Migration from Bangladesh into India is &quot;plannned&quot;, Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said on Wednesday. The migration, he added, is part of a proxy war by Pakistan and is supported by China, to keep India&#39;s Northeast region on the boil.&nbsp;

&quot;Other issue is planned immigration taking place because of our western neighbour. They will always try and ensure that this area is taken over. This proxy dimension of warfare is well played by our western neighbour and supported by our northern neighbour,&quot; Rawat said.&nbsp;

Rawat was speaking in Delhi at a conference on securing borders in India&#39;s Northeast region.

To back up his argument, Rawat said the AIUDF (All India United Democratic Front) has grown faster in Assam than the BJP over the years. The AIUDF is led by Badruddin Ajmal.&nbsp;

&quot;When we talk of Jan Sangh with two MPs and where they have reached, AIUDF is moving at a faster pace in the state of Assam,&quot; said Rawat.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
AIUDF (All India United Democratic Front) have grown in a faster time-frame than the BJP grew over the years. When we talk of Jan Sangh with two MPs &amp; where they have reached, AIUDF is moving at a faster pace in the state of Assam: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat (21.02.18) <a href="https://t.co/XUIlBDhef6">pic.twitter.com/XUIlBDhef6</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/966478959234793472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

Rawat however did concede that migration from Bangladesh also takes place because of the pressure of population.&nbsp;

&quot;Migration from Bangladesh is due to two reasons. One, they are running out of space. Large areas get flooded during the monsoon and they have constricted area to stay,&quot; said Rawat.&nbsp;

Former National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon also spoke at the conference.&nbsp;

&quot;One reason why we saw that activity in Doklam last year was not because they (China) had a clear military option or superiority but because they had the political goal of splitting us from the Bhutanese,&quot; Menon said.&nbsp;

&quot;China wanted to show the Bhutanese that India could not defend their security and also to arouse Bhutanese opinion. I am glad we chose to react the way we did,&quot; he added.&nbsp;

Rawat has made a number of comments of late, for some of which he has drawn flak with commentators saying he has <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/wont-allow-anti-india-activities-in-kashmir-army-chief-29627" target="_blank">overstepped his brief</a> as army chief.&nbsp;

 
&nbsp;

'Other issue is planned immigration taking place because of our western neighbour. They will always try and ensure that this area is taken over. This proxy dimension of warfare is well played by our western neighbour and supported by our northern neighbour,' Rawat said

Migration from Bangladesh into India is "plannned", Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said on Wednesday. The migration, he added, is part of a proxy war by Pakistan and is supported by China, to keep India's Northeast region on the boil. "Other issue is planned immigration taking place because of our western neighbour. They will always try and ensure that this area is taken over. This proxy dimension of warfare is well played by our western neighbour and supported by our northern neighbour," Rawat said. Rawat was speaking in Delhi at a conference on securing borders in India's Northeast region. To back up his argument, Rawat said the AIUDF (All India United Democratic Front) has grown faster in Assam than the BJP over the years. The AIUDF is led by Badruddin Ajmal. "When we talk of Jan Sangh with two MPs and where they have reached, AIUDF is moving at a faster pace in the state of Assam," said Rawat. AIUDF (All India United Democratic Front) have grown in a faster time-frame than the BJP grew over the years. When we talk of Jan Sangh with two MPs & where they have reached, AIUDF is moving at a faster pace in the state of Assam: Army Chief General Bipin Rawat (21.02.18) pic.twitter.com/XUIlBDhef6 — ANI (@ANI) February 22, 2018 × Rawat however did concede that migration from Bangladesh also takes place because of the pressure of population. "Migration from Bangladesh is due to two reasons. One, they are running out of space. Large areas get flooded during the monsoon and they have constricted area to stay," said Rawat. Former National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon also spoke at the conference. "One reason why we saw that activity in Doklam last year was not because they (China) had a clear military option or superiority but because they had the political goal of splitting us from the Bhutanese," Menon said. "China wanted to show the Bhutanese that India could not defend their security and also to arouse Bhutanese opinion. I am glad we chose to react the way we did," he added. Rawat has made a number of comments of late, for some of which he has drawn flak with commentators saying he has overstepped his brief as army chief.

Migration from Bangladesh part of proxy war by Pakistan, supported by China: Army Chief

A microlight helicopter of the Indian Air Force with two pilots on board crashed on Thursday in Assam&rsquo;s Majuli island, killing both.

According to initial reports, two IAF pilots were on board without any passengers.&nbsp;

This is the first such incident in the river island.

The crash site is in a remote location. Rescuers, as well as media persons, are on the way.

Villagers from nearby places are rushing to the crash spot. The accident took place near Dakhinpat Satra of Majuli.

More details to follow.

It is suspected that the crash took place due to technical reasons

A microlight helicopter of the Indian Air Force with two pilots on board crashed on Thursday in Assam’s Majuli island, killing both. According to initial reports, two IAF pilots were on board without any passengers. This is the first such incident in the river island. The crash site is in a remote location. Rescuers, as well as media persons, are on the way. Villagers from nearby places are rushing to the crash spot. The accident took place near Dakhinpat Satra of Majuli. More details to follow.

Indian Airforce helicopter crashes at Majuli in Assam

Three blasts in quick succession were reported from Assam on Republic Day. The blasts were reported from the Jagun, Ledo, and Tirap areas of the state.&nbsp;

There were no casualties reported, and ANI said the blasts were &quot;minor&quot;.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SpotVisuals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SpotVisuals</a> Two minor blasts reported in Jagun &amp; Ledo area of Tinsukiya district earlier today; no casualties reported <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Assam?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Assam</a> <a href="https://t.co/4okkPPB3an">pic.twitter.com/4okkPPB3an</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/956806539582435328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

No one has as yet claimed responsibility but police said the militant group ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam) is being thought of as a suspect since it had called for a boycott of Republic Day celebrations.&nbsp;

In Kashmir meanwhile, police said they had apprehended a suspected woman suicide bomber.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
A lady who is suspected to be a suicide bomber has been apprehended, we will verify facts and talk to her, only then can we come to a conclusion: Munir Khan,ADG,J&amp;K Police <a href="https://t.co/NWepMesu5j">pic.twitter.com/NWepMesu5j</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/956790056697544704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

Intelligence agencies had put out an alert earlier, saying a <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/republic-day-fidayeen-alert-issued-in-kashmir-30726" target="_blank">fidayeen attacker</a> was thought to be in the Valley.&nbsp;

They had added the attacker might be female and that everybody entering a venue where Republic Day was being celebrated was to be thoroughly frisked. Including women.&nbsp;

Republic Day celebrations in Jammu and Kashmir and Assam, and other parts of the country troubled by insurgency, are usually held under heavy security.&nbsp;

In Punjab meanwhile, a police constable shot himself with his AK-47 at a Republic Day function at a school in Jagraon. Police said Manjit Singh died on the spot.&nbsp;

They added that an investigation was underway, and that Singh had been depressed because of family troubles.&nbsp;

And finally, a woman and her two sons were detained in Mumbai while trying to enter a Republic Day venue. The woman, ANI said, was reportedly angry over the death of her husband in custody and was planning on immolating herself.&nbsp;

On the good news front, mobile and internet services, which had been suspended in Kashmir for security reasons, were restored early in the afternoon.&nbsp;

The blasts were minor and there were no casualties

Three blasts in quick succession were reported from Assam on Republic Day. The blasts were reported from the Jagun, Ledo, and Tirap areas of the state. There were no casualties reported, and ANI said the blasts were "minor". #SpotVisuals Two minor blasts reported in Jagun & Ledo area of Tinsukiya district earlier today; no casualties reported #Assam pic.twitter.com/4okkPPB3an — ANI (@ANI) January 26, 2018 × No one has as yet claimed responsibility but police said the militant group ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam) is being thought of as a suspect since it had called for a boycott of Republic Day celebrations. In Kashmir meanwhile, police said they had apprehended a suspected woman suicide bomber. A lady who is suspected to be a suicide bomber has been apprehended, we will verify facts and talk to her, only then can we come to a conclusion: Munir Khan,ADG,J&K Police pic.twitter.com/NWepMesu5j — ANI (@ANI) January 26, 2018 × Intelligence agencies had put out an alert earlier, saying a fidayeen attacker was thought to be in the Valley. They had added the attacker might be female and that everybody entering a venue where Republic Day was being celebrated was to be thoroughly frisked. Including women. Republic Day celebrations in Jammu and Kashmir and Assam, and other parts of the country troubled by insurgency, are usually held under heavy security. In Punjab meanwhile, a police constable shot himself with his AK-47 at a Republic Day function at a school in Jagraon. Police said Manjit Singh died on the spot. They added that an investigation was underway, and that Singh had been depressed because of family troubles. And finally, a woman and her two sons were detained in Mumbai while trying to enter a Republic Day venue. The woman, ANI said, was reportedly angry over the death of her husband in custody and was planning on immolating herself. On the good news front, mobile and internet services, which had been suspended in Kashmir for security reasons, were restored early in the afternoon.

Republic Day: 3 blasts in Assam, woman suicide bomber apprehended in Kashmir, cop shoots himself in Punjab

An earthquake of magnitude 5.2 on the Richter scale struck Kokrajhar in Assam on Saturday morning.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Earthquake of magnitude 5.2 occurred in Assam&#39;s Kokrajhar at 06:44 am.
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/954534939722051584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

There have been no reports of any damage or casualty.&nbsp;

The earthquake originated in Gauripur and was about 10 kilometres deep.&nbsp;

Its epicentre is located at latitude 26.193 degrees north and longitude 89.931 degrees east.

Some tremors were also felt in Bhutan.&nbsp;

Further details are awaited.&nbsp;

The earthquake originated in Gauripur about 10 kilometres deep.

An earthquake of magnitude 5.2 on the Richter scale struck Kokrajhar in Assam on Saturday morning. Earthquake of magnitude 5.2 occurred in Assam's Kokrajhar at 06:44 am. — ANI (@ANI) January 20, 2018 × There have been no reports of any damage or casualty. The earthquake originated in Gauripur and was about 10 kilometres deep. Its epicentre is located at latitude 26.193 degrees north and longitude 89.931 degrees east. Some tremors were also felt in Bhutan. Further details are awaited.

Earthquake of magnitude 5.2 strikes Assam

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee&#39;s&nbsp;remarks on the latest move by National Register of Citizen(NRC) has landed her in trouble as an&nbsp;FIR was lodged against her in Guwahati.&nbsp;

The FIR was lodged after a complaint was filed by advocate Tailendra Nath Das.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
FIR lodged against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Guwahati after complaint by advocate Tailendra Nath Das in connection with statement she made on Assam&#39;s National Register Of Citizens(NRC) <a href="https://t.co/xK7ZRqQiP7">pic.twitter.com/xK7ZRqQiP7</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/948934395502649345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

In a public meeting at Ahmedpur in Birbhum district, the West Bengal chief minister reportedly described the current updation of the NRC as an attempt to drive out Bengalis from Assam.&nbsp;

She allegedly asked the BJP government of the state to not to play with fire. Banerjee also warned the government that she would not remain silent if Bengalis were uprooted from the state.&nbsp;

The BJP led government in Assam said that her statement amounted to contempt of&nbsp;Supreme Court.&nbsp;

The National Register of Citizens (NRC)&nbsp;published its first draft on Sunday.

The draft declared almost 1.9 crore Assam residents&nbsp;as &quot;legal&quot;&nbsp;while declaring the rest to&nbsp;await&nbsp;further stages of verification.&nbsp;

The total population of the state is around 3.29 crore.

In a public meeting at Ahmedpur in Birbhum district, the West Bengal chief minister had described the current updation of the NRC as an attempt to drive out Bengalis from Assam

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's remarks on the latest move by National Register of Citizen(NRC) has landed her in trouble as an FIR was lodged against her in Guwahati. The FIR was lodged after a complaint was filed by advocate Tailendra Nath Das. FIR lodged against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Guwahati after complaint by advocate Tailendra Nath Das in connection with statement she made on Assam's National Register Of Citizens(NRC) pic.twitter.com/xK7ZRqQiP7 — ANI (@ANI) January 4, 2018 × In a public meeting at Ahmedpur in Birbhum district, the West Bengal chief minister reportedly described the current updation of the NRC as an attempt to drive out Bengalis from Assam. She allegedly asked the BJP government of the state to not to play with fire. Banerjee also warned the government that she would not remain silent if Bengalis were uprooted from the state. The BJP led government in Assam said that her statement amounted to contempt of Supreme Court. The National Register of Citizens (NRC) published its first draft on Sunday. The draft declared almost 1.9 crore Assam residents as "legal" while declaring the rest to await further stages of verification. The total population of the state is around 3.29 crore.

