The nine sisters of the North-East

We, the denizens of North-Eastern India know that it is considered as a backward area that most  Indians will never visit over their lifetimes. Man Mohan Singh is supposedly the Rajya Sabha MP from Axom but he remains a stranger to his (adopted) state.

The North-East has large cohorts of non-Hindus (majority Protestant denominations) who are not expected to align with the “Manuvadi” party (aka BJP). The Congress (with a Roman Catholic at the top) should be a natural fit (unless one digs deep and discovers historical rivalry between Protestants and Catholics).

As an aside the BJP supremo has been busy cultivating the Syrian “Brahmins” from Kerala and they seem to love him back (probably united by animosity against muslims). 

Also as expected, the Hindu communities are divided in their loyalties. Bengalis in Tripura will vote for the Communist Party (CPIM) while the Axomia (in the Brahmaputra river valley) will vote for an Axom-first party. The Bengali Hindus of Barak river valley switch their allegiance alternately between the Congress and the BJP.

If we include Sikkim and North Bengal in the N-E kitty, the Lok Sabha seats are laid out as follows: Arunachal Pradesh-2, Axom-14, Manipur-2, Meghalaya-2, Mizoram-1, Nagaland-1, Sikkim-1, Tripura-2, Bengal- 3 (north bengal seats). Total- 28.

As late as July 2013, Congress was optimistic about collecting 20 seats (not including Sikkim/North Bengal). This would be vital for the Mission 115 plan (114 was the minimum no for Congress in 1996).

Now there is a major problem, the local mansabdars have ganged up against the Delhi durbar. 

The back-story is as follows: Purno Sangma (pix above, with daughter Agatha Sangma- MP) was originally a Congress leader who was expelled in 1999 (along with Tariq Anwar and Sharad Pawar) for having the audacity to question the leadership of the Grand Madam. Sangma was also the 2012 presidential candidate chosen by the BJP (against Pranab Mukherjee). Thus the personality clash goes far back and the break-up may be permanent at this point. 

If the North-East coalition matures into a permanent pressure group (as it should, if it had any sense) then the entire region may become out of bounds for the Congress (as an independent player) just like what has happened in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, UP,…..


As of now the distinctive issues that float the North-East boat are (1) migrants from Bangladesh (all provinces), (2) China threat (Arunachal only) and (3) Armed Forces Special Powers Act (Manipur only). Interestingly enough BJP has promised to review AFSPA, perhaps by proposing to dial down AFSPA in the north-east while maintaining status quo in Kashmir. 

Finally what about the famous TINA factor that keeps the muslims permanently locked inside the Congress barracks everywhere? A lot of blood was spilled in the 2012 riots in Goalpara and neighboring regions of Axom (also known as Bodoland). Tarun Gogoi (Congress Chief Minister of Axom) was accused of favoritism as muslims suffered disproportionately. While the outside world does not give a damn, the muslims themselves are unlikely to forgive/forget.  
….
A newly-formed regional front of parties from the northeast today said
it is in consultations with BJP for support to its candidates for the
Lok Sabha polls.

Former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma, whose National People’s Party (NPP)
is part of the North-East Regional Political Front, however, said that
the grouping will have no truck with the UPA.

NPP, Asom Gana Parishad, Mizo National Front and Nagaland People’s Front
are among the 10 regional parties from northeast which have formed the
NERPF against the Congress-led UPA to fight the Lok Sabha elections in
the region. Sangma’s NPP and Nagaland’s NPF are also part of the NDA.

NERPF, floated last October, will contest 21 out of 25 Lok Sabha seats in eight northeast states.

Blaming Congress for the “problems” in the northeast, Sangma said, “NPP
and NPF are very much part of the NDA and other parties of the front are
free to have alliance with any party at national level but definitely
not with Congress.”

The front also expressed its reservation over the functioning of
electronic voting machines and demanded alternative arrangement for
casting votes in the Lok Sabha elections.

“We urge Election Commission to abolish EVM system as it is not
foolproof and we do not have faith in it. We suspect it can be tampered
with,” Sangma, who will be contesting from Tura constituency in
Meghalaya, said. “If at all EVMs will be used then they should be supported with paper slips,” he said.

Raising the issue of frequent incursion of China on Arunachal border, he
said, “We want the government to ensure prevention of such incidents in
future.”

Referring to the issue of infiltration of illegal migrants from
Bangladesh, he blamed the UPA government for failing to take effective
steps against influx from across the border. He also demanded immediate
scrapping of the AFSPA



regards

The $2 Billion (virtual) reality

Facebook is on a buying spree these days, enterprising BPites (especially the innovative young hipsters) can also think of pitching their stuff. Good luck!!!

Facebook is buying Oculus VR, a startup that makes virtual reality headsets, in a $2 billion deal.
Occulus VR founder Palmer Luckey explains reality to his young fans: 
….

I’ve
always loved games. They’re windows into worlds that let us travel
somewhere fantastic. My foray into virtual reality was driven by a
desire to enhance my gaming experience; to make my rig more than just a
window to these worlds, to actually let me step inside them. As time
went on, I realized that VR technology wasn’t just possible, it was
almost ready to move into the mainstream. All it needed was the right
push.
When
Facebook first approached us about partnering, I was skeptical. As I
learned more about the company and its vision and spoke with Mark, the
partnership not only made sense, but became the clear and obvious path
to delivering virtual reality to everyone.  
Facebook was founded with the
vision of making the world a more connected place. Virtual reality is a
medium that allows us to share experiences with others in ways that
were never before possible.
 

