A Plea for Peace and Progress: Mizoram’s Financial Crisis and the Need for Central Support

1. A Latecomer to Development: Mizoram, due to its history of insurgency, has faced significant delays in economic development, lagging behind other states in terms of infrastructure and industry.

2. The Burden of Peace: Despite achieving peace, Mizoram shoulders the weight of hosting refugees and internally displaced people, adding to its financial strain.

3. The Need for a “Peace Dividend”: While neighboring states receive funds for security-related expenditures, Mizoram, despite its efforts to maintain peace, has been overlooked. The CM advocates for a “peace dividend” to acknowledge and support the state’s efforts.

4. Unfulfilled Promises and Financial Hardship: The state is facing a severe financial crisis due to unfulfilled promises of funds from the 15th Finance Commission and delayed tax share payments.

5. The High Cost of Remoteness: Mizoram’s remote location results in high prices for essential commodities, disproportionately impacting the poor and creating a need for special assistance.

6. A Call for Collaboration: The CM emphasizes the need for a collaborative approach between the Centre and the state government to ensure inclusive development and address the financial challenges facing Mizoram.

7. A Humanistic Perspective: The article highlights the human cost of Mizoram’s financial struggles, emphasizing the hardship faced by the state’s citizens and the need for urgent action to alleviate their suffering.

The Legacy of Lalzadingi: A Story of Courage and Motherhood

Here are the main points of the article:

  • A Courageous Act: Lalzadingi, a young woman from Mizoram, killed a tiger with a single axe blow, demonstrating extraordinary bravery and quick thinking.
  • A Mother’s Instinct: Lalzadingi’s actions were driven by her love for her children, fearing for their safety in the face of the dangerous predator.
  • A Moment of Fear and Determination: The unexpected encounter with the tiger filled Lalzadingi with fear, but she acted decisively to protect herself and her family.
  • A National Recognition: Lalzadingi’s bravery was recognized with the Shaurya Chakra, a prestigious award for gallantry, highlighting her extraordinary feat.
  • A Lasting Legacy: Lalzadingi’s story transcended borders, inspiring generations with her courage and resilience in the face of danger.
  • A Forgotten Hero: Despite her remarkable achievement, Lalzadingi’s story seems to have faded from public memory, highlighting the importance of remembering and celebrating unsung heroes.
  • A Humanistic Perspective: Lalzadingi’s story emphasizes the strength of human spirit, the power of love for family, and the courage that can arise in the face of adversity.

Post Covid, higher education in Northeast India sees uptickAs the education scenario post Covid changes drastically, students in India’s Northeastern states are increasingly choosing a university or college closer to home. Stakeholders, ranging from parents to educators, say region-based universities have emerged as viable higher education contenders, as opposed to learners migrating to other states in the Covid era.Education in North East India is coming of age, this is a shared opinion among the region’s stakeholders. For Narayan Chandra Talukdar, Vice Chancellor of Assam down town University – a prestigious institution offering over 64 programmes and with over 8000 students from 10 Indian states as well as Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and as far as some African countries, the goal is to standardize the education system to meet global standards and compete favourably.

The North East Indian states of Assam, , Nagaland, Manipur, Arunachal, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya have begun an educational resurgence geared towards building a system that works not just for the people of India, but for anyone across the globe seeking the requisite skill and international exposure required to function in today’s world.

Export of Raja Mircha Chilli

For the first time, Nagaland’s King Chilli ‘Raja Mircha’ was exported to London.

About Raja Mircha Chilli:

Nagaland King Chilli, or Raja Mircha belongs to the capsicum genus in the Solanaceae family

The Naga king chilli is widely regarded as the world’s hottest chilli and is consistently ranked among the top five hottest chilies in terms of Scoville Heat Units (SHUs).

Nagaland chillies are also known as Bhoot Jolokia and Ghost Pepper.

It received GI certification in 2008.

Meghalaya inks MoU with NIOS to bring dropouts back to schools

Concerned with the high dropout rate in Meghalaya, the on Tuesday signed an MoU with the National Institute of Open Schooling to facilitate the return of dropouts to educational institutions.