FIR registered against Mamata Banerjee over statements on NRC

Marzina Bibi, a Muslim woman living in Assam, is petrified she will be declared stateless.

The 26-year-old&#39;s name was not on a preliminary list of citizens that was published at midnight on Sunday, although she holds a voter identity card and had voted in state elections in 2016.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/assam-tense-ahead-of-citizens-list-targeting-illegal-bangladeshis-27998">&quot;Why are they doing this to me?&quot;</a> Bibi asked, sitting beside a bamboo mat she was weaving outside her mud house in Assam&#39;s Fofonga village. &quot;They think I am a Bangladeshi. I was born here, my parents were born here, I am an Indian.&quot;

Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which came to power in Assam in the April, 2016 elections, vowed during the campaign to act against illegal Muslim immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh. But rights activists say the drive is also targeting Muslims who are Indian citizens.

Two national spokesmen for the BJP declined to comment.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi did not reply to e-mails and a telephone call seeking comment.

Citizenship and illegal migration are volatile issues in tea-growing and oil-rich Assam, home to more than 32 million people, about a third of whom are Muslims. Hundreds of people were killed in the 1980s in a violent protest by a native Assamese group against outsiders from the state taking the bulk of jobs and cornering resources, including land.

For the latest update of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), all residents of Assam had to produce documents proving that they or their families lived in the country before March 24, 1971, to be recognised as Indian citizens.

According to the preliminary list of the NRC, about 19 million people in Assam have now been verified as Indian citizens. More names will be added, and officials say the final list is likely to be published in July.

Reuters spoke to nearly two dozen Muslims, including Bibi, from paddy-growing villages around Fofonga who said their names were not on the preliminary list.

&quot;I feel we are targeted because we are Muslims,&quot; said Bibi, who said she has already proved she was Indian - she was jailed for eight months on charges of being an illegal migrant from Bangladesh and was let off only after showing documents attesting to her nationality.

Surrounded by her neighbours in the village, she showed her voter identity card and the court order for her release from jail.

No religious bias&nbsp;

The BJP has said previous governments have included many Bangladeshi immigrants on electoral rolls to buy votes.

At the local NRC office in the Muslim-majority area, only around 4,500 people had made it to the preliminary list out of nearly 11,000 who had applied.

The government officer in charge of the centre, Gautam Sharmah, said there was no religious bias against Muslims.

&quot;That&#39;s impossible. We only look at documents,&quot; Sharmah said at his office, as people trickled in to look for their names on the second day of the list&#39;s publication. &quot;The time taken in the verification process depends on what kind of documents people submit.&quot;

Reuters saw a tribal Hindu man leaving the NRC office with a smile after being told that the names of all six members of his family were on the list. Soon after, two Muslim women came with their infants, and left disappointed.

Hundreds of thousands of people fled to India from Muslim-majority Bangladesh after it declared independence from Pakistan on March 26, 1971, setting off a nine-month civil war. Most of them settled in Assam and the neighbouring state of West Bengal, where there are similar demands to send back illegal Muslim immigrants.

The migrants include many Hindus, but the federal BJP government has said they will not be deported.

Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam&#39;s finance minister who is also in charge of the citizenship register, told Reuters that all those whose names do not figure in the final NRC list would be segregated.

&quot;Deportation is an issue handled by the central government,&quot; Sarma said.

&quot;Hindu Bangladeshis who had faced persecution should be given shelter in India and that is the central government&#39;s stand.&quot;

Muslims leaders have called the NRC a tool to make them stateless, likening themselves to Myanmar&#39;s persecuted Rohingya minority. They have also warned of unrest.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal told the Times of India daily that the &quot;people who are declared foreigners will be barred from all constitutional rights, including fundamental and electoral. They will have only one right &mdash; human rights as guaranteed by the U.N. that include food, shelter and clothing&quot;.

In Fofonga, Bibi said she would challenge the list if it did not include her and her family as citizens.

&quot;We are poor people, my husband is a labourer,&quot; she said, going back to weaving her mat. &quot;But I will go to court if we are left out.&quot;

'Why are they doing this to me? They think I am a Bangladeshi. I was born here, my parents were born here, I am an Indian,' said Marzina Bibi, whose name was not included in the first draft of the National Register of Citizens

Marzina Bibi, a Muslim woman living in Assam, is petrified she will be declared stateless. The 26-year-old's name was not on a preliminary list of citizens that was published at midnight on Sunday, although she holds a voter identity card and had voted in state elections in 2016. "Why are they doing this to me?" Bibi asked, sitting beside a bamboo mat she was weaving outside her mud house in Assam's Fofonga village. "They think I am a Bangladeshi. I was born here, my parents were born here, I am an Indian." Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which came to power in Assam in the April, 2016 elections, vowed during the campaign to act against illegal Muslim immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh. But rights activists say the drive is also targeting Muslims who are Indian citizens. Two national spokesmen for the BJP declined to comment. A spokesman for the Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi did not reply to e-mails and a telephone call seeking comment. Citizenship and illegal migration are volatile issues in tea-growing and oil-rich Assam, home to more than 32 million people, about a third of whom are Muslims. Hundreds of people were killed in the 1980s in a violent protest by a native Assamese group against outsiders from the state taking the bulk of jobs and cornering resources, including land. For the latest update of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), all residents of Assam had to produce documents proving that they or their families lived in the country before March 24, 1971, to be recognised as Indian citizens. According to the preliminary list of the NRC, about 19 million people in Assam have now been verified as Indian citizens. More names will be added, and officials say the final list is likely to be published in July. Reuters spoke to nearly two dozen Muslims, including Bibi, from paddy-growing villages around Fofonga who said their names were not on the preliminary list. "I feel we are targeted because we are Muslims," said Bibi, who said she has already proved she was Indian - she was jailed for eight months on charges of being an illegal migrant from Bangladesh and was let off only after showing documents attesting to her nationality. Surrounded by her neighbours in the village, she showed her voter identity card and the court order for her release from jail. No religious bias The BJP has said previous governments have included many Bangladeshi immigrants on electoral rolls to buy votes. At the local NRC office in the Muslim-majority area, only around 4,500 people had made it to the preliminary list out of nearly 11,000 who had applied. The government officer in charge of the centre, Gautam Sharmah, said there was no religious bias against Muslims. "That's impossible. We only look at documents," Sharmah said at his office, as people trickled in to look for their names on the second day of the list's publication. "The time taken in the verification process depends on what kind of documents people submit." Reuters saw a tribal Hindu man leaving the NRC office with a smile after being told that the names of all six members of his family were on the list. Soon after, two Muslim women came with their infants, and left disappointed. Hundreds of thousands of people fled to India from Muslim-majority Bangladesh after it declared independence from Pakistan on March 26, 1971, setting off a nine-month civil war. Most of them settled in Assam and the neighbouring state of West Bengal, where there are similar demands to send back illegal Muslim immigrants. The migrants include many Hindus, but the federal BJP government has said they will not be deported. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam's finance minister who is also in charge of the citizenship register, told Reuters that all those whose names do not figure in the final NRC list would be segregated. "Deportation is an issue handled by the central government," Sarma said. "Hindu Bangladeshis who had faced persecution should be given shelter in India and that is the central government's stand." Muslims leaders have called the NRC a tool to make them stateless, likening themselves to Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya minority. They have also warned of unrest. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal told the Times of India daily that the "people who are declared foreigners will be barred from all constitutional rights, including fundamental and electoral. They will have only one right — human rights as guaranteed by the U.N. that include food, shelter and clothing". In Fofonga, Bibi said she would challenge the list if it did not include her and her family as citizens. "We are poor people, my husband is a labourer," she said, going back to weaving her mat. "But I will go to court if we are left out."

Indian or not? Fear in Assam over citizens' register

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/4-dead-after-fire-breaks-out-at-maimoon-building-in-marol-mumbai-28478" target="_blank">Video: 4 dead after fire breaks out at Maimoon building in Marol, Mumbai</a>

Four people are dead and five injured after a &nbsp;fire broke out at the Maimoon building in Marol, Mumbai.&nbsp;

 
<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/chinese-road-building-teams-entered-1-km-into-arunachal-forced-back-sources-28477" target="_blank">Chinese road-building teams entered 1 km into Arunachal, forced back: Sources</a>

Chinese road-building teams entered around 1 kilometre inside Indian territory in Tuting area of Arunachal Pradesh last week but returned after being confronted by Indian troops, government sources said on Wednesday.

 
<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/maharashtra-protests-16-year-old-dies-fleeing-police-in-nanded-28486" target="_blank">Maharashtra protests: 16-year-old dies fleeing police in Nanded</a>

A 16-year-old boy died in Nanded on Wednesday during the Dalit protests.&nbsp;

News reports said the boy was part of a mob blocking the road. The reports said the protesters had run when police chased them. &nbsp;

Police said the boy, identified as Yogesh Jadhav, had run along with the other demonstrators. But that he lost his balance and fell and was crushed by other protesters.&nbsp;

 
<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trump-breaks-with-bannon-says-former-aide-lost-his-mind-28476" target="_blank">Trump says Bannon &#39;lost his mind&#39; after comments about Donald Jr</a>

President Donald Trump on Wednesday blasted former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon as having &quot;lost his mind&quot; in the fallout over damaging comments Bannon made about Trump&#39;s son Donald Trump Jr. in excerpts from a new book.

 
<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/indian-or-not-muslims-fret-amid-drive-against-illegal-immigrants-in-assam-28485" target="_blank">Indian or not? Fear in Assam over citizens&#39; register</a>

Marzina Bibi, a Muslim woman living in Assam, is petrified she will be declared stateless.

The 26-year-old&#39;s name was not on a preliminary list of citizens that was published at midnight on Sunday, although she holds a voter identity card and had voted in state elections in 2016.

&quot;Why are they doing this to me?&quot; Bibi asked, sitting beside a bamboo mat she was weaving outside her mud house in Assam&#39;s Fofonga village. &quot;They think I am a Bangladeshi. I was born here, my parents were born here, I am an Indian.&quot;

Video: 4 dead after fire breaks out at Maimoon building in Marol, Mumbai Four people are dead and five injured after a fire broke out at the Maimoon building in Marol, Mumbai. Chinese road-building teams entered 1 km into Arunachal, forced back: Sources Chinese road-building teams entered around 1 kilometre inside Indian territory in Tuting area of Arunachal Pradesh last week but returned after being confronted by Indian troops, government sources said on Wednesday. Maharashtra protests: 16-year-old dies fleeing police in Nanded A 16-year-old boy died in Nanded on Wednesday during the Dalit protests. News reports said the boy was part of a mob blocking the road. The reports said the protesters had run when police chased them. Police said the boy, identified as Yogesh Jadhav, had run along with the other demonstrators. But that he lost his balance and fell and was crushed by other protesters. Trump says Bannon 'lost his mind' after comments about Donald Jr President Donald Trump on Wednesday blasted former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon as having "lost his mind" in the fallout over damaging comments Bannon made about Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. in excerpts from a new book. Indian or not? Fear in Assam over citizens' register Marzina Bibi, a Muslim woman living in Assam, is petrified she will be declared stateless. The 26-year-old's name was not on a preliminary list of citizens that was published at midnight on Sunday, although she holds a voter identity card and had voted in state elections in 2016. "Why are they doing this to me?" Bibi asked, sitting beside a bamboo mat she was weaving outside her mud house in Assam's Fofonga village. "They think I am a Bangladeshi. I was born here, my parents were born here, I am an Indian."

WION Morning News Brief, January 4, 2018

The National Registry of Citizens (NRC) has its own history that gave identity and politics its own language in post-colonial Assam. The genesis of such a discourse is embedded in a kind of Assamese nationalism that managed to construct a concrete other, a common enemy, the Bangladeshi. This construction of the other set a precedent to the regional and identity politics of India&rsquo;s North-east, where the Bangladeshi became a soft target, an &lsquo;alien&rsquo; and unwanted.

