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Showing posts from August, 2012

Supreme Court Verdict on Bishnupriya "Manipuri"

B N Sinha, New Delhi In the year 1989, in a joint meeting of NBMM, BMSS and Samaj Sanstha Guwahati held at Bhakatpur malthep, it was decided to take up the issue of Manipuri suffix to fight against the case filed by Manipur Govt against the use of the word “Manipuri” by us after the word "Bishnupriya". (Find the original documents of the Supreme Court of India decision on Bishnupriya Manipuri identity ) Kh Nobin Singha, the advocate from Imphal Bar was representing the Manipur Govt.  Three representatives from each Bishnupriya Manipuri group were selected to take up the case on behalf of the community. They appointed Advocate Sukumar Sinha of Silchar to file objection to lower court in district court.  In the same year, the case got transferred to Gauhati High Court where for Bishnupriya Manipuri community the advocate who fought in Gauhati High Court was Dr Niloy Dutta whose assistance was Adv Bishwadev Sinha from Halflong.  As per the court "Ej

Bishnupriya Manipuris welcome telecast of their programmes with a rider

From our Special Correspondent SILCHAR, Aug 23: Nikhil Bishnupriya Manipuri Students’ Union (NBMSU) and Bishnupriya Manipuri Ganasangram Parishad (BMGP) have welcomed the Door Darshan’s decision to beam music and cultural programmes of the Bishnupriya Manipuri community along with programmes of other ethnic communities. However, the telecast, as pointed out by deputy director of programme, Northeast, shall be occasional only. It has been clarified that after examining the demand for introduction of Bishnupriya Manipuri programmes in DDK and AIR, Guwahati and Silchar, the ministry of information and broadcasting has not found it possible to telecast spoken word programmes in  Bishnupriya Manipuri language/dialect on a regular basis at this stage. The officials clarified that in view of the relatively low population of Bishnupriya Manipuri language community in the primary coverage areas of the two kendras and the already tight programme slots, the decision for regular tele

Learning from the master Guru Bipin Singh

For any artist, his art is his religion. Contribution of Guru Bipin Singh in the field of Manipuri dance has trespassed the limitation of time and space.   On the occasion of Guru Bipin Singh’s birth anniversary, here are some of the published excerpts by exponents of Manipuri dance. Priti Patel:   I am from a conservative Gujarati family in Calcutta. My grandfather, Umed Bhai Patel, however, was very progressive. He wanted his grandchildren to be well-versed in the fineries of life. When I was 10, he invited Guru Bipin Singh to train us at home in Manipuri dance. Guruji was a passionate teacher and I started to love my art. Read more Tryst withtradition (The Telegraph; June 12, 2011) Sharmila Bandyopadhyay:   Guru Bipin Singh is a rare combination of a dancer, choreographer, scholar and a teacher. For over the last 50 years he had dedicated himself to the task of exploring and revealing the classical elements of Manipuri dancing in order to preserve, promote a

New Bishnupriya Manipuri web entries

RK Rishikesh Sinha In the Internet domain, visitors are going to 'see' more websites on different subjects related to Bishnupriya Manipuri. Though all are in a budding stage, here is a quick glance of these websites. nungkoopi.com The domain would be catering to Bishnupriya Manipuri poetry, story, history and features. It is still in womb. Firaal.com It is web version of the BMDF’s magazine Firaal. srisribhubaneswarsadhuthakur.com It will be catering to Sri Sri Bhubaneswar Sadhuthakur. sahidsudeshna.com It is still to take a shape. The website would be catering to Sahid Sudeshna Sinha. Bisarei All these websites and many have become the part of Bisarei,the Bishnupriya Manipuri search engine . Since its launch, the response of the visitors has not been up to the mark. What is the web status of Bisarei? Over 40 per cent of the visitors out of total visitors didn’t make any search in Bisarei. They come and go. And those who made

NTSE Exam 2013 for Class 10

Education National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) 2013 has been announced by NCERT. Students studying in Class 10 can apply for the scholarship. Students who clear the NTSE gets scholarship of Rs 500 per month from Class 11 onwards, except for PhD. Last Date for Submission of Application Form : 31 August 2012 Examination in Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Andaman and Nicobar Islands : 17 November 2012 Examination in All other States and Union Territories : 18 November 2012 Examination in All States and Union Territories : 12 May 2013 (Sunday) NTSE Exam is conducted in two Stages - Stage I and Stage II. Stage I is held at State level. Stage II in national level.  NTSE Syllabus NTSE Stage I/II syllabus (a) Mental Ability Test (MAT) and  (b) Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)  Buy  NTSE Class 10 Scholarship Books

