Absent at R-Day do : Principals axed

Imphal, January 29: The State Government has suspended six Principals and a teacher of six major Higher Secondary Schools located in Imphal for alleged failure to participate in the 60th Republic Day celebration organised by the State Government yesterday.

According to sources, the Principals were suspended for reportedly failing to participate in the Republic Day celebration and failing to let their students participate in the parade even after practices and full rehearsals.

The sources also informed that the Directorate of Education (Secondary) had invited the schools to participate in the Republic Day parade.

The suspended Principals have been identified as W Nongalei of Tamphasana Girls Hr Secondary School, S Khomdombi Devi of Johnstone Hr Sec School, Ch Padma Devi of Churachand Hr Sec School, Y Ibeton Devi of Ibotonsana Hr Sec School, L Rashi Devi of Ram Lal Pal Hr Sec School and W Biren of Model Hr Sec School.

The suspended teacher has been identified as S Tomba, vice president of Model Hr Sec School.

Meanwhile, another source informed that the schools had received threats from unknown persons suspected to be militants who threatened them not to participate in the Republic Day celebration.

The sources also informed that the school authorities had sent a petition to the Joint Director of Education (secondary) for the same.

Tongkalong: A victim of the Mizonization (Duhlianization) of Mara names

by  Laiu Fachhai
The other day, I came across a web page where some Northern brothers of mine were making fun of the name (possibly the sound of the word) of a village in Maraland called Tongkalong. I had lived in Tongkalong as a Bialtu Pastor. I like the village and the people. And above all, it is my beloved Mara village. So I felt I was a bit hurt.
It seems that the sound of the word, Tongkalong, is a rather funny or terrifying one in the ears of the Mizo (Duhlian) speaking people, thanks to the Mizonization of its Mara name, Tôkalô. This brings us to the whole question of the Mizonization (read Mizo transliteration) of the names of Mara towns, villages, mountains, hills, rivers, valleys, lakes, etc. Let us examine a few examples.
Towns/village names:
Tôkalô in Mara (meaning a place where the sound of thunder is frequently heard) is transliterated Tongkalong in Mizo.
Palâ in Mara (meaning?) is transliterated Lawngban in Mizo.
Kaochao in Mara (meaning a river that makes gorge) is transliterated Kawlchaw in Mizo.
Lôbô in Mara (meaning a place where a memorial stone was erected) is transliterated Lungbun in Mizo.
Mawhro in Mara (meaning a place where bamboos are always alive, that is, they do not flower and die) is transliterated Mawhre in Mizo.
Satly in Mara (meaning?) is called Chakhang in Mizo (transliterated from the Châkhei hill near Satly village. Satly village is not commonly called Châkhei by the Mara people).
Zyhno in Mara (?) is transliterated Zawngling in Mizo.
Lakes and rivers:
Palâ (Tipo) in Mara (Palâ Lake) is transliterated Palak (Dil) in Mizo.
Tisôpi (River Tisôpi) is tranlilerated Tuisumpui in Mizo.
From the above few illustrations, we could see that many of the Mizo (Duhlian) transliterations of Mara names result in the loss of its Mara meaning. One wonders, if the Mara language were used as the lingua franca of the Mizoram State and so Lunglei is called Lôlei; Aizawl, Aizaw; Serchhip, Siachhi, etc, would the Mizo (Duhlian) speaking people tolerate? No, they shouldn’t. Names in native languages should never be changed. Aizawl should rightfully be called Aizawl, not Aijal.
The Mara Thyutlia Py (Mara Youth Organization) and the Mara Student Organization in more than one occasions, if I remember correctly, had passed resolutions to petition the Mizoram Government to change all the Mara names from its Mizo (Duhlian) transliterated ones to its original Mara names. The Mara Autonomous District Council too had the same in its agenda. Meanwhile, Tongkalong remains Tongkalong and this beloved village name of us continues to “entertain” some of our Northern brothers and sisters.
In the same way the name “Aijal” was changed back to its Mizo original name “Aizawl,” would it not be good if Mizo (Duhlian) transliterated Mara names too could also be changed back to their original Mara names?
Source:  Zawlbuk.net
Some notes:
1. The writer, Dr. Laiu Fachhai, is an ordained Pastor and Reverend of Evangelical Church of Maraland (India). He had served in Africa for the 14/15 years as a missionary before his new assignment brought him and his family to Shillong, Meghalaya, India recently.
2. Satly village was often transliterated as Satlawng in Mizo. But the villagers themselves prefer to use Chakhei - their previous settlement very close to Satly (Sa- animals, tly-visit). Currently, it is transliterated as Chakhang. These days younger generations do not use Satly/Fatlau anymore. The reason Why they chose ‘Chakhei’ is recorded in ‘Chakhei Centenary Magazine.’
3. Mawhro - Maw comes from bamboo which is known as raMAW in Mara. Hro - greenish. A place where bamboo is always green and did not cause the deathly Mawta/Mautam phenomenon due to the flowering of bamboos. When Chapi/Chapui established the new village between Zyhno/Zawngling and Chapi, they named Mawhro - the correct translation in Mizo will be MauHring.