National Registry of Citizens

The stage was set for NRC declaration for the first time since 1951. People rushed to the nearest Seva Kendras to check their status on the eve of the new year, where legality and illegality hanged in balance. Such is the intensity of this declaration that security has been beefed up in sensitive pockets to maintain law and order involving the army, paramilitary forces, state police, among others. The declaration also seems to incite the memories of agitation against foreigners. The Bharatiya Janta Party have laid their claims that they have, finally, made it possible, the dream of every Assamese and have made the 855 martyrs life worthwhile, as the NRC is a great leap forward in making a Bangladeshi free Assam.

The state of Assam under the mandate of the Supreme Court of India published the first draft of the NRC data yesterday which listed 19 million people out of 32.9 million applicants as legal citizens of India. The remaining applicants are at various stages of application and no one should panic if their names are not included in the first list, stated the Chief Minister of the state, Sarbananda Sonowal. He appealed to the people of the state to keep calm. The Register General of India, Sailesh also noted that as soon as the verification process is completed another draft shall be published too which would include 29 lakh married women who migrated post-marriage.

The first round of NRC was updated last in 1951 which recorded about 80 lakh citizens in the state right after the population census was conducted in the same year. Two sets of data played a central role in the identification process&mdash;the 1951 NRC data and the Electoral Rolls up to the midnight of 24th March 1971. These two sets of data are collectively known as Legacy Data, that sent the state to splits where people were left searching for a piece of paper to prove their belonging to a geography.

NRC is a very detailed, tedious and almost bogus documentation when one looks at the initiative at the level of documentation. The larger political significance and motive is located in Assam Agitation and the drive to deport and detect the so-called &lsquo;Bangaldeshi&rsquo;. This identification process is a way of filtering the &lsquo;alien&rsquo; people who are hated and othered in the state.

The Road Ahead

Few questions arise on the conduct of the process. What will happen to so-called foreigners, once identified as illegal or doubtful? What are the ends of this process? Given that there is no treaty existing between India and Bangladesh on the front of deportation, the identification seems to hit a roadblock.&nbsp;

The Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act was one such act that was directed to deport the so-called &lsquo;foreigners&rsquo;, however, it was struck down by the Supreme Court of India in 2005 in Sarbananda Sonowal vs Union of India. An idea has also been floating around which called for the re-distribution the so-called illegal people that will be verified through the NRC to other regions of India.

On account of the religious identity of the so-called Bangladeshi, all the opposition parties have voiced their concerns and opposition to such a consideration. However, there is no dearth of such distinctions and pronunciations. Hemanta Biswa Sarma have openly stated that the illegal shall be deported by hook or crook. He even wants to deport Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar to Bangladesh. Union Minister Rajen Gohain also claims that rehabilitation of Hindu Bangladeshi shall not harm the state and the Assamese identity.

Much of the energy is invested in the issue of the outsider. It is the most enduring of issues that have sidelined a host of serious issues of the state, from employment to maternal mortality. NRC brings a mixed bag of claims and counterclaims, however, in this bleak mid-winter it has made the life of many a precarious one.

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

The issue of identifying the 'outsider' has emerged as the most enduring of issues but it has sidelined a host of serious issues of Assam, from employment to maternal mortality.

The National Registry of Citizens (NRC) has its own history that gave identity and politics its own language in post-colonial Assam. The genesis of such a discourse is embedded in a kind of Assamese nationalism that managed to construct a concrete other, a common enemy, the Bangladeshi. This construction of the other set a precedent to the regional and identity politics of India’s North-east, where the Bangladeshi became a soft target, an ‘alien’ and unwanted. National Registry of Citizens The stage was set for NRC declaration for the first time since 1951. People rushed to the nearest Seva Kendras to check their status on the eve of the new year, where legality and illegality hanged in balance. Such is the intensity of this declaration that security has been beefed up in sensitive pockets to maintain law and order involving the army, paramilitary forces, state police, among others. The declaration also seems to incite the memories of agitation against foreigners. The Bharatiya Janta Party have laid their claims that they have, finally, made it possible, the dream of every Assamese and have made the 855 martyrs life worthwhile, as the NRC is a great leap forward in making a Bangladeshi free Assam. The state of Assam under the mandate of the Supreme Court of India published the first draft of the NRC data yesterday which listed 19 million people out of 32.9 million applicants as legal citizens of India. The remaining applicants are at various stages of application and no one should panic if their names are not included in the first list, stated the Chief Minister of the state, Sarbananda Sonowal. He appealed to the people of the state to keep calm. The Register General of India, Sailesh also noted that as soon as the verification process is completed another draft shall be published too which would include 29 lakh married women who migrated post-marriage. The first round of NRC was updated last in 1951 which recorded about 80 lakh citizens in the state right after the population census was conducted in the same year. Two sets of data played a central role in the identification process—the 1951 NRC data and the Electoral Rolls up to the midnight of 24th March 1971. These two sets of data are collectively known as Legacy Data, that sent the state to splits where people were left searching for a piece of paper to prove their belonging to a geography. NRC is a very detailed, tedious and almost bogus documentation when one looks at the initiative at the level of documentation. The larger political significance and motive is located in Assam Agitation and the drive to deport and detect the so-called ‘Bangaldeshi’. This identification process is a way of filtering the ‘alien’ people who are hated and othered in the state. The Road Ahead Few questions arise on the conduct of the process. What will happen to so-called foreigners, once identified as illegal or doubtful? What are the ends of this process? Given that there is no treaty existing between India and Bangladesh on the front of deportation, the identification seems to hit a roadblock. The Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act was one such act that was directed to deport the so-called ‘foreigners’, however, it was struck down by the Supreme Court of India in 2005 in Sarbananda Sonowal vs Union of India. An idea has also been floating around which called for the re-distribution the so-called illegal people that will be verified through the NRC to other regions of India. On account of the religious identity of the so-called Bangladeshi, all the opposition parties have voiced their concerns and opposition to such a consideration. However, there is no dearth of such distinctions and pronunciations. Hemanta Biswa Sarma have openly stated that the illegal shall be deported by hook or crook. He even wants to deport Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar to Bangladesh. Union Minister Rajen Gohain also claims that rehabilitation of Hindu Bangladeshi shall not harm the state and the Assamese identity. Much of the energy is invested in the issue of the outsider. It is the most enduring of issues that have sidelined a host of serious issues of the state, from employment to maternal mortality. NRC brings a mixed bag of claims and counterclaims, however, in this bleak mid-winter it has made the life of many a precarious one. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

Opinion: Assam's National Register of Citizens is a futile process

The government today appointed&nbsp;two former RAW officials for important portfolios.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Former RAW Chief Rajinder Khanna is appointed as the Deputy National Security Advisor.&nbsp;

Rajinder Khanna who joined RAW in 1978, is said to be an expert on terrorism.&nbsp;

He is considered as the founder and driving force of the counter-terrorism unit in RAW.&nbsp;

He is the first chief of RAW to be directly recruited into the Research and Analysis Service cadre.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Appointments Committee of Cabinet approves the appointment of former RAW Chief Rajinder Khanna as Deputy National Security Adviser.
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/948207844930621440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

Currently, Khanna is serving as an Officer on Special Duty (Neighbourhood Studies) in the National Security Council Secretariat.

Also, Former Special Secretary (RAW) A.B Mathur is appointed as government interlocutor for talks with ULFA, Assam.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Former Special Secretary (RAW) A.B Mathur appointed as government interlocutor for talks with ULFA, Assam.
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/948211204949819394?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 2, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

&nbsp;

Rajinder Khanna who joined RAW in 1978, is said to be an expert on terrorism

The government today appointed two former RAW officials for important portfolios. Former RAW Chief Rajinder Khanna is appointed as the Deputy National Security Advisor. Rajinder Khanna who joined RAW in 1978, is said to be an expert on terrorism. He is considered as the founder and driving force of the counter-terrorism unit in RAW. He is the first chief of RAW to be directly recruited into the Research and Analysis Service cadre. Appointments Committee of Cabinet approves the appointment of former RAW Chief Rajinder Khanna as Deputy National Security Adviser. — ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2018 × Currently, Khanna is serving as an Officer on Special Duty (Neighbourhood Studies) in the National Security Council Secretariat. Also, Former Special Secretary (RAW) A.B Mathur is appointed as government interlocutor for talks with ULFA, Assam. Former Special Secretary (RAW) A.B Mathur appointed as government interlocutor for talks with ULFA, Assam. — ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2018 ×

Government appoints former RAW chief Rajinder Khanna as Deputy National Security Advisor

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has cited reports indicating that a radical outfit has been trying to expand its network in regions of Assam and Manipur.&nbsp;

He said some areas of the northeast are vulnerable to radicalisation and accessible to jihadist and terrorist&nbsp;activities from across the border.&nbsp;

He replied the answer to a written question.&nbsp;

He said that the security and intelligence agencies were aware of the threat of radicalisation in the area and were taking measures to counter it. He added that such radical activities were being closely monitored. 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has cited reports indicating that a radical outfit has been trying to expand its network in regions of Assam and Manipur

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has cited reports indicating that a radical outfit has been trying to expand its network in regions of Assam and Manipur. He said some areas of the northeast are vulnerable to radicalisation and accessible to jihadist and terrorist activities from across the border. He replied the answer to a written question. He said that the security and intelligence agencies were aware of the threat of radicalisation in the area and were taking measures to counter it. He added that such radical activities were being closely monitored.

Areas of Assam-Manipur prone to radicalisation: Government

The much-anticipated first draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published on Sunday where almost 1.9 crore Assam residents have been tagged as &quot;legal&quot;.&nbsp;

Out of the total population of around 3.29 crore in Assam, 1.9 crore have been declared legal while the rest await further stages of verification.&nbsp;

&quot;This is a part draft. It contains 1.9 crore persons, who have been verified till now. The rest of the names are under various stages of verification. As soon as the verification is done, we will come out with another draft,&quot;&nbsp;Registrar General of India (RGI) Sailesh said.&nbsp;

More names will soon be announced, assured NRC State Coordinator Prateek Hajela addressing those whose names have not been included in the list.&nbsp;

&quot;It is a tedious process to verify the names. So there is a possibility that some names within a single family may not be there in the first draft,&quot; said Hajela.

&quot;There is no need to panic as rest of the documents are under verification,&quot; he said.

The next draft will reportedly be out in April and will be completed by 2018 itself, as per guidelines of the supreme court, the Registrar General of India said.

The applications kicked off in May 2015 with a total of 6.5 documents turned in by 69.27 lack residents of Assam.&nbsp;

&quot;The process of accepting complaints will start once the final draft is published as rest of the names are likely to appear in that,&quot; Hajela said.

People can check their names in the first draft at NRC sewa kendras across Assam from 8 am on January 1. They can also check for information online and through SMS services.

The RGI informed that the groundwork for this mammoth exercise began in December 2013 and 40 hearings have taken place in the Supreme Court over the last three years.

Assam, which faced influx from Bangladesh since the early 20th century, is the only state with an NRC, first prepared in 1951.

The state had about 80 lakh residents when the NRC was prepared for the first time.&nbsp;

There have been continuous problems over illegal immigrants living in Assam and issues of identification have been debated multiple times.&nbsp;

A six-year agitation demanding identification and deportation of illegal immigrants was launched by the AASU in 1979.

