Manipur's 10th assembly elections have brought about some interesting features in the state. While strict guidelines on poll-related expenses by the Election Commission have resulted in drastic changes in election-related processes in the state, the reactions of various groups this time have been a mix of the familiar and new, says Chitra Ahanthem from Imphal.
Chitra Ahanthem reports on how students from the northeast, who fled Bengaluru after rumours of attacks on them in retaliation of Assam riots, are coping with the situation now that the tension has eased and many who fled the city have started trickling back.
Around 279 candidates are pitted against each other to fill the 60-seat assembly in the backdrop of concerns over the smooth conduct of polling in the state. Manipur's journey to its 10th assembly elections is turning out to be a crowded exercise, says Chitra Ahanthem, out columnist from Manipur.
The international and national media spotlight on the women of Manipur as leaders in the social and political spheres is plagued by a rose-tinted hue, says Chitra Ahanthem, an activist, columnist and mother who lives in Imphal.
On November 3, 2011, when her fast against the Armed Forces Special Protection Act in force in Manipur completed 11 years, Irom Sharmila, the legendary crusader for human rights in that north-eastern state, penned a heartfelt appeal to her people, which was handed over to Rediff.com on November 30 as she was being produced before the chief judicial magistrate in Imphal. Please read it!
How do I cope with being on the fringes of being an Indian and an alien in a country that refuses to embrace me and my brethren, asks Chitra Ahanthem
On the occasion of her breaking the world's longest hunger strike, Rediff.com reproduces this 2011 feature on the activist and her life.
Iconic rights activist Irom Sharmila on the highs and lows of her long fast, why she gave it up and her plans.
A protest happens because the State doesn't follow its own laws. A protest is an objection and a complaint. It exists because it is otherwise unheard, observes Aakar Patel.
'Would not proudly showing President Xi Jinping that people from India's North-East are as much a part of India as those from anywhere else be like a slap on the face of Chinese aggression?' asks Chitra Ahanthem.
Irom Sharmila's decision to end her 16-year-old fast against the AFSPA continues to be hotly debated and contested in Imphal.
'The government needs to think if a draconian, outdated and colonial law is needed in a democratic, multi religious, diverse country governed by a democratic government.'
The incident became grist for media attention for people scanning 'cow' along with a Muslim name, regardless of the fact that in Manipur Muslims occupy a specific socio cultural and political positioning with the community having assimilated with the majority Meiteis, says Chitra Ahanthem.
The BJP cobbles up the numbers to stake a claim to form a government in Imphal. But ruling the restive state won't be easy, says Chitra Ahanthem.
At these 'relief camps' people had nothing to sleep on except for a piece of cloth and men and women, boys and girls all cramped together. Factor in the fact that Kakching in the 2011 census had a population of 28,746 people and that about 90 per cent of that population has been affected by the floods now, and one can work the math of the crisis at hand.
After performing with Manipuri artistes the world over, Astad Deboo, India's greatest contemporary dancer, performed with artistes of the Shri Shri Govindajee Nat Sankirtan in Imphal for the first time.
The woman whose lone fight against the establishment all these long years has only the state machinery to keep her safe from the public whose cause she championed all this while.
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