GUWAHATI, August 30: For centuries, people living on either side of the Indo-Bangladesh border have been governed by the same rulers. They have also shared a common culture, language and tradition. Fiftytwo years after partition, the artificial frontier barriers have kept the people on either side united by a common bond. The Indo-Bangla border in the Karimganj district of the Barak Valley is a border only in name because there is little that prevents people from both sides from interacting with each other. Barbed wire fences, border sentries, check gates et al have failed to curb the people's...

GUWAHATI, August 29: Road accidents in Assam are turning out to be a greater menace than terrorism as the number of persons killed in road mishaps in the state is almost double the number killed in terrorist-related incidents. As per a report of the Assam Police, last year as many as 915 persons were killed in road accidents in the state, while 480 died due to terrorist-related violence. Last year 110 persons were killed in road accidents in Guwahati city while 268 others were injured. In the first seven months of this year, 81 persons were killed and 216 others were injured in road accidents...

NEW DELHI, August 28: Alarmed by the mad rush of cigarette companies to get bases in the Northeast to avail of the 100 per cent excise waiver, a powerful lobby of cigarette manufacturers has started pressuring the Union government to withdraw the excise concessions to avoid a cut-throat competition among the manufacturers. Even as the move to force the Union government to abandon the excise duty concession scheme gathers momentum, another tobacco giant has joined the race to set up plants in the Northeast by submitting a proposal worth Rs 525 crore. The Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) has sought...

NEW DELHI, August 29: The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) has warned the Indian Army of desisting from any action that would jeopardise the ongoing peace process and stop aiding and abetting SS Khaplang and his mercenaries. Reacting to two news items "Army warns against violence" and "CFMG meet held" in the Dimapur-based Nagaland Page on August 22, the NSCN said the "ulterior motives" of the Indian Army was questionable. It said the current ceasefire was between the Indian government and the NSCN and not between NSCN and Khaplang or between the Indian government and Khaplang. The...

NEW DELHI, August 29: The National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) has finally come out with the reasons that "necessitated the awarding of capital punishment" to Dally Mungro and two of his associates on 18 August 1999 at Jotsoma village near Kohima in Nagaland. An official statement made available to "Northeast Vigil" said many people from Khaplang's group had approached the NSCN leadership for talks and the latter responded positively. But late Dally and SC Jamir had stopped them and torpedoed the entire arrangement. A good number of Shillong Accordists too wanted to meet our leaders...