Meghalaya forms advisory body to implement right to education

Shillong, Mar 29: The Meghalaya Government has constituted a state advisory council mandated to advise the Government on the smooth implementation of the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), officials said today.

Chaired by the Education Minister, Mr R. C. Laloo, “the state advisory council is mandated to advise the State Government on issues pertaining to the smooth implementation of the RTE in the State,” a recent notification in this regard said.

The principals of leading schools and colleges in the State will be non-official members of the body.

Eight official members to the council include the executive chairman of the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBoSE), officials from the law and social welfare department, besides the principal secretary of the education department, officials said.

Further, the State Government has also constituted a Right to Education Protection Authority (REPA) aimed at safeguarding the rights of children to free and compulsory education.

Mr Kerma Lyngdoh, former Pro Vice-Chancellor of North Eastern Hill University, heads the REPA and is assisted by Mr Carmo Noronha, director of Bethany Society, and Ms Farida Warjri, head lecturer, St Edmund’s social welfare department.

The REPA is also mandated to inquire into complaints with regards to the RTE in Meghalaya.

The implementation of the RTE is expected to begin from 2013 in Meghalaya after the Government re-drafted certain parts of the approved rules, which stakeholders in education had vehemently opposed.

The Committee on subordinate legislation tabled its report on the floor of the House recently with recommendations and suggestions to effectively implement the RTE Rules, 2011.

Meeting on Community Protocols Held in Sabah, Malaysia

On 28 March, an informal meeting on biocultural community protocols was organized by Natural Justice and hosted by PACOS in Sabah, Malaysia. Anne Lasimbang (PACOS) provided background on the first community protocols developed in Sabah in 1998. Community researchers from Kampung Buayan presented on the protocol developed by the communities of Ulu Papar over the past two years with support from the Global Diversity Foundation. Natural Justice discussed activities undertaken in the Regional Initiatives on Biocultural Community Protocols and introduced the newly released Biocultural Community Protocols Toolkit for Community Facilitators.

Borneo Conservancy highlighted the potential wider applications of community protocols in the context of different legal frameworks. A representative of LEAP and the Indigenous Peoples Network of Malaysia (JOAS) noted the need for such tools that can help amplify communities' voices, particularly in partnerships with government agencies and the private sector. The organizations in attendance agreed to further explore opportunities for coordination and joint strategies around community protocols in Sabah, including to advocate for recognition of customary systems of resource governance (known as tagal).

Illegal saw mills destroying forest cover in Meghalaya: CAG

Shillong : Illegal saw mills have been destroying the forest cover endangering the ecology and environment of Meghalaya, as per the latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

"As many as 218 illegal saw mills were operating in the state as of June last year apart from 12 clandestine saw mills operating on the Assam-Meghalaya border in Garo Hills region," the report said.

In Jaintia Hills district, there were 96 unauthorised saw mills as compared to only four mills authorised by the concerned department. In Khasi Hills region, there were 35 authorised saw mills against 109 illegal units, it said.

There was a lack of concerted efforts from government departments including police and power in stopping the illegal industry.

"FIRs lodged with the police to halt illegal operations were futile and assistance taken from the Meghalaya Electricity Corporation Ltd to disconnect power achieved little success," the report said.

"The ineffective dealing with the problem is a matter of serious concern with grave implications for the ecology and environment of the state," the report said.

CAG suggested setting up of a monitoring committee which would include officials from the departments of forest and police besides district administration to ensure coordinated and sustained efforts to stop illegal sawmills in Meghalaya.

The Supreme Court had in 1998 observed that the proliferation of wood-based industries was the main cause of degradation of forests in NE and asked all state governments of the region to regulate such industries.

African BCP Initiative Meeting - Nairobi

Building on its earlier meeting held in December 2011, African BCP Initiative Kenyan partners met in Nairobi to discuss the experiences of members in developing and implementing BCPs. Member organizations including Natural Justice, ETC Compas, the Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development (CIKOD), Mainyoito Pastoralists Integrated Development Organization, Save Lamu, Kivulini, Ogiek Peoples Development Programme and Life Network provided updates on the status of their BCPs. They shared valuable information regarding lessons learned during development and implementation of BCPs, and discussed some of the challenges they faced in the process. 

