iMizoram : Blog Title the same as above

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Mizoram Deputy Speaker elected

AIZAWL, Dec 19 – R Lalrinawma of the ruling Congress was today elected unopposed as the Deputy Speaker of the Mizoram Assembly.

Speaker Hiphei said that only one nomination was received for the election and announced that Lalrinawma was the new Deputy Speaker.

House leader Lal Thanhawla and opposition group leader Vanlalzawma accompanied the newly-elected Deputy Speaker to his seat.

Lal Thanhawla said that Lalrinawma was the chairman of the Law Commission during the previous government and contributed a lot to legislation of a large number of laws and also for discarding obsolete Acts.

“His knowledge of law would be invaluable for the State legislature,” the Chief Minister said, adding that he and the Congress members would support him in his efforts to maintain the dignity and decorum of the State legislature.

An advocate by profession, Lalrinawma (53) was elected from Aizawl East-I seat in 2008 State Assembly polls from where he won again in the Assembly elections held on November 25 this year. – PTI

Meanwhile, Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla today administered the oath of office to the newly-appointed seven Parliamentary Secretaries.

The parliamentary Secretaries are: K S Thanga, Lt Col ZS Zuala, H Zothangliana, Joseph Lalhimpuia, TT Zothansanga, K Lalrinthanga and Himngdailova Khiangte.

In Mizoram, Parliamentary Secretaries enjoyed the rank and salary of the Ministers of State.

Former Minister H Liansailova, who lost in the recent Assembly polls, was appointed vice-chairman of the State Planning Board.

Liansailova’s position is the rank of a Cabinet Minister and would enjoy the salary and facility like a Cabinet Minister.

R Lalrinawma elected Deputy Speaker of Mizoram

Aizawl: R Lalrinawma of the ruling Congress was on Wednesday elected unopposed as the Deputy Speaker of the Mizoram Assembly.

Speaker Hiphei said that only one nomination was received for the election and announced that Lalrinawma was the new deputy speaker.

House leader Lal Thanhawla and opposition group leader Vanlalzawma accompanied the newly elected Deputy Speaker to his seat.

Lal Thanhawla said that Lalrinawma was the chairman of the Law Commission during the previous government and contributed a lot to legislation of a large number of laws and also for discarding obsolete acts.

"His knowledge of law would be invaluable for the state legislature," the chief minister said, adding that he and the Congress members would support him in his efforts to maintain the dignity and decorum of the state legislature.

An advocate by profession, Lalrinawma (53) was elected from Aizawl East-I seat in 2008 state assembly polls from where he won again in the Assembly elections held on November 25 this year.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Mizoram EC moves to hold by-polls after heads of Mizoram's 3 tribal districts become MLAs

With the respective heads of the Chakma, Lai and Mara tribal Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) in Mizoram having become MLAs in the just-concluded Assembly polls, the State Election Commission has begun proceedings to hold by-elections for the three top posts.

While Mara ADC chairman Hiphei, a former Parliamentarian, has become Speaker of the seventh Mizoram Legislative Assembly after winning the Palak seat on Congress ticket, the Lai ADC Chief Executive Member (CEM) C Ngunlianchunga has become a Minister of State in Lal Thanhawla's fifth state government after winning the Lawngtlai West seat. Lai ADC CEM Dr BD Chakma has also become an MoS after winning the Tuichawng seat for the Congress.

Just before the Assembly polls got underway, a collective of some ADC members had won a Gauhati High Court case where they challenged a state law that makes it necessary for ADC members to first resign from their posts before contesting state-wide polls.

State Election Commission secretary H Darzika held a meeting with ADC officials and respective district Deputy Commissioners in Aizawl on Tuesday to discuss the by-polls, beginning with roll revisions. The dates have however not been fixed yet.

Mizoram GSDP growth at 11 per cent during 11 Plan

Aizawl, Dec 17 (PTI) Mizoram Governor Vakkom Purushthaman today said that the state registered GSDP growth at 11 per cent during 11 Plan period against the national growth rate of 7.8 per cent.

In his customary address in the state assembly, Purushothaman said that the high GSDP growth could be attributed to a great extent to the implementation of the New Land Use Policy (NLUP), the flagship programme of the state government.

