Politics / Northeast

KOHIMA, May 8 – The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (IM) said it was committed to “peaceful means for solution” to the more-than-half-a-century old Indo-Naga political problem but lamented that “Indians’ commitment leaves much to be desired despite assurances” reports NEPS. In an exclusive interview to a Netherlands based national daily that made available to North East Press Service Tuesday, General Secretary of the NSCN (IM) Thuingaleng Muivah, however, asserted that the unification of “Naga territories” and their national identities were “non-negotiable. “In other words, the...

SHILLONG, May 7 — The North East Study Group (NESG) has identified militancy as a symptom and not the disease affecting the North Eastern region. “The disease is alienation from which the region is suffering”, it has observed. The Study Group headed by veteran administrator S K Agnihotri was constituted in 2001 by the Union Home Ministry to go into the problems of the region and suggest remedies thereto.

For the last fifty years, the North East has been deprived of attention and development by the Union government. “This has happened because the region is not on the radar of Delhi, J&K is”...

GUWAHATI, May 2 — A nefarious design has been orchestrated by the Pakistani ISI to bring about a change in the demographic composition of the North East in general and Assam in particular. The design is being implemented by encouraging illegal influx from Bangladesh and propping up fundamentalist militant outfits imbued with a dream of a Islamic homeland.

Security sources told The Assam Tribune here that the infiltration problem in Assam is becoming graver by the day with little signe of any ebb in the flow of Bangladeshis crossing over into India. Most of them head for Assam and West Bengal...

NEW DELHI, April 30 — In an adverse comment on the functioning of the north-eastern State Governments, a study group in North-east appointed by the Central Government has confirmed that huge development funds continued to be siphoned off in the region. Alarmed by the reports pouring from the State about misuse of developmental funds and to put a check on siphoning of the funds, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) appointed a study group. It has since submitted its first set of recommendations, revealed the Minister of State for Home Affairs, LD Swami in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

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AGARTALA, April 26 — In what can be called a fresh initiative for dialogue with the Mizoram government for early repatriation of the Reang (Bru) refugees presently sheltered in six camps in North Tripura district, a high level team of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) headed by a special secretary will visit the Reang (Bru) refugee camps. The team would among other things, ascertain the actual number of refugees in the six camps in Kanchanpur subdivision.

According to official sources, the central team will arrive at Agartala on April 30 next to settle the dispute over the total number of...

SHILLONG, April 22 — The idea of flushing out the northeast militant organizations—United Liberation Front of Asson (ULFA), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and Kamatapur Liberation Organization (KLO) —from the soils of Bhutan through the joint army action by India and Bhutan has gradually faded away, reports North East Press Service. Although Bhutan Government had already appreciated the idea of joint military action to flush out the northeast militant organizations from its soil, the Government (Bhutan) had reportedly signaled the would-be consequences if such military action was...

SILIGURI, April 19 — The Bhutan government is taking steps to curb activities of Indian militant organisations in the country, Bhutanese ambassador to India Lynpo Dago Tshering said here today. Tshering said that there were 20 camps of anti-India militants running in Bhutan, including nine operated by the ULFA. Of the nine, four were already destroyed by the Bhutan government, he said adding a number of new check posts were also set up at a great expenditure. Securitymen have blocked the entry points inside Dooars jungles usually used by militants to enter the Himalayan country, he said...

Ukhrul, April 18: At the age of 77, he is only 11 years older to his brother. But in reality, he is a father figure to his sibling, Thuingaleng Muivah.

The modest home of Sangreihan Muivah, unassuming elder brother of the NSCN (I-M) general secretary, is just like any other Naga household.

Sangreihan is reluctant to hazard a guess about what would happen as the Naga peace talks move forward. He does, however, give an idea on how things have shaped for his family since the early days of the Naga rebellion and Th. Muivah’s own association with the movement since the Sixties.

After the...

Agartala, April 16: He is the “son of a coronated king”, to say the least, but in Bangladesh, he is known only as chief of his tribal subjects, the Chakmas.

A successful lawyer in the Bangladesh supreme court, 39-year-old Raja Debasish Roy feels in a modern democracy the title of a king is redundant.

The strapping raja was here as the special guest for the three-day “Bijhu” (new year) festival of the Chakma tribe of Tripura.

He took part in the traditional festivities in the remote Jharjharia village under Natun Bazar police station of South Tripura.

Before returning to Bangladesh, he...

Guwahati, April 8: The seven-member advisory group to the ministry of home affairs, set up to look into the security loopholes in the seven northeastern states, today rued that despite several attempts, it has not been able to meet any of the chief ministers except Tarun Gogoi.

The group, which include among others, supercop K.P.S. Gill, former Arunachal Pradesh chief secretary S.K. Agnihotri and Lt. Gen. (retired) S.K. Pillai, was also supposed to recommend measures to plug those loopholes.

“We have been trying for the past six months to meet all the chief ministers. But we managed to meet...