Editorial

Soaring mercury at Imphal: Price of damning environment

From 35.6 degree Celsius the hottest in 15 years recorded back in 2014, today it is 36.97 and one wonders where this will stand in the Celsius story of Manipur or Imphal. Clearly the impact of global warming is being felt here and this ..

Political deadlock since first week of June: Can Manipur afford this ?

The stalemate continues. Nothing to suggest that the infighting in the BJP Government has been resolved and no one knows what is going on. What however stands is the fact that the dissidents are yet to throw in the towel and are still ..

Lungnila Elizabeth : Long road to justice

The long road to justice. This is not to say that justice will finally be delivered but significant to note that Session Judge, Imphal West has fixed July 30, July 31 and August 1 for the final hearing in the kidnapping and murder case of..

Of July 11 and July 15 fifteen years back: Manorama and nude protest

Tough to say if such a time will come when the State Government may be able to join hands with various civil society organisations and human rights organisations to observe July 15 as was observed as Anti-Repression Day this year in..

Key words : Indigenous to Nagaland, Studying the opposition

The key words here are Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (IIN) and this is obviously the reason why the move of the Government of Nagaland to prepare a Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) has run into a roadblock..

Not everything right within Govt: Unwanted open spat

Something is just not right with the BJP led Government at the moment. From the stand off within the BJP itself over the leadership question, now comes the open spat between CAF and PD Minister Karam Shyam of the LJP and BJP ..

Downward spiral of Congress: Leadership vacuum

After the whipping it received in the recently held Lok Sabha elections, nothing seems to be going right for the Congress. After Rahul Gandhi resigned as the president of the All India Congress Committee, citing moral ..

Tough stand of rebel MLAs: A question of principles

Not exactly a storm but after a brief lull, the stirring from the rebel BJP MLAs can be seen again. Not surprisingly from New Delhi, where they are camped. Difficult to say how the Central BJP leadership will take the decision..

Ghost of CAB hangs over North East : Interesting stand of Khandu

Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu has spoken his mind and stand on the Citizenship Amendment Bill, which the BJP had assured to bring back, if it is voted to power...

Of Territorial Council and Nagalim: Homeland demand

A classic case of only the Meiteis and Meitei Pangals identifying themselves with the geo-political reality called Manipur. The Kuki Inpi Manipur and other Kuki civil society organisations as well as the KNO and the UPF ..

Quixotic land that Manipur is: Mixture of opposites

Interesting. All different news but tied by the common thread of the understanding-the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. Opposition against the Citizenship Amendment Bill still strong, with different organisations ..

Membership drive launched with a purpose: Sharing the same stage

The Government may be facing internal dissent with the infighting known to all, but the BJP seems set to look forward, beyond the immediate and the massive membership drive launched on July 6 bears testimony to this...

Call for distrubance free education; It is about the future

The very fact that the 12th Disturbance Free Educational Zone Demand Day was held on July 5 at Tribal Research Institute should more than say how the pursuit of formal education has been damned by different forces down th..

Understanding red, green and yellow lights: No traffic sense

Speaks volumes about the mentality of the people as a whole. Traffic lights now work, but ironically the need to still deploy traffic personnel at all the traffic islands still stands. Perhaps Imphal must one of the few State capitals where..

Now it is no longer ‘internal dissent’: Too many ‘firsts’

Just a little over two years and the BJP led coalition Government has managed to notch up some dubious firsts and this does not say anything positive about the party. Perhaps for the first time in the recent history of the State..

Downward spiral all the way for Cong: Refusing to learn

This is the time for the Congress to be seriously looking into what went wrong, how to deal with its bankrupt ideology, infuse energy with leaders who can look beyond five/ten years..

Attending roll call at New Delhi : Can Manipur afford this?

Roll call at Delhi. It was a one to one and while it is still not clear if there will be another such round at New Delhi, it was clear that the Ministers who are at loggerheads would surely be summoned to New Delhi one day..

From poppy cultivation to heroin production

Was that all or was it the proverbial tip of an iceberg? Of course we are talking about the busting of a heroin/brown sugar manufacturing unit at Lilong Dam area and seizure of contraband drugs worth Rs 100 crore...

Let Chennai story be wake up call: Harvesting rain water

Harvest rain water. This seems to be Narendra Modi’s call in his second innings as the Prime Minister of the country and it sits well with the grim reality of the day. Chennai is dry today and there is a lesson to be learnt from this. Apart from the poor rainfall, Chennai is today paying the price for the utter disrespect towards its waterbodies and water ..

Internal storm after a brief lull: The tussle continues

After a brief lull, the storm. This is how the crisis amongst the BJP legislators in the Government may be summed up in brief. Meeting to discuss the internal crisis and perhaps find a way out cancelled as majority of the BJP MLAs failed to turn up, clearly underlining the point that nothing is right amongst the BJP..

