Naga rights vs. Mining interests

Nagaland Government is on collision course with the Union Ministry of Coal and Mines. It is for upholding the Naga people’s right over ownership of land and its resources. It wants the Centre to review the Action Taken Report (ATR) of the Ministry on Sarkaria Commission’s recommendations with special reference to Nagaland. According to chief minister Rio, both Inter-State Council and Sarkaria Commission had recommended that the "Nagaland (ownership and transfer of lands and its resources) Act 1990 be duly honoured as per the provisions of the Article 371 (A) of the Constitution, the Department of Mines under Ministry of Coal and Mines did not consider it in its action taken report to the Home Ministry. Instead, it had asserted that the Mineral and Mining Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act 1957 is applicable to Nagaland also..

"The matter came up for discussion at the recent Inter-State Council meeting (in Srinagar). I expressed my dismay over the ATR.  I urged the Council to review it as the issue was not only a legal one but has a serious political dimension too", the Chief Minister said in Kohima on his return from Srinagar where the ISC met. . The Sarkaria Commission, while on this subject, had observed that discussions should be held out between the union and the state governments in a spirit of give and take as symbolised by the 16-point agreement between the Centre and Naga People’s Convention in 1960, which culminated with the formation of Nagaland State in 1963. The ISC has since endorsed this recommendation.

The Chief Minister appealed to the Council not to accept the action taken report of the Ministry of Coal and Mines and review the whole issue. He is sore that the Mines Ministry has termed a 1990 law passed by Nagaland assembly on mining as the so called act. This is highly objectionable, he says.

On its part, the Department of Mines holds the view the Nagaland law (1990) did not conform to MMDR Act, 1957 and therefore is in total "conflict" with the Central Act applicable to the entire country, including Nagaland.

Dream Café

It is called a Dream Café. Some even call it The Gallery Coffee Shop. Location: heart of Kohima. State of the art décor, plush interiors and tasteful arrangements make it stand out and strike an instant chord. Opened with only three people in May 2003, the café is now managed by a team of 10 young Naga boys and girls - educated, bubbly, cheerful, motivated and full of zeal and enthusiasm.

Apart from serving good food and beverages, the café doubles up as a photo gallery where paintings of four Naga painters are exhibited and sold. It is not all business. There is a charity component as well. The café helps an organisation to sell and display handmade items made by handicapped and deprived Naga girls. It has a small corner for a library where some quality time can be spent at one’s leisure amidst good books.

On Fridays, a Naga band gives a live performance. Sometimes even foreign musicians are invited to play. Recently, an American violinist performed here. Some Saturdays movies are screened as an added attraction of Dream Café. By all means it is a unique mix where a normal cafeteria has been made to act as socio-cultural model joint. One may not find parallels to an innovative idea like this even in big cities and metropolises of our country.

“We reflect the true face of Nagaland today”, says Theja Meru, who heads the Dream Café team. The people, particularly the youth are fed with violence and turmoil that has done nothing to pull them out of their daily sufferings. For them are not concepts like Greater Nagaland. Their prime concern is peace and development here and now so that there can be an overall uplift in the living standards of the people These young people hope the present DAN Govt will work for the development.

Dream café is unique but many such shops and business enterprises have now come up which are run mostly by the educated and like-minded Naga young men and women. They are a new generation of entrepreneurs who are out to prove their ability in shaping the destiny – their own and the state as well.

Some of the shops are open late in the evening these days, which was unthinkable till couple of months ago. A big concert was held in Kohima to mark the 26th death anniversary of Elvis Presley. An Australian band performed in Dimapur. Fashion shows have become common and the beauty business is booming. People are now fast becoming computer savvy. Sporting activities are increasing. The number of young people taking narcotics is decreasing with every passing day. The Nagas now lead a normal life and the sense of daily terror and fear has totally disappeared.

Manipur cyber cafes under scanner

Internet is becoming popular across Manipur. Online chatting, dating, friendship, romance and relationships have become the in-thing among the youth and students. . There are more than 60 cyber cafes in and around Imphal alone. Most of the cyber goers particularly school, college and university students who form the major internet users spend their time and money only in chatting and visiting pornography sites in enclosed cabins.

 “The ongoing trend might provoke social organisations to put a total blanket on cyber cafes,” says a worried cyber-goer.. Manipur being an insurgency prone region, anything that goes against the society might be objected to anytime. A few weeks ago dark cabins of every restaurant in Manipur were banned.

The government is allowing ‘reformed’ insurgents to set up Cyber cafés on liberal terms. The ground rule is that the facility should not be misused. The state science and technology department is evolving dos and don’ts in consultation with the Manipur police. 

The idea is to mandatory for cyber cafes to permit only those users having photo-identity cards to access the internet from their cafes. Election Commission voters ID cards, passports, income tax PAN cards etc., are also be proposed to be recognised as valid ID cards The proposed rule, which is in drafting stage, would not permit minors inside cyber cafes unless accompanied by a guardian or supervised by an adult at the cafe. Efforts are also on to ensure programmes that filter porno-sites and ensure safety locks against such sites. For the final formulation of the rule, the state science and technology department has asked all the cyber cafe owners and individuals to submit their suggestions on or before September 12.