliated, mocked, and driven away.

On January 24, a few hundred Catholics crossed the Brahmaputra river to get to Majuli. Situated in the middle of the river, on its Indian side, in the district of Jorhat in the state of Assam, the island is a well-known tourist attraction. Since 1987, it has had a small parish in Jainkraimukh, but its fame is mainly due to its historical remnants of Assam culture, like the sacred palace of Neo-vasihnavite Satras and the monasteries founded by Srimanta Sankradeva in the 16th century.

The small community of the island, mostly made up of Mishing tribals, was celebrating the priestly ordination of the first Catholic priest born in Majuli, Hemonto Pegu. For the occasion, the pastor, Fr. Bartholomew Bhengra, had invited the priests and faithful of the nearby communities to participate in the celebration presided over by Joseph Aind, Salesian bishop of Dibrugarh.

Faithful from the parishes of Mariani, Sarupathar, Naojan, Jagun, Dibrugarh, and other villages of the district of Jhorat came to the island. In order to reach Majuli, they all had to cross the river by boat, and then get onto buses and jeeps to get to Jengarimukh, where the ordination was being held. Priests, men, women and children took two hours crossing the Brahmaputra and one on the roads of Majuli, which, at 577 square kilometers, is the largest river island in the world.

After the ordination, at about 2 in the afternoon, the various groups began heading back toward the river. When they reached the village of Kamalabari, some of the jeeps on which priests and religious were traveling were stopped by a crowd of local people belonging to the tribal communities. Asked why they were on the island, the members of the group explained that they had attended the ordination of the new priest. They were insulted by the crowd. Witnesses of the aggression say they were threatened with statements like "Never come back again and if you do come back, we will cut you into pieces and throw you into the Brahmaputra," and "Missionaries go back Christians should not enter our place!"

Will Yuki now attract sponsors?

Melbourne, Feb 1  Yuki Bhambri might have overnight earned a star status after becoming the first Indian to win the junior Australian Open, but his mother is unsure whether it will be enough to attract sponsors to finance his fledgling tennis career.Yuki, before leaving for Melbourne, had said how he was struggling to meet his travelling expenses because of lack of sponsors.


The International Management Group (IMG) has been supporting the youngster by arranging his training at one of best academies in the tennis business, the Nick Bollettieri Centre in the US, besides getting international contracts from Babolat and Adidas.

“My parents are worried as my schedule is getting more and more hectic. AITA (All India Tennis Association) helps me for the Grand Slams but that is it. I approached quite a few sponsors but no one is willing to come forward. I don’t understand why,” Yuki had told IANS.
Yuki’s mother Indu said though her son’s feat has made news all over the country, chances of any sponsors coming forward appear bleak.
“Honestly, I am not hopeful. I have never seen in India any financial support on a sportperson’s achievement. Had it been in abroad, they would have immediately announced some award. Yuki, too, deserves it but I am afraid if anything of that kind is going to happen,” she said.
The family is now eagerly waiting for Yuki who is due to return Monday morning amid media frenzy.
“He had initially decided to play in two ITF tournaments there, but felt exhausted after his win and decided to return,” said an excited Indu, who since Yuki’s triumph has barely got a chance to speak to him with all the media attention on the family.

“Yuki’s win has gradually begun to sink in. We are yet to decide how we will celebrate his return tomorrow. His sisters Ankita and Sanaa too are quite excited,” Indu said. Both sisters are national level tennis players.

Assam gets a reason to smile

Guwahati, Feb 1: Assam today gave itself two years to become the first cleft-free state in the country. Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced this at the launch of the first international mission of Operation Smile in the Northeast.

A team of doctors and volunteers from different countries is screening patients at the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital here. Surgeries will be performed on the children from February 1 to 6.

“We already have 400-500 children at the hospital but surgeries will be conducted only on 200 of them now,” Sarma said. The backlog will be completed in May. The state health department has offered MMCH as the venue for conducting cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries free of cost.

Chief minister Tarun Gogoi said Assam could provide the best of facilities to international doctors and thanked the visiting team for doing a great service to humanity. Chairman of the India chapter of Operation Smile, Ranjit Barthakur, hoped it could become the first cleft-free state in the country.