He said that the original target of 1.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Congressman Hiphei to be elected as Speaker in Mizoram Assembly

Former speaker and veteran Congressman Hiphei is likely to be the next Speaker of the Mizoram Assembly for which election would be held on Monday.

Hiphei filed his nominations for the election this afternoon, Sources in the assembly secretariat said.

He was elected from Palak seat in southernmost Saiha district defeating the sitting legislator and president of the Maraland Democratic Party P P Thawlla in the Assembly elections on 25 November 2013.

R Lalrinawma of Congress was sworn-in this evening by Governor Vakkom Purushothaman as the Pro tem Speaker.

Lalrinawma, the Chairman of the state Law Commission, would administer oath of office to the newly-elected legislators on Monday, after which the election of the Speaker would also be held.

Sources in the Opposition Mizo Democratic Alliance legislature party which has six legislators (Mizo National Front - five and Mizoram People's Conference - one) said that it was not likely to contest against the ruling party candidate in the election of the Speaker.

Kidnappers issue new threat if Rs 5 crores ransom demand not met by Christmas

Militants who kidnapped three men at the India-Bangadesh border in Mizoram last month have said they "will not be responsible for whatever happens to the hostages" if their ransom demand of Rs 5 crores is not paid before Christmas.

The suspected National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) militants issued the threat though a telephone call to the Vanglaini newspaper, Mizoram's most widely circulated daily, on Thursday.

The caller identified himself as Lalduhawma, a known Bru outlaw who intelligence officers say has been on their radar for years.

He said he was calling on behalf of the "Bru Democratic Front of Mizoram". Top sources however said there is no such outfit and suspected it to merely be an alibi for the NLFT, a tribal militant group which has for decades been targeting "Bengali settlers" in Tripura.

Sources described Lalduhawma as someone who has been associated with various armed gangs that emerged after the two main Bru militant groups - Bru National Liberation Front and Bru Liberation Front of Mizoram - laid down their arms after peace deals with the Mizoram government in the last decade.

These include the Bru National Development Liberation Front of Mizoram (BNDLFM), which was later changed to Western Development Liberation Front of Mizoram (WDLFM), believed to be involved in the current kidnapping.

Besides having lived in various western Mizoram villages, Lalduhawma is said to have mainly resided in the Naisingpara Bru relief camp in Tripura, the largest of six such camps.

He is suspected to be linked with militants who looted Rs 198 lakhs from the Zawlnuam BDO office in Mizoram's Mamit district last July, and part of which was believed to have been handed over to NLFT cadres in exchange for firearms and assistance.

The kidnapped men are Deep Mandal, an employee of Noida-based Telecom Network Solutions who was working on a contract for Airtel, and two Mizo drivers Sanglianthanga and Lalzamliana.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Sixth Mizoram Assembly Dissolved

The sixth Mizoram Assembly was today dissolved by the state Governor Vakkom Purushothaman, an official statement said today.

The statement said that the state governor dissolved the current Assembly yesterday in accordance with the powers given to him by the Constitution and on the advice of the Council of Ministers.

Dissolution of the sixth Assembly paved the way for formation of the new Assembly, which would be the seventh since Mizoram attained statehood in 1987.

Sixth Mizoram Assembly dissolved by state Governor Vakkom Purushothaman

Aizawl: The sixth Mizoram Assembly was on Thursday dissolved by the state Governor Vakkom Purushothaman, an official statement said.

The statement said that the state governor dissolved the current Assembly yesterday in accordance with the powers given to him by the Constitution and on the advice of the Council of Ministers.

Dissolution of the sixth Assembly paved the way for formation of the new Assembly, which would be the seventh since Mizoram attained statehood in 1987.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Some solace

The landslide victory in the north-eastern state of Mizoram is cold comfort for the Congress which has suffered massive and demoralising defeats in elections to state Assemblies in other parts of the country. The party, under chief minister Lal Thanhawla, has won 32 seats in the 40-member Assembly and the opposition alliance, led by the Mizo National Front, did not make even a credible impact, winning only five seats. The Congress cannot claim any pride from the win because the political signals from the north-eastern states hardly matter elsewhere in the country. The small Assemblies and the few Lok Sabha seats do not influence the national scene. The politics of what is wrongly called the national mainstream also does not often appeal much to the north-east. The issues that concern the voters there are different most times.