Lessons to learn from Nagaland: Ban on plastics

Nagaland has done it and shown the way. And for once the Government of Manipur need to seriously study if Nagaland can do it then why not here ?..

Protect non-locals in Dimapur call The labour market

Not exactly a stand against the Inner Line Permit System, but questions the validity of such an Act and this is something which must have been taken note of by the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System...

Of history and geography: Tourism Co-operation ?

Beautiful inter play of history and geography. If the history of World War II is responsible for the Japanese Government to take a keen interest in the State, then it is geography which has pitchforked Manipur to the centre stage..

Jhum cultivation & green Manipur: A perfect antithesis

Chief Minister’s Green Manipur Mission sounds quite fascinating as well as promising. After Go to Hills, Go to Village, School Fagathanshi etc, etc missions, Chief Minister N Biren launched another mission yesterday,..

Speaking via its mouthpiece Long walk to final pact

Via the Nagalim Voice, the NSCN (IM) has spoken. And one understands why it has deemed it fit to urge the Narendra Modi Government to take the ongoing political dialogue to its logical conclusion without further delay. 22 years is a long time...

Numerous issues facing Manipur Political instability

Political instability-this is the last thing the State needs at the moment, and this observation stems from the fact that there are so many issues which could rock Manipur anytime in the coming days...

Let Centre decide on leadership quip Pregnant with meaning

Let Centre decide on leadership. Does this mean that the leadership question is still out there in the open, when in fact the BJP led Government has completed two years in office under N Biren Singh as the Chief Minister ?..

From bandh to mass prayers Need to look beyond

From bandh to prayer programmes. This is a significant shift from the years gone by when the Nagas of Manipur under the aegis of the United Naga Council generally used to call a bandh on June 18 to demand an early resolution to the ongoing political dialogue between the NSCN (IM) and the Government of India. ..

From June 18, 2001 to June 18, 2019 Manipur : Geo-political reality

June 18, 2001. A calendar date that has been marked in bold in the minds of everyone who stand by the idea of a Manipur as a distinct social and political reality. And it is with this same approach that 2019 will greet June 18 on Tuesday. It has been like this every year after the spontaneous people’s uprising on the said date more than 15 years back. More than 15 years back, but the date continues to hold a special place in the minds of everyone and there could be many who were not born on the day ..

Staring at political and financial crisis Delhi should act fast

Political crisis and financial crisis, as MPCC president and member of CWC Gaikhangam put it. The two are interlinked with the financial crisis giving the much needed push to the political crisis, especially after Chief Minister N Biren stripped the Finance, Works and Power portfolios from NPP MLA and Deputy Chief Minister Y Joykumar and BJP Minister Th Biswajit as soon as the RBI stalled all Government transactions following the overdraft of over Rs 274 crore...

Questions on the ceasefire coverage Understanding stand of UCM

Rolled back the phrase ‘ceasefire without territorial limits’ or nullified the Bangkok Agreement signed on June 14, 2001-This was way back in 2001 when Manipur erupted as one and which led to the death of at least 18 persons, ultimately forcing the then Vajpayee led Government at Delhi to roll back the ceasefire extension pact...

State BJP : Set to look beyond 2022 The Delhi effect

The Delhi effect. Not exactly a case of ‘if it rains in Delhi, people take out umbrellas in Imphal,’ but comes somewhat close to it. In as much as BJP camps across the country must be celebrating the stupendous victory of the party at the just held Lok Sabha elections, the BJP here in Manipur too must have started looking beyond 2022, that is when the Assembly election here is due. ..

BJP : All set for a clean sweep The NAMO, Amit Shah magic

All set for a clean sweep. Everything that can go right for the BJP and its allies have gone right and everything that can go wrong have gone wrong for the Congress and its allies under the UPA. The figure speaks for itself. Till 5 pm, the trend clearly showed that while the BJP was comfortably placed and leading in 288 Parliamentary Constituencies, ..

End of the largest democratic exercise Bugle sounded for next 5 years

From 2 out of 2 in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the question is what the score would be like for the Congress this time around here in Manipur. This question will be known today (May 23), but this poser is important not only to the Congress but also equally to the BJP...

Exit polls : Not the final verdict Room for post poll pact ?

This is not the final verdict. At its most accurate it can be said to be a trend or an indication, but a trend which says that the BJP under Narendra Modi is still a potent force to reckon with, a point which not all political personality or a political party can boast of but nothing is final as yet. So all the more reason why the saffron party and its partners need not go overboard and why the Congress and those in the Opposition need not go into despair. ..