http://samaw.com/tongkalong-a-victim-of-the-mizonication-duhlianization-of-mara-names/955

Looking for Meteorites in Antarctica

[Antarctic Search for Meteorites] ANSMET's targets for the 2008-2009 field season are icefields near the Davis Nunataks and Mt. Ward, and icefields adjacent to the Dominion Range, a triangular body of rock sticking up between the headwaters of the Beardmore and Mill glaciers. Reconnaissance visits in 1985 and 2003 recovered 152 meteorites from these icefields; during the coming season we will conduct more rigorous systematic searching, crossing the ice in overlapping transects designed to locate and recover as many meteorites as possible. [More at ANSMET]

Iceland. Greenpeace calls new whaling quota a shameless stunt

If the new interim Icelandic government allows the new whaling quota introduced by the outgoing Fisheries Minister to stand, it will mean dire consequences for legitimate trade and tourism that is needed to help Iceland's economy. Whaling tarnishes the image of Iceland internationally, and is worthless from an economic point of view.

Over 90% of the meat to be produced by the increased quota would come from endangered fin whales, which are not eaten by Icelanders, only exported. 

But the export market to Japan is weak; a 60-tonne trial shipment of fin whale meat, which languished in customs for four months before being given import permission, remains only partly sold, and Japan already has thousands of tonnes of unsold whale meat in frozen storage.

Iceland's government should look to tourism, and in particular whale watching, as a means to rebuilding the economy.

Even a small increase in tourists going to Iceland to watch whales will create and secure more jobs and more money than whaling ever will.

In 2008, about 115,000 people went whale watching in Iceland. Over 20% of them stated that whale watching was as an important reason for visiting Iceland, and they spent millions of US dollars in revenue in the process.

A further 115,000 people have signed a pledge that they will consider visiting Iceland if the country ceases whaling, which could generate US$ 117million in tourism revenue, compared with only US$ 4million generated at the peak of Iceland's whaling activities.

"The outgoing Icelandic government's whaling quota increase is a shameless stunt that has nothing to do with use of natural resources and everything to do with politics," said Greenpeace International Whales Campaign coordinator Sara Holden.

"Greenpeace joins the Icelandic tourism industry in urging that the new interim government reverses the quota increase and instead focuses on real solutions that promote the beauty of Iceland's environment - such as tourism and whale watching."

Thang-ta guru G Gourkishore Sharma selected for Padmashri

NEW DELHI, Jan 28 : Manipuri Thang-ta Guru Gurumayum Gourkishore Sharma was among 93 Padmashri awardees for the year 2009 which were announced on the eve of the Republic Day celebration. He was honoured with the National Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1983 for his tireless contribution to the revival of Manipuri martial arts.