Because of the geographical, historical and economic situations in these states, the voters give much importance to peace and stability. Mizoram, like other states, has been wracked by insurgency in the past. Localised politics based on tribal loyalties and ground level issues play a role but the biggest ground level issue is safety and security. This may be the reason why Mizoram has, in elections in the last 25 years, has only elected the ruling party at the Centre or parties that supported the Central government at the time of the elections. The state has no industrial or economic base and has to depend on central funds not just for development but also for normal government activities. So a premium is placed on good Centre-state relations. The Mizoram voters have also tended to give two successive terms to parties in power. The MNF had won in 1998 and 2003 and the Congress, which won in 2008, has got another mandate now.

Lal Thanhawla has claimed that his mandate is a result of good governance, tough steps against insurgency and a new land use policy which helped farmers to secure land titles and improve cultivation. The policy is a populist one and depended much on central funds. Mizoram, as other states in the region, has seen no industrial development. Geographical isolation, lack of infrastructure and failure to implement promises to link the region economically with south-east Asia and Bangladesh have perpetuated backwardness. The politics of the region can be better aligned with that of the rest of the country if there is greater economic integration. Successive governments at the Centre have failed in this.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Repoll underway in one Mizoram polling station

Aizawl, Dec 11:

Polling is underway at Tialdawngilung polling station in Lawngtlai West constituency of Mizoram, where repoll had been ordered by the Election Commission.

Repoll was ordered due to a defective electronic voting machine (EVM) that was used in the election to the 40-member Mizoram Assembly held on November 25.

State Joint Chief Electoral Officer H. Lalengmawia said that all the polling officials have reached the polling station to conduct the repoll.

There were 257 voters listed under the polling station of whom 210 voters had exercised their franchise on November 25.

Mizoram election result 2013: 'Nobody made me a leader, my hard work paid off'

AIZAWL: Congress might have taken a bad hit in the four other states that went to polls recently but his party colleagues' decimation did not shake four-time Mizoram chief minister Lal Thanhawla's confidence even for once. The grand old man of Mizoram Congress remained visibly calm through his party's debacle in other states. "I have been here, I've seen many, I was confident that we will have a clean majority," he said.

The 71-year-old Lal Thanhawla has been dubbed too old by many, but at a time when the BJP wave is sweeping the nation and the air is rife with anti-Congress sentiment, the veteran politician has led his party to another landslide victory in Mizoram.

No wonder his age is no matter of concern for his partymen. "I know I'm aged, and I sincerely feel it's high time for me to retire from politics and spend more time with my family, especially with my grandchildren, but the call from my partymen is still very loud for me," he said.

Clearly, Lal Thanhawla, who has already won the maximum number of seats in Mizoram's electoral history, can't just hang his boots and settle into a domestic, retired life. His party expects him to sit in the chief minister's chair for another five years. Since 1978, Lal Thanhawla has won seats in nine assembly elections, including this one.

"Leaders are not made; nobody made me a leader, my dedication and hard work paid off. With God on my side, my perseverance and love for my state made me who I am today," Lal Thanhawla said.

His dynamic daughter-in-law Rosy Chalrotluangi, who's behind his success in Hrangturzo constituency, feels that her father-in-law needs more time with his grandchildren, but understands his calling.

"At this age, my father-in-law longs for a quiet and a serene life with his family, but Mizoram Congress still needs him and he is also fully aware of this. He once told me he could not choose between the people of Mizoram and his grandchildren, he loves them both," Rosy Chalrotluangi said.

Rosy's siblings, sports minister Zodintluanga and Chalrosanga, won from Thorang and Lunglei West constituencies respectively. Chalrosanga, her youngest sibling and a first-timer, defeated Mizo National Front's heavyweight candidate R Lalthangliana, a former minister and incumbent legislator from Lunglei West constituency.