Natural Justice contributed insights on dealing with some of these challenges, and introduced the Biocultural Community Protocols Toolkit, which sets forth tools for community facilitators to support communities in the BCP process. The Toolkit is now available for member comments, with a final version scheduled to be published by the end of 2012. An electronic version is available here. Finally, ETC Compas facilitated a discussion on the relationship between BCPs and multistakeholder partnerships, and addressed the next steps to be taken by the African BCP Initiative. All African partners of the BCP Initiative will be attending a final meeting and planning session in Ghana in June.

Save Lamu Hosts Community Meeting to Discuss BCP

For three days beginning 20 March 2012, at a meeting facilitated by Save Lamu, community members representing stakeholders from around the Lamu region gathered in Lamu Town on Kenya’s coast to continue developing the community’s biocultural community protocol (BCP). Dividing into six groups based on Lamu’s major nature-based livelihoods—fisherfolk, farmers, hunter-gatherers, mangrove cutters, pastoralists, and other-nature-based livelihoods—participants mapped the location and identity of the natural resources used by those livelihoods. Participants provided information regarding their use and conservation of Lamu’s natural resources, discussed the positive and negative impacts of the planned port, and proposed mitigating measures to address potential impacts. 

Other issues addressed included improving communication among community members and dealing with the misconception that Save Lamu is against the port when in fact its major concern is the lack of community participation in the planning of the port. Additionally, participants developed a vision statement encapsulating the community’s goals and aspirations, which will help to guide the development of Lamu’s BCP going forward.

Low Police-Population-Area Ratio Big Challenge for Meghalaya

The Meghalaya government today said that the rising militant activities and low police-population-area ratio is posing a 'big challenge' in the state.

"We recognise that there is a need to improve our police-population ratio and to strengthen the police network so that the problem (militancy) can be nipped at the initial stage," Home Minister H D R Lyngdoh said in reply to a cut motion moved by opposition member from NCP J M Marak in the assembly.

"Since January 2010, the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) had killed 25 civilians and 10 police personnel besides injuring three civilians," Lyngdoh said.

During the same period, 31 militants were killed, 156 militants arrested, 65 surrendered and 93 arms recovered, he said.

"The 433-km international border with Bangladesh poses serious problems such as influx and existence of bases of some of NE militant organisation in Bangladesh," Lyngdoh said, adding that his government is "committed to complete fencing along the border at a past pace."

On influx, the Home Minister stated that 2800 foreign nationals were detected in 2011, of which 156 were prosecuted and 2644 were pushed back directly.

The Home Minister, however, noted that the law and order situation in the state has remained "stable" in spite of the challenges. He said that the Centre accorded sanction of Rs 50 crore from the 13th Finance Commission for the setting up of Meghalaya Police Academy and aimed at developing it as a centre of excellence in police training.

Meghalaya has 13,394 police personnel which works out to 110 policemen for a population of one lakh and one police covering an area of 6.83 square kilometer, Lyngdoh said.

Meghalaya has only 16 pc land covered under irrigation

Shillong, Mar 26 : Meghalaya has only 16 per cent of its land covered under irrigation, prompting government to give irrigation a thrust in the coming years to improve the area covered, officials said today. "The irrigation potential covered till the December 2011 is only about 16 per cent of the full irrigation potential and steps will be taken to increase the coverage," an official in the agriculture department said. They said the irrigation potential of the state identified by the department is about 2.18 lakh hectares. "In the current year, 81 ongoing minor irrigation schemes estimated to cost Rs 10,523 lakh and covering a total area of 8,318 hectares have been taken up," the official said, adding, "of these, 64 schemes are under the Centre's Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) estimated at Rs 9,073 lakh for an area coverage of 6,843 hectares". According to the agriculture department official, "Further, proposal for 65 new minor irrigation projects with a total command area of 6,141 hectares and an estimated cost of Rs 8,864 lakh have been proposed under AIBP for the year 2011-12." He said that for ensuring better utilisation of the existing irrigated area, Command Area and Water Management Programme is also being implemented in the state.

Final Guidelines for Land Tenure Submitted

Photo credit: Roberto Faidutti - FAO

The draft text for the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security was submitted for final approval by the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) this past week. While the guidelines will not be binding, Yayi Olaniran, the chair of the CFS, said the inclusive process used to develop the guidelines will help to ensure “they will set the bar for policy makers.” 

The full text of the draft guidelines will be available at the website of the CFS Secretariat here soon. Read more about the guidelines here.

