NOBEL PRIZE FOR IROM SHARMILA

Off late, I have witnessed a growing hysteria in India; especially among the North-Easterners voicing that Irom Sharmila should win the Nobel Peace Prize. Campaigns, emails and Facebook pages are created. Every day, I receive requests for signing the campaigns or liking the pages. I wonder what good it would do if she gets the…

Read more

THE AUTONOMY QUESTION

(ABSTRACT: The states in the North-eastern part of India are known for it’s anti Indian movements. Most of them are against the forced blanket concept of Indian Nationalism and are rising against the Pan-Indian state. And again there are smaller ethnic communities who are again fighting against their own states creating a multi-layered identity movements. Here,…

Read more

CONVENTION MEET ON NE DAMS AND A FEW QUESTIONS

Following the heat generated over the mega dam issue, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has convened a meeting of all ministries concerned on October 13 to ascertain the status of the hydroelectric projects in the North-east. The meeting that was earlier scheduled on October 30, was postponed because of the Ayodhya judgement that was delivered on the…

Read more

The Tabooed Women: Understanding the role of women in Rituals among the Misings and the Deori communities of Assam

“Sure God created man before woman. But then you always make a rough draft Before the final masterpiece” –Anonymous Fact 1: There are a very few discussions on Gender. Most of the times people try to avoid it seeing it as a controversial topic. Fact 2: Most of the discussion becomes unfruitful as every participant…

Read more

‘GUILTY AS FRAMED’

Democracy is applauded as one of the best types of government primarily because it allows freedom to rebel, freedom to speak out, raise voices against the government. But today it seems to have lost one of its founding pillars. Today, practising this right to speak out is neither encouraged nor accepted. India, which claims itself…

Read more

OF DAMS AND PEOPLE

I still remember jumping out of joy as a kid when I use to join my friends and family for picnic parties to Gerukhamukh. A beautiful landscape and a scenic village only about 70 kilometers from my place. Subansiri river, one of the major tributaries of the Mighty Brahmaputra flows through the place which adds…

Read more