President Pratibha Devisingh Patil approved the conferment of Padma Vibhushan to 10 eminent people while 30 have been selected for Padma Bhushan and 93 for Padmashri awards.

Olympic Gold medalist Abhinav Bindra who created history in the Beijing Olympic games, legendary ghazal singer Shamshad Begum, Indian Express Group Chief Editor Shekhar Gupta, noted economist and wife of Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia Dr Isher Judge Ahluwalia and Security expert Lt Gen (retd) Satish Nambiar are among those chosen for the Padma Bhushan.

Noted astrologer G Sivarama Krishna Murthy, Gujarati critic Ramanlal C Mehta, dancer husband and wife duo VP Dhananjayan and Shanta Dhananjayan, artist VG Sathapati, civil servant SK Misra who brought Haryana on the tourist map of India, historian AS Menon, Tamil writer and essayist D Jayakanthan, historian Ramachandra Guha have also been selected for Padma Bhushan award.



Japanese Minoru Hara has been awarded for promoting investment in India while NRI Khalid Hameed has also been honoured. Bollywood hunk Akshay Kumar, actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, yesteryears dancer and actor Helen Khan, noted playback singers Udit Narayan Singh and Kumar Shanu, ghazal singer Pinaj Masani and music director Hridyanath Mangeshkar have been selected for the Padma Shri.

Noted offspinner Harbhajan Singh alongwith Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and snookar player Pankaj Advani would also get Padmashri. Broadcaster Ameen Sayani, Chief Editor of Hindi daily Nai Duniya, Indore Abhay Chhajlani and editor of the paper`s Delhi edition Alok Mehta will also get the Padmashri.

Meanwhile, altogether 15 policemen of Manipur have also been selected for awards on the Republic Day.

While 11 senior police officials are selected for the Police Medal for Gallantry awards four are selected for the Police Medal for Meritorious Services awards.

Altogether 671 personnel have been awarded police medals on the occasion of the Republic Day this year which has been announced today. President`s Police Medals for Distinguished Service have been awarded to 71, President`s Police Medals for Gallantry to 15 and Police Medals for Gallantry to 107 personnel. Police Medals for Meritorious Service have been awarded to 478 personnel.

Police Medal for Gallantry have been given to M Premkumar Singh Head Constable, P Lokendro Singh Constable, S. Robindro Singh Constable, Y. Kishorchand Meitei Inspector, Md. Tajuddin Khan Rifleman,T. Haridas Singh Rifleman, Md. Doulat Khan Rifleman, M. Sanjit Sharma Jamadar, Md. Shoukat Ali Head Constable, H. Guneshwar Singh Rifleman and K. Sashikumar Sharma Rifleman Police Medals for Meritorious Service have been given to Asem Shyamcharan Singh, Inspector, CID (SB), Md. Ghiyasuddin, Jamadar, 7th Indian Reserve Bn, Imphal, Aribam Gopeshor Sharma, Assistant Sub-Inspector, Imphal West District, and Koijam Muhindro Singh, Havildar, 2 IRB, Imphal.

John Parratt pays homage to noted scholar and wife Saroj Nalini

IMPHAL, Jan 28 : Noted Scholar, John Parrat paid rich tribute to his scholar wife the late Arambam Saroj Nalini.

A note to the press by him today said Saroj Nalini, was born in Imphal, in the then princely state of Manipur, on June 2nd 1933. Her father was a well known and respected educationalist and government officer. During the war years he was posted to Jiribam, where she received her first education, and later transferred to a convent school in Haflong.

She proceeded to Calcutta University, where she became the first Meetei woman to obtain BA and MA degrees, majoring in Philosophy. While in Calcutta she enjoyed close friendship with Christian Naga students, and converted to the Christianity. She was baptised at the Lower Circular Road Baptist church, whose minister, Walter Corlett had himself served in Imphal during the war years. The Christian faith was to become a dominant influence on her future life.