(With PTI inputs)

The next draft will reportedly be out in April and will be completed by 2018 itself, as per guidelines of the supreme court

The much-anticipated first draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published on Sunday where almost 1.9 crore Assam residents have been tagged as "legal". Out of the total population of around 3.29 crore in Assam, 1.9 crore have been declared legal while the rest await further stages of verification. "This is a part draft. It contains 1.9 crore persons, who have been verified till now. The rest of the names are under various stages of verification. As soon as the verification is done, we will come out with another draft," Registrar General of India (RGI) Sailesh said. More names will soon be announced, assured NRC State Coordinator Prateek Hajela addressing those whose names have not been included in the list. "It is a tedious process to verify the names. So there is a possibility that some names within a single family may not be there in the first draft," said Hajela. "There is no need to panic as rest of the documents are under verification," he said. The next draft will reportedly be out in April and will be completed by 2018 itself, as per guidelines of the supreme court, the Registrar General of India said. The applications kicked off in May 2015 with a total of 6.5 documents turned in by 69.27 lack residents of Assam. "The process of accepting complaints will start once the final draft is published as rest of the names are likely to appear in that," Hajela said. People can check their names in the first draft at NRC sewa kendras across Assam from 8 am on January 1. They can also check for information online and through SMS services. The RGI informed that the groundwork for this mammoth exercise began in December 2013 and 40 hearings have taken place in the Supreme Court over the last three years. Assam, which faced influx from Bangladesh since the early 20th century, is the only state with an NRC, first prepared in 1951. The state had about 80 lakh residents when the NRC was prepared for the first time. There have been continuous problems over illegal immigrants living in Assam and issues of identification have been debated multiple times. A six-year agitation demanding identification and deportation of illegal immigrants was launched by the AASU in 1979. (With PTI inputs)

Assam releases first draft with 1.9 crore names as 'legal' residents

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/fire-breaks-out-in-lower-parel-mumbai-15-dead-27994" target="_blank">Video: Massive fire breaks out at Mumbai&#39;s Kamala Mills, 15 dead</a>

A massive fire broke out at the Kamala Mills compound in Lower Parel, Mumbai early Friday morning killing 15 people and injuring 12.&nbsp;The fire was reported at 12.30 am Friday.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-approval-rating-same-as-obama-in-first-year-at-office-28002">Trump&#39;s approval rating similar to Obama&#39;s first year at office</a>

Rasmussen Reports&#39; poll&#39;s number on Thursday revealed Trump getting an approval rating of 46 per cent, while disapproval rating of 53 per cent. This is similar to what Obama scored during his first year of presidency in 2009. Obama had received an approval rating of 46 per cent while a disapproval rating of 54 per cent.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/ex-soccer-star-king-george-weah-wins-liberias-presidency-28000">Ex-international footballer George Weah is new Liberia president</a>

Former soccer star&nbsp;George&nbsp;Weah&nbsp;has won Liberia&#39;s presidential run-off election and will succeed incumbent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf next month, the country&#39;s first democratic transition in over 70 years.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/vishwananthan-anand-wins-world-rapid-chess-championship-28003" target="_blank">Vishwananthan</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/vishwananthan-anand-wins-world-rapid-chess-championship-28003" target="_blank">&nbsp;Anand wins World Rapid Chess Championship</a>

India&#39;s Vishwanathan Anand won the World Rapid Chess Championship in Riyadh on Thursday.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/assam-tense-ahead-of-citizens-list-targeting-illegal-bangladeshis-27998" target="_blank">Assam tense ahead of citizens&#39; list identifying &#39;illegal Bangladeshis&#39;</a>

Assam has mobilised around 60,000 police and paramilitary troops ahead of the publication of a list of citizens it says will be used to detect and deport illegal immigrants - mainly Muslims - from neighbouring Bangladesh.

Video: Massive fire breaks out at Mumbai's Kamala Mills, 15 dead A massive fire broke out at the Kamala Mills compound in Lower Parel, Mumbai early Friday morning killing 15 people and injuring 12. The fire was reported at 12.30 am Friday. Trump's approval rating similar to Obama's first year at office Rasmussen Reports' poll's number on Thursday revealed Trump getting an approval rating of 46 per cent, while disapproval rating of 53 per cent. This is similar to what Obama scored during his first year of presidency in 2009. Obama had received an approval rating of 46 per cent while a disapproval rating of 54 per cent. Ex-international footballer George Weah is new Liberia president Former soccer star George Weah has won Liberia's presidential run-off election and will succeed incumbent Ellen Johnson Sirleaf next month, the country's first democratic transition in over 70 years. Vishwananthan Anand wins World Rapid Chess Championship India's Vishwanathan Anand won the World Rapid Chess Championship in Riyadh on Thursday. Assam tense ahead of citizens' list identifying 'illegal Bangladeshis' Assam has mobilised around 60,000 police and paramilitary troops ahead of the publication of a list of citizens it says will be used to detect and deport illegal immigrants - mainly Muslims - from neighbouring Bangladesh.

WION Morning News brief, 29 December 2017

&nbsp;Assam has mobilised around 60,000 police and paramilitary troops ahead of the publication of a list of citizens it says will be used to detect and deport illegal immigrants - mainly Muslims - from neighbouring Bangladesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took power in the eastern state of Assam for the first time last year, vowing to act against illegal Muslim residents who take away jobs from local Hindus.

On Sunday the state government will release a draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) after a census carried out for the first time since 1951.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="row">
<div class="article-blockquote">
<div class="col-sm-10 col-sm-offset-1 blockquote-content quoteshare">
<blockquote>
<h5>All those whose names do not figure in the NRC will have to be deported. We&#39;re taking no chances and hence all security measures have been taken,&#39; said Sarma</h5>
</blockquote>
</div>

<div class="col-sm-1 blockquote-content">
<div class="share-blockquote"><a class="twitter popup" href="http://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=All those whose names do not figure in the NRC will have to be deported. We're taking no chances and hence all security measures have been taken,' said Sarma" target="_blank">&nbsp;</a></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqquoteclosemark">&times;</a></div>
</div>
</div>

The exercise could lead to communal tensions in Assam, which has the second highest percentage of Muslims of any Indian state. Muslims leaders have called the NRC a tool to make them stateless, likening themselves to Myanmar&#39;s persecuted Rohingya minority.

&quot;The NRC is being done to identify illegal Bangladeshis residing in Assam,&quot; Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam&#39;s finance minister who is also in charge of the citizenship register, told Reuters. &quot;All those whose names do not figure in the NRC will have to be deported. We&#39;re taking no chances and hence all security measures have been taken.&quot;

Sarma said Hindu Bangladeshis who faced persecution there would be given shelter in India, in line with federal policy.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi had no immediate comment.

Bangladesh&#39;s Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said Dhaka had no knowledge of any plans to deport people. &quot;We didn&#39;t receive any information from the Indian government, neither formally nor informally,&quot; he said.

It is estimated that there are more than 2 million Muslims in Assam who trace their roots to Bangladesh.

To be recognised as Indian citizens, they must be able to produce documents proving that they or their family lived in the country before March 24, 1971.

&quot;My grandparents and my parents were all born in India but today we are finding it difficult to provide documents to support our claims that we are Indians,&quot; said Asiful Rahman, a teacher at an Islamic seminary in a Muslim-majority district of Assam.

&quot;Our parents and grandparents were illiterate and did not keep any legal documents, and for that we are facing the test of proving our Indian nationality now.&quot;

Tens of thousands of people fled to India from Bangladesh during its war of independence from Pakistan in the early 1970s. Most of them settled in Assam, in India&#39;s north-east, and the neighbouring state of West Bengal, where there are similar demands to send back illegal Muslim immigrants.

&#39;Bags packed&#39;

When Modi&#39;s BJP swept to power nationally in 2014, the election was marred by sectarian violence in Assam that killed more than 40 people. During that campaign, Modi told illegal immigrants in states bordering Bangladesh to have their &quot;bags packed&quot; ready to be sent home should he win. (reut.rs/1nt01vI)

Since taking office, meanwhile, the government has been making it easier for Hindus, Buddhists and Christians from Bangladesh and Pakistan to gain citizenship in India.

Proposed changes to the law would mean no Hindu or other minority from those countries who arrived in India before the end of 2016 would be considered illegal immigrants.

Modi&#39;s administration also plans to nearly halve the number of years Hindus and other minorities from the neighbouring countries need for naturalisation to six years, in line with a long-held belief on the religious right that India is the home for all Hindus. (http://bit.ly/2E5fImA)

A pilot project to update the NRC in Assam in 2010, under the previous Congress government, had to be stopped due to what the government called &quot;law and order problems&quot;. The current process is being monitored by the Supreme Court and it could be months or years before the list is finalised.

The Assam government has stepped up security after a senior Muslim leader told a news conference last month that any registration of citizens on the basis of religion would be &quot;devastating&quot; for the country and there could be &quot;unrest&quot;.

&quot;One needs a number of documents to prove the family lineage and nationality,&quot; said Rafiqul Ali, a college student in the Muslim-dominated Barpeta district of Assam. &quot;I know many of my friends and relatives who were unable to submit all the documents required to get names enlisted in the NRC.&quot;

The National Register of Citizens will be released on Sunday

Assam has mobilised around 60,000 police and paramilitary troops ahead of the publication of a list of citizens it says will be used to detect and deport illegal immigrants - mainly Muslims - from neighbouring Bangladesh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took power in the eastern state of Assam for the first time last year, vowing to act against illegal Muslim residents who take away jobs from local Hindus. On Sunday the state government will release a draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) after a census carried out for the first time since 1951. All those whose names do not figure in the NRC will have to be deported. We're taking no chances and hence all security measures have been taken,' said Sarma × The exercise could lead to communal tensions in Assam, which has the second highest percentage of Muslims of any Indian state. Muslims leaders have called the NRC a tool to make them stateless, likening themselves to Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya minority. "The NRC is being done to identify illegal Bangladeshis residing in Assam," Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam's finance minister who is also in charge of the citizenship register, told Reuters. "All those whose names do not figure in the NRC will have to be deported. We're taking no chances and hence all security measures have been taken." Sarma said Hindu Bangladeshis who faced persecution there would be given shelter in India, in line with federal policy. A spokesman for the Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi had no immediate comment. Bangladesh's Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said Dhaka had no knowledge of any plans to deport people. "We didn't receive any information from the Indian government, neither formally nor informally," he said. It is estimated that there are more than 2 million Muslims in Assam who trace their roots to Bangladesh. To be recognised as Indian citizens, they must be able to produce documents proving that they or their family lived in the country before March 24, 1971. "My grandparents and my parents were all born in India but today we are finding it difficult to provide documents to support our claims that we are Indians," said Asiful Rahman, a teacher at an Islamic seminary in a Muslim-majority district of Assam. "Our parents and grandparents were illiterate and did not keep any legal documents, and for that we are facing the test of proving our Indian nationality now." Tens of thousands of people fled to India from Bangladesh during its war of independence from Pakistan in the early 1970s. Most of them settled in Assam, in India's north-east, and the neighbouring state of West Bengal, where there are similar demands to send back illegal Muslim immigrants. 'Bags packed' When Modi's BJP swept to power nationally in 2014, the election was marred by sectarian violence in Assam that killed more than 40 people. During that campaign, Modi told illegal immigrants in states bordering Bangladesh to have their "bags packed" ready to be sent home should he win. (reut.rs/1nt01vI) Since taking office, meanwhile, the government has been making it easier for Hindus, Buddhists and Christians from Bangladesh and Pakistan to gain citizenship in India. Proposed changes to the law would mean no Hindu or other minority from those countries who arrived in India before the end of 2016 would be considered illegal immigrants. Modi's administration also plans to nearly halve the number of years Hindus and other minorities from the neighbouring countries need for naturalisation to six years, in line with a long-held belief on the religious right that India is the home for all Hindus. (http://bit.ly/2E5fImA) A pilot project to update the NRC in Assam in 2010, under the previous Congress government, had to be stopped due to what the government called "law and order problems". The current process is being monitored by the Supreme Court and it could be months or years before the list is finalised. The Assam government has stepped up security after a senior Muslim leader told a news conference last month that any registration of citizens on the basis of religion would be "devastating" for the country and there could be "unrest". "One needs a number of documents to prove the family lineage and nationality," said Rafiqul Ali, a college student in the Muslim-dominated Barpeta district of Assam. "I know many of my friends and relatives who were unable to submit all the documents required to get names enlisted in the NRC."

