Youth ,Sports & Culture Dec. 22

Youth, Sports & Culture Vol. 2 Issue No. 18

Dec. 22 - Jan. 6, 2004

Tripura hosts NE tribal youth festival

A three-day North East tribal youth festival showcasing the traditions and culture of the tribals of the region was recently held in Agartala. Nearly 400 artists and cultural activists from the remote areas of eight North Eastern states participated in the fifth annual cultural extravaganza. An exhibition on the unexplored traditional life and culture of the tribals and their entry into modern life and an interaction on the development of the tribal life and culture was also held during the festival, which was inaugurated by Tripura governor Dinesh Nandan Sahaya at the famous Umakanta academy stadium. The festival, which played a significant role in highlighting the need for unity, integrity and peace in insurgency-torn North East, was named ‘Chokleng’ (a tribal word meaning rainbow). Nine tribal Autonomous District Councils of North East participated in the festival.

The Tripura Government has decided to celebrate 25 years of the recognition of tribal language ‘Kokborok’ as the second official language next month. A three-day festival would be organized. Tribals constitute one-third of Tripura’s 3.2 million population.

NE has largest no. of women employees

EVEN after 50 years of independence Indian women do not enjoy same status as men. A large section still remains illiterate. What is even shocking is that in certain parts of the country, incidents of femaleinfanticide and feoticide continue to take place. Many families still prefer a boy and neglect girl child. However, North East continues to be exception and has recorded the highest number of employed women in the country except Tripura, according to a recent survey by the International Institute for Population sciences(IIPS).

The survey revealed that the number of women employees in the region was higher than the national average of 37 per cent. A large majority of working women (66 to 83 per cent) earned cash except Arunachal Pradesh (29 per cent) and Nagaland (40 per cent). The survey further disclosed that 46 per cent of working women in Nagaland are not paid at all while in Arunachal Pradesh working women were paid in kind only. The percentage of employed women in the region, whose earnings account for about half or more of household expenditures is 37 per cent in Nagaland and 42 per cent in Manipur, while in the remaining states it ranges between 55-64 per cent, the survey said. A large percentage of women in ArunachalPradesh (83 per cent) and Nagaland (73 per cent) work in the agriculture sector. This also points out why women in these two states were paid only in kind or not paid at all. However, occupational structure in rest of the states in the region was more diversified. In Manipur, 43 per cent of women work in the agriculture sector, 23 per cent work in production, 17 per cent in sales and ten per cent were professionals. The survey found that one in five families in Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura depended entirely on the earnings of women.

48,000 jobs in NE for youths by 2004

UNEMPLOYMENT is one of the biggest problems plaguing North -East, which is forcing several youth to take up guns. Insurgency is no longer driven by ideology and extortion is a thriving industry in the region. Insurgency impedes development but lack of development gives birth to insurgency. Today hundreds of youth have left North East and settled elsewhere in search of livelihood. So any effort to create jobs is a welcome symbol.

In an effort to address the unemployment issue, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has decided to generate 48,000 entrepreneurial jobs for the youths of North Eastern states by 2004. Keeping in view the favourable geographical condition of the region, the KVIC is targeting North East to take up a number of projects and schemes. KVIC will also play a vital role in organic farming instead of using chemical fertilisers. Nagaland has already introduced organic farming. Nagaland has submitted a five-point memorandum to KVIC and urged it to increase the production of honey as the State was rich in flora and fauna. The Commission’s major thrust areas in Nagaland include biogas, bio-product and vermin composing with emphasis in bio-manure and bio-pesticides. The KVIC would set up a task force headed by Nagaland Industry Minister Khekiho Zhimomi with active participation from stakeholders, banks and technical experts, to take care of convergence. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati will provide the technical back up.

The KVIC would invest in a big way in human resource development for which it would focus on training and marketing activities. The Commission has so far generated 19,612 new jobs (under production units) through 1,185 projects this year, which was double the number of jobs generated in the preceding year and 64 projects materialized out of total of 1,185.

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