Women outstrip men in Mizoram, yet no woman in assembly

Aizawl : No woman candidate was elected to the state assembly in Mizoram, but it is the only state in India where women voters have outnumbered men, officials said here Tuesday.
There has been no woman legislator in Mizoram for the whole of the past two decades.
In the Nov 25 assembly elections, among the 142 candidates in the field, women aspirants were only six (four percent) -- nominated by various political parties. The results of the polls were declared Monday.
The Congress and the main opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) fielded one woman candidate each while three women contested on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket. One woman joined the fray as an Independent candidate.
Tlangthanmawii, who is also the state Congress women wing president, and Lalmalsawmi of the MNF were defeated by male candidates of rival political parties.
The BJP's three women candidates got very least number of votes, while the lone woman Independent aspirant B. Sangkhumi, former president of the Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl (MHIP) or Mizo Women Federation, also suffered defeat.
The ruling Congress swept 33 of the 40 seats at stake (one seat more than in the previous house), leaving five seats to the opposition Mizo National Front (MNF) and one to Mizoram People's Conference (MPC).
The result of the Lawngtlai East constituency was withheld due to erroneous electronic voting machines of a polling station. The Congress is in a lead position in the constituency.
"No woman was elected to the state assembly this time," Mizoram Chief Electoral officer Ashwini Kumar told IANS.
"Congress and MNF's women nominees were fielded against heavy weight candidates while the other parties who fielded women candidates have little political base in the state. Therefore, no women could get elected to the state assembly," the CEO said.
Mizoram is the only state in India where in a total population of 1,091,014, women voters outnumbered men by 9,806 in the total electorate of 690,860.
In the previous assembly elections in 2008, ten women contested -- fopur more than this year -- but unsuccessfully.
That year, women voters outnumbered men voters by 6,644 and in the 2003 elections by 3,816.
Since Mizoram became a union territory in 1973 and a full-fledged state in 1987, there have been only three women legislators - Thanmawii (1978), K. Thansiamii (1979) and Lalhimpuii Hmar (1987). Among them, Lalhimpuii Hmar of the MNF was a minister in the government led by the late Laldenga in 1987.
The Women Welfare Front, constituted by women members of village councils across the state, has been actively spearheading the campaign for women candidates before the assembly polls.
"We made all-out efforts so that we see as many women candidates as possible in the Nov 25 assembly elections. We requested political parties to nominate as many women candidates as possible. We made appeal to the female voters to vote for the women contestants," Women Welfare Front secretary Darhmingthangi told IANS.
"As much as we need women in our domestic affairs, we need them in the legislative system too," she added.
"The Mizo society in pre-modern times was based on what is known as an extreme patriarchal society. This created 'private' and 'public' domain, where women were confined to the private sphere that further relegated their status in the social and religious life," sociologist Subhankar Goswami told IANS.
"Women, therefore, had no opportunities to go beyond the scope of the 'domestic sphere' and it was only men who controlled and dominated the entire 'public sphere'. They were not supposed to have any independent religious loyalty, but were required to follow the religion of their husbands."
"Christianity, of course, is the harbinger of modernity as well as women's liberation in Mizoram. The Christian missionaries are regarded as a symbol of modernisation that led to gradual changes in the conservative attitudes of men towards women," he said.

Mizoram election result 2013: NLUP was Congress's biggest victory weapon, feels MNF

AIZAWL: The Mizo National Front (MNF), once a rebel outfit which became a political party with the signing of the historic Mizo Accord, has always caught the imagination of the people here. It was Rajiv Gandhi who brought them into the mainstream when he signed an accord with its founder, Laldenga, in 1986.

Subsequently, it went on to win assembly elections in 1987, 1998 and 2003, but lost to the Congress for two consecutive terms, including this election. Its president and former chief minister, Zoramthanga, formed a three-party opposition alliance comprising the Mizoram Democratic Alliance (MDA), the Mizoram People's Conference (MPC) and the Maraland Democratic Front (MDF), but it was not formidable enough to take on the Congress led by chief minister Lal Thanhawla. Besides, another regional party, the Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP), played spoilsport.

All eyes were on the ZNP this election, led by former IPS officer Lal Duhoma. But in real terms, the ZNP became a mere vote divider paving the way for an easy win for the Congress. Though social media saw the emergence of the ZNP as a larger third front in Mizoram, political analysts felt they were just a nightmare for the MDA and nothing more.

