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“MODI-(FICATION)” OF GUJARAT

HIP-HIP HURRAH

Is “NM” Heading for the “Kursi” of PM?

The venue was Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad!! The date was December 26. Even as the winter chill swept through the national capital  New Delhi and other parts of India, the political heat in Gujarat kept the Gujaratis quite warm. The mass-warmth was worth noticing.

And the reason for this warmth? Quite simple!! The reason was that “He” took oath for the fourth consecutive time as Chief Minister of Gujarat. As “He” was taking the oath, “His” supporters sang in unison “Aaj ka CM, 2014 ka PM!”  

If the era of winning very tough electoral battles with the real-time mantra of economic growth has dawned in India, Gujarat is really its “test-case”.

Yes! The worldly wise Gujaratis have proved that they no-more would allow themselves to be sentimentally blackmailed politically by the worn-out “Bhashans” or high-sounding yet hollow speeches of the leaders of different parties and, of course, their false promises.

MoS with DHD

With a hope for restoring lasting peace and ushering in an era of economic and social development in Dima Hasao (erstwhile North Cachar Hills) district in Assam, a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) was signed on October 8, 2012 between the Government of India, the Government of Assam and both the factions of Dima Halam Daogah (DHD), a Dimasa Tribe militant outfit, at the office of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in New Delhi.

As per the MoS a special economic package of  Rs 200 crore (Rs 40 crore per annum) over and above the Plan fund over the next five years will be provided to the DHATC to undertake special projects by the Council. The economic package will benefit all communities including the non-Dimasa tribals.

As part of the restructuring and empowerment process, the existing North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council will be renamed as the Dima Hasao Autonomous Territorial Council.

Following the MoS, the DHD shall dissolve itself as an organisation within a reasonable time (six months) as a precursor to the Government initiating further process to implement the agreed decisions of this agreement.

Tibetan crisis deepens

As the Tibetans over five-decades old movement demanding more autonomy from the ‘repressive’ Chinese regime today stands at a crucial transition phase after the movement’s supreme leader Dalai Lama  announced his retirement in March last year, Tibetans in general are now expecting the government and the people from neighbouring India to lend a stronger voice to their unrelenting fight for rights.

“Tibet” which is nicknamed “the roof of the world” or “the land of snows”, has the high-altitude Himalayan plateau associated in popular remembrance with meditation and Buddhist tranquility, and has been in the core of many conflicts ever since it was militarily usurped by China in 1951.

THE UNSUNG HERO

Mr. Shlur Nongbri has been hailed as the most illustrious football player of the fifties and sixties in North East India. Those who have been fortunate enough to watch him in action often find themselves at a loss for words when asked to describe his performances on the field. ?Once he had possession of the ball, it didn?t matter how many defenders threw themselves at him, his swift legs and deftness ensured he?d always get a good shot,? reminisces Wahingdoh resident Lber F. Nalle.