Bishnupriya Manipuri bodies to continue crusade against corruption

From our Special Correspondent  SILCHAR, August 13: Various Bishnupriya Manipuri bodies under the aegis of Bishnupriya Manipuri Unemployed Youths’ Association at a meeting held recently in the auditorium of Bhubaneswar Sadhuthakur Sevaashram here resolved to carry on crusade against the irregularities and anomalies in Development Council. It is to be recollected that persistent demands for probe into the complaints of general public against the corruption in Bishnupriya Manipuri Development Council have been raised as articulated by Gopidas Sinha, member of State Linguistic Minority Development Board and a well known social worker, and his threat to undertake fast unto death if no investigation was caused by the department of welfare of plain tribes and backward classes, Government of Assam.  Altogether 10 Bishnupriya Manipuri Organizations which included the Nikhil Bishnupriya Manipuri Mahasabha, the Nikhil Bishnupriya Manipuri Students’ Union, the Bishnupriya Manipuri Gana

How to run a language community blog?

How to RK Rishikesh Sinha For those readers, who have wrongly dropped at this blog. Don’t leave, especially if you are going to create a web niche that doesn’t exist in web before. My experience might be helpful to you in your blogging endeavour. For those readers, who wish to run a blog/website specifically on a language community, like this blog, read this post. It might be helpful to you. These are the lessons that I learnt while running this blog since 2007. When I started I didn’t have anything in my mind. I was too young to involve into community activities, especially associated with news and views with dangerous ramification. Blank slate Your mind should be clear like a blank slate. When you begin you shouldn’t have any notions whether it is good or bad, prejudices, inner motives, or any parochial views. Since you are going into an uncharted territory, your mind should be open and wide. If you have any, burn them. It will drain your energy and you will no

Bishnupriya Manipuris and Eighth Schedule

RK Rishikesh Sinha In Guwahati, on November 05, 2003, a new committee named Bishnupriya Manipuri Language EighthSchedule Demand Committee was formed with Pratap Sinha as the chairman and P.C. Sinha as the adviser. This is probably the first and the last web media record where Bishnupriya Manipuris were seen associating themselves with the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. (the news clip with URL is given at the bottom of the article) Every speech community wishes/struggles to add its language in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution. The language included in the List gets preference in every sphere – educational, cultural, governance, literature and in other domains. The languages in this List are recognized as “Scheduled Languages”.  And those not specified in this List are termed as “Non-Scheduled Languages”.  And Bishnupriya Manipuri language is a Non-Scheduled Language. What is Eighth Schedule? The Eight Schedule was added in the Constitution in 1950. The

Glory to Krishna

Pranati Sinha Today is Krishna Janmashtami. The auspicious Day will be celebrated all across the world. Krishna has countless devotees as Krishna transcends all religion and culture. He has set His own religion; a religion of bliss, a religion that emanates from happiness. As a child, I had always witnessed grand celebration of this particular day every year in our house. Though we had brought up in Defence colonies and always dwelt in defence quarters, never felt the lack of celebrations for any reason. The Naam Kirtan in Janmashtami was the most awaited moment for me. The music of dhol, nagara and taal unified with rhythmic clapping used to captivate every nerve of the body and enthralled devotees singing Krishna hymns with all their heart and soul would leave you enchanted for the whole Life. My friends would come and equally participate in clapping though they wouldn’t grasp anything more than the word Krishna or Govind Jai Jai. The Prasad which was purely of fruit, bla

India in London Olympics 2012

Children Corner Biswajeet Deka Class 8, Don Bosco School, Guwahati, Assam London Olympics 2012 opened with a grand ceremony of 21st century technology and fireworks. The ceremony which held on 27the July displayed the first short film which showed the Queen Elizabeth II with British actor Daniel Craig, the latest of James Bond in Hollywood. Continued for over 225 minutes, the ceremony was a long show represented the best of Britain’s past, present and future. The opening ceremony of London Olympic Games was witnessed by the estimated TV viewers of three billion across the world and almost 80, 000 audiences present in the Olympic stadium. The programme was broadcast by ESPN and STAR SPORTS. The main attraction of the ceremony was the use of 70,799 audience pixels, the small panels with 9 LED pixels controlled by a central computer to create amazing images and dramatically colourful effects. Lighting of the cauldron by seven young athletes was another mesmerizing moment

