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Guwahati, Jan. 7: When a KLM flight from Amsterdam carrying Isak Chisi Swu and Thuingaleng Muivah — the two leaders of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) — touches down at the Indira Gandhi international airport in New Delhi tomorrow, it will be the cynosure of all eyes in Nagaland. The reason for this is the belief that the negotiations will be a “giant leap forward for the talks but a small step towards the Naga cause”.

The meeting between the NSCN (I-M) leaders and the Prime Minister would set the tone for future parleys, but it would be too early to assume that a final...

GUWAHATI, Jan 7 — The proscribed Dima Halam Daogah (DHD) will demand a separate State for Dimasas whenever it sits for the peace talks with the Government of India (GoI) as a sequel to the truce. Talking to this newspaper here, the self-styled commander-in-chief (C-in-C) of the outfit, Pranab Nunisa declared, “our primary demand before the Government of India during the peace negotiation will be creation of a separate State (Dimaraji) for Dimasa tribe. We feel, the problems of our people will never get resolved sans a separate State within the territory of India.”

The C-in-C said it took...

DIBRUGARH, Jan 7 — A herd of elephants, numbering between 30 and 35, have been terrorizing the people in a dozen villages in the south-western fringes of the city. This annual depredation by the pachyderm pack has till now gone unchecked, even as the forest department officials are at their wit’s end as to how to tackle the situation. The villages that have been hit hard by elephants knocking at human dwellings include Kathalbam, Metakani, Sessa Nagaon, Bordoibam and Majgaon in the Medela Dehingmukh area, Dighalia and Moinammirigaon in the Kolakhowa area and Paroliguri, Baregharia and...

GUWAHATI, Jan 7 – Lack of cooperation from the State governments has hampered the functioning of the National Commission for Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribe (NCSC&ST) in the region, as several departments of the Assam Government involved in the affairs of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), have not responded to the directives and queries of the National Commission for the last two-three years. Things have come to such a pass that the NCSC&ST field office here does not even have the latest data on the SC and ST population in the State. “The State Government is not...

AGARTALA, Jan 7 — There has been an increase of 2.7 per cent voters in Tripura as per the final electoral roll which was published yesterday. The total number of voters who would exercise their franchise in the coming February polls stands at 19,31,000. The previous roll had 18,80,700 voters. Official sources said the entire process was completed yesterday.

“In the special summery revision of the roll, we have received 12.63 per cent voters as per the figures of January 2002 who had wanted to get their names included in the roll, but only 2.7 per cent forms could be cleared depending on the...