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UDP not a B team-Bindo

Bindo M. Lanong senior member of the United Democratic Party (UDP) has lashed out to BJP and other political parties for considering UDP a team B player of the Congress. This came after BJP state president Shibun Lyngdoh said “the people of the state would like to know from Bindo M Lanong, a team B player of the Congress, as to why he is not questioning the Congress,”

Lanong came back strongly to Mr Shibun Lyngdoh by saying that “the UDP is not team A, B or C of anyone.” “And he better mind his own business and his own party”.

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4th Female Minister in 30 long years 

Mizoram decided to induct a woman minister in the state cabinet, at a time when political parties are working to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament to make it mandatory to reserve 33 per cent of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies.

The decision to have a woman minister in the state cabinet is historic as Mizoram got its fourth female Legislator after a gap of 30 years. Lalawmpuii Chawngthu a 35 year spinster became the fourth woman in Mizoram to be inducted in the state’s council of ministers since 1987. Lalawmpuii is the daughter of senior Congress leader C. Chawngkunga. She has been active in politics since last 10 years. Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Nirbhay Sharma administered the oath of office to Chawngthu at a function in the Raj Bhavan. Chawngthu, President of the Mizoram Pradesh Youth Congress Committee was elected from Hrangturzo seat in Central Serchhip District in a byelection by a margin of 2,503 votes against her lone rival, Lalduhawma, of the eight-party combine United Democratic Front (UDF). Thanga and Chawngthu were inducted in the council of ministers following the resignation of Labour Minister Lalrinmawia Ralte and Fisheries Minister Buddha Dhan Chakma.

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IS NPP THE MAIN PARTY PULLING THE STRINGS IN POLLS 18

The National Peoples Party, which is an ally in the Bharatiya Janata Party - National Democratic Alliance, has confirmed to go alone in th e forthcoming general elections to the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, to contest all the sixty seats, at th e same time projecting Prestone Tynsong, former cabinet minister, of the Congress led Meghalaya United Alliance government, as the next Chief Minister.

This was announced at the Pynursla NPP by the NPP President Conrad Sangma, being also the Lok Sabha member from Tura.

Pynursla constituency is at present the bastion of Prestone Tynsong, elected from the Congress ticket. However in the present juncture, Tynsong would be facing mainly Grace Mary Kharpuri, under the flag of the Peoples Democratic Front (PDF), who is at present member of the Khasi Hills District Council, elected from neighbourhood Nongshken.

Certainly Congress votes would splinter, as Prestone Tynsong is now in the NPP. The PDF which was formed recently, would have to however build up from the scratch, and heavily depending upon the personality of Grace Kharpuri herself.

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Indian of North Eastern Origin

What does it feel like to share a national life along with those who do not share the same history? If history forms the foundation of our aspirations, looking to a future together is even tougher. Being a North-Easterner in India is more than just belonging to a different sphere within the contemporary national geography. Historical aloofness is the toughest of realities. Our history has shrunk down to an almost academic nonentity. Northeast history makes no sound in the noisy narratives of “mainstream history”. The rigorous interpretation and reinterpretation of history by the contemporary political ideologues is a new national passion. Every vestige of a particular era is brandished as the final proof of what actual India was like. The redefining of India goes on. One wonders that, if the definition of true India and by the same token, a true Indian, is carried out based on the colour and tone of a particular ancient culture, how many ethnic groups in India would actually qualify to be Indians. Even as we wish to get ahead in time, our cultural genes are being taken back in time for validation of their originality in terms of Indianness.

Recently I came to realize that there is now a categorization of Northeast Indians versus Desi Indians. I was more appalled than intrigued by the categorization. The term “desi” in British India times used to be applied to people from the Indian-subcontinent to distinguish them from Westerners. It alluded to being an original inhabitant of the land as opposed to those who came as colonialists. That was sort of the political implication of the term in those days. And it had a tremendous implication in the context of Indian Nationalism that was born against the backdrop of British colonialism. Now semantically, desi means “of the country”. There is also a subtle connotation of “the culture of the land of India”. There may be, perhaps, no ploy to render the Northeast people “non-desi” meaning “not of the land of India”. However, the fact that such a categorization happens so naturally, even without actually thinking it through, bares an underlying mindset that persists among Indians in general.

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Robert Garnett Lyngdoh

The present election atmosphere in Meghalaya has started in a sober mind, except for those persons, who are frantically seeking and searching for a party ticket in contesting the elections. To quote the words of Robert Garnett Lyngdoh, former Home minster of the state, urged upon the electorate to vote in a responsible manner for electing any person, belonging to any political party. Secondly, he said there should not be any fragmentation of votes. Having a jibe at the political parties contesting the polls, the former Congress Home Minister said, political parties talk, that they would want to be in the government, yet they never talk about governance. The people cannot take upon themselves, without direction. There should be a flux in the political system, which result in the formation of a credible team, so that people can vote and trust.