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| Major Events Vol. 3 Issue No. 20 | February 16 -28, 2007 |
‘Centre won’t infringe on Naga identity’ The Centre will convince the people of Nagaland that it will not infringe on their cultural identity while it holds talks to resolve the insurgency in the state, Union Minister for Development of the Northeastern Region Mani Shankar Aiyar said. “Talks are on in Nagaland. We will try to convince them that this is their country and Delhi will give whatever help is needed,” Aiyar remarked at the closing ceremony of a week-long Assam handicraft exhibition in Kolkata. “In India, it is possible to be an Indian and yet retain one’s regional identity. If I can be a Tamil and an Indian, what is their problem in being Nagas and Indians?” Noting that militancy was on the wane in the North-east except in Nagaland and Manipur, he said local people will have to be involved in socio-economic developmental programmes to solve problems in these two states. “We will have to create infrastructure and make arrangements for higher education and training for the youth in northeastern states. If this can be done, we can bring these states at par with the rest of the country within the next five to seven years,” Mr. Aiyar said. According to him, 10 per cent of the Centre’s total expenditure was currently allotted to the North-east though it comprised only eight per cent of country’s area and its people made up four per cent of the nation’s total population. Bodies recovered: The bodies of seven members of a family, including a village chief, were found under mysterious circumstances in an area of Pungro in Nagaland’s Kiphire district bordering Myanmar, police said. Though police are yet to ascertain whether any militant group was involved in the incident, they suspect the seven persons might have been the victims of either a family feud or an inter-village rivalry. People of Zangor village spotted the bodies and informed the police. The bodies were later brought to Kiphire police station. Tension prevailed in the entire Pungro area but the situation was under control, police said. An investigation was on to ascertain the cause of death of the seven persons in a place where inter-tribal rivalries have been acute for some time, they said. | Headlines | Editorial | Coverstory | | Travel Column | News Briefs | | OT Main Page | |
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