Forever Sabah Stakeholder Meeting

Last week Harry Jonas attended an NGO stakeholder meeting for a bold new project being developed in Malaysia: Forever Sabah. The meeting was convened by LEAP and attended by a range of NGOs including Borneo Conservancy, PACOS, Hutan, WWF, and Global Diversity Foundation. Forever Sabah is a full-scale reintegration of economic, social and environmental issues at the landscape level towards a paradigm shift to a "greener" economic and governance model. Harry provided input on Natural Justice's work on the green economy and green governance, about which more can be read here. More information on Forever Sabah can be found on LEAP's website.

Protest for Community Inclusion in Banni

The Banni Pashu Uchherak Maldhari Sangathan and Maldharis of Banni have organized a public gathering to protest the lack of involvement in the Indian Forest Department's working plan for the Banni grasslands of Gujarat. The community has previously developed a biocultural community protocol which can be accessed here. For more information contact the Banni Breeders Association: bpums4@gmail.com.

W.G. Sebald’s The Rings of Saturn

By Professor Gerrit-Jan Berendse, Cardiff School of European Languages, Translation and PoliticsLet me start with some simple, some may even say banal things – to be found on every Wikipedia site: Sebald was born on 18 May 1944 in Bavaria, he died on 14 December 2001 in Norfolk, England. His first names were Winfried Georg, a third name was given to him by his parents: Maximilian. But who wants to be called Winfried Georg Maximilian, especially when living in Great Britain?!

Sebald preferred Max or – the British way – the two initials W.G., or: Professor Sebald, professor of European Literature at the University of East Anglia since 1988 – about 20 years after he decided to move to England, first to Manchester, then to Norwich.

Sebal’s career is not typical for a German student and academic in the 1960s. Sebald was 19 when, in 1963, he started his studies at the University of Freiburg, and instead of continuing his studies in Germany, becoming part of the student and protest movement, he moved to Switzerland, and later to Manchester. The 1960s in Germany was the time of the so-called Auschwitz trials, when, in 1963, the involvement of common Germans in the genocide of millions of Jews, gypsies and homosexuals – the Holocaust – was discussed in the media and, especially, in universities. The students questioned the involvement of their parents’ generation in Hitler’s Germany. The younger generation requested answers, wanted to prevent memories about the horrific past being forgotten or suppressed, and envisaging an ability to mourn and find ways to master the past in a critical way.

Sebald was not part of this – to be honest, severely politicised – protest movement because he gradually retreated from Germany, first to the Swiss University of Fribourg, and in 1970 he landed at the University of Manchester as a teaching assistant. It was here in Great Britain that Sebald became one of the most prominent representatives of the cultural memory of the Second World War, of the destructive elements in the daily life of the “Third Reich” and of the Holocaust. As a German writer in voluntary exile, Sebald developed a unique voice to find a remedy against forgetting, to find a way to overcome silence.

How did this exile find this voice? How did he manage to become such a disturbing feature in Germany’s difficulties to express its attitude towards its own history? For that we need to investigate his writing style.

Just to make sure this talk will not end in a lecture, I will focus on Sebald’s book The Rings of Saturn (published in German in 1995, English translation by Michael Hulse in 1998), which the movie Patience (After Sebald) by Grant Gee (2010) addresses.

The Rings of Saturn is not a novel on the German past, it is not even a novel. To make things worse, this book is not even a documentation of a walking tour as the German subtitle promises: Eine englische Wallfahrt (An English Pilgrimage). The book, as with much of his prose, for example Vertigo (1990), The Emigrants (1992) and Austerlitz (2001), is in a hybrid sate: there is no action, no development of characters, it indeed consists of a travelogue, but also of reflections of the things he sees, people he meets, memories of his personal life, and what he has read. The book is an encyclopaedia of world history, cultural history, an archive of stories and memories. And, especially, The Rings of Saturn is a restless book: in the ten chapters we are confronted with newspaper clippings, images of famous paintings, photocopied drawings, and we learn a lot about the local history of East Anglia. This form of narration reminds us of Marcel Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past (1927) or the reflections of the German philosopher Walter Benjamin in his Arcades Project in Paris (begun in 1927).

What has this to do with contemporary Germany? For German readers the book was refreshing because it was an alternative method of remembering their national past. Apart from presenting an innovative hybrid genre, Sebald opens archives of material on violence, destruction, genocide, the link between modern life and decay (not all on Germany), but at the same time he offers a new way of remembering, a unique process of memory. This process of remembering the past is not ideologically driven, as is often the case in books dealing with the same violent past by Sebald’s German compatriots. For me that is the uniqueness of Sebald and the significance of his place in contemporary German literary history. Perhaps better: European literary history.