Assam tense ahead of citizens' list identifying 'illegal Bangladeshis'

&lsquo;Marauding elephants&rsquo;, &lsquo;wreaking havoc&rsquo;, &lsquo;trampling&rsquo;, &lsquo;destroying&rsquo;; these are some of the expletives used to refer to elephants in the Indian mainstream media. But what changed over the past decade which turned elephants, also worshipped as Lord Ganesha into this destructive force?&nbsp;

&nbsp;

There are about 27000 wild elephants in India as per the recently concluded elephant population estimation. A significant proportion of this population frequently used human-use areas in the country. The reasons for the presence of elephants in human-use areas are many, from highly fragmented forests to availability of easy forage in human settlements like crops and orchards. However, the main reason is that elephants need to be continuously on the move.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

An adult elephant can consume up to 200 kg of wild fodder per day, this implies that if elephants are forced to be confined to a small forest fragment, they will soon eat off the entire forest. Hence, nature has made them highly mobile species which move from one forest patch to another in search of food so that the forests also get time to regenerate. In the process, the forest tree seeds also get a free lift to be sowed in other regions after moving through the gut of the animals.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

This behavior of elephants does not create a problem when the animals reside in contiguous forest patches such as the Western Ghats, but when forests are fragmented; the elephants often pass through human-use areas thereby giving rise to the &lsquo;conflict&rsquo; paradigm.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

We, as humans are habituated to associate elephants and other &lsquo;wild&rsquo; animals with the wilderness. However, these animals are oblivious to our boundaries and this disparity between where we think wild animals should be and where they are actually found has lead to considerable conflicts commonly known as &lsquo;man-animal conflict&rsquo; in popular literature.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Elephants are large-bodied animals, and when they are present in human-use areas, damages to both human and elephants occur. Especially, when we are not expecting to find and manage elephants in our backyards, paddy fields and orchards. The most extreme manifestations of elephants in human spaces are human and elephant deaths. Such incidents cause widespread fear and concern among the general public, conservation practitioners, media, forest departments and all stakeholders.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

About 400 people die in India due to elephant attacks each year, the number of injuries are often much higher. Even though the number of deaths is minuscule when compared to other sources of accidental human mortality in India, such incidents due to attacks of elephants evoke strong emotions and need to be urgently minimised to ensure support for elephant conservation in India.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Remarkably, most of the human fatalities in India due to elephants do not occur where elephants numbers are high. For example, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh together have less than 3000 elephants but account for the majority of the human fatalities in India. Not surprisingly, these three states have highly fragmented forests and high density of human population. These states also have a high population of tribal within the elephant ranges who are prone to chronic alcoholism and brewing of country liquors (World Health Organization, Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health, 2014). However, there is little published evidence to link alcoholism with elephant caused mortality but my ongoing studies in northern Bengal points to the fact that alcohol can play an important role in exacerbating conflict leading to human deaths.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

In Jharkhand, forest officials have been quick to note this relation and the brewing of country liquor has been banned in several elephant range areas. This is to prevent human casualties as the elephants are lured by this liquor and moreover, inebriated people often chase elephants out of bravado and die in the process. Crowds of people often throng to see elephants in many places which often cause untoward incidents as well. Also, a large proportion of human fatalities occur when people are trying to protect their crops and while chasing away elephants, especially in West Bengal and Odisha. Such incidents create significant management problems.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The management of elephants and the &lsquo;conflict&rsquo; is entrusted to the Forest Departments and this has also compromised timely and effective management of the problem. Forest Department officials are experts in managing forests and wildlife in forest areas, but their training in managing animals in human-use areas is limited.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Moreover, it is often more effective to manage people rather than the animals in such situations. Steps such as crowd control, crop protection and human safety also come under the preview of the Police Department, Agriculture Department, as well as the Health Department, but the blame is mostly shouldered by respective Forest Departments when any negative incidents occur. &nbsp;

&nbsp;

The focus needs to shift from reactive measures, such as compensation and elephant removals to proactive measures, including crop protection, elephant movement monitoring and information broadcasting as well as well-trained staff at the ground level who will be at the frontline to ensure safe passage to elephants between forests and minimal public interference in such activities. &nbsp;

&nbsp;

Local inhabitants who face losses such as crop damage and economic losses should be compensated effectively and adequately.&nbsp; Ensuring necessary precautions to prevent elephant damage are already in place. Media has to play a key role in changing the discourse from blaming certain agencies and animals to focus on the unique opportunities that India presents to the world in protecting endangered species even in human-use landscapes. Minimising damages to local people needs to be the immediate priority for ensuring peaceful cohabitation between people and elephants in the diverse elephant landscapes in the country.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

About 400 people die in India due to elephant attacks each year, the number of injuries are often much higher.

‘Marauding elephants’, ‘wreaking havoc’, ‘trampling’, ‘destroying’; these are some of the expletives used to refer to elephants in the Indian mainstream media. But what changed over the past decade which turned elephants, also worshipped as Lord Ganesha into this destructive force? There are about 27000 wild elephants in India as per the recently concluded elephant population estimation. A significant proportion of this population frequently used human-use areas in the country. The reasons for the presence of elephants in human-use areas are many, from highly fragmented forests to availability of easy forage in human settlements like crops and orchards. However, the main reason is that elephants need to be continuously on the move. An adult elephant can consume up to 200 kg of wild fodder per day, this implies that if elephants are forced to be confined to a small forest fragment, they will soon eat off the entire forest. Hence, nature has made them highly mobile species which move from one forest patch to another in search of food so that the forests also get time to regenerate. In the process, the forest tree seeds also get a free lift to be sowed in other regions after moving through the gut of the animals. This behavior of elephants does not create a problem when the animals reside in contiguous forest patches such as the Western Ghats, but when forests are fragmented; the elephants often pass through human-use areas thereby giving rise to the ‘conflict’ paradigm. We, as humans are habituated to associate elephants and other ‘wild’ animals with the wilderness. However, these animals are oblivious to our boundaries and this disparity between where we think wild animals should be and where they are actually found has lead to considerable conflicts commonly known as ‘man-animal conflict’ in popular literature. Elephants are large-bodied animals, and when they are present in human-use areas, damages to both human and elephants occur. Especially, when we are not expecting to find and manage elephants in our backyards, paddy fields and orchards. The most extreme manifestations of elephants in human spaces are human and elephant deaths. Such incidents cause widespread fear and concern among the general public, conservation practitioners, media, forest departments and all stakeholders. About 400 people die in India due to elephant attacks each year, the number of injuries are often much higher. Even though the number of deaths is minuscule when compared to other sources of accidental human mortality in India, such incidents due to attacks of elephants evoke strong emotions and need to be urgently minimised to ensure support for elephant conservation in India. Remarkably, most of the human fatalities in India due to elephants do not occur where elephants numbers are high. For example, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh together have less than 3000 elephants but account for the majority of the human fatalities in India. Not surprisingly, these three states have highly fragmented forests and high density of human population. These states also have a high population of tribal within the elephant ranges who are prone to chronic alcoholism and brewing of country liquors (World Health Organization, Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health, 2014). However, there is little published evidence to link alcoholism with elephant caused mortality but my ongoing studies in northern Bengal points to the fact that alcohol can play an important role in exacerbating conflict leading to human deaths. In Jharkhand, forest officials have been quick to note this relation and the brewing of country liquor has been banned in several elephant range areas. This is to prevent human casualties as the elephants are lured by this liquor and moreover, inebriated people often chase elephants out of bravado and die in the process. Crowds of people often throng to see elephants in many places which often cause untoward incidents as well. Also, a large proportion of human fatalities occur when people are trying to protect their crops and while chasing away elephants, especially in West Bengal and Odisha. Such incidents create significant management problems. The management of elephants and the ‘conflict’ is entrusted to the Forest Departments and this has also compromised timely and effective management of the problem. Forest Department officials are experts in managing forests and wildlife in forest areas, but their training in managing animals in human-use areas is limited. Moreover, it is often more effective to manage people rather than the animals in such situations. Steps such as crowd control, crop protection and human safety also come under the preview of the Police Department, Agriculture Department, as well as the Health Department, but the blame is mostly shouldered by respective Forest Departments when any negative incidents occur. The focus needs to shift from reactive measures, such as compensation and elephant removals to proactive measures, including crop protection, elephant movement monitoring and information broadcasting as well as well-trained staff at the ground level who will be at the frontline to ensure safe passage to elephants between forests and minimal public interference in such activities. Local inhabitants who face losses such as crop damage and economic losses should be compensated effectively and adequately. Ensuring necessary precautions to prevent elephant damage are already in place. Media has to play a key role in changing the discourse from blaming certain agencies and animals to focus on the unique opportunities that India presents to the world in protecting endangered species even in human-use landscapes. Minimising damages to local people needs to be the immediate priority for ensuring peaceful cohabitation between people and elephants in the diverse elephant landscapes in the country. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL).

Opinion: When the God is portrayed as an enemy

Arunachal Pradesh was recently in the headlines when <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/siang-river-in-arunachal-turns-black-mp-suspects-chinas-involvement-25440">Siang river</a> in Pasighat was reported to have turned black.

WION has gathered that Ninong Ering, Congress MP from the east Constituency has already written to PM Modi seeking his intervention on the issue.

Ering believes the change in water quality is a result of the construction of a 10,000-kilometer tunnel in China which is diverting water from Siang to Xinjiang province of the Taklamakan desert. However, China has denied all the claims.

&#39;The reason for the river getting dirty is unknown. I have already put questions for discussions in Parliament under rule 377. But since it is not in session, I am requesting you to use your good office to seek the reason of the river being muddy in this season when the water is crystal clear,&#39; Ering&#39;s letter read.

Ering has also put a request with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Water Resources ministry.&nbsp;

&#39;Our Siang river is all muddy since two months. It is extremely unusual and dangerous for the river to have turned black. We want serious action to be taken on the issue and an enquiry on the same,&quot;&nbsp;Ering told WION.

In the meanwhile, the situation has created an uproar in the local community. People have taken to the streets to demand a speedy resolution to the matter.&nbsp;

&#39;It was never muddy like this. Fish are dying, no fishermen are coming here as if there is some kind of poisoning going on. I will request the government of India not to ignore this anymore. We have heard that there is some diversion happening. Siang river has reduced in density, the impact is being seen from the beginning of this month. There are no birds around, you cannot eat the fish from the river,&#39; Yalem Taga Burang, President, Adi Baane Kebang Women Wing, East Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh told WION.&nbsp;

Siang originally starts its course from Tibet -- where it is called the Yarlung Tsangpo -- and travels down to Arunachal Pradesh from where it flows to Assam and comes to be known as the Brahmaputra. It is now reported that the water downstream of the river <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/now-assams-brahmaputra-river-also-turns-black-report-25476">Brahmaputra in Assam has also changed to black</a>.

Siang&#39;s water has turned black with massive amounts of mud and cement. A government source shared that the change of colour to black is due to slag.

Reportedly, the government has been monitoring the situation since November 18 and is likely to involve departments like the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for further investigations.&nbsp;

In a recent media interaction today, Ering shared that Siang&#39;s water is turning clayey. &#39;This is a season of migratory birds and none can be seen here. No fishermen in sight,&#39; noted Ering. He went on to&nbsp;explains the geography of the region to bring to notice how Siang&#39;s present condition is affecting the environment of the region.

(With inputs from PTI)&nbsp;

Ninong Ering, Congress MP from the east Constituency here has reportedly written to PM Modi seeking his intervention on the issue.

Arunachal Pradesh was recently in the headlines when Siang river in Pasighat was reported to have turned black. WION has gathered that Ninong Ering, Congress MP from the east Constituency has already written to PM Modi seeking his intervention on the issue. Ering believes the change in water quality is a result of the construction of a 10,000-kilometer tunnel in China which is diverting water from Siang to Xinjiang province of the Taklamakan desert. However, China has denied all the claims. 'The reason for the river getting dirty is unknown. I have already put questions for discussions in Parliament under rule 377. But since it is not in session, I am requesting you to use your good office to seek the reason of the river being muddy in this season when the water is crystal clear,' Ering's letter read. Ering has also put a request with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Water Resources ministry. 'Our Siang river is all muddy since two months. It is extremely unusual and dangerous for the river to have turned black. We want serious action to be taken on the issue and an enquiry on the same," Ering told WION. In the meanwhile, the situation has created an uproar in the local community. People have taken to the streets to demand a speedy resolution to the matter. 'It was never muddy like this. Fish are dying, no fishermen are coming here as if there is some kind of poisoning going on. I will request the government of India not to ignore this anymore. We have heard that there is some diversion happening. Siang river has reduced in density, the impact is being seen from the beginning of this month. There are no birds around, you cannot eat the fish from the river,' Yalem Taga Burang, President, Adi Baane Kebang Women Wing, East Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh told WION. Siang originally starts its course from Tibet -- where it is called the Yarlung Tsangpo -- and travels down to Arunachal Pradesh from where it flows to Assam and comes to be known as the Brahmaputra. It is now reported that the water downstream of the river Brahmaputra in Assam has also changed to black. Siang's water has turned black with massive amounts of mud and cement. A government source shared that the change of colour to black is due to slag. Reportedly, the government has been monitoring the situation since November 18 and is likely to involve departments like the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for further investigations. In a recent media interaction today, Ering shared that Siang's water is turning clayey. 'This is a season of migratory birds and none can be seen here. No fishermen in sight,' noted Ering. He went on to explains the geography of the region to bring to notice how Siang's present condition is affecting the environment of the region. (With inputs from PTI)

Watch: Locals enraged as Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh turns black

Terrorists ambushed 4 Assam Regiment in Manipur on Monday.

The incident occurred in Chandel&#39;s Sajik Tampak area.

One terrorist was killed in the encounter with two Army personnel injured.

Firing is still underway.