Very
little changes day-to-day at Oculus, although we’ll have substantially
more resources to build the right team. If you want to come work on
these hard problems in computer vision, graphics, input, and audio,
please apply! 

This is a special
moment for the gaming industry – Oculus’ somewhat unpredictable future
just became crystal clear: virtual reality is coming, and it’s going to
change the way we play games forever.
 

I’m
obsessed with VR. I spend every day pushing further, and every night
dreaming of where we are going. Even in my wildest dreams, I never
imagined we’d come so far so fast.
 

I’m
proud to be a member of this community – thank you all for carrying
virtual reality and gaming forward and trusting in us to deliver. We
won’t let you down.

….

regards

Dogs barking mightily at the caravan

As they say, when the going gets tough, the tough get going…straight to prison.

These are indeed desperate times and desperate measures are needed to concentrate the minds of voters.

That said re: recent reports on rapid muslim population growth (relative to Hindus and others in selected states) it is interesting to hear of Masood’s claims that UP is 42% muslim (wiki claims 18.5% in UP, 9% in Gujarat). 

The census data will be awaited with great interest.

Congress
Lok Sabha candidate Imran Masood was on Saturday arrested on charges of
hate speech in which he threatened to “chop” Narendra Modi “into
pieces”, remarks that led to an FIR being filed against him by police
besides sparking an outrage.

“If Modi tries to make
Uttar Pradesh into Gujarat, then we will chop him into tiny pieces…I
am not scared of getting killed or attacking someone. I will fight
against Modi. He thinks UP is Gujarat. Only 4% Muslims are there in
Gujarat while there are 42% Muslims in UP,” he had said.

However, he later apologized for his remarks, saying, “I should have
been more cautious with my words” and that the same were said in the
heat of electioneering.

….
regards

Monsters Inc

The Americans are cutting their losses (who can blame them), Karzai is straddling the fence (he is fooling himself) and the evil people are free to scare little kids.

It sounds just like a fairy (horror) tale but there will be many more true stories like this from Taliban controlled Af-Pak territory.

It is beyond belief that the powers that be (from America to Afghanistan) are waiting (for what?) to designate the Taliban as terrorists. They will feel bad, the poor dears. Nelofar’s life is presumably lost in vain.

..
The story is heartbreaking. A Facebook status update on July 16, 2013,
from Ahmad Sardar, the Afghan journalist in Kabul. Nelofar, his
5-year-old daughter asks her dad, “Do the Taliban kill animals too?” The
father answers no, and the little girl says: “I wish we were animals.”



 
Little Nelofar is dead now, brutally murdered
by the Taliban – shot in the head – together with her dad, her mom and
her 8-year-old brother. Of Nelofar’s family, only her 2-year-old brother
has miraculously survived, in a coma with three bullets in his body.



 

On March 20, 2014, on the eve of the Persian New Year, the Taliban
managed to enter the highly fortified Serena Hotel, located just a
kilometer away from the Afghan presidential palace, where Nelofar and
her family were celebrating the Nawrooz, the arrival of the spring and
of the New Year.



 
The Taliban suicide mission left nine people dead and many more
injured before Afghan forces killed the four attackers, who had managed
to sneak pistols and ammunition inside the hotel, despite the tight
security measures.



 
The deadly attack on the Serena Hotel occurred on the same day that yet more Taliban fighters were freed from Bagram Prison,
complete control of which was transferred to the Afghan government
exactly a year ago. Since, then, most of the prisoners – considered
dangerous members of the Taliban – have been let go without formal trial
and over the strong protests of both U.S. officials and a majority of
the Afghan people.



 
Despite the fact that the Taliban’s use of deadly force against the
civilian population is widely branded as “terrorist attacks” inside and
outside of Afghanistan, neither the Afghan government nor the U.S.
officially recognizes the Taliban as a terrorist organization.



 
There is no sign that Karzai will put aside his vain hopes of winning
the hearts and minds of his “dissident brothers”; not even at the cost
of the many lives taken during the bloodshed perpetuated by the Taliban
on a daily basis. Karzai has lost the faith and trust of the Afghan
people on this.



 
It is an open secret that Mr. Karzai’s refusal to sign the Bilateral
Security Agreement with the Americans is purely political, with an eye
to winning the Taliban’s favor.



 
The Afghan public meanwhile worry that the withdrawal of
international forces from Afghanistan will mean a return of the Taliban
to power. There is an increasing need for the international community,
led by the United States, to take a clear stance with regards to the
Taliban.



 
In short, it is time for Washington to put objective facts above
political wishful thinking and officially recognize the Taliban as a
terror organization.
Many other members of the international community
would then surely follow suit, resulting in real and effective pressure
on the Taliban and its supporters, both inside Afghanistan and at a
regional level.
Acknowledging the Taliban as a terrorist entity will
also facilitate more cooperation between the international community in
their fight against terrorism, based on universal legal conventions and
international law.



 
Little Nelofar was surely not the only Afghan child to be so
frightened of the Taliban; the fear has paled the face of every Afghan.
The first step in overcoming that fear, however deep and complex, is for
people to know what they are dealing with: insurgents or terrorists.

..
regards

Brown Pundits