Woman in man's rage

Personal Jottings RK Rishikesh Sinha Since immemorial time, a woman has been the image of culture and custom of one’s society. She observes all the cultural societal norms. Subsequently, she has always been the subject of discussion, analysis, and study. Recent incidents related to women are not new but the upsurge of hue and cry does claims genuine concern for the lesser half from men too.    Notwithstanding, society has also been playing its role since the beginning of human civilization. But it could not be observed as negative, prejudiced or derogatory but certainly it has founded few conceptions, beliefs related to women, which have taken a drastic form now in this modern era.  A major component of discussion and debates about women are related to dress. It is through dress a woman speaks about the class, society that she belongs. And non-adherence of rules is subject to scrutiny on her. Here I recollect an incident while I was in school. One day, our class teac

Corruption charges against BMDC to be probed

From our Special Correspondent  SILCHAR, July 29: All the charges of corruptions, anomalies and irregularities as labelled against Bishnupriya Manipuri Development Council would be investigated by Dr Ajij Ahmed, IAS, divisional commissioner of Hills and Barak Valley and Hills Area Development Commissioner. This was communicated to Gopidas Sinha, member, Assam State Linguistic Minorities Development Board and social worker and chief advisor of Bishnupriya Manipuri Krishak Sangstha and Bishnupriya Manipuri Unemployed Youths Association, by RK Das, Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam, Welfare of Plains Tribes and Backward Classes. This order for investigation was issued vide official memo no. TAD/BC/590/2012/58 dated July 27 on the directive of Rajiv Lochan Pegu, Minister of WPT and BC, Government of Assam.  Dr Ajij Ahmed is to submit the report within three months of investigation to the department of WPT and BC, as advised by RK Das. It is to be recorded that

Gopidas to fast unto death

From our Correspondent SILCHAR, July 3: Gopidas Sinha, a member of Assam State Linguistic Minorities Development Board and a renowned social worker, submitted a memorandum addressed to the Minister of Welfare of Plains Tribes and Backward Classes, through Deputy Commissioner on Monday, reiterating his decision to sit on a fast unto death from July 16 before the Assam Legislative Assembly if his charter of demands are not fulfilled. His charter of demands included the immediate dissolution of the interim committee of Bishnupriya Manipuri Development Council (BMDC) by July 15 on the grounds of irregularities and corruption in utilization of government sanctioned fund of Rs 2 crore 60 lakh during the financial year of 2010-11 and 2011-12, action against the guilty persons involved in the corruption and formation of new committee unanimously by the people of the community.  Gopidas Sinha alleged that the process of the interim committee for the BMDC was quite irregular as he

PAYING A GLOWING TRIBUTE TO TRADITION

Saturday , July 14 , 2012 Sharmila Basu Thakur  Indian classical dance believes in parampara. Imparting training through rigorous practice to nurture and propagate the art form is the essence of Indian classical dance. There are few institutions which understand this responsibility. Manipuri Nartanashram is an old institution with a vision of imparting systematic training in the art of Manipuri dance. Founded by Gauri Datta, a senior disciple of Guru Bipin Singh, this institution has been working dedicatedly for a long time.To celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore,the institution, in association with Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, organized Rabindra Pranati at Rabindra Sadan under the able guidance of Gauri Datta. Tagore’s dance drama, Chitrangada, was staged as a part of this celebration. Datta believes in straight and simple presentations which reflect her strong conviction in the strength of her acquired art form. Much is happening today in the name