Class X results : Best in 10 years Marginal improvement

A marginal improvement from last year but the highest in the last ten years and this should say something significant. The figure says it. With a pass percentage of 74.69 percent up from 73.18 percent last year, this is the best in the past ten years in the HSLC examination results but this best in a decade pales in comparison with the CBSE which notched up a pass percentage of 91.10 and ICSE at 98.54. ..

Pull out threat from the NPF Interesting rider

Pull out threat with a rider. And the rider is the time frame given as ‘after the Lok Sabha election’. Pull out after the last and final phase of voting on May 19 or pull out after the vote count is held or pull out after the election process is over, as scheduled by the Election Commission of India ? Not clear for the Naga People’s Front (NPF) has not taken the trouble to specify this. ..

Understanding performance of Govt schools Why point only at teachers ?

It is that time of the year and once again people’s attention are on the schools which have specialised at the plus two level, with the Council of Higher Secondary Education, Manipur (COHSEM) having declared the Class XII examination results on May 8 and the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur (BOSEM) set to declare the Class X examination results on May 18. Other than the schools specialising at the plus two level are the numerous coaching centres, offering courses in NEET, JEE and other competitive ..

Fissures with a coalition partner Stand of NPF

Seems like the two year itch. An itch brought about by a haughty BJP which does not know how to treat its junior partner in the coalition Government or an itch brought about by a desire to have something more than its pound of flesh ? The probabilities are many, but it is nevertheless significant to note that the Naga People’s Front has gone on record to state that it is not at all satisfied with how the BJP has been treating them as a partner in the coalition Government. ..

Need to focus on the average students too Attracting the best

It will be interesting to see if any school, especially schools specialising in the plus two level, can help a 70 percenter in the Class X examination book a spot in the top 20 positions in the Class XII examinations two years hence. This observation is made in the backdrop of the numerous freebies put on offer by many schools to attract the best students. A student who topped the Class X examination, repeating the same achievement in the Class XII examination will not come as too much of a surprise, ..

Represent the people, not only party Waiting for May 23

May 23 is The Day. The Day in the sense that India will know which party or which front led by which party will rule the country for the next five years. Difficult to say which way the wind will blow, but if poll pundits are to be believed the fight this time around will be much tougher than 2014 when the BJP led NDA practically decimated the Congress led UPA front. Apart from the close fight that has been projected it is also interesting to note that this is perhaps the first time, after the era ..

Saluting Mothers of the world Finer meaning of Ima Keithel

‘Give me a good mother and I will give you the world’ to ‘The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother’ to ‘My mother is a walking miracle,’ from Napoleon Bonaparte, ..

Infamy written all over it ! MPSC : Wallowing in dirt

Infamy is written all over it and there is no doubt about it. One here is talking about the Manipur Public Service Commission and the examination it conducts to recruit officers to the Manipur Civil Service, Manipur Police Service, Manipur Finance Service, Sub-Deputy Collector and Manipur Secretariat Service. One here is not only talking about the cancellation of the Preliminary of the Manipur Civil Services Combined Competitive Examination, but the very character of the body which is there to recruit ..

Madness on the roads of Imphal Looking at the fatality rate

23 percent fatality rate. This is the finding of the Transport Research Wing of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and this should say something about how safety measures laid down by the Government are more often violated than adhered to. ..

The great search Ops post Apr 28 Endeavours of all

From the evening of April 28 till May 3, attention of the people Manipur was drawn to Mapithel Dam, where three people went missing after the boat in which they were in capsized after Cyclone Fani hit the State. The Government did respond swiftly and personnel from the NDRF, SDRF, the State Fire Brigade and police were pressed into service to locate the three persons, with the two men being brothers. To aid the search party, divers from the Indian Navy were called in and the efforts to trace the ..

CBSE results : 499 out of 500 Raining marks all over

It is raining marks for CBSE students with the girl topper in this year’s Class XII examinations securing 499 marks out of 500. Just a mark less to secure the perfect 10. And mind you there was not one but two students who secured 499 out of 500. Three more students have secured 498 out of 500 and clearly it is raining marks for those who did slog it out and worked hard for the Class XII board examinations. One may see the same pattern when the Council of Indian School Certificate Examination announces ..

Rewind of Shirui 2009 tale ? Stand off at Sihai village

Ceasefire pact not in force in Manipur. This is the official line adopted by New Delhi after New Delhi rolled back the phrase ‘ceasefire without territorial limits’ after Manipur went up in flames in 2000 after the said phrase was included in the pact signed between New Delhi and the NSCN (IM), in what is today known as the Bangkok Declaration. The interesting question is, how well is the spirit and content of the peace deal being honoured by either side ? This point comes to the fore only when a ..