Agartala, Feb. 17: In a move which might bring it into direct confrontation with militant outfits, the Hoda Okra, the supreme council of Hindu Jamatya tribesmen in Tripura, has called for peaceful elections on February 26. It has also urged the people to cast their ballots “fearlessly with due regard for parliamentary democracy”.

The statement, the first ever electoral guidelines issued by the Hoda, assumes significance in the wake of boycott calls by the banned All-Tripura Tiger Force, the NLFT’s dissident faction led by Nayanbasi Jamatya, as well as stepped-up violence by the rival faction...

Silchar, Feb. 17: Police outposts along the forest-covered border areas of south Assam’s Hailakandi district have been alerted to possible attacks by the newly-formed United Liberation Front of Barak Valley.

Members of the outfit attacked a Bru family at Ashram Basti village on Sunday, injuring a woman and two children. Official sources today said one Nandeswar Reang led the assailants.

The injured have been identified as Karishma Reang (30), Jamuna Reang (8) and Ganga Reang (6).

Some members of the Mizoram-based Bru National Liberation Front floated the United Liberation Front of Barak...

Shillong, Feb 17: It has been 31 years since Meghalaya attained statehood, but as the state gets ready for the seventh round of Assembly elections, it has nothing to show except for a long list of scams and controversies, empty coffers, a moribund tourism industry and an education system that has seen better days.

As many as 14 parties are vying for the 60 Assembly seats at stake, but none of these seem to inspire confidence in the state’s 12,79,740-strong electorate. Though the composition of the electorate has not changed much over the years, political instability — the past five years saw...

Kohima, Feb. 17: The Church in Nagaland feels it is a bit too late to chalk out an action plan and enforce its “code of conduct” for electioneering. The Church, seeking to reform the poll process, had issued a set of guidelines for those in the political arena and as well as voters, expecting them to follow the rules for free and fair elections. However, with the elections drawing close, the Christian establishment feels the “people have not changed enough to see clean elections this time”. It finds itself helpless amid the aggressive campaigning.

The Nagaland Christian Forum, a consortium of...

KOKRAJHAR, Feb 17 — As soon as the euphoria of the signing of the memorandum of settlement (MoS) between the Central and the State Governments and Bodo Liberation Tiger (BLT) comes down, the leaders of the BLT and other Bodo organisations will have to concentrate on proper implementation of the accord for fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of not only the Bodos but of all sections of people of the proposed Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).

The 35th annual conference of the All Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU) which concluded at Bonorgaon yesterday, virtually turned into a victory rally and...