"The ZNP wave was there, but too weak to win a single seat. However, it was good enough to disturb the Mizoram Democratic Alliance's concentration of votes. The bigger the ZNP wave, the bigger the margin of the Congress victory," summed up Tuikhuahthanga, a political analyst.

The ZNP has formed a partnership with the Congress in the Aizawl Municipal Council, but they decided to go it alone in the assembly polls.

Duhoma's energetic campaign did help to attract young voters but this was not reflected in the vote share. This strategy, however, did help to dampen MDA's chances. "Mizoram has its own precedence, 'let them rule for two consecutive terms, then we'll see', this is one important factor," said Lalchhandama from Aizawl, adding that the people of Mizoram are not yet tired of the Congress.

The Congress's pilot project, the New Land Use Policy (NLUP), has also played a key role in the victory, felt many including the opposition. The Rs 2,800-crore project had covered 1.35 lakh familes across the state and was expected to bring about a sea-change in rural economy.

"I cannot say if NLUP can bring about an economic change for poor farmers, but it has benefitted many in rural areas," said R Lalthangliana, the vice-president of MNF.

"Many people may have misused the money, but it was the biggest electoral tool of the Congress," said an MNF supporter.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Mizoram elections: Congress to elect party chief tomorrow

The Congress Legislature Party would hold a meeting on Wednesdayto formally elect party chief Lal Thanhawla as the CLP leader, paving the way for his becoming the chief minister for the second consecutive term.

Mr. Thanhawla was likely to form the new Congress government in Mizoram earliest by Friday, sources in the Chief Minister’s Office said on Tuesday.

The five-day national mourning as a mark of respect to South African leader Nelson Mandela was one of the reasons for the delayed swearing-in ceremony, the sources said.

Lal Thanhawla, all set for a fifth term, won from both Serchhip and Hrangturzo seats, he contested. He was elected to the Assembly for a record ninth time since 1978.

Congress won a two-thirds majority in the November 25 Assembly election winning 33 of 39 seats and improved upon its 2008 tally by one seat.

Repoll for Lawngtlai East seat would be held on Wednesday and counting would be done on Thursday.

The opposition Mizoram Democratic Alliance (MDA), a pre-poll alliance formed by the main opposition Mizo National Front (MNF), Mizoram People’s Conference (MPC) and the Maraland Democratic Front (MDF) won six seats (MNF 5 and MPC one).

Mizoram is still seen as an exotic and faraway place

Sanjib Kr Baruah

This time around, five states had a go at the hustings. Mizoram was the fifth, on November 25.

While the prospects of the many political parties and candidates in Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan, were dissected by TV anchors, newspapers, poll pundits and
politicians, no one evinced any interest in talking about Mizoram. It was the same in the print and social media.

Not that northeasterners actually mind. They are used to decades of monumental neglect and to being a veritable blip on the national radar of Indian politics. Arguments made for greater coverage for the Northeast are often dismissively put down to a ‘persecution complex’.

What also takes the cake is the fact that except for one poll survey agency, no one was commissioned to do an opinion or exit poll on Mizoram politics. Even that single agency interested in Mizoram — CVoter — is reported to have funded the survey with its own money as no media house came forward to fund such a survey in the backwaters.

The media, much like the political establishment, advocates more coverage of the Northeast, but is loath to make the investments that will enable suitable coverage. This is a narrative that is here to stay despite ‘the winds of change’ having hit the Indian capital.

Ironically, Mizoram with more than 81% voting, registered the highest political participation among the states that went to the polls.

A top Election Commission official stated that the behaviour of the public during the elections in Mizoram should be a model for the rest of the country. One reason for such orderly conduct is the involvement of civil society organisations, including the powerful Church that came out with a list of desirable and undesirable activities for political parties.

You can bet that the Northeast will continue to be on the periphery when the parliamentary elections take place in about five months. After all, only 25 Lok Sabha MPs or less than 5% are returned from that region.

On a lighter note, the only excited people during the allocation of poll duties were perhaps the government poll officials who were keen to try out the ‘exotic’ experience that ‘faraway’ Mizoram provides. This, by and large, characterises the ‘mainstream’ approach to affairs in the Northeast.