In sum: It is the combination of the things that he presents as memories and the way he remembers them that makes Sebald’s texts special and distinctive in German literary history.

Low police-population-area ratio big challenge for Meghalaya

Shillong, Mar 23 : Meghalaya government today said the rising militant activities and a low police-population-area ratio posed a 'big challenge'. "We recognise that there is a need to improve our police-population ratio and to stengthen the police network so that the problem (militancy) can be nipped at the initial stage," Home Minister H D R Lyngdoh said in reply to a cut motion moved by opposition NCP MLA J M Marak in the assembly. "Since January 2010, the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) had killed 25 civilians and 10 police personnel besides injuring three civilians," Lyngdoh said. During the same period, 31 militants were killed, 156 militants arrested, 65 surrendered and 93 arms recovered, he said. The Home Minister, however, said the law and order situation in the state has remained "stable" inspite of multiple challenges posed. "The 433-km international border with Bangladesh poses serious problems such as influx and existence of bases of some of NE militant organisation in Bangladesh," Lyngdoh said, adding his government is "committed to complete fencing along the border at a past pace." On influx, the Home Minister said, 2800 foreign nationals were detected in 2011, of which 156 were prosecuted and 2644 were pushed back directly. The Home Minister said the Centre accorded sanction of Rs 50 crore from the 13th Finance Commission for the setting up of a Meghalaya Police Academy, aimed at developing it as a centre of excellence for police training. Meghalaya has 13,394 police personnel...which works out to 110 policemen for a lakh population and one police covering an area of 6.83 square kilometer, Lyngdoh said.

Meghalaya lawmaker apologizes for assaulting journalist

Shillong: Meghalaya Congress legislator, Founder Strong Cajee today tendered an apology on the floor of the House for assaulting a photojournalist yesterday in the Assembly premises.
“I am sorry for what has happened yesterday, it would never happen in the future,” Cajee said. He termed the assault as an “unfortunate incident” and said that it was a lesson for him.
The Shillong Press Club (SPC) has strongly demanded from the Speaker, Charles Pyngrope that action must be taken against the legislator. A similar written demand was sent to the Chief Minster, Mukul Sangma. An FIR was also filed against the legislator for the alleged assault.
On Monday last, Cajee assaulted Walton Lytan, a photojournalist in the Assembly premises. The photojournalist’s fault was that he took a picture of the legislator taking a siesta in one of the sessions of the Assembly. The photo was published in the local media here.
However, the Congress lawmaker said that nobody can prove he was sleeping. “My ears were open and I was pondering over the constructive discussions,” he stated.
The legislator said that he had beaten up the photojournalist for abusing him.  Cajee too filed a counter FIR against Lytan for alleged abuse and intimidation.
Pyngrope told the House that after the legislator’s apology the matter should be settled amicably, but left the police to investigation into the case as per prescribed law.

Meghalaya seeks help to increase rice yield

SHILLONG: The state agriculture department has roped in the International Rice Research Institute to assist it to increase the production of rice in Meghalaya as there is a huge gap in the demand and supply of rice in the state.

Stating that various measures have been initiated to augment production of rice, chief minister Mukul Sangma, who also holds the agriculture portfolio on Tuesday told the state assembly that efforts were being made to replace low-yielding varieties of paddy with high-yielding ones.

The CM said efforts were being made to bring more area under rice cultivation as the state has very limited land suitable for rice cultivation due to the hilly terrain. To close the gap in demand and supply, which amounts to around 2 lakh metric tonnes, he said the state was receiving its share of rice through the public distribution system.

Meghalaya: Rape Victims Yet to Claim Cash Assistance

Rape victims in Meghalaya are yet to come forward to claim monetary assistance from the government despite reports of sexual violence against women, Social Welfare minister J A Lyngdoh told the Assembly today.

Replying to a query in this regard, Lyngdoh said till date no victim in the state has come forward to avail of the Centrally sponsored scheme, 'Financial Assistance and Support Services to Victims of Rape'.

He said the government was “trying hard”, in collaboration with the State Women’s Commission, to sensitize rape victims on the availability of assistance for them.

District Level Board Committees with one woman member have been set up throughout the state to enable rape victims to easily approach them, the minister said adding that awareness campaign was on.