One terrorist was killed in the encounter with two Army personnel injured.

Terrorists ambushed 4 Assam Regiment in Manipur on Monday. The incident occurred in Chandel's Sajik Tampak area. One terrorist was killed in the encounter with two Army personnel injured. Firing is still underway.

Terrorists ambush Assam Regiment soldiers in Manipur

Two Assam Rifles jawans were killed and six injured when a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) exploded early this morning at Chandel Town in Manipur&#39;s Chandel district, police said.

The IED exploded when an Assam Rifles team was patrolling Maha Mani village of Chandel Town, about 64 km from the state capital.

One jawan died on the spot while seven others were injured in the blast. An injured jawan succumbed to injuries on way to hospital, the police said.

The deceased were identified as riflemen Indra Singh and Sohan Lan. The injured were N Shyam Kumar, S Sarkar, Tirendra Nath Das, Ram Govind Singh, Nirmal Roy and Lalnunpuia, they said.

&nbsp;

One jawan died on the spot while seven others were injured in the blast. An injured jawan succumbed to injuries on way to hospital, the police said

Two Assam Rifles jawans were killed and six injured when a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) exploded early this morning at Chandel Town in Manipur's Chandel district, police said. The IED exploded when an Assam Rifles team was patrolling Maha Mani village of Chandel Town, about 64 km from the state capital. One jawan died on the spot while seven others were injured in the blast. An injured jawan succumbed to injuries on way to hospital, the police said. The deceased were identified as riflemen Indra Singh and Sohan Lan. The injured were N Shyam Kumar, S Sarkar, Tirendra Nath Das, Ram Govind Singh, Nirmal Roy and Lalnunpuia, they said.

Two Assam Rifles jawans killed, six injured in IED explosion

President Ram Nath Kovind appointed five new governors on Saturday with Brig&nbsp;(Dr) BD Mishra (Retd) taking over as governor of Arunachal Pradesh.

Banwarilal Purohit was appointed governor of Tamil Nadu, and Satya Pal Malik as governor of Bihar.

Professor Jagdish Mukhi was appointed governor of Assam, and Ganga Prasad governor of Meghalaya.&nbsp;

In addition, Admiral (Retd) DK Joshi was made lieutenant governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.&nbsp;

In addition, Admiral (Retd) DK Joshi was made LG of Andaman and Nicobar

President Ram Nath Kovind appointed five new governors on Saturday with Brig (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd) taking over as governor of Arunachal Pradesh. Banwarilal Purohit was appointed governor of Tamil Nadu, and Satya Pal Malik as governor of Bihar. Professor Jagdish Mukhi was appointed governor of Assam, and Ganga Prasad governor of Meghalaya. In addition, Admiral (Retd) DK Joshi was made lieutenant governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Five states get new governors

Two suspects arrested Monday in Assam&#39;s jamindar Terrang village. Several weapons including rifles and grenades were recovered from them.

Zona Singh Rongpi suspected as a member of terrorist group Karbi&#39;s People&#39;s Liberation Tiger(KPLT) was arrested along with a link man Manjeet Bhumij.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/two-babbar-khalsa-terrorists-arrested-in-up-20384" target="_blank">Also Read:&nbsp;Babbar Khalsa terrorists arrested in Uttar Pradesh</a>

The suspects were arrested in a joint operation carried by 20 Bn CRPF, the civil police and a Special Task Force in Assam&#39;s Terrang.&nbsp;

The recoveries included:&nbsp; 
Rifle AK-56-1, body no.19095741, two Grenades, 5.56 Amn (135 in number), 7.62 Amn (150 in number), AK 56 Mag (2 in number), Mag X95 (4 in number), and one Khukri.

The suspects held were recovered with weapons and grenade

Two suspects arrested Monday in Assam's jamindar Terrang village. Several weapons including rifles and grenades were recovered from them. Zona Singh Rongpi suspected as a member of terrorist group Karbi's People's Liberation Tiger(KPLT) was arrested along with a link man Manjeet Bhumij. Also Read: Babbar Khalsa terrorists arrested in Uttar Pradesh The suspects were arrested in a joint operation carried by 20 Bn CRPF, the civil police and a Special Task Force in Assam's Terrang. The recoveries included: Rifle AK-56-1, body no.19095741, two Grenades, 5.56 Amn (135 in number), 7.62 Amn (150 in number), AK 56 Mag (2 in number), Mag X95 (4 in number), and one Khukri.

Suspects arrested in Assams's Terrang village

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today said that the state will give assistance of Rs five crore each to <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/bihar-flood-toll-reaches-253-126-crore-affected-19260">flood-hit Bihar</a> and Assam. 
&quot;A large number of people are affected by floods in Bihar and Assam. Jharkhand is with the people of these two states at this hour. Jharkhand will give assistance of Rs five crore to each of the two states,? an official release said quoting Das. 
The people of Jharkhand are with the people of Bihar and Assam, he said. 
Jharkhand had been part of Bihar part and the people of Jharkhand are in that state. People from Jharkhand have also gone to Assam for employment, he said. 
Das said that it is the duty of everyone to help during distress and the basic mantra of Prime Minister Narendra Modi?s Team India is also this. At this hour of distress all the people and states should help the affected states.

Jharkhand will give assistance of Rs five crore to each of the two states

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today said that the state will give assistance of Rs five crore each to flood-hit Bihar and Assam. "A large number of people are affected by floods in Bihar and Assam. Jharkhand is with the people of these two states at this hour. Jharkhand will give assistance of Rs five crore to each of the two states,? an official release said quoting Das. The people of Jharkhand are with the people of Bihar and Assam, he said. Jharkhand had been part of Bihar part and the people of Jharkhand are in that state. People from Jharkhand have also gone to Assam for employment, he said. Das said that it is the duty of everyone to help during distress and the basic mantra of Prime Minister Narendra Modi?s Team India is also this. At this hour of distress all the people and states should help the affected states.

Jharkhand's CM Raghubar Das to help flood-hit states, Assam and Bihar

Former union minister and a one-time heavyweight Congress leader Santosh Mohan Dev died at a hospital here this morning following a prolonged illness, family sources said.

He was 86 and is survived by his former legislator wife Bithika Dev and four daughters, including Congress MP from Silchar Sushmita Dev.

He was ailing for long and was admitted recently to a private hospital after he developed pneumonia. He breathed his last there at 6.06 am today.

Dev was Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise in the first UPA government led by Dr Manmohan Singh.

He was elected to the Lok Sabha seven times since 1980 -- five times from Silchar and twice from Tripura.

Dev was also a popular sports events organiser.&nbsp;

Dev was union minister for heavy industries and public enterprise in the first UPA government led by Dr Manmohan Singh

Former union minister and a one-time heavyweight Congress leader Santosh Mohan Dev died at a hospital here this morning following a prolonged illness, family sources said. He was 86 and is survived by his former legislator wife Bithika Dev and four daughters, including Congress MP from Silchar Sushmita Dev. He was ailing for long and was admitted recently to a private hospital after he developed pneumonia. He breathed his last there at 6.06 am today. Dev was Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise in the first UPA government led by Dr Manmohan Singh. He was elected to the Lok Sabha seven times since 1980 -- five times from Silchar and twice from Tripura. Dev was also a popular sports events organiser.

Former union minister Santosh Mohan Dev dead at 86

The Indian Air Force today ordered a court of inquiry into the accident involving a Sukhoi jet&nbsp;whose wreckage was found today 60 km from Tezpur in India&#39;s north-eastern state Assam.

The Su-30 MKI jet, with two pilots on board, had gone missing on Tuesday shortly after taking off from the Tezpur Salonibari air force station on a routine training sortie.

&quot;A court of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident,&quot; said IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Anupam Banerjee.

The wreckage of the jet has been found in the thick forest about 60 km from Tezpur where it lost radar contact with the base.

&quot;The wreckage was located today and ground parties are standing by to be airlifted to the crash site as the area is totally inaccessible,&quot; said Banerjee

&quot;Search for flight data recorder and missing crew will be perused by the ground parties after they reach the crash site,&quot; he added.

Banerjee said search teams from the Army are attempting to reach the crash site by trekking cross country, adding that their progress is hampered due to bad weather, thick vegetation and steep gradient of the terrain.

The Su-30 jet had gone off the radar and lost radio contact about 1110 hours on Tuesday when aircraft was about 60 km from Tezpur.

The aircraft was on a routine training mission as part of a two-aircraft formation. A massive search operation was launched hours after the jet went missing.

However, incessant rain and dense clouds had hampered the search operations in air and on the ground.

(PTI)

The Indian Air Force ordered a court of inquiry into the accident involving a Sukhoi jet whose wreckage was found in Assam.

The Indian Air Force today ordered a court of inquiry into the accident involving a Sukhoi jet whose wreckage was found today 60 km from Tezpur in India's north-eastern state Assam. The Su-30 MKI jet, with two pilots on board, had gone missing on Tuesday shortly after taking off from the Tezpur Salonibari air force station on a routine training sortie. "A court of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident," said IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Anupam Banerjee. The wreckage of the jet has been found in the thick forest about 60 km from Tezpur where it lost radar contact with the base. "The wreckage was located today and ground parties are standing by to be airlifted to the crash site as the area is totally inaccessible," said Banerjee "Search for flight data recorder and missing crew will be perused by the ground parties after they reach the crash site," he added. Banerjee said search teams from the Army are attempting to reach the crash site by trekking cross country, adding that their progress is hampered due to bad weather, thick vegetation and steep gradient of the terrain. The Su-30 jet had gone off the radar and lost radio contact about 1110 hours on Tuesday when aircraft was about 60 km from Tezpur. The aircraft was on a routine training mission as part of a two-aircraft formation. A massive search operation was launched hours after the jet went missing. However, incessant rain and dense clouds had hampered the search operations in air and on the ground. (PTI)

IAF orders court of inquiry into Sukhoi jet crash

The wreckage of the IAF Sukhoi fighter jet that went missing with two crew members on board was found today after three days of search operations.

The Sukhoi jet had gone missing after taking off from the Tezpur Salonibari Air Force station in Assam at 10:30 am&nbsp;on Tuesday on a routine training sortie.

Defence spokesperson, Tezpur 4 Corps, Lt Col Sombit Ghosh told PTI that the wreckage of the missing SU-30 jet was found close to the last known position of the aircraft, which was 60 kilometres&nbsp;north-west of Tezpur in Assam&#39;s Sonitpur district.

&quot;As of now, weather is bad and the place has dense foliage and members of the search operation are yet to reach the spot&quot;, he said. 
The two-seater SU-30 MKI aircraft had gone missing after taking off from Tezpur airbase of Salonibari and lost radar and radio contact on May 23 at around 11.10 am.

Unconfirmed reports said the fighter plane had on board one squadron leader and a crew member but the IAF has not yet released any name or rank of the two members in the missing plane.

The country&#39;s front line aircraft SU-30 MKI was inducted in Tezpur air base during the tenure of former IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal PK Barbora on June 15, 2009.

At present Tezpur has a strength of two squadrons of SU-30 aircraft with one squadron comprising 12 to 16 aircraft.

(PTI)

The Sukhoi jet had gone missing after taking off from the Tezpur Salonibari Air Force station on Tuesday

The wreckage of the IAF Sukhoi fighter jet that went missing with two crew members on board was found today after three days of search operations. The Sukhoi jet had gone missing after taking off from the Tezpur Salonibari Air Force station in Assam at 10:30 am on Tuesday on a routine training sortie. Defence spokesperson, Tezpur 4 Corps, Lt Col Sombit Ghosh told PTI that the wreckage of the missing SU-30 jet was found close to the last known position of the aircraft, which was 60 kilometres north-west of Tezpur in Assam's Sonitpur district. "As of now, weather is bad and the place has dense foliage and members of the search operation are yet to reach the spot", he said. The two-seater SU-30 MKI aircraft had gone missing after taking off from Tezpur airbase of Salonibari and lost radar and radio contact on May 23 at around 11.10 am. Unconfirmed reports said the fighter plane had on board one squadron leader and a crew member but the IAF has not yet released any name or rank of the two members in the missing plane. The country's front line aircraft SU-30 MKI was inducted in Tezpur air base during the tenure of former IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal PK Barbora on June 15, 2009. At present Tezpur has a strength of two squadrons of SU-30 aircraft with one squadron comprising 12 to 16 aircraft. (PTI)

Wreckage of missing Sukhoi-30 jet fighter found in Assam

The Indian government&nbsp;has declared the entire state of Assam as a &quot;disturbed&quot; area under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act -- the AFSPA -- for three more months, citing various violent activities by insurgent groups ULFA, NDFB and others.

