Human rights violation highest in NE, J&K: Dr Sandeep Pandey

The human rights violation in North East and Jammu & Kashmir is worst in the country. These areas have suffered a lot from time immemorial and people of these areas are facing an identity issues. It is a pity that after the 60 years of democracy, Assam cannot become a part of true democratic set-up in the largest democracy in the world,” said Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Dr Sandeep Pandey, in Guwahati, on Wednesday.

For his years of dedicated service and leadership Dr Pandey was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2002, often considered the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize. He was selected in the Emergent Leadership Category, and is among five others to have won the coveted award. At 37, he is also the youngest Indian to have been conferred the award.

Dr Pandey, who was in Guwahati, on way to Imphal, the capital of Manipur, to take part at a three-day solidarity fast to support Irom Sharmila’s campaign against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Manipur, said: “It is not only the Northeast region but the human rights violations are going on in almost every place of India. Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of encounter killings in the country, but there is no draconian law like the AFSPA there. The Government of India is biased against Northeast and J&K in this issue.”

Talking about the separatist movement in the northeastern region, Dr Pandey said: “Continuous presence of military in this region will have a severe impact on the people. If this process goes on, the Northeast will soon become militarized state. Whatever form of Naxalism, separatism and terrorism exists, the only way to solve is by political solution.”

When asked about the armed conflict in Northeast, he said: “It is up to the people of the region to find out an amicable solution. What the local people want, should be respected. The Government will facilitate talks. I think dialogue is the only way to solve the insurgency. Militarisation will never solve the issue.”

Coming down heavily against the uranium mining in Meghalaya, Dr Pandey said: “Uranium is radioactive and creates health hazards. Till now world has not find out any solution to the radioactive effects. At a time when many countries have given up the nuclear programmes, it is really shocking to see the Indian Government is planning uranium mining in Meghalaya.”

Mentionably, hundreds of human rights activists from all over the country as well as from neighbouring Asian nations will assemble in Imphal today (13 September).

 Sharmila had gone on hunger strike on November 2, 2000 demanding the repeal of the AFSPA, after soldiers of the Assam Rifles allegedly killed ten young Meitei men in Malom. Three days later, police arrested Sharmila on charges of ‘attempted suicide’, because suicide or attempted suicide is a criminal offence under Indian law. She was later remanded to judicial custody. To keep her alive, she was forcefully fed a cocktail of vitamins, minerals, laxatives, protein supplements and lentil soup through the nose with a rubber pipe.

http://www.merinews.com/article/human-rights-violation-highest-in-ne-jk-dr-sandeep-pandey/126357.shtml

Indian Idol is a lifetime experience for me: Amit Paul

COME SEPTEMBER 22 and the nation will get a new idol, courtesy the Indian Idol show being run by Sony Entertainment Television. The competition is on its last leg with the last two contestants Prashant Tamang and Amit Paul in the fray. It is a lifetime experience for Amit Paul, the Indian Idol finalist from Meghalaya, a state in the Northeast. As the reality show has entered the final stage, North East has lent maximum support to Amit.

Amit is all charged up with the unbelievable welcome he received during his recent homecoming on September 3. The overwhelming response to his presence has added a new dimension to his confidence just before the gala final to be held in New Delhi. “I never thought in my life of such a huge reception awaiting me in and around Shillong,” said Amit, expressing gratitude for the warm support he has been getting from this part of the country. “It’s a lifetime experience,” he added.

The Shillong Art and Music Lovers Forum has organized a car rally through the streets of Guwahati, on Thursday, seeking votes for Amit- to make him the first Indian Idol from the Northeast. Despite a stupendous performance by this northeast boy in the television show, public vote is essential for winning the title, said the forum. Amit, who was already been made the Ambassador for peace and communal harmony from the state of Meghalaya, in an open letter offered his sincere thanks to the Khasi, Garo, Jaintia and all other tribes of his native State, recalling his sensational homecoming. “I request your continued support and appeal for your precious votes to make me Bharat ki Shan”, he wrote in his letter.

Assam is my second home, since I spent a lot of time in Guwahati and performed in Bihu functions in several occasions, he said, while renewing his appeal for support from the people of Assam. The shy Shillong lad has already got the moral support from the film and music world of Assam.

About Prashant of Darjeeling, Amit said “We are the good friends. We have warm feelings for each other and both of us are giving our best.”

http://www.merinews.com/article/indian-idol-is-a-lifetime-experience-for-me-amit-paul/126395.shtml

Human trafficking has become a billion-dollar business: UN report

MILLIONS OF WOMEN and girls have been trafficked across borders and within countries in recent years, making human trafficking a global industry that generates an estimated five to seven billion US dollars each year, said a UN report.

It is estimated that 300,000 to 450,000 people are trafficked within Asia each year, of which more than half take place in South Asia, said the ‘Human Trafficking and HIV: Exploring vulnerabilities and responses in South Asia’ report, prepared by the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP).

India faces the greatest challenge in the region in terms of sheer numbers of people living with HIV, the report covering India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal, stated.

With approximately 40 per cent of Asia’s population, India has the largest number of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the region, or approximately 2.5 million. The country has a high rate of human trafficking, both internal and international. The Indian situation is complex: India is simultaneously a source, transit and destination country for women, men, and children, trafficked for the purposes of sexual and labour exploitation.

The United Nations report also said, that girls and women from West Bengal and Assam are being increasingly trafficked to Punjab and Haryana, where they are sexually exploited until they bear a male child.

“(There is an) emerging pattern of trafficking in girls from West Bengal and Assam to the more prosperous states of Punjab and Haryana, where the gender gap is most acute…The woman is either abandoned or passed onto another man after the birth of the male child,” the study said.

The source of the demand, driving trafficking in young women, arises from the prevailing gender inequalities in densely populated countries like India, namely the perception that a girl child is an “economic liability”, it said.

The report also noted that the extremist outfits in the country have ‘reportedly’ begun recruiting boys aged between eight and 15 years, to provide food and deliver ransom notes without arousing the suspicion of police.

“The People’s War Group (now CPI-Maoist) founded these organisations in an attempt to train children to resist police interrogation more effectively,” it said. It also added, tribal girls are reportedly used as couriers in areas of Adilabad and Dandakaranya.

“Unequal gender relations leave girls and women with little choice or decision-making power regarding education, occupation and marriage. It also means that they have no power to negotiate safer sex practices, which increases their risk of HIV infection,” the study said.

India and Pakistan are the main destinations for children under 16 years, who are trafficked in the region, it said, adding that a large number of women from Bangladesh are forced to enter the sex industry in India, particularly in Mumbai and Kolkata. Women from Nepal are also trafficked to India for sex work, it said.

http://www.merinews.com/article/human-trafficking-has-become-a-billion-dollar-business-un-report/126623.shtml