Contending that the government has not done enough to reach out to the victims, Opposition NCP Mla James K Sangma said “many rape cases” were “going on” in the state, especially in the rural areas, in which “victims do not come out in the open.”

James said the fact that none of the victims have so far come forward to avail of state assistance was reflective of the fact that there was “something wrong with the system”.

The legislator from West Garo Hills district suggested that the government directly approach rape victims and voluntarily provide assistance.

“Rape victims go through a lot of trauma and so do not come forward to seek assistance due to the stigma attached," James said. (More)

The Minister assured that the Social Welfare department would “go all out” with the programme to sensitize people on this matter even as he informed the House that under the available scheme, a rape victim was entitled to Rs 3 lakh as support for shelter, legal and medical aid, counseling and also to “restore them to position of dignity”.

The Minister further said that in the case of death of rape victims, there were provisions for providing Rs 1 lakh to the next of kin if the victim was not earning and Rs 2 lakh to the family of a victim who was earning.

The minister said the government has constituted State Criminal Injuries Relief and Rehabilitation Board with principal secretary/commissioner and secretary as chairman and director of social welfare as member-secretary.

District Criminal Injuries Relief and Rehabilitation Boards have also been constituted with deputy commissioners as chairpersons and district social welfare officers as member secretaries, he said.

Biocultural Community Protocols Toolkit for Community Facilitators

Natural Justice has just released the first version of "Biocultural Community Protocols: A Toolkit for Community Facilitators". Developed through the Regional Initiatives on Biocultural Community Protocols and with guidance and input from other key partners around the world, the Toolkit is comprised of four parts:

• Part I: Understanding and Using the Toolkit
• Part II: Documenting and Developing a Biocultural Community Protocol
• Part III: Using a Biocultural Community Protocol
• Part IV: Reflecting, Reporting, and Revising

It is intended primarily for use by Indigenous peoples and local communities with support from long-standing and trusted organizations, where appropriate. The Toolkit is available for download in one document or in smaller components on the dedicated community protocols website, along with a number of additional resources such as e-learning modules on key legal frameworks, publications, and films.

We welcome feedback and suggestions regarding any of the materials ahead of developing a second version of the Toolkit later in 2012. Please contact Holly Shrumm at holly (at) naturaljustice.org with any questions or inputs.

Maldhari BCP Photostory

As attempts to ban the Maldhari community from grazing their livestock the grasslands they have occupied sustainably for hundreds of years continue, a photostory presentation of the communities biocultural community protocol (BCP) has been prepared to link the document’s text to a visual representation of the Maldhari community’s intimate connection to their land.

The Maldhari BCP asserts the community’s traditional practices of grazing in the Banni grasslands of Kutch, Indi, and links those practices to protections and guarantees in national and international law.

The Maldharis are members of the BCP Initiative and their BCP can be accessed here. Read more about the challenges they are facing here. 

Shillong's elite club polluting Ward's Lake

SHILLONG: The oldest and most scenic man-made lake in Shillong is being polluted by the effluents emanating from one of the city's oldest and most elite clubs. Replying to a in the legislative assembly in the Meghalaya capital on Thursday, Prestone Tynsong, minister of forests and environment, said: "Shillong Club continues to release untreated effluence into Ward's Lake."

Informing that the government was notified that refuse from the club was being dumped in the lake by the Meghalaya Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) in 2006, the minister said the divisional forest officer (social forestry) of Shillong had convened a joint inspection in 2008, wherein pollution from two other sources - Parking Lot (developed by Meghalaya Urban Development Authority and run by the Shillong Municipal Board) and Lake View Inn Hotel - was also brought to light. Directions were also issued to the club and hotel to take necessary action to stop discharge of untreated waste into the lake.

Subsequently a joint team comprising officials and representatives of the "polluters" proposed installation of a "common conduit" that would pass through the lake, "internal construction" of a 'nullah' and waste-water treatment plant within the premises of the club and the hotel. The minister informed that while Lake View Inn Hotel has fully complied with the direction to establish and operate pollution control/abatement measures, M/s H K Loungani and Company, managing agent of the "hotel part" of the Shillong Club have only partially fulfilled the directions. "But the Shillong Club Limited management in-charge of the staff quarters has not taken any step to prevent and stop discharge of effluence to the Ward's Lake," the minister said, adding that fish in the lake were dying due to this.