POST-SCRIPT: The Lal Thanhawla-led Congress has retained power in Mizoram — the fifth time Congress has come to power in the state that had seen decades of incessant insurgency.

It is incidentally the only state in the country that was carpet-bombed by its own Indian Air Force fighter jets on March 5, 1966 in an effort to quell a rebellion led by the Mizo National Front (MNF) which had taken over the Assam Rifles headquarters in Aizawl.

The MNF itself was the offshoot of a voluntary group that had been set up to address peoples’ misery due to a terrible famine when no government help and aid was forthcoming.
- See more at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/comment/analysis/mizoram-is-still-seen-as-an-exotic-and-faraway-place/article1-1160881.aspx#sthash.Yax0oTN2.dpuf

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Two polling officials suspended in Mizoram

Aizawl, Dec 6 (PTI) Two polling officials who were on duty at the Republic Veng - I polling booth during the election to the 40-member Mizoram Assembly on November 25, were suspended today for dereliction of duty.

The suspension orders were issued following intimation from the state election department which was instructed by the Election Commission.

Rs 5cr ransom call for Deep

The kidnappers of Deep Mandal, a telecom professional from north Calcutta who went missing on November 23 from Mizoram’s Mamit district along with two Mizo drivers, have demanded a ransom of Rs 5 crore.

Mizoram police on Thursday confirmed that the 25-year-old from Shyampukur has been kidnapped on his first assignment outside Bengal but “he is safe”.

The Mamit superintendent of police, Rodingliana Chawngthu, said the kidnappers called the manager of the Noida-based company Deep worked for around 4pm on Wednesday. “This was the first ransom call so far. The hostages are safe but deep inside Bangladesh.”

Mamit district, around 160km west of Aizawl, borders Bangladesh and Tripura.

The police had said last week that militants of the National Liberation Front of Tripura might have kidnapped Deep while he was returning to Aizawl from Tuipuibari forest, where his firm has installed mobile phone towers for a telecom company.

The two drivers have been identified as Sanglianthanga and Lalzamliana.

Deep had joined the private firm five months ago and this was his first official trip outside Bengal. His last call to his family was on November 22.

On Thursday, the influential Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) took out a 65km rally seeking early and unconditional release of the hostages. Lalmachhuana, the president of the student union, said: “We want people living in Mizoram to join hands in maintaining peace.”

The government along with the Young Mizo Association, NGOs and taxi drivers have supported the rally.

‘Invisible’ children growing up in relief camps

Rimjhim Jain

Kornojoy Molshoi was an infant when his parents fled Mizoram in 1997 for a relief camp in neighbouring Tripura. Though they expected to return in a few weeks, Kornojoy is now 16 and has only experienced life in Naisingpara relief camp.

“It was shocking to discover a generation of
children has grown up in these makeshift camps which are being denied basic sanitation, health or education facilities. Many children are even refused birth certificates or ration cards, making them an invisible population,” says Sipa Dixit, member, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).

On October 24, the NCPCR sent a letter to the home ministry and four other central ministries on the dangerously deteriorating camp conditions. With no let up in the forced migrations caused by civil unrest in many states, it urgently recommends a policy for internally displaced populations living in relief camps.

Of the 31,846 Brus in seven relief camps in north Tripura, 8,426 are children like Kornojoy living here for 15-16 years.

They survived outbreaks of cholera, malaria and blood dysentery which have claimed 2,000 lives. Installed on a temporary basis, the camps still exist without proper sanitation, electricity, health centres or proper schools.

Kornojoy is about to complete Class 8 beyond which no schooling is offered in the camps. His father says, “Schools outside deny admission to camp children on various pretexts. He has no job option either.” The same bleak future faces thousands of other children in relief camps.

Visiting relief camps all over the country since 2008 to assist district administrations on the safety, education and health of children in the camps, including those in Muzaffarnagar, the NCPCR is now in talks with the Centre to issue guidelines for the camps.

“As internally displaced persons our condition is worse than that of refugees whose welfare is at least governed by UN guidelines,” laments Bruno Msha of the Mizoram Bru Displaced People’s Forum.

