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Police constable rapes minor domestic help in Assam

Morigaon (Assam),September 30, (Agencies): A police constable was absconding after allegedly raping a minor girl working as a domestic help in his home in Morigaon district.

The constable in the Police Reserve here Rajib Deuri allegedly raped the 12-year-old girl at his official quarters in the police colony for three days, before she complained, official sources said today.

The girl was medically examined, the sources said.

The police were on the look out for the constable.

Subsidiary keeps N-E connected

GUWAHATI, September 30, (Agencies): The North-East has largely been unaffected by the Air India strike and remains connected within the region as well as with Kolkata through the national carrier's ATR fleet.

The ATR is managed by Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India. On Tuesday, an AI source said: "The ATR fleet has been operating in the region, as well as plying to Kolkata," adding that only two flights (bigger aircraft) from Delhi and Guwahati, as well as the return flights, were cancelled due to the strike.

But the ATR fleet connecting almost all state capitals of the region and major towns in the state with Guwahati continued its operations.

However, passengers bound for Delhi and Kolkata were in for a rude surprise when they arrived at the Guwahati airport on Tuesday. "We didn't know about the cancellation and now they say they don't have arrangements for cash at the airport for the refund," a harassed passenger said.

Another Delhi-bound passenger said it's time the government saw to it that both its own and private carriers were legally bound to never call off operations unless there was a technical problem. "Last time, it was the private carriers, and now the government carriers. Each time it's the passenger who feels the pinch," he rued.

On Tuesday afternoon, AI suspended booking of tickets till further notice. Sources said unofficial requests have been made by the government to private airlines to facilitate smooth travel for passengers hit by the strike.

First Mizo Professor for Shillong Theologate

Colombo, Sep. 30. (Agencies): Sacred Heart College, Shillong has one more young Professor in the making especially in the Department of Dogmatic Theology. Fr Denis Lalfela, is perhaps the first Mizo Salesian from the northeastern India state of Mizoram to specialize in Dogmatic Theology from the Universita` Pontificia Salesiana, Rome.

After theology studies in Rome, Fr Denis successfully defended his Master`s thesis on The Christology of St. Augustine of Hippo according to Goulven Madec on 29 September 2009.

Drawing on the thoughts of Goulven Madec (1930-2008), a French Augustinian Scholar of repute, Denis highlights the passionate life of Augustine for Christ - `the beauty so ancient and yet so new!` His logical presentation of Augustine and his thoughts centred around Christ the Redeeming-Saviour was appreciated by all the professors and listeners. Though Augustine penned no treatise on Christology, yet modern scholarship brings to light the fact that Augustine`s entire life was imbued with his passion for Christ, the Redeemer.

The defense itself was a sort of an ``Augustinian treat`` going through the life history of this great Saint `with an interesting past!` An example of a genuine seeker of faith who finally reaches the Ultimate Object of his search - Christ. Augustine`s passion for Christ can inspire every sincere seeker of Truth with the same ``passion for God and passion for humanity!``.

Denis is appointed as Lecturer of dogmatic theology at Sacred Heart Theological College, Shillong and is also the Director of the Integrated Theology for Laity and Religious (ITLR), a one-year Diploma Course in the same institute.

Over 15,000 children in Mizoram deprived of schooling

Aizawl, Sep 30. (Agencies): About 15,000 children in Mizoram, aged six to fourteen, are deprived of schooling even though the northeastern state is India’s second most literate after Kerala, an official report said.

“After finding that around 15,000 children, mostly tribals, are deprived of formal education, the state’s mission of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) sent education volunteers as mobile teachers in the interior villages,” a report of the Mizoram education department said.

The mobile teachers would persuade the children and their parents to enrol themselves in government schools.

According to the report, the children deprived of education were mainly concentrated in Lunglei, Lawngtlai and Saiha districts of southern Mizoram and Mamit district in the east adjacent to Tripura.Of the 15,000 illiterate children, 40 percent were school dropouts and the remaining had never been enrolled in schools. In Mizoram, 88.80 percent of the 900,000 people are literate.

