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NEW DELHI, May 27 – Reaffirming Centre’s commitment to resolve the insurgency problem, Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh today assured that all legitimate grievances of the separatist outfits would be looked into urging them to join the mainstream. Interacting with newsmen on the sideline of the release of the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) at his 7 Race Course residence, Dr Singh said that though he has so far not applied his mind as to how to go about the Naga peace process, he said the Centre would strive to address all the legitimate grievances. “At the same time I would like to appeal to...

IMPHAL, May 27: In third such attack, militants struck at the residence of Manipur Urban Development Minister L Nanda Kumar Singh here, but no casualty was reported, official sources said today. Two militants riding a two-wheeler lobbed a bomb at Singh's house at Nagamapal area at 8.30 p.m yesterday.

The minister was not at his house at the time of attack as he was present at his official residence at Lamphel area, 4 kms from here. The bomb fell short of its target and went off near a neighbour's house damaging a portion of it.

The attackers then fled from the spot, the sources said adding...

Kokrajhar, May 26: The Kokrajhar District Tribal Sangha has demanded creation of new tribal belts and blocks on plains of Assam. In a memorandum to Dilip Singh Bhuria, chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes, the tribal body also demanded eviction of “illegal encroachers” from the existing tribal belts and blocks in the state.

The memorandum said largescale influx of Bangladeshis and other non-tribal people of the state into the existing 45 tribal belts and blocks in the plains has made the tribals a minority in their own land.

Transfer of land to non-...

SHILLONG, May 26 – Meghalaya Chief Minister DD Lapang yesterday scotched reports of dropping some of his allies from his Council of Ministers while denying alliance with NCP, reports PTI. “There is no substance in these reports. I do not find time to reply to those,” Lapang, a senior Congress leader, told a scribe who asked him to comment on his reported move to drop some of his coalition partners from the government. Lapang heads a Meghalaya Democratic Alliance comprising four parties and some independents.

There was a report in the section of the Press and strong rumour doing the rounds...

GUWAHATI, May 26 – It would be better to open up the North East to Bangladesh rather than try to link up the region with Myanmar, suggested French scholar Renaud Egreteau here today. Egreteau, who was speaking at a seminar in the city, felt that India should “think twice” before opening up to Myanmar.

Egreteau was invited by The Centre for Northeast India, South and Southeast Asia Studies (CENISEAS) of the Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development to speak on the topic: “India’s Northeast: Gateway or Boundary with Myanmar?” Egreteau is a doctoral candidate in Political Science...