The NCPCR’s intervention galvanised the ministry of water resources to issue directions on November 1 for providing water and sanitation facilities on a ‘top-priority basis’ to children in the north Tripura camps.

It is time to recognise that relief camps are a reality in this age of civil unrest. The rights of displaced populations must be addressed through policy measures that cut through haphazard aid and biased considerations.

In a democracy, state governments cannot argue that ‘these are not our people’. For instance, camps still in existence after a few months must be incorporated into the district’s development agenda.

Systematic regulations are particularly important for children growing up in camps that are ‘temporarily permanent.

Rimjhim Jain is a Delhi-based independent writer

The views expressed by the author are personal

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Prime suspect in drug smuggling case held in Mizoram

Aizawl: Alleged mastermind in the massive smuggling of pseudo-ephedrine from India to Myanmar, Tlangchungnunga has been arrested at the Lengpui Airport by the Mizoram Police.

While no drug was seized from his possession, a number of documents, including suspected fake documents, were seized by the Airport security personnel from Tlangchungnunga here last night.

Tlangchungnunga, alias Pa Tlanga, who claimed to be a Pastor in the Mizo Christian Fellowship in Delhi and knowing Mizo language, is suspected to be a Myanmarese national.

Police said that when he was arrested, he threw away a small bag which was recovered and found to be containing a number of documents, including those printed in Myanmarese language.

He was wanted by the Police in Mizoram-Myanmar border Champhai, who suspected that he was the mastermind behind an organised trafficking of pseudo-ephedrine to Myanmar via Mizoram.

Pseudo-ephedrine is a precursor for illicit manufacturing of drugs like Metamphetamine.

"He was operating from Delhi to smuggle huge quantity of pseudo-ephedrine to Myanmar," a senior Police official said, adding that Pa Tlanga was booked under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 and would be sent to Champhai Police Station.

Crores of rupees worth pseudo-ephedrine tablets intended to have been smuggled to Myanmar were seized by a number of enforcement agencies including the state police, excise and narcotics department officials and customs officials during the past two years.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Huge cache of arms and ammunition seized in Mizoram

A huge cache of arms and ammunition including 39 grenades, 14 assault rifles and a Light Machine Gun has been seized in Mizoram by a joint operation mounted by the Serchhip district police and 14th Assam Rifles.
Two persons have been arrested and booked under the Arms Act. The accused have been identified as Thangdeihtung and Liankhanmanga, both 30 years of age and residents of Champhai town, near the Indo-Myanmar border.
Top police sources said law enforcement agencies acted on a tip-off received by the North Vanlaiphai Police station on Monday afternoon, which indicated the arms cache was moving from Champhai towards Lunglei town in south-central Mizoram through Serchhip.
The accused were stopped just outside Khawlailung village later in the evening. They were riding a pick-up truck, and the rifles were stashed in a compartment behind the front seats while the rest were wrapped in a silpaulin sheet and placed in the rear.
Interrogations have revealed the duo were given the consignment by one Thanglianpaua in Champhai, who told them a man he did not name would get in touch with them through one of the mobile handsets he gave them and receive the consignment near Lunglei.
Investigators have ruled out the consignment's connection with any election-related use by militants or other groups, but have also not yet been able to gauge which group or groups are likely behind it.
Mizoram, one of North-East India's most peaceful states, has in the past few years become a major route for arms and narcotics traffickers.
In March this year, police and Assam Rifles had seized 31 AK-47 assault rifles, an LMG, a US-made Browning automatic rifle, more than 800 rounds of ammunition and 32 magazines from a hut near the state's lone domestic airport at Lengpui, just 30-km from capital Aizawl. Three Chakma tribesmen believed to be from Bangladesh were arrested in connection with the seizure.
Law enforcement agencies said later the consignment was meant for the Parbotia Chatagram Jana Sangata Samiti (PCJSS), based in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts, and that the arms and ammunition came from Myanmar. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has since taken over the case.
In 2009, Mizoram Police had also seized a consignment of eight M-16 assault rifles, considered one of the largest seizures in the state's history when the quality of arms is taken into account.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Huge cache of arms seized in Mizoram

AIZAWL: In a joint operation, the Mizoram Police and the Assam Rifles, have seized a huge cache of arms from a truck in Serchhip district, police said on Tuesday.