While Assam recorded the highest dropout rate in the country with 31 per cent of out-of-school students at the secondary level, Tripura with 29.8 per cent is ranked number 2, an official of the Education department said.

Meghalaya with 27.9 per cent dropout rate in secondary level is ranked third followed closely by Madhya Pradesh (26.1 per cent) and Nagaland (24.4 per cent), he said.

At present Meghalaya has only 25 NIOS study centres in 5 out of 12 districts -East Khasi Hills, West Jaintia Hills, Ri-Bhoi, East Garo Hills and West Garo Hills districts.

Tembe urged the NIOS to increase the number of study centres to cover the remaining districts as well.

He said the state project office had already taken up the initiative for publicity through newspapers, FM Radio and organised road shows for generating awareness on the necessity of preventing drop-outs.

Those in the age group of 16-19 years who had dropped out of schools can enrol in educational institutions or NIOS study centres for completing their board exams in East Jaintia and Ri-Bhoi districts, he said.


Rs 5L cr spent in 9 years to ensure development of NE: MinisterUnion Minister of Development of North Eastern Region, Culture and Tourism G. Kishan Reddy said that in the last nine years, over Rs 5 lakh crore has been spent to ensure the development in the northeastern region, comprising eight states. He said that several mega connectivity projects such as 17 new airports, ongoing road projects worth Rs 1.05 lakh, and ongoing rail projects worth Rs 77,930 crore are being executed.

Every sector is being expedited in the northeast to open up numerous opportunities of Growth for the people.

The Central minister said that ASSAM RIFLES has an unparalleled heritage of gallantry since 1835 and holds a distinction of having been bestowed the most number of gallantry Awards.

Chief ministerConrad K Sangma met representatives of different political parties to discuss the firing byAssam Policeat Mukroh village in West Jaintia Hills on November 22 that led to the death of six persons, five of them fromMeghalaya.

Mobile Internet service was restored in seven districts, including the state capital, on Monday after being suspended for almost a week. Life is also returning to normal with vehicles bearingAssamregistration numbers plying in the state.

Various expressed concern and also suggested measures to thwart border conflicts, he said, adding that the State Government will meet on Tuesday to finalise the list of border outposts (BOPs) of the Police to be set up in sensitive areas.

Worlds Tallest Pier Bridge in Manipur

The Indian Railways is creating the highest pier RAILWAY bridge in the world in Manipur.

Highlights:

The grand scheme of the Railways in Manipur is part of the Jiribam-Imphal railway line.

This will ultimately be part of a new broad gauge line being constructed to connect the northeastern state with the rest of the country.

The tallest pier bridge account is currently owned by a 139-metre high Mala-Rijeka viaduct built at Montenegro in Europe.

The bridge is being constructed at a height of 141 metres. The total length of the Manipur bridge will be 703 metres.

Once finished, the project will allow passengers to cover 111 km of distance in 2-2.5 hrs.

At 70.9%, Mizoram leads woman-man ratio in senior jobs

Mizoramhad the highest 70.9% ratio of female-to-male workers who were working as legislators, senior officials and managers and also the highest proportion of Women occupying managerial jobs. Nearly all the northeastern states, barringNagaland, have strong double-digit representation in senior level jobs, according to the latest additional data in (PLFS) for July 2020-June 2021.

Sikkim with 48.2% and Manipur at 45.1% made up the top three states. Among the top five states in the category,Andhra Pradeshrecorded 43%. The other northeastern state among the top five was Meghalaya with 44.8%. Assam had 16.1% while Nagaland had a ratio of 9.1%. The all India ratio for females to male workers, working as legislators, senior officials and managers, was at 22.8%.

There were several states andUnion Territorieswhich had a sharply lower proportion. Among the larger states and Union Territories with a low ratio wereUttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Punjab and Andaman and Nicobar.Dadra Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu had the lowest ratio of 1.8%.

