Politics / Northeast

NEW DELHI, March 25 — Former Mizoram Governor and senior Rajya Sabha MP Swaraj Kaushal has offered his services to intervene on behalf of imprisoned outlawed ULFA leader Anup Chetia to work out his safe return to Assam.

In an open letter to the general secretary of the outfit currently lodged in Dhaka jail, Sri Kaushal has said, “if you agree I am prepared to intervene on your behalf and take up the matter with Government of India for your safe return to Assam.” Sri Kaushal, who was the moving force behind the singing of the Mizo Accord, said he was distressed by reports that Anup Chetia has...

March 24: Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio’s call for a merger of all Naga-inhabited contiguous areas under a single administrative roof has once again ruffled the feathers of the three neighbouring Congress-ruled states.

Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam have reacted sharply to the NDA-friendly Nagaland chief minister’s remarks on “Greater Nagaland”, saying that such a demand was unacceptable to them. They were of the opinion that the statement could only add to the “confusion”.

During his visit to New Delhi last week, Rio had suggested to the Centre that all Naga-inhabited contiguous...

NEW DELHI, March 19 — Nagaland Government has taken serious note of the complacent manner of Assam Government in issuing documents to illegal migrants. Assam has become a breeding ground for illegal migrants, who after procuring necessary documents move to the hills of Nagaland, charged Chief Minister of the State, Neiphiu Rio.

The cause of alarm for the State is that it has recorded the highest decadal population growth rate in the country at 67 per cent. The minister said that though the hill sector in his State has no problem, the Dimapur valley has been affected. It may be recalled here...

ITANAGAR, March 14 — Prof MGS Narayanan, Chairman, Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR), was said historical records by British officials on North-east were devoid of a historical perspective, reports PTI. Inaugurating a three-day national seminar here on ‘Sources of History of Arunachal Pradesh’, Prof Narayanan said much significance cannot be attached to the British records on the region as they were not based on source materials like archaeological finding and has neglected the oral history of the people and their cultural aspects.

Anthropological findings by the British had a...

Guwahati, March 10: H.W.T. Syiem, the banking ombudsman for the Northeast, has called for spiking the inner-line permit regulation to bolster investments in the region.“It is an archaic law and needs to be reviewed to make the region more investment-friendly,” Syiem said here today at a seminar on international trade and development of the region. The two-day seminar is being organised by the Northeast Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Syiem, a former secretary in the North Eastern Council, said prospective investors shy away from the Northeast because of its antiquated land laws, prohibiting...

IMPHAL, March 9 — Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh has close touch with his Mizoram counterpart Zoramthanga over the Indo-Nagaland peace talks which is likely to resume within this month. The Mizoram Chief Minister left the capital Aizawl for Bangkok via Kolkata on March 5. The Zoramthanga’s latest visit to the Thai capital is being largely perceived as one aimed at preparing suitable grounds for the next rounds of peace talks between the Centre and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (IM), scheduled to take place soon. Chief Minister Zoramthanga, who used to be a member of the...

GUWAHATI, March 3— The State Government has submitted a proposal to the Centre for creation of two India Reserve Police Battalions with surrendered militants, but the response of the Centre is awaited. This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Home Rockeybul Hussain in reply to a question by Sri Zoii Nath Sarma in the State Assembly today.

The Minister said that so far 8,798 militants including 7,618 belonging to the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and 317 belonging to the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) surrendered in the State. He said that the Central...

March 1: The Left Front has returned to power in Tripura while Meghalaya threw up a hung verdict, as had been widely expected. But the surprise came from Nagaland, as the ruling Congress stared at a possible ouster from power in an upsurge by the Nagaland People’s Front.

In Assam, the ruling Congress won the Ratabari Assembly byelection with its candidate, Kripanath Mallah, defeating his nearest BJP rival Sambhu Singh Mallah by 31,170 votes. Polling was necessitated following the death of Independent MLA Ratish Ranjan Choudhury.

In Nagaland, though the Congress emerged as the single largest...

KOLKATA, Feb 26 – Seven persons, including five BSF personnel, were killed, three injured and a number of electronic voting machines were damaged in stray violence during polling for 60-member assemblies in the three northeastern states of Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya today, reports PTI. The turnout in Tripura was the highest – between 75 to 80 per cent, followed by 60 to 70 per cent in Nagaland and 55 per cent in Meghalaya. Taking into account the 50 per cent turnout in Himachal Pradesh the total turnout in the four states is 60 per cent, Election Commission sources said.

Five BSF...

Shillong, Feb. 20: There is a general disinterest in elections nowadays, but a small group of enthusiastic voters in Jirang constituency always look forward to the polls and enjoy the dubious privilege of being able to cast votes in both Assam and Meghalaya.

The hills surrounding Jirang, on the southern periphery of Guwahati, have witnessed a steady increase in the population of migrants over the years. The first objective of a new settler is to acquire political rights.

“Once you have voting rights, there are no legal means to banish you from the area,” says Indra Sharma, a resident of Nine...