She came to Britain in the late 1950s to study theology, and obtained a Bachelor of Divinity degree from London University in 1961. Shortly afterwards she was married to John Parratt. When their desire to work in India was frustrated they decided to work elsewhere in the developing world, initially in Nigeria, where Saroj became a tutor in philosophy at the University of Ile-Ife.

When her husband was offered a research fellowship by the Australian National University she enrolled for a PhD in the Department of Asian Studies there, under the supervision of the eminent indologist AL Basham. Despite the frequent absences of her husband on field work in Papua-New Guinea and having to care for three young children, the bulk of the thesis was completed before she returned to Manipur for further extended field work in 1972.

The doctorate was awarded three years later, one of her examiners being Prof. Suniti Kumar Chatterji, who (unusually for the time) himself had a deep interest in India`s north-eastern region. Her thesis was published in 1980 (Firma KLM, Calcutta) as The Religion of Manipur. It marked the beginning of a new phase in writing on Manipur by its rigorous application of critical methodology both in the collection and in the analysis of field data, and had considerable influence on younger Meetei scholars.

From 1975-90 she taught at institutions in southern Africa, including the universities of Malawi and Botswana. She published a number of important papers including a seminal study of Islam in Botswana and studies of Christianity among Tswana women. Her main research however remained the Meetei, and she spent lengthy periods on field work in Manipur.

She developed a close relationship with the University of Manipur, and was appointed an honorary professor there in 2001. The fruit of this research, besides numerous academic papers, was two books jointly authored with her husband. Queen Empress vs. Tikendrajit, the Anglo-Manipuri Conflict of 1891 (Vikas, New Delhi 1992) was a critical account, based on detailed archival and oral sources, of the most traumatic event in Manipur`s history.

By contrast The Pleasing of the Gods: Meitei Lai Haraoba (Vikas, New Delhi 1997) was the result of meticulous field work, being an analysis and interpretation of the oral text, music and dance of the pre-Hindu religious festival which lies at the heart of Meitei culture.

Before she left Botswana in 2000 Saroj had already been concerned to produce an accurate translation of the Cheitharol Kumpapa, the Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur. On a visit to Imphal she had the unique privilege of being invited by the head maichou (court scribe) to photocopy the whole manuscript of the authenticated chronicle which was in his keeping. She quickly mastered the archaic script (meetei mayek) and the scribal conventions.

She became an honorary fellow of the Institute for Textual Scholarship and Electronic Editing of the University of Birmingham and began the translation which would occupy the remainder of her life. The publication was sponsored by the Royal Asiatic Society, and would include a fairly literal translation into English and explanatory notes as well as a facsimile of the original text.

Volume 1 appeared in 2005 (The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur: the Cheitharol Kumpapa Routledge, London and New Delhi), and the second volume is expected in 2009. By this time she was suffering from terminal illness, and just a week before her death she finished the draft translation of the final volume (up to 1891), thus completing a work which is likely to remain a standard text for scholars working on the Indo-Burma region.

Saroj Nalini Arambam Parratt earned widespread respect in north-east India, both for her scholarship and for her advocacy of the distinct identity of the Mongoloid peoples of the region as contrasted with the sanskritic tradition of the sub-continent. Her contribution to to our understanding of the history and culture of the Meetei is probably unparalleled.

 

Tension on the rise at Shiroy village over NSCN(IM)-AR stand off

Imphal/Dimapur/Ukhrul, Jan 28 : The 72-hour deadline set to vacate Siroy village by both the Assam Rifles personnel and cadres of the NSCN(IM) elapsed Monday but the impasse over the Ukhrul village is even more charged up with both the hostile parties consolidating to their respective position and the NSCN(IM) affirming today that the Naga outfit was determined not to "succumb to the anti-ceasefire politics of both the government of Manipur and the Assam Rifles" while the Assam Rifles authority has asked the NSCN(IM) to move to the outfit`s designated camps or surrender their weapons and move out of the Siroy village.