Assam Finds Anti Terror Ally in US

We all know our fair share of corporate bullies--the managers who abuse power, yell, harass and micromanage their way through life. Usually their office antics breed resentment, sabotage, "mental health days" and costly turnover.
But some executives notorious for their abrasive styles--the Steve Jobs, Harvey Weinsteins and Barry Dillers of the world--are hailed as luminaries, breaths of fresh air for stale industries.
So what separates the sadists from the wunderkinds? In short, the silver-backed gorilla.
Sadists throw their weight around gratuitously, and relish the chance to watch underlings squirm. In contrast, the silver-backed gorilla will beat his chest, break branches, flash his teeth and charge--but all in the interest of protecting his troop. He secures food, mediates conflicts and provides safety, so lesser gorillas put up with his antics. His fictional counterpart is Don Corleone. In corporate America, it may be Martha Stewart.
Of course, Stewart spent five months in prison, and Don Corleone got gunned down in the street. These power players may find an aggressive style helps them claw to the top, but they often can't sustain their reign.
Bullying leaders rise in part because they are unwilling to compromise. They are committed to--and unremittingly protective of--their vision, and make large companies move with the speed of small ones.
"These are people who are very brusque in fighting for their vision," says Stanford Business School professor Roderick Kramer. "They push people aside who are too conservative or 'just don't get it.' But they also attract--and are very protective of--their followers."
As a former Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia employee told Kramer, "[Stewart] was tough to work with, but she had a really strong vision. She drew out the best in you. If you could meet her high standards and withstand her perfectionism, it was very gratifying to be in her inner circle."
Film producer and studio chairman Harvey Weinstein--whose tantrums are now regularly satirized on HBO's Entourage--is notorious for intimidating both friend and foe. Once, Weinstein allegedly confronted former Universal Pictures Chairman Stacey Snider at a cocktail party, believing she had spread rumors that he was behind a campaign to discredit Universal's A Beautiful Mind.
The New Yorker's Ken Auletta described their altercation this way: "To the petite Snider, (Weinstein) was a fearsome sight--his eyes dark and glowering, his fleshy face unshaved, his belly jutting forward half a foot or so ahead of his body. He jabbed a finger at Snider's face and screamed, 'You're going to go down for this!' "
But by most accounts, Weinstein's coarse style proved critical to shaking up Hollywood. His antics are often indulged as a necessary function of his all-consuming drive to make independent films succeed in a market that favors blockbusters.
"Until (Weinstein) came along and beat his way down doors, there was no place for indie producers in the Hollywood studio system," says Kramer. "He singlehandedly pulled the independent film industry out of the doldrums and made Miramax one of the few indie-production brand names that people associate with quality."
Weinstein's chest beating helped acclaimed films like The Thin Blue Line and The Crying Game get made and has earned his work more than 200 Academy Award nominations and over 60 awards.
Still, history shows that leaders like Stewart and Weinstein have a tendency to go too far. Stewart endured prison time on charges related to an insider trading scandal. Weinstein was recently accused of harassing Sydney Pollack on his deathbed about a film release.
InterActiveCorp CEO Barry Diller is routinely criticized for his bloated compensation package. Even New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, the "populist avenger," was caught with his pants down. Every week, it seems another "visionary" is caught exerting inappropriate influence.
"At some point, those we consider 'visionaries' become puffed-up creations of their own imagination," says management consultant Gary Namie. "When business executives stop looking beyond quarterly reports and stockholder dividends, they start ignoring internal stakeholders. We're seeing that unravel now."
American tolerance for bullying leaders may be waning. "There has been a real sea change in what's conceptualized as good leadership," says Kramer. "Americans have become disenchanted with power. Almost daily, they watch as leaders--in government, in business--fail to exercise appropriate restraint."
According to a recent survey conducted by Harvard's Kennedy School, 80 per cent of Americans believe we have a leadership crisis. Only 45 per cent of respondents say they have confidence in our business executives. Only Congress and former President Bush fared worse. The highest ranked group in the survey? The military, which has the confidence of 71 per cent of people surveyed.
"The difference is that in boot camp, the military breaks you down and then builds you back up," says Namie. "These so-called 'visionary' narcissistic nut cases wouldn't dare arm their subordinates. They couldn't afford to turn their back."
It may be better for a prince to be feared than loved. But, says Harvard Business School Professor Joseph Nye, "we sometimes forget that the opposite of love is not fear but hatred. And Machiavelli made it clear that hatred is something a prince should carefully avoid."