In terms of senior managerial jobs, Mizoram again topped the charts with 40.8%, followed by Sikkim with 32.5 and Meghalaya at 31%. Here again, Andhra Pradesh was among the top five with a ratio of 30.4%. Traditionally northeastern states have had a larger proportion of women in senior managerial jobs. But what is surprising is that Punjab, which had figured among the top states in this category in 2021, recorded a ratio of only 7.5%.

The division of Assam and creation of the predominantly tribal states of Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh left a residue of boundary problems, which continue to bedevil relations between the neighbours.

Meghalaya: The problem between Assam and Meghalaya started when the latter challenged the Assam Reorganisation Act of 1971, which gave Blocks I and II of the Mikir Hills or present-day Karbi Anglong district to Assam. Meghalaya contends that both these blocks formed part of the erstwhile United Khasi and Jaintia Hills district when it was notified in 1835. At present there are 12 points of dispute along the 733-km Assam-Meghalaya border.

Meghalaya bases its case on survey maps of 1872 and 1929 and certain notifications of 1878 and 1951 while Assam wants to go by the recommendations of the Churachand Committee which in turn has been rejected by Meghalaya. Joint surveys of the disputed border segments have been undertaken in part and the Chief Ministers of both the states are scheduled to meet again on August 6 at Guwahati to discuss ways to resolve the dispute.

Arunachal Pradesh: Arunachal’s grievance is that the re-organisation of North Eastern states, unilaterally transferred several forested tracts in the plains that had traditionally belonged to hill tribal chiefs and communities to Assam. After Arunachal Pradesh achieved statehood in 1987, a tripartite committee was appointed which recommended that certain territories be transferred from Assam to Arunachal. Assam contested this and the matter is before The Supreme Court.

Mizoram: Prior to 2020, though a border dispute existed, the situation along the Assam-Mizoram border had remained relatively calm, barring a few instances in 1994 and in 2007. Following a border incident 2007, Mizoram declared that it does not accept the present boundary with Assam and that the inner line of the Inner Line Reserved Forest as described in the 1875 notification under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) of 1873 should be the basis for delineating the border and not the 1933 district boundary demarcation which Assam wants to be enforced. Following recent violence in which seven people, including six policemen, were killed, Assam government has said that it will file a suit in the Supreme Court

Nagaland: The longest-running border dispute in the North East is between Assam and Nagaland, which began soon after Nagaland became a state in 1963. The Nagaland State Act of 1962 had defined the state’s borders according to a 1925 notification when Naga Hills and Tuensang Area (NHTA) were integrated into a new administrative unit. Nagaland, however, does not accept the boundary delineation and has demanded that the new state should also have all Naga- dominated area in North Cachar and Nagaon districts. Since Nagaland did not accept its notified borders, tensions between Assam and Nagaland flared up soon after the latter was formed, resulting in the first border clashes in 1965. This was followed by major clashes between the two states along the border in 1968, 1979, 1985, 2007 and 2014. The Assam government had filed a case in the Supreme to resolve the border dispute and for a permanent injunction restraining Nagaland from encroaching areas within the constitutional boundary of Assam. In 2005, the Supreme Court instructed the Central government to constitute a boundary commission to settle various inter-state boundary problems in the North East. The Centre had earlier constituted two commissions, the Sundaram Commission (1971) and the Shastri Commission (1985), to settle the Assam-Nagaland border dispute. These commissions, however, failed to resolve the matter as the concerned states did not accept their recommendations.

Assam-Arunachal Pradesh: 804.1 km bordering eight districts of Udalguri, Sonitpur, Biswanath, Lakhimpur, Dhemaji, Charaideo, Tinsukia and Dibrugarh. Assam-Mizoram: The two states share a 164.6-km border between the Assam’s districts of Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj, and Mizoram’s Kolasib, Mamit and Aizawl districts Assam-Nagaland: The two states share 512.1 km bordering four districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo, Jorhat and Golaghat. Assam-Meghalaya: The two states share 884.9 km bordering West Karbi Anglong, Dima Hasao, Morigaon, Kamrup Metro, Kamrup Rural, Goalpara, Dhubri and South Salmara.