In a gazette notification, the Home Ministry said the entire Assam, besides bordering areas of Meghalaya, have been declared &quot;disturbed&quot; under the AFSPA for three months with effect from May 3.

The ministry said there were 75 incidents of violence in Assam in 2016 in which 33 people, including four security personnel, were killed and 14 others were abducted. 
 
Besides, there were nine violent incidents in the state in which four people, including two security personnel, were killed in 2017. 
 
The violence were perpetrated by insurgent groups like ULFA, NDFB and others, the ministry said. 
 
The AFSPA has been continuing in Assam since November 1990. 
 
In another gazette notification, the ministry declared three districts of Arunachal Pradesh - Tirap, Changlang and Longding - besides areas falling under 16 police stations bordering Assam as &quot;disturbed&quot; area under the AFSPA for three more months. 
 
The home ministry cited the continuing violence perpetrated by NSCN(IM), NSCN(K), ULFA, NDFB and others as the reason for enforcing the AFSPA for three months beyond May 4. 
 
The AFSPA has been under force in the three Arunachal Pradesh districts since January 2016.

(PTI)

&nbsp;

The Armed Forces (Special Powers Act) has been continuing in Assam since November 1990

The Indian government has declared the entire state of Assam as a "disturbed" area under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act -- the AFSPA -- for three more months, citing various violent activities by insurgent groups ULFA, NDFB and others. In a gazette notification, the Home Ministry said the entire Assam, besides bordering areas of Meghalaya, have been declared "disturbed" under the AFSPA for three months with effect from May 3. The ministry said there were 75 incidents of violence in Assam in 2016 in which 33 people, including four security personnel, were killed and 14 others were abducted. Besides, there were nine violent incidents in the state in which four people, including two security personnel, were killed in 2017. The violence were perpetrated by insurgent groups like ULFA, NDFB and others, the ministry said. The AFSPA has been continuing in Assam since November 1990. In another gazette notification, the ministry declared three districts of Arunachal Pradesh - Tirap, Changlang and Longding - besides areas falling under 16 police stations bordering Assam as "disturbed" area under the AFSPA for three more months. The home ministry cited the continuing violence perpetrated by NSCN(IM), NSCN(K), ULFA, NDFB and others as the reason for enforcing the AFSPA for three months beyond May 4. The AFSPA has been under force in the three Arunachal Pradesh districts since January 2016. (PTI)

Indian government declares entire state of Assam as 'disturbed' area under AFSPA for three more months

Indian archer&nbsp;Gohela Boro, from the state of Assam, is suffering from a mysterious illness since last November. Sadly,&nbsp;no support has come from the State or Centre. She has in all&nbsp;won around 72 medals in various national-, state- and district-level archery competitions.&nbsp;

After her health suddenly deteriorated in November she&nbsp;was advised to consult doctors in the departments of rheumatology and clinical immunology, either in AIIMS, Delhi, or the Apollo Hospital in Chennai. But the family couldn&rsquo;t afford either&nbsp;hospital,&nbsp;and Boro is currently battling for her life at her residence.

<iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="315" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FWIONews%2Fvideos%2Fvb.451369008407073%2F631532770390695%2F%3Ftype%3D3&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" width="560"></iframe>

Department of Rheumatology &amp; Clinical Immunology deals with arthritis and other connective tissue disorders or autoimmune disorders.

Recently, the issue came to light on social media where many started spreading her story asking for people to contribute for her medical expenses.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi">@narendramodi</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/himantabiswa">@himantabiswa</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/sarbanandsonwal">@sarbanandsonwal</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/BJP4India">@BJP4India</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PMOIndia">@PMOIndia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JPNadda">@JPNadda</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/VijayGoelBJP">@VijayGoelBJP</a> Contact no of Gohela&#39; family member-8723067757 <a href="https://t.co/wAbWjeSVu7">pic.twitter.com/wAbWjeSVu7</a>
&mdash; Harsh S Kaushik (@HarshSKaushik2) <a href="https://twitter.com/HarshSKaushik2/status/849507539897155584">April 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Hope for better treatment of Archer Gohela Boro <a href="https://t.co/3RKX8r3jbm">https://t.co/3RKX8r3jbm</a> <a href="https://t.co/7tZicM44Fz">pic.twitter.com/7tZicM44Fz</a>
&mdash; North East India???? (@NorthEast8India) <a href="https://twitter.com/NorthEast8India/status/849840619920818176">April 6, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/himantabiswa">@himantabiswa</a> Sir Ms Gohela Boro Archery Champion in kokrajhar is suffering unknown deseae plz look in to the matter.Thanx
&mdash; commando Force (@22222cw33) <a href="https://twitter.com/22222cw33/status/849972267618643968">April 6, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi">@narendramodi</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JPNadda">@JPNadda</a> Pls help Gohela Boro, a national level archer. She is unable to afford her treatment. Regards from the core of heart.
&mdash; rahul ripu bhat (@rahulriPUbhat) <a href="https://twitter.com/rahulriPUbhat/status/850261562635853824">April 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

Her friends and family are saddened at her plight and one&nbsp;was&nbsp;quoted by a local newspaper,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.guwahatiplus.com/page/news-the-story-of-assam-s-national-level-archer-who-is-struggling-with-life" target="_blank">Guwahati Plus</a>, as&nbsp;saying:&nbsp;&ldquo;It is very shameful that even when there are hundreds of government hospitals across the state, this talented sportsperson, who brought glory to Assam, has to suffer inhuman conditions because no one comes to her rescue. Gohela stands as a symbol of our pride, our talent and our dignity. The government must come forward to help before her health deteriorates further.&rdquo;

Gohela Boro hails from the New Amguri village in Kokrajhar, Assam. She became a household name after she won several competitions in archery. She&nbsp;joined the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Kokrajhar in 2008.&nbsp;

(WION)

Gohela Boro hails from Assam and has won 72 medals in various competitions. She suffered a mysterious illness and can't pay for treatment

Indian archer Gohela Boro, from the state of Assam, is suffering from a mysterious illness since last November. Sadly, no support has come from the State or Centre. She has in all won around 72 medals in various national-, state- and district-level archery competitions. After her health suddenly deteriorated in November she was advised to consult doctors in the departments of rheumatology and clinical immunology, either in AIIMS, Delhi, or the Apollo Hospital in Chennai. But the family couldn’t afford either hospital, and Boro is currently battling for her life at her residence. Department of Rheumatology & Clinical Immunology deals with arthritis and other connective tissue disorders or autoimmune disorders. Recently, the issue came to light on social media where many started spreading her story asking for people to contribute for her medical expenses. @narendramodi @himantabiswa @sarbanandsonwal @BJP4India @PMOIndia @JPNadda @VijayGoelBJP Contact no of Gohela' family member-8723067757 pic.twitter.com/wAbWjeSVu7 — Harsh S Kaushik (@HarshSKaushik2) April 5, 2017 × Hope for better treatment of Archer Gohela Boro https://t.co/3RKX8r3jbm pic.twitter.com/7tZicM44Fz — North East India???? (@NorthEast8India) April 6, 2017 × @himantabiswa Sir Ms Gohela Boro Archery Champion in kokrajhar is suffering unknown deseae plz look in to the matter.Thanx — commando Force (@22222cw33) April 6, 2017 × @narendramodi @JPNadda Pls help Gohela Boro, a national level archer. She is unable to afford her treatment. Regards from the core of heart. — rahul ripu bhat (@rahulriPUbhat) April 7, 2017 × Her friends and family are saddened at her plight and one was quoted by a local newspaper, Guwahati Plus, as saying: “It is very shameful that even when there are hundreds of government hospitals across the state, this talented sportsperson, who brought glory to Assam, has to suffer inhuman conditions because no one comes to her rescue. Gohela stands as a symbol of our pride, our talent and our dignity. The government must come forward to help before her health deteriorates further.” Gohela Boro hails from the New Amguri village in Kokrajhar, Assam. She became a household name after she won several competitions in archery. She joined the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Kokrajhar in 2008. (WION)

Indian national-level archer battling for her life without government support

The biggest river festival of India, Namami Brahmaputra, begins in 21 districts of Assam today.

President Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the festival on the banks of the river, which is considered country&#39;s only male river.

Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Assam Governor Banwarilal Purohit and Arunachal Pradesh Governor PB Acharya and Chief Ministers of the states will also attend the inaugural ceremony.

Various cultural programmes, traditional sports, Brahmaputra Aarti, exhibition, film shows, seminars and competitions will be the part of the five-day festival.

Spiritual leader Dalai Lama and several Union Ministers will also attend the festival.

Guwahati has got a new look for the festival. Big banners and hoardings have been put up across the city welcoming all to the event.

This festival is likely to give a boost to the investment and tourism prospect in the state. Security has been beefed up in and around Guwahati ahead of the visit of the President and Dalai Lama.

(ANI)

Spiritual leader Dalai Lama and various union ministers will also attend the festival

The biggest river festival of India, Namami Brahmaputra, begins in 21 districts of Assam today. President Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the festival on the banks of the river, which is considered country's only male river. Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Assam Governor Banwarilal Purohit and Arunachal Pradesh Governor PB Acharya and Chief Ministers of the states will also attend the inaugural ceremony. Various cultural programmes, traditional sports, Brahmaputra Aarti, exhibition, film shows, seminars and competitions will be the part of the five-day festival. Spiritual leader Dalai Lama and several Union Ministers will also attend the festival. Guwahati has got a new look for the festival. Big banners and hoardings have been put up across the city welcoming all to the event. This festival is likely to give a boost to the investment and tourism prospect in the state. Security has been beefed up in and around Guwahati ahead of the visit of the President and Dalai Lama. (ANI)

President Pranab Mukherjee to inaugurate Namami Brahmaputra festival

Several clerics have issued a &quot;fatwa&quot;&nbsp;against reality TV singing star Nahid Afrin asking her to stop performing in public.

According to reports, the &quot;fatwa&quot;&nbsp;has been issued against her keeping in view an upcoming event which is close to a mosque and a graveyard. The clerics have announced to boycott her programme to be held in Assam on March 25. The clerics have also ordered the singer&nbsp;to stop performing in public.

Singer Nahid Afrin immediately hit back declaring, &quot;I was broken completely after hearing about the &quot;fatwa&quot;. But I am not going to stop singing. I have received hundreds of calls and messages from the people of Assam and different organisations supporting me.&quot;

Afrin was the runner-up in the popular television show &quot;Indian Idol Junior&quot; in 2015.

Her stand against the clerics immediately set social media on fire with several people hailing her decision.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
After getting fatwa from 46 mullahs in Assam,16 yrs old Nahid Afrin said she&#39;ll never bow down and will never leave singing. Bravo girl!
&mdash; taslima nasreen (@taslimanasreen) <a href="https://twitter.com/taslimanasreen/status/841872567405297664">March 15, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

(WION)

&nbsp;

The clerics Nahid Afrin's upcoming event in Assam is close to a mosque and a graveyard

Several clerics have issued a "fatwa" against reality TV singing star Nahid Afrin asking her to stop performing in public. According to reports, the "fatwa" has been issued against her keeping in view an upcoming event which is close to a mosque and a graveyard. The clerics have announced to boycott her programme to be held in Assam on March 25. The clerics have also ordered the singer to stop performing in public. Singer Nahid Afrin immediately hit back declaring, "I was broken completely after hearing about the "fatwa". But I am not going to stop singing. I have received hundreds of calls and messages from the people of Assam and different organisations supporting me." Afrin was the runner-up in the popular television show "Indian Idol Junior" in 2015. Her stand against the clerics immediately set social media on fire with several people hailing her decision. After getting fatwa from 46 mullahs in Assam,16 yrs old Nahid Afrin said she'll never bow down and will never leave singing. Bravo girl! — taslima nasreen (@taslimanasreen) March 15, 2017 × (WION)

Clerics issue 'fatwa' against reality TV singing star Nahid Afrin

Two persons were killed and nineteen -- including police personnel --&nbsp;injured today in India&#39;s northeastern state of Assam after a protest turned violent and the police opened fire, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. 
 
The two men killed&nbsp;had been part of a group of villagers protesting their eviction from near the&nbsp;Kaziranga national park. 
 
The protest turned violent after the protesters attacked the police&nbsp;and started&nbsp;pelting stones at them. 
 