Two suspected arm smugglers were arrested in this connection last evening, the police said.

The seized arms included ten modified assault rifles along with 20 magazines, four Chinese-made rifles along with eight magazines, a light machine gun, 39 grenade shells, one pistol, one telescope used for rifles, a pistol silencer and 532 rounds of live ammunition.

The arms were seized from a truck at a place between Chekkawn and Khawlailung villages on Monday.

Two suspects - Thangdeihtung (30), driver of the truck and Liankhanmang (30), both belonging to the Champai town bordering Myanmar were arrested and booked under relevant sections of the IPC, police added.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

10 percent devices malfunctioned in Mizoram polls

Ten percent of the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines, which verify to a voter that his or her vote was cast as wished, malfunctioned in the Nov 25 polls in Mizoram, an official said here Monday.

"In all 21 VVPAT machines of 212 placed in 10 constituencies in Aizawl district failed.
Eleven VVPATs failed during routine checkup a day before the assembly polls, 10 more were unsuccessful during the polling day and had to be replaced," Mizoram Chief Electoral officer (CEO) Ashwini Kumar told reporters.

He said that the Electronic Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) delivered the machines to the Mizoram election department two weeks late which, coupled with the breakdown of the devices, led to "administrative challenges".

"The VVPAT is a printer with a drop box attached to EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines), which permits voters to confirm their vote was cast in the way they desired," Kumar said.

He said: "As soon as the voter casts the vote, the VVPAT would show a tiny slip in a glass covered display with the symbol and the candidate name the elector has voted for. The slip after 3 to 4 seconds would automatically drop down into the connected closed box."

A Mizoram election department official said that following several court cases against the EVMs and some controversy over the electronic machine, the VVPAT is being used to satisfy the voters and to remove doubts about the voting machine.

The VVPAT devices were used for the first time in the Noksen by-polls in a Nagaland assembly segment in September and then in 10 of Mizoram's 40 assembly constituencies.

The VVPAT, which was developed by the Hyderabad-based ECIL under the Department of Atomic Energy, are scheduled to be used in select constituencies of the Dec 4 Delhi assembly polls.

An Election Commission of India official said in New Delhi that ECIL engineers had been summoned Dec 3 in view of the malfunctions.

In party mouthpiece, church praise for Mizoram minister

A Mizoram minister had got a "testimonial letter" from his local church that details his work in and for the congregation. What has put him under the scanner is that it was published, in toto, in his party's local mouthpiece during campaigning.

Home Minister R Lalzirliana has not only found himself the subject of an ongoing probe into whether he violated the model code of conduct, but earned a subtle rebuke from Mizoram's largest Christian denomination, the Presbyterian Church.

Candidates and political leaders in Christian-dominated Mizoram often flaunt their credentials as men and women of faith. Pamphlets about most candidates often detail their respective standing in their local churches, but these are usually paraphrased.

The publication of the incumbent home minister's testimonial letter, however, was printed in full, complete with the letterhead of the Armed Veng North Presbyterian Church and signatures of the congregation's leaders.

A copy of the church testimonial, which details how the minister teaches Bible classes on Sundays and is financing seven Christian missionaries, appeared in the monthly Congress mouthpiece Tawi, also the name of his constituency.

Based on a complaint against this, the Mizoram poll office has initiated an inquiry under code-of-conduct violation rules and forwarded the findings to the Election Commission, whose reply is awaited as of now.

"We have simply forwarded the findings to the EC. As of now, we ourselves do not yet know which code-of-conduct provisions may have been violated and are awaiting the EC's instructions," said joint chief electoral officer H Lalengmawia at a press conference he addressed with CEO Ashwani Kumar this weekend.

Meanwhile, the Presbyterian Church has issued a public statement as the issue became widely known. In the statement issued late last week in the name of the church's top functionary, Moderator Rev Lalramliana Pachuau, it said, "A testimonial letter is issued to those congregation members who are temporarily attending another congregations' services for a temporary period. It is meant to be used between congregations, and should not be used to further an individual's interest, or to further political ambitions by its use as a means to advertise one's credentials."