Interviews

Well-known economist Mukul Asher specialises in public sector economics and social security issues in Asia. He has been a consultant to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Health Organization, Asian Development Bank, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and other institutions. He has interacted with policymakers as a resource person in several Asian countries such as India, Indonesia, Vietnam, People’s Republic of China, and Sri Lanka. He teaches applied public...

The much-awaited public screening of Fabricated, based on the case of Abdul Nasser Maudany, will be held in Bangalore on Saturday. This screening is part of a nationwide campaign to focus on the scourge of falsely implicating activists, political opponents, and fighters for peoples' causes wantonly by the State. The film's director, KP Sasi, in this freewheeling interview with dna talks about the larger context of fabricated cases. Q: Your film deals with the issue of undertrials and fabricated...

The genial, lanky man who opens the door to greet you hardly looks like one who should be in the thick of a controversy. But the report of a panel chaired by Madhav Gadgil is today at the centre of a heated debate — that originally hinged on the Western Ghats, but has since been enlarged. Gadgil, in a free-wheeling interview with Subir Ghosh, dwells at length on the Ghats and minces no words about the so-called schism between development and environment. DNA: The report of the Western Ghats...

India is one of the few countries where Amnesty International did not have a country office – except for an ephemeral period a few years back. The international human rights organisation has just launched operations in India, with a country office based out of Bangalore. Country Director Ananthapadmanabhan Guruswamy speaks to Subir Ghosh about the organisation’s immediate and not-so-immediate plans, the human rights situation in India, and of course Kashmir, Northeast and Vedanta – issues on...

For a man on a mission of reaching out to his people, the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) general secretary has been a busy man. The backdrop of talks with the Indian government makes Thuingaleng Muivah busier still. But he doesn’t keep you waiting. He doesn’t keep you waiting because he is not the kind. The glint in his eyes is unmistakable, as he comes forward to greet me. As he exchanges pleasantries, it is evident he doesn’t forget things. He recollects my interactions with him...

Subir Ghosh: The issue of issue of unity among the Nagas is one of the most written-about subjects. I have raised the issue of the surrenders in 1973 and 1975. Then there was the Phizo-Sakhrie conflict. Do you think such dissension has affected the Naga cause? Thuingaleng Muivah: The question of unity is everywhere in all struggles. It is unavoidable. We believe in revolutionary philosophy. It is through contradictions that the realities are revealed and straightened out. It is not peculiar to...

Subir Ghosh: The birth of Naga nationalism is seen by many as the submision of a memorandum to the Simon Commission in 1929. Do you agree that the formation of the Naga Club was the first concrete step towards Naga nationalism? Thuingaleng Muivah: It would be a serious mistake if one thinks that the submission of a memorandum to the Simon Commission in 1929 was the birth of Naga nationalism. The Nagas' history did not start with this incident. Alien forces in the past had met with stiff...

Subir Ghosh: The Kuki-Naga clash will never end it seems. What do you think your role is in this context? What is your assessment of this issue? Thuingaleng Muivah: The so-called Kuki-Naga clash is a pure and simple creation of the Indian government. It is an utterly miscalculated venture since the sole motive behind it is to make the Kukis fight against the Nagas. What a proxy war! But, expecting what? And, from whom? However, most of the Indian Press took sides with the Kukis and ran...

HAD he not become the leader of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN), he would probably have been serving in a mission. The last time that negotiations were held between the Indian government and the Naga guerrillas in the late Sixties, playing a key role was a suave young man in his mid-30s. Thirty summers later, the same man was set to play a bigger role in the current negotiations. But the soft-spoken NSCN chairman, Isak Chishi Swu, has not had much to speak about -- real talks...

He was barely in his thirties, when this strapping young man trekked all the way to China braving dense jungles, treacherous passes and hostile forces all around. More than 30 years later, the magic still works. The twinkle in his eyes unmistakable, the general secretary of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN), Thuingaleng Muivah, retains a charm and sharp intellect that makes him the leader of the most potent and dreaded insurgent organisation in the Northeast. Back again in Nagalim...