The Guwahati high court had ordered the eviction of the villagers&nbsp;in October last year&nbsp;but the villagers refused&nbsp;to move out until they were paid&nbsp;adequate compensation; which is when the protest turned violent.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The eviction was carried out as per orders of the Gauhati High Court and the police used full restraint and minimum force to ensure that the land was cleared of encroachers,&quot; said Mukesh Sahay, Assam&#39;s director general of police (DGP). &quot;There may be a possibility of the people being instigated by a section of people. We are investigating the matter and strict action will be taken as per law against those who provoked the people.&#39;&#39; 
 
The injured included 15 police personnel, the DGP said.&nbsp;Many families had moved with their belonging to the neighbouring national highway as a sign of protest. 
 
According to PTI, 190 families are being evicted from Banderdubi, while&nbsp;160 families are being evicted from Deochurchang -- the two areas the court had ordered cleared. 
 
Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal&nbsp;ordered ex-gratia payments of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the dead and Rs 50,000 to the injured. 
 
The chief minister had asked two senior ministers and the local MLA to&nbsp;meet representatives of the two areas before carrying out the eviction, PTI reported. 
 
Former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi&nbsp;said removing people from their land and homes was &quot;condemnable&quot;, PTI reported. &quot;Agreed that the Gauhati High Court had given the ruling last year but there was a process to ensure its adherence. The state government failed to take the necessary measures before carrying out the eviction,&quot; he said. 
 
All India United Democratic Front party leader Badruddin Ajmal demanded strong action against the police, and adequate compensation for the evicted villagers and the family members of those killed today. People who are being evicted from Kaziranga are &quot;neither Bangladeshi nor illegal settlers but are political victims because they are Muslims,&quot; he alleged. 
 
&quot;Our government will never compromise on jati (identity), mati (land) and bheti&nbsp;(home). On that note, I also assure all deserving land owners that adequate compensation will be paid to all of them,&quot; state health and education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. 
 
The eviction drive is continuing, despite the tensions. PTI reported that&nbsp;authorities were using elephants and excavators to demolish houses built on encroached land. 
 
The two persons killed in the police firing have been identified as Anjuma Khatun and Fakhruddin, PTI reported. 
 
(WION with inputs from PTI)

 
&nbsp;

The protesters had started pelting stones at the police, said they would move only after they were paid adequate compensation

Two persons were killed and nineteen -- including police personnel -- injured today in India's northeastern state of Assam after a protest turned violent and the police opened fire, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. The two men killed had been part of a group of villagers protesting their eviction from near the Kaziranga national park. The protest turned violent after the protesters attacked the police and started pelting stones at them. The Guwahati high court had ordered the eviction of the villagers in October last year but the villagers refused to move out until they were paid adequate compensation; which is when the protest turned violent. "The eviction was carried out as per orders of the Gauhati High Court and the police used full restraint and minimum force to ensure that the land was cleared of encroachers," said Mukesh Sahay, Assam's director general of police (DGP). "There may be a possibility of the people being instigated by a section of people. We are investigating the matter and strict action will be taken as per law against those who provoked the people.'' The injured included 15 police personnel, the DGP said. Many families had moved with their belonging to the neighbouring national highway as a sign of protest. According to PTI, 190 families are being evicted from Banderdubi, while 160 families are being evicted from Deochurchang -- the two areas the court had ordered cleared. Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal ordered ex-gratia payments of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the dead and Rs 50,000 to the injured. The chief minister had asked two senior ministers and the local MLA to meet representatives of the two areas before carrying out the eviction, PTI reported. Former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi said removing people from their land and homes was "condemnable", PTI reported. "Agreed that the Gauhati High Court had given the ruling last year but there was a process to ensure its adherence. The state government failed to take the necessary measures before carrying out the eviction," he said. All India United Democratic Front party leader Badruddin Ajmal demanded strong action against the police, and adequate compensation for the evicted villagers and the family members of those killed today. People who are being evicted from Kaziranga are "neither Bangladeshi nor illegal settlers but are political victims because they are Muslims," he alleged. "Our government will never compromise on jati (identity), mati (land) and bheti (home). On that note, I also assure all deserving land owners that adequate compensation will be paid to all of them," state health and education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The eviction drive is continuing, despite the tensions. PTI reported that authorities were using elephants and excavators to demolish houses built on encroached land. The two persons killed in the police firing have been identified as Anjuma Khatun and Fakhruddin, PTI reported. (WION with inputs from PTI)

India: 2 killed, 19 injured in Kaziranga after police open fire on villagers protesting eviction

One police constable lost his life and one was injured in a shooting near a police station in Assam&#39;s Karbi Anglong.&nbsp; 
 
There are however cnflicting media reports on who the perpetrators were. While some say &nbsp;it was a militant attack, some are calling it a case of accidental firing. 
 
This follows last week&#39;s attack where attackers wearing military uniforms shot dead at least 14 people and wounded 15 in a busy market area in a town in the restive northeastern state. 
 
(Agencies)

While some media reports say it was a militant attack, some are calling it a case of accidental firing

One police constable lost his life and one was injured in a shooting near a police station in Assam's Karbi Anglong. There are however cnflicting media reports on who the perpetrators were. While some say it was a militant attack, some are calling it a case of accidental firing. This follows last week's attack where attackers wearing military uniforms shot dead at least 14 people and wounded 15 in a busy market area in a town in the restive northeastern state. (Agencies)

Policeman killed in firing near police station in Assam

More than 1.2 million people in northeast India have been hit by floods which have submerged hundreds of villages, inundated large swathes of farmland and damaged roads, bridges and telecommunications services, local authorities said today. 
 
Incessant monsoon rains in the tea and oil-rich state of Assam have forced the burgeoning Brahmaputra river and its tributaries to burst their banks -- affecting more than half of the region&#39;s 32 districts. 
 
&quot;District authorities have opened 220 relief camps and 130 relief distribution centres that house a total of 88,133 inmates,&quot; the Assam State Disaster Management Authority said in a statement. 
 
The National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and Indian Army are helping the district administration in evacuating affected people to safe places and distributing aid, it added. 
 
The Brahmaputra, Assam&#39;s main river which is fed by Himalayan snow melt and monsoon rain, has been overflowing in many areas along its course. 
 
The disaster management authority said the floods had affected 18 districts. 
 
More than 2,000 villagers affected&nbsp; 
 
More than 2,100 low-lying villages and almost 100,000 hectares (247,105 acres) of crops have been partially or totally submerged in upper Assam, which includes the districts of Dhubri, Lakhimpur, Golaghat, Morigaon, Jorhat, Dhemaji, Barpeta and Dibrugarh. 
 
The fast-flowing waters have also breached embankments and eroded dykes, leaving some parts of national and state highways inaccessible and compounding efforts to rescue marooned villagers and distribute food aid such as rice, lentils and oil. 
 
Officials said more than 60 per cent of region&#39;s famed Kaziranga National Park, home to two-thirds of the world&#39;s endangered one-horned rhinoceroses, is also under water, leaving the animals more vulnerable to poaching. 
 
India usually experiences monsoon rains from June to September, which are vital for its agriculture. 
 
But in states like mountainous Assam, the rains frequently cause landslides and flooding that devastate crops, destroy homes and expose people to diseases such as diarrhoea. 
 
Experts say decades of mass deforestation have led to soil erosion where sediment is washed downstream from mountainous areas. It ends up in rivers where it builds up on the river bed, raising the level of the water far higher than normal. 
 
Local people also say corrupt officials have siphoned off some funds meant for flood risk reduction projects and resulted in shoddy construction of embankments which are often breached. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Incessant monsoon rains in the tea and oil-rich Indian state of Assam have affected 18 districts, authorities said

More than 1.2 million people in northeast India have been hit by floods which have submerged hundreds of villages, inundated large swathes of farmland and damaged roads, bridges and telecommunications services, local authorities said today. Incessant monsoon rains in the tea and oil-rich state of Assam have forced the burgeoning Brahmaputra river and its tributaries to burst their banks -- affecting more than half of the region's 32 districts. "District authorities have opened 220 relief camps and 130 relief distribution centres that house a total of 88,133 inmates," the Assam State Disaster Management Authority said in a statement. The National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and Indian Army are helping the district administration in evacuating affected people to safe places and distributing aid, it added. The Brahmaputra, Assam's main river which is fed by Himalayan snow melt and monsoon rain, has been overflowing in many areas along its course. The disaster management authority said the floods had affected 18 districts. More than 2,000 villagers affected More than 2,100 low-lying villages and almost 100,000 hectares (247,105 acres) of crops have been partially or totally submerged in upper Assam, which includes the districts of Dhubri, Lakhimpur, Golaghat, Morigaon, Jorhat, Dhemaji, Barpeta and Dibrugarh. The fast-flowing waters have also breached embankments and eroded dykes, leaving some parts of national and state highways inaccessible and compounding efforts to rescue marooned villagers and distribute food aid such as rice, lentils and oil. Officials said more than 60 per cent of region's famed Kaziranga National Park, home to two-thirds of the world's endangered one-horned rhinoceroses, is also under water, leaving the animals more vulnerable to poaching. India usually experiences monsoon rains from June to September, which are vital for its agriculture. But in states like mountainous Assam, the rains frequently cause landslides and flooding that devastate crops, destroy homes and expose people to diseases such as diarrhoea. Experts say decades of mass deforestation have led to soil erosion where sediment is washed downstream from mountainous areas. It ends up in rivers where it builds up on the river bed, raising the level of the water far higher than normal. Local people also say corrupt officials have siphoned off some funds meant for flood risk reduction projects and resulted in shoddy construction of embankments which are often breached. (Reuters)

Floods worsen in India's tea region Assam, more than a million hit

Flash floods triggered by torrential rain have killed at least 22 people in India and forced more than 170,000 from their homes, officials said on Monday, as forecasters predicted more downpours in coming days. 
 
India&#39;s monsoon rains, though vital for agriculture, regularly bring death and destruction. The rain was 35 per cent above average in the week that ended on July 6, the weather office said. 
 
Twenty people were killed in the central state of Madhya Pradesh where 70,000 people were left homeless as water rose to dangerous levels along parts of the Narmada river. 
 
Firemen waded through waist-high water to rescue women and children in flooded villages while rescue teams used inflatable boats to reach people stranded in urban areas. 
 
&quot;Thousands of people will be evacuated today. We are working on a war footing mode to set up relief camps,&quot; additional home secretary Basant Singh said in Bhopal, the state capital. 
 
&quot;The health department is distributing medicines to prevent outbreak of water-borne diseases.&quot; 
 
Stormy weather also ravaged parts of the remote northeast. 
 
Heavy rain pounded the tea-growing, oil-rich eastern state of Assam killing at least two people. About 100,000 people were forced to take shelter on higher ground, officials there said. 
 
The rain has also swelled the Brahmaputra river, which flows into Bangladesh, to dangerous levels. 
 
Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal ordered officials to distribute food, clothing and medicines to people who could not return to their homes. 
 
(Reuters)

Rescue teams used inflatable boats to reach people stranded in urban areas while firemen saved women and children through waist-high water

Flash floods triggered by torrential rain have killed at least 22 people in India and forced more than 170,000 from their homes, officials said on Monday, as forecasters predicted more downpours in coming days. India's monsoon rains, though vital for agriculture, regularly bring death and destruction. The rain was 35 per cent above average in the week that ended on July 6, the weather office said. Twenty people were killed in the central state of Madhya Pradesh where 70,000 people were left homeless as water rose to dangerous levels along parts of the Narmada river. Firemen waded through waist-high water to rescue women and children in flooded villages while rescue teams used inflatable boats to reach people stranded in urban areas. "Thousands of people will be evacuated today. We are working on a war footing mode to set up relief camps," additional home secretary Basant Singh said in Bhopal, the state capital. "The health department is distributing medicines to prevent outbreak of water-borne diseases." Stormy weather also ravaged parts of the remote northeast. Heavy rain pounded the tea-growing, oil-rich eastern state of Assam killing at least two people. About 100,000 people were forced to take shelter on higher ground, officials there said. The rain has also swelled the Brahmaputra river, which flows into Bangladesh, to dangerous levels. Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal ordered officials to distribute food, clothing and medicines to people who could not return to their homes. (Reuters)

Floods kill 22 people in India, 170,000 homeless

assam

Assam, News on Assam, stories on Assam, articles on Assam, Assam stories at Wion, Assam news, Assam latest news