MORPARIA’S PAGE E-mail: [email protected] Morparia.pmd 2 2/25/2015, 10:28 AM Contents FEBRUARY 2015 VOL.18/7 ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ THEME: Morparia’s page 2 The Northeast Visualising Northeast 5 V. Gangadhar Look east, act fast 6 Managing editor Shyamkanu Mahanta Mrs. Sucharita R. Hegde Imagining a peaceful Northeast 9 Prof. M. Amarjeet Singh Editor The Battle of Kohima – where the tide turned 12 Anuradha Dhareshwar Akul Tripathi Big on natural wealth, low on development 15 Amiya Kumar Sharma Assistant Editor E.Vijayalakshmi Rajan The mother of all peace efforts 17 Rani Pathak Das 6 A threatened haven called Taley Wildlife Sanctuary 19 Design Bittu Sahgal H. V. Shiv Shankar Damming the Brahmaputra - whom to blame? 22 Prof. Chandan Kumar Sharma Marketing Know India Better Mahesh Kanojia Paradise Unexplored : beyond the chicken neck 23 Akul Tripathi OIOP Clubs I am not an alien! 41 Vaibhav Palkar Longnam W. Kharpuri Face to Face: 42 Subscription Shubha Benurwar: Anuradha Kalhan Nagesh Bangera Features A clean Ganga need not be an oxymoron 44 23 Tirtho Banerjee Advisory board Winter is here 46 Sucharita Hegde Shoma A. Chatterji Justice S. Radhakrishnan Venkat R. Chary That nagging cough – can we blame it on pollution? 48 Dr. Sujeet Rajan We will keep marching! 50 Printed & Published by Lt.Gen. Vijay Oberoi Mrs. Sucharita R. Hegde for Columns 52 One India One People Foundation, Nature watch : Bittu Sahgal Mahalaxmi Chambers, 4th floor, In focus : C.V. Aravind 22, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai - 400 026 Young India 54 Shubha Benurwar Tel: 022-2353 4400 39 Great Indians 56 Fax: 022-2351 7544 e-mail: [email protected] Printed at: Graphtone (India) Pvt. Ltd. A1 /319, Shah & Nahar Industrial Estate. S. J. Marg, Lower Parel (W) Mumbai – 400 013 visit us at: www.oneindiaonepeople.com Naib Subedar Nand V.R. Krishna Iyer Kailasam www.facebook.com/oneindiaonepeoplefoundation Singh MVC, VC Balachander oneindiaonepeople2020.blogspot.com Contents.pmd 3 2/25/2015, 10:29 AM LETTERS TO THE EDITOR “Thank you...” Thank you for highlighting the excellent work done by Dr. Rajagopal in your December edition. Most of us, including many doctors, shy away from interacting with people who have a terminal illness, who are facing death, and who are in intense pain with no hope for the future. Dr. Rajagopal is consistency in the quality of articles and the values it tries one such person who has willingly taken up this task and to profess. But I was sadly jolted when I saw the cartoon on has been working relentlessly in the field. I had the good Parsis on the inner cover of the January 2015 issue. It’s in fortune to hear him at a Palliative Care Conference at the bad taste and I would urge you to withdraw it with a word Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in Bangalore, and was of apology. very impressed not only by his work, but by his humility, his – P. Bhashyam, Received by e-mail selflessness and his passion to reach out to the under-served. – Dr. Ali Khwaja, B Tech (IIT), MIE, MIIM, Ph.D The cartoons featured in One India One People every Counsellor, columnist and life skills coach month are meant to add a little humour to the otherwise Chairman, Banjara Academy, Bangalore serious issues that the magazine focuses on. The particular cartoon you are referring to was not meant to hurt the “In bad taste” sentiments of any religion or community; in case it did, we I have been receiving a copy of One India One People apologise. right from the first issue and I have always admired the – Editor Letters should be addressed to Mumbai - 400 026 22, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mahalaxmi Chambers, 4th floor, Foundation, One India People The Editor, 022-2351 7544 e-mail: [email protected] / [email protected] www.oneindiaonepeople.com 022 - 2353 4400 Fax: Tel: 4 ONE INDIA ONE PEOPLE February 2015 LLetter.inddetter.indd 4 22/25/2015/25/2015 110:34:580:34:58 AAMM SATIRE Visualising Northeast People from the Northeast didn’t fi gure much in the radar of the rest of the country, especially a few decades ago. That isolation may actually have done them some good, says V. Gangadhar. ET us be honest, how much do we know of the unpardonable sin of not contributing to Indian cricket, it Northeast? I would say not much. We associate it with did not figure in Ranji cricket let alone test cricket. Well, I Lone of the monsoons, though the Southwest monsoon do want to be fair, Northeast is one of the greenest regions is more famous. What else about the Northeast monsoons? in the country, but during the days of my boyhood no one If it was too heavy, it affected cricket matches in the region. bothered