Matamgi Manipur

by S.K. Ngaihte; first published online on Zomi Human Rights Foundation ( http://www.zhrf.org ) About Tribal/Indigenous Peoples and Issue The world’s biological, cultural and linguistic diversity are imperiled. While the nature and extent of the threat to the Earth’s biological richness is much debated, there is no doubt what is happening to human’s cultural and linguistic diversity. Indigenous peoples account for most of the world’s cultural diversity. Their distinct ways of life vary considerably from one location to another. Of the estimated 6’000 cultures in the world, between 4,000 and 5,000 are in indigenous. Indigenous peoples speak approximately three-quarters of the world’s 6,000 languages. When looked at the global distribution of indigenous peoples, there is a marked correlation between areas `of high biological diversity and areas of high cultural diversity. This link is particularly significant in rainforest  areas,  such  as  those  foun...

This editorial was originally published by the Sangai Express on 27 Sep 2012 Physically, not a rap on the knuckle. But the intent of statement is unmistakable. Behave, this is what Governor Gurbachan Jagat meant when he called upon the politicians and the bureaucrats to see themselves as in ‘service’ and not as ‘ruling class’. And this is saying a lot, coming as it has from a person who is not more than the nominal head of the State. Not all may agree with the view that good governance is the key to conflict resolutions, if conflict is understood only within the prism of the armed movement, but take it to a larger canvass to encapsulate the daily existence of the people then the profundity of this observation will not be lost on anyone. The seeds of ‘conflict’ sown by the ‘ruling class’ mentality have impacted on all spheres of governance and seen in this context, Governor Gurbachan Jagat could not have made a more opportune statement than on the first day of the three day seminar ...

Taothingmang Luwangcha Either we keep waiting for a miracle or the adoption of a four-way solution is what lies ahead in the quest for a lasting solution in the strife-torn Manipur. When anything is possible but in an existential dilemma, nothing is also possible we can expect rooms for doubt in this approach. Though, fortunately, this method does not entertain any of the existing methods of being in the system and outside to find a day when bombs blasts will be just a nightmare and when police atrocities will be studied in history books. The method is sans any chance of spending the months and years with listless resignation to fate like it has always been. In a textbook case we have to take in these four ways: (1) abolish the existing political system, (2) abolish religion, (3) abolish the moronic thought processes of a people languishing inside the corner of jungle and finally (4) establish a new foundation on how we want to relate to each other, a new belief system, a new ...