Category: north-east

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the signing of the Memorandum of Settlement with the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) will ensure peace in Assam and the northeastern region.

Celebrations were subdued in ethnic violence-devastated Manipur, but Christmas was celebrated with cheer, joy, and festivities in other northeastern states, like Mizoram, Meghalaya, and Nagaland.

The security forces have seized foreign-origin cigarettes valued at Rs 2.38 crore and one lakh methamphetamine tablets valued at Rs 1.28 crore in separate raids in Mizoram, an official said here on Sunday.

The move by the government to reintroduce inter-district travel garnered widespread appreciation, particularly from non-tribal and neutral tribal natives who saw this initiative as a means of re-establishing crucial connections between the districts in turmoil.

The 30th Imphal Book Fair, which was supposed to conclude on Thursday, was extended by another three days on public demand, indicating the resilience in the face of adversity due to the prevailing situation.

He said, “The health department has been instructed to remain vigilant against the surge of COVID-19 infection. As of now, Assam has not reported any new COVID case. We have not found any new COVID-19 variants in the state.”

The drug menace has replaced militancy as the prime threat in the northeastern states owing to the region’s close proximity to Myanmar, which according to the Southeast Asia Opium Survey 2023, is the world’s biggest opium producer.

Sources said the former legislator from Khonsa West Assembly constituency was abducted from a function in Raho village and later killed by the unidentified militants in a jungle.

“The accused has been booked under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 307 (attempt to murder),” said Susanta Biswa Sarma, Superintendent of Police, Sonitpur district.

The army on Saturday celebrated the 52nd Vijay Diwas across northeastern states in which wreath laying ceremonies and various other events were organised at the war memorials in Agartala, Shillong, Imphal, Aizawl and other places.

The Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) on Saturday said that the last round of formal talks on Naga political issue with the Central government on November 14 in Delhi "was not conclusive but also not deadlocked".

Displaying a stunning triumph, IPS officer-turned-politician Lalduhoma, who’s party Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) wrested power by securing 27 seats in the 40-member Assembly, will be the sixth politician to assume the Chief Ministerial posts in Mizoram.

Speaking to the media, CoTU's Information and Publicity Secretary, Thangtinlen Haokip said that the attack on the tribals on Monday by the militants once again clearly indicated their aggression in the Kuki-Zo-dominated territory.

“After his arrest, Ali was on a police van enroute to Ratabari police station. However, he requested the policemen to attend a nature call. In the meantime, the accused tried to snatch the gun from a policeman and tried to flee from there,” a senior police officer said.

Though the northeast region, which covers 8 per cent of the country’s total geographical area, has around 65 per cent of the region’s 2,62,179 sq km area under forest cover but the region according to experts would not be spared from the effects of the changing climate and global warming.

Cyclone 'Midhili' would hit Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, parts of Assam and other parts of northeastern states when it crossed to Bangladesh coast on Friday night or in the early hours of Saturday.

Governors and Chief Ministers of several northeastern states condoled the death of Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya, who was the former Governor of Nagaland. He was 92-years-old.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday lauded the efforts of the state police and National Investigation Agency (NIA) for cracking down on the Rohingya infiltration issue by arresting at least 48 individuals across the country.

While the Congress party in Assam has been running a high-voltage campaign in tea garden areas to woo voters, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday asserted that it has actually benefited the BJP and many leaders from those areas are now joining the saffron camp.

Elections to the 40-member Mizoram assembly and 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly would be held on November 7 and November 17 respectively. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 3 along with Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Telangana.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday defended his remarks made last week against a Chhattisgarh minister during election campaign in that state which goes to the polls in two phases on November 7 and 17.

Top BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and national President J. P. Nadda will soon join the campaign for the November 7 assembly elections to be held in Mizoram.

The Mizo National Front (MNF) government’s decision to provide shelter to around 50,000 fellow Chin-Kuki-Zo tribals from Myanmar, Bangladesh and Manipur is likely to yield a rich electoral dividend for the MNF in the November 7 assembly elections.

The five-day long Durga Puja festivities have gripped the people of the northeastern states, especially the puja revellers in Assam and Tripura. The festivities being organised in ethnic violence devastated Manipur in much subdued manner.

The everyday life of the 44 families in Gobindapur village at the India-Bangladesh border in Assam’s Karimganj district is not normal as the village falls in the no man’s land zone between the International Borders of the two countries, separated from the mainland by a barbed wire fence.