“The main reasons for staying away from educational institutions were poverty, child labour, absence of schools in their and adjacent villages and parents’ ignorance,” the report added.

It said: “Majority of the children who are not attending schools belong to Chakma and Reang (communities) as the two communities are primitive and nomadic tribes and practise ‘Jhum Cultivation’ (shifting or slash and burn cultivation).”

“It is hard to bring tribal children to schools due to their shifting from one village to another frequently,” the report added.

In the mountainous state of Mizoram, education was first initiated and popularised by the British. Missionaries were responsible for the growth and institutionalisation of education in the state, bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The first educational institution in Mizoram was initiated by missionaries in the Aizawl region in 1897. Later, three more government primary schools opened in Aizawl in 1898.

Sikkim approves 4th pay commission recommendations

GANGTOK, Sep 30. (Agencies): In a festive bonanza to more than 36,000 government employees of the state, Sikkim has approved the recommendations of the 4th pay commission from January 1, 2006, but the enhanced allowances will be applicable from April 1 this year.

Pawan Kumar Chamling-led government took the decision to implement the pay commission award at the state cabinet meeting held on Thursday evening at chief minister's official residence in Mintokgang, an official release said on Friday.

While the time frame for the payment of arrears to the employees was not immediately known, the government has decided to release an interim amount of Rs 25,000 to each employee ahead of Dusshera festival later this month, it said.

The release also did not specify the total financial burden on the state exchequer following the implementation of the report.

Sikkim had in its annual budget provisioned a sum of Rs 824 crore for payment of 40% arrears to the government employees.

NOKPOKLIBA
(English Short Animation)      
Director : Meren Imchen
Year of Production : 2006
Duration : 8 Minutes 30 Seconds
Version : 35 mm / Hindi.

This film is based on a folk tale from Nagaland. It’s the story about Nokpokliba, a magician, who brings justice to his people through his magic.

There was once an evil merchant who cheated the naga people from the hills for their cotton. He would trade his cows in exchange for their cotton. But the cow he used to trade was actually his own son, who was always transformed, by use of magic, when the farmers came to trade. So when the farmers returned home with the cow, it would turn into different animals and run away.

They finally go to Nokpokliba for help. He helps the farmers get their cows back by countering the merchant’s magic with his own. He turns dried leaves into cotton and trades with the merchant.

When the merchant finds out he has been cheated he turns his son, from a cow, into a deer. Nokpokliba then turns into a dog and starts chasing. Seeing his son (the deer) in danger, the merchant turns it into three grains of rice. Nokpokliba seeing this turns into a dove but manages to eat only two out of the tree grains of rice. As a result the merchant’s powers are weakened and therefore could not bring his son back to life. He avenges for his son’s death by turning himself into a hawk and chases to kill the dove (nokpokliba). Nokpokliba leads him towards a huge pit of fire where the evil merchant meets his end. As a result his spell is broken and all the nagas who are cheated get their cows back.

NAGA STORY. THE OTHER SIDE OF SILENCE (Duration: 62min)
Dir. Gopal Menon/ DV/64 min./With English Subtitles/2003

Five years in the making, and the first comprehensive film on the Nagas and their struggle for identity, self-determination, peace and justice.

The Naga Story _The Other Side of Silence_ is the first comprehensive film on the Nagas, a three million strong indigenous people, who occupy the North-East frontier of the Indian subcontinent. The film, which took five years in the making, documents human rights abuses suffered by the Nagas in more than 50 years of the existence of Independent India - with interviews, on-foot coverage and views from different sections of the Naga population including various political formations and factions.
"A film that captures the resistance, the despair, the anguish, the hopes and aspirations of a generation of Nagas in their struggle for self determination and their overwhelming desire for peace…"

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