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Meghalaya also known as “The Abode of Clouds”, is one of the most beautiful states hidden in the hills of eastern sub-Himalayas. It is a land blessed with bountiful rainfall, sunshine with flourished biodiversity. Meghalaya has a variation of agroclimatic zones, ranging from temperate to tropical, which offer tremendous scope for cultivation of temperate as well as tropical fruits and vegetables.

Amongst all, strawberry is the prominent and successful introduction which has changed the economic landscape of the strawberry growers in Meghalaya. This small red fleshed berry is one of the showcase crops of Meghalaya which has dramatically transformed and impacted a sizable number of rural households with farmers earning more per season from this lusciously red, heart-shaped fruit as compared to other crops. Strawberry as one of the low volume high-value berry has also been largely responsible for the emergence of Meghalaya as one of the top horticulture states of the country.

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In a major development, the Manipur Government has applied to the Union Commerce Ministry for Geographical Indication or GI-tag for Chakhoa. To market the Chakhao black rice globally, the state government has just started e-auction of this ancient produce of the land.

The GI is a mark/sign/symbol used on a particular product to indicate its geographical origin and inherent natural qualities that differs it from other similar product. It can bring about a major revolution on the agrarian scenario of Manipur. Chakhao is poised to become one of the commodities in the export basket of this state.

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The Janata Dal (Secular) led by its President H.D.Kumaraswamy would form the government in alliance with the Congress in Karnataka. Prior to that, much water had flown in after the Bharatiya Janata Party leader B.S. Yeddyurappa tendered his resignation instantly following his inability to face the floor test to prove his party’s majority within a short-span of time, as directed by the Supreme Court. It is pertinent to point out here that the Governor Vajubhai Vala had earlier invited the single largest party led by Yeddyurappa to form the government, with 15 days time to prove his majority. The tide tilted in favour of the Congress-JD(S) combine, when they approached the Supreme Court to seek justice.

The insiders in the BJP regret that their party missed a golden opportunity to gain sympathy from the people. A large number of party loyalists and a section of cadre were unable to defend the haste in which Yeddyurappa and his trusted lieutenants made an attempt to form the government, without realising the ground reality, that the simple arithmetic was eluding them. It was an open secret that the BJP made a frantic attempt to form the government by indulging in horse-trading. Yeddyurappa was confident-personified and opined that there was no stoppage of his forming the government and he will be ruling the destiny of Karnataka for the third time around with redoubled vigour. The BJP virtually took the South of Vindhyas for granted, but the harsh reality had dawned on them, that its attempt to lure some MLAs from Congress and JD(S), as alleged by the JD(S) with Rs 100 crore and ministerial berths went in vain.

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The Karnataka assembly results have firmed up the Madhya Pradesh Congress leadership’s resolve to join hands with the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party before the assembly poll in the state due in November this year. The Congress has learned useful lessons from the fractured mandate in the southern state which could have been a clear majority for the alliance had the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) entered into a pre-election pact. That the two parties still managed to cobble together a post-poll alliance to form a rag-tag government is a matter of only poor consolation for the party. Like Janata Dal (S) in Karnataka, the BSP could prove to be a spoiler for the Congress in Madhya Pradesh unless they agree on seat sharing before the elections.

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The dismal state of today’s higher education especially in engineering courses in India itself is very much alarming. There are almost two million students getting enrolled in various engineering courses in government and private colleges. It is estimated that 1.7 million engineering graduates are produced every year and keeps adding in to the numbers year after year, which is more than the USA and China combined.

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Letter from the Editor

The Tug Of War for the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Northeast of India and more so in Assam is an issue which will decide the faith of the entire Northeast of India and more so the country in the times to come. We have tried to give brief details about the bill and take the views from both the parties who are for and against the bill.

The Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 15, 2016 amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship. What is interesting is the Christian dominated state of Meghalaya has also out rightly rejected the bill. One can understand it is not about religion but about saving ones way of life. In Assam the only state today where NRC is being updated in the country, what does this bill mean? The division of the state into two fragments who are supporting and against the bill can be seen by just how the demography has changed in those regions since the settlement of the refugees of the Bangla Liberation War. Representatives from approximately 159 organisations and political parties, including Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) – (the coalition partner of BJP in the state of Assam), met the 16-member JPC team headed by Rajendra Agarwala which was recently there in the state of Assam to know the ground realities. The Bill contradicts the Assam Accord of 1985, which clearly demarcates the cut-off time of illegal immigrants from the state on March 25, 1971.

Interestingly India is not a signatory of the United Nation Refugee Convention; therefore it is not required to provide safe haven to people seeking asylum from persecution in other countries. However, the specific use of particular religions and excluding the other religious minorities who are also being persecuted in the neighboring countries is missing in the Bill. One can only wonder, if the outright motive was humanitarian then why instead of mention the religions in the Bill, the simple two words of ‘religious minorities’ was not included? Also if the idea is to support prosecuted religious minorities then why ask the states of Northeastern India to shelter even one and I repeat even one refugee when all our economic indices are in negative and we need funds to support our sustenance from the center? Why don’t the bigger economic powerhouse States of our great nation come forward and say ‘Yes, don’t worry we will settle all the incoming refugees with us and no one will be allowed to settle in the Northeastern region”?

This battle of the Citizen’s Amendment Bill is not about being a good human or not. IT is all about the survival of a distinct, beautiful way of life that is not known in most parts of the world. The northeastern part of the country cannot bear the brunt of refugee’s influx in the states. If this happens, history might repeat itself, as the unemployed youths may become even more delusional then before and all the unwanted events of the past, as well as the weaken separatist movements existing, may get the shot in the arm that they need for their survival.

The issue of Citizenship Amendment Bill is not only sensitive but also very complicated in nature. As the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has re-iterated that all the Hindus who migrated from Bangladesh will be granted Indian Citizenship, but the indigenous Assamese communities and people of northeast India are simply not willing to accept this as the probability of them becoming minority in their own states is significantly high. There is also the feeling of threat to their Indigenous Language and Culture. In such circumstances, political maturity is required to settle the issue. We have to wait and watch.

Harsh Jhunjhunwalla

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The plague of reservation is failing to produce proficient citizens in this developing nation. Political parties have harvested its profits for their own benefit and not for whom it was introduced which is very much evident in every election manifesto of different parties. Indian constitution was adopted by the republic of India in 1950, where it is enacted that reservation should be given for those who were left out of society due to caste based discrimination. It was based on the principle enshrined in the constitution for equal opportunity. Although, initially the time frame was fixed for a period of 10 years, however it has been elasticized more than six and half decades by now either due to social reasons or to reap political mileage. Instead of thinking of its abolition, new additions are still happening. This reservation system was launched to upgrade poor and backward people living in different parts during and after the transition period of independent India so that, they can come up to a certain level of others. Policy makers of earlier and succeeding Govt. have failed to achieve its value till date. Today the condition is such, instead of trying to lessen the gap, the gorge of this caste based reservations systems is deepening and also spreading amongst the different communities.

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She is the supreme manifestation of Naari Shakti: the women power. The entire nation is proud of her. Her name will forever remain in the history of Indian mountaineering.

Why not? Muri Linggi conquered the world’s highest peak Mt. Everest. Just see the indomitable courage of this 40-year old Muri, she trekked the mountain even during the night to cut short her time to reach at the top of Mt. Everest.

At 8 am on May 14, 2018, Muri conquered Mt. Everest after trekking 29,029 feet thus creating a world record. Residing at Roing in Lower Dibang Valley District of Arunachal Pradesh, Muri is the third woman from the state after Tine Mena and Anshu Jamsenpa to achieve this distinction.