BMDC promises ex-armymen of Rs10 lakh

Post Bureau, Guwahati (May 28): The floating of the Nikhil Bishnupriya Manipuri Ex-Servicemen Association (NBMESA) with Rajkumar Chandrakanta Sinha as its president, Brajendra Sinha as vice-president, Lal Mohan Sinha as general secretary, Aswini Kumar Sinha as office secretary and Satyabrata Sinha as organising secretary and 22 executive members was made formal through a day-long opening ceremony at Silpgram on Sunday. Besides cultural programmes, the occasion was addressed by Bishnupriya Manipuri Development Council ( BMDC) chairman Kartik Sena Sinha, who is also the adviser of NBMESA, and Col (retd) Bijoy Sinha. The BMDC chairman promised a grant of Rs10 L to the NBMESA in this fiscal for setting up industries to make it a vibrant association that can absorb their members, wards, non-member ex-servicemen and others in the community, besides contributing to the economy. Courtesy: Seven Sisters Post Links used: http://sevensisterspost.com/?p=15470#

CAPF Assistant Commandant (AC) Exam 2012

Jobs and Career UPSC Central Armed Police Forces (Assistant Commandants) Examination 2012 The Union Public Service Commission UPSC will hold recruitment of Assistant Commandants (AC) in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) viz. Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). Total Vacancies: 401 Age : Minimum 20 years, Maximum 25 years on 1 August 2012 Educational Qualification: Graduation Last date of application submission: 27 August 2012 Written Exam Date : 11 November 2012 For more information, visit UPSC CPF AC Exam 2012 Official website: UPSC   Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) November Exam 2012 Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), New Delhi, will conduct Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) November Exam 2012 for the appointment of teachers in Classes I-VIII.  Date of written exam: 18 November 2012 Las

Report on Linguistic Minorities presented to Salman Khurshid

27-July, 2012 15:09 IST Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities Presents the 48th Report on Linguistic Minorities to Shri Salman Khurshid Salman Khurshid, Minister for Minority Affairs   Dr. Nandlal Jotwani, Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities presented the 48th Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities to Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister for Minority Affairs, here today at Paryavaran Bhawan in the presence of Shri Vincent H. Pala, Minister of State for Minority Affairs, Dr. Surajit Mitra, Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs, and other senior officers of the Ministry. The Report will now be presented to the President of India, who then causes the Report to be laid in both the Houses of the Parliament.  The 48th Report covers the period from July 2010 to June 2011 and critically reviews the status of implementation of the Scheme of Safeguards for the linguistic minorities in all the States and Union Territories of the country vis-à-vis Action Taken Repor

Predicament of India's Linguistic minority

News & Views RK Rishikesh Sinha The 21 st century has brought people of minority speaking community to think, compare, and analyze their community in terms of many modern parameters, and consequently they are moulding themselves to their individual choices and preferences. They are impatient and fearful for being from minority community in the midst of many pull and push of the modern time. In nutshell, people are questioning and they are making their own conclusions. And they are finding their own ways to preserve their unique socio-cultural and linguistic identity. But why people raise questions on their community? Why so much scrutiny about the community they belong to? Is it mere curiosity? Or it is a pre-planned question being implanted decades ago by our socio-politico surroundings? Self-doubt, low esteem about ones identity should not arise. In contrast, there should not be any eulogizing about ones community either. The state of the people should be

Protest outside Dispur assembly complex

TNN Jul 17, 2012, 12.24AM IST Several organizations representing Bishnupriya Manipuris of Assam under the banner of Nikhil Bishnupriya Manipuri Mahasabha staged a demonstration, demanding allotment of more funds for the community's development council.  Courtesy: Times of India

India’s Top 6 Bilingual Minority Speakers; Bishnupriya Manipuri is 6th in India and 2nd in NE India

News and Views RK Rishikesh Sinha Bishnupriya Manipuri language speakers hold the sixth position in India and second in Northeast India after Deori language speakers  to know two or more languages . In a list of 96 non-scheduled languages of India, Coorgi / Kodagu language speakers top the list with 86.46 per cent knowing two or more languages. This was stated in a paper published byParis-based Evalautions and Language resources Distribution Agency (ELDA) on the basis of 1991 census. If you are not able be see the below table, click India Top 6 Bilingual Minority Speakers Coorgi / Kodagu Speakers According to 2001 Census of India, Coorgi / Kodagu Speakers are mostly concentrated in Karnataka with 164,403 persons. They top the list knowing two or more languages. Tulu language Speakers With native state Karnataka, Tulu speakers are in sizable population in Karnataka (1,495,273 persons, 2001 Census),   Kerala ( 122,995 ), and Maharashtra (99,729 ). 6