about environment. As for its people, Nagas, Mizos I remember the number of test matches which were lost due and Bodos, they had not achieved prominence to figure in to rain in Chennai. And yet the BCCI went on allotting one the media, which hardly bothered about carrying features test match to Chennai before Boss N. Srinivasan took over on them. and invented a new nursery rhyme: Even Bollywood disappointed me in its coverage of the Northeast. In college, I watched a Bollywood blockbuster Ae N E monsoon, go away. Gulistan Hamara featuring of all people, Dev Saab - where his immaculate wardrobe was in full display - wooing and Come again another day winning the hand of Sharmila Tagore who was in a sexy tribal Big, fat Srini wants to play costume. Whether it copied Northeastern fashions I would not know. The tribal leaders and the villains led by Ranjeet This appeal was just like the recent judgments in the would give us nightmares and I comforted myself with the Srini cases! thought that we had not lost anything by missing out on the Let me confess, I have never been to the region nor am I Northeasterners. Sharmila, one can be certain, was highly very familiar with its scenic beauty. In my boyhood, my family embarrassed by the film. Dev Saab redeemed himself in regularly subscribed to the most popular magazine of the another film, this time on the lives of the Northeastern tea day, The Illustrated Weekly of India, which had a children’s garden people. The story was from the pen of K. A. Abbas, section, Our Young Folks League, handled by one Aunty but who was the heroine? I don’t remember. Wendy and offered a Pen friends League. Thinking I could I blame my ignorance for these lapses. The carry on a life-long correspondence, I chose a friend from Northeasterners were as good, hardworking, and beautiful Northeast, a Suzanne something something from Kohima, I as the people from other states. They were slow to enjoy think, and I began writing. I knew nothing about the family, the fruits of civilisation, but when it finally came, found friends or customs of my new pen friend and could not even themselves involved in border disputes and petty power correspond in English. But even in those days, I admired struggles with their neighbours. My own generation Tamil literature and penned Suzanne something on the ignored them. In a way it was good, beauty, sweetness and melody of the Tamil poem Tirukural. as they were kept away from most Well, I waited for some more months, no reply came, and I modern vices, chasing wealth, land and wondered how I could carry on pen friendship with someone power. The Centre treated the region who did not care for Tirukural. disdainfully and it is doubtful if the The Northeast did not figure in any one of my thoughts. Modi government can bring about any Jim Corbett’s hunting tales, I vaguely remembered, had changes for the better. something to do with the region. The region committed the The writer is a well-known satirist. ONE INDIA ONE PEOPLE February 2015 5 LLetter.inddetter.indd 5 22/25/2015/25/2015 110:35:320:35:32 AAMM THE NORTHEAST LookLook east,east, actact ffastast It is time to look at India’s Northeast region afresh. The region is rich in natural wealth and potential, but the people are distrustful of mainland India’s intentions. Also, not much effort has gone into exploring the advantages of the close proximity of this region, to Southeast Asian countries. The recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his promise of ‘Look East, Act East’, certainly holds out some hope. Shyamkanu Mahanta explains the advantages of establishing infrastructural and economic links with the countries bordering the Northeast, and how the Northeast can benefit from such links. HE Northeast India is a region of eight states - Arunachal Over 220 ethnic groups and an equal number of dialects make Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, the region hugely diverse. Marked by diversity in customs, TNagaland, Sikkim and Tripura - and is India’s most culture, traditions and languages, it is home to multiple social, distinct and spectacular region. Ranging between eastern India ethnic and linguistic groups. Each of the Northeast states and eastward extension of the Himalayas, the earlier ‘Seven has its own unique history – of formation, of its ethnic people, Sisters’ are now known as ‘Seven Sisters and One Brother’ tradition and culture. after the inclusion of Sikkim. However, for the people of the A land of unmatched beauty and potential Northeastern states, Mention of Northeast India can the region is be traced way back to 100 BC homogenous in terms by the Chinese explorer, of celebration of Chang Kien.