Amidst the heightening tension the Naga frontal organizations including the Naga Hoho, the United Naga Council (UNC), the Naga Students` Federation (NSF) and others rushed to Ukhrul headquarters today to take first hand report and defuse the situation.

This volatile and highly charged development prevailed today at the backdrop of top ranking Naga Army personnel, the armed wing of the NSCN(IM) during their three-day convention at Camp Hebron, off Dimapur on Monday "after minute discussion, taking due consideration of the prevailing deteriorating situation and in contemplation of the impending danger ahead, vowed to resist all forms of antagonism with renewed enthusiasm to safeguard the sacred cause of the Naga nation."

Few days ago, the Union home ministry had reportedly directed both Assam Rifles and the NSCN(IM) to vacate Siroy village to which 72-hour`s time span was given and the deadline elapsed on January 26.

Reasoning its stand, the NSCN(IM) spokesman informed NNN tonight that they were all prepared to abide by the Union home ministry`s directive but "unless the government of India gives us a designated camp in place of Siroy, where do we go. We will remain staying at the Siroy camp."

Meanwhile, the PRO HQ IGAR(South) has clarified that based on the request made by the NSCN(IM) on January 23 this year, the Assam Rifles had accepted to provide safe passage to the NSCN(IM) cadres at the Siroy camp as one time measure, provided they moved out with their weapons to any of the designated camps.

The above step was taken purely from the point of view of ensuring peace and tranquility in the area and ensuring that armed cadres do not roam around in close vicinity of populated areas, the PRO said in a statement.

It was unfortunate that after the request made by the NSCN(IM) to provide a safe passage was acceded to, the NSCN(IM) authorities intimated that they would not move to any of the designated camps and their cadres would move to yet another village with their arms, ammunition and explosives, it stated.

Obviously, this proposal of the NSCN(IM) could not be accepted, as no armed cadres could be permitted to move in any of these areas, the statement said.

It has been the endeavor of the army and Assam Rifles to ensure peace and tranquility and it was on this account that the permission for safe passage to these armed cadres was accorded as a one time measure. The army and Assam Rifles have gone out of their way to help the local populace through a number of MCA projects and sincere endeavors towards providing assistance to locals at all levels, it said.

NSCN(IM) armed cadres if allowed to remain in these areas will affect the security situation and prevailing peaceful environment and hence can not be permitted, the statement maintained while stating that the cordon of the armed cadres would continue till they either surrendered their weapons and left the area or moved to any of the designated camps along with their weapons.

The Assam Rifles has been ensuring security of the local populace and will continue to do so, it said.

Earlier on January 25, a Coordination Committee on Shirui Siege was formed at Ukhrul consisting of various frontal organizations (Tangkhul Naga Long, Tangkhul Shanao Long, Tangkhul Mayar Ngala Long, Tangkhul Katamnao Saklong, Tangkhul Naga Wungnao Long, Naga People`s Movement for Human Rights, Tangkhul Leihsak Long, etc), faith based organizations, NGOs, representatives of Shiroy village, and social activists. The chief objective of the committee is to protect and promote the rights of Shiroy villagers whose human rights are being violated in the siege.

The Committee is also taking up an indefinite sit-in protest against the siege from 7 am of January 26 at Ukhrul until the withdrawal of the Assam Rifles from the village.

Meanwhile, led by Tangkhul Shanao long (Tangkhul women organization) hundreds of women reached the spot to form a wall-like human structure not to allow the AR to cross. Despite the chilly winter night the women from villages like Hundung, Choithar, Langdang, Nungbi and from the Ukhrul town stayed put in the camp area to face the war-like situation.

T Nagalong Kanti Memorial, Gandhi Memorial and many social workers were also guarding the place taking turns and a special discussion will be held tomorrow by the Naga Students Front Manipur, Naga Women Union Manipur, UNC and special members from some organisations.