The minister asserted that the state government, exercising powers under Section 5 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, will issue direction for closure, prohibition or regulation, operation or process; or stoppage or regulation of supply of electricity, water or any other service if the Shillong Club and the Shillong Municipal Board fail to take preventive and curative steps to control and abate pollution to the Ward's Lake within a "reasonable time that may be given to them".

Meghalaya to seek re-transfer of defence land in Shillong

Shillong, Mar 16 : The Meghalaya government has decided to constitute a committee to negotiate with the re-transferring "excess" defence land here for expansion of Shillong. Transfer of defence land would help expansion of Shillong and for upgradation of the only airport at Umroi, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma told the Assembly today. He said that Shillong with approximately 0.5 million people and the highest person-vehicle ratio was growing at a staggering 32.38 per cent. "The state government is asking for a portion less than five per cent of the approximate 2000 acre of land under possession by the defence establishment in Meghalaya," he said. Sangma said the committee would be constituted within the ongoing budget session to study the quantum of land the defence establishments occupied and to recommend re-transfer. The Defence Minister had written to the state government in November last year stating that a senior defence ministry official was entrusted to examine the matter, after he took up the issue with the prime minister and defence minister. He said re-transfer of land occupied by the defence establishments was of "utmost urgency" to build flyovers to ease the flow of traffic and civil establishments. About 38 acre of defence land at Umroi in Ri-bhoi district was required to expand the runway for larger aircraft to land, he said. The state government also intended to seek re-transfer of the Garrison Ground and its adjoining hillock in the heart of the state capital. Former Chief Minister D D Lapang said the issue of re-transfer of land held by defence authorities had been pending for too long and suggested formation of a house committee to approach the Defence Ministry.

Move to demand Garo Statehood

TURA, Mar 16 – An emergent meeting of various NGOs of Garo Hills, held at the residence of Clifford R Marak, former MLA and president of GNC on Tuesday, resolved to form an ad hoc steering committee to carry on the movement for Statehood of Garo Hills.

Various NGOs, comprising the Garo Students’ Union Chief Executive Committee, Tura Law College Students’ Union and Baghmara College Students’ Union, unanimously resolved to form the ad hoc steering committee which was formerly known as Garo Hills Separate State Demand Committee.

The committee decided to launch its programmes demanding statehood democratically by organising public meetings, processions, picketing and awareness programmes time to time. The committee has urged all the citizens and NGOs of Garo Hills to extend a helping hand to the movement. The executive members selected at the meeting are Augustine R Marak, chairman, Henyson M Marak and Tengsak G Momin, co-chairman, Adinson Ch Momin, secretary, Nikman Ch Marak, joint secretary and Henysing A Sangma, finance secretary.

India's best-kept secret, Shillong

Photo: Foggy morning at Lake Umiam

SHILLONG, India, March 14, 2012 — Tucked away in the far northeastern Indian hills in between Bangladesh and Assam, sits the barely noticeable state of Meghalaya that is home to many tribal populations.
Most people traveling to India will choose to visit the standard Golden Triangle region (Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra). While each of these well- known cities creates unique experiences for all, I have found the most solace in the harder to reach nooks and crannies of this magical subcontinent.
When I arrived at the closest airport in Guwahati, Assam, I wasn’t sure what to expect. From here, I hopped into a prearranged, private Assam tour vehicle, which happened to be a spacious minivan, and began journey to Shillong.
We were informed that based on the traffic, it could take us anywhere from four to seven hours. You will feel like you’re in a game of Mario Kart, except you don’t win points every time your driver hits something. I highly recommended dosing up on some Dramamine to keep motion sickness at bay.
Because Shillong is slowly attracting more tourist visibility, there are no shortages of places to stay; however, even just decent hotels charge slightly higher prices because of the lack of nicer options.
For the Hotel Polo Towers, which I would describe as a 2.5 star hotel, it cost us around $200.00 per night. Regardless, the service was great and the staff was really accommodating, which made the smaller hotel seem more comfortable.
The hotel is also located in the middle of a Bazaar, so walking around in the evenings when the crowds pick up can yield some interesting experiences, including witnessing the beheading of your dinner.
If your time in Shillong is limited, you may not have time to go see Cherrapunji, a city located about 60 kilometers away and known to be the second wettest place on earth.
If you do manage to take the two-hour drive there, you can experience waterfalls, the wilderness, and an endless green everything from the same viewpoint that the clouds enjoy. It will definitely be worth the day trip.
If you want to stick to some sights around Shillong, visit Shillong Peak, which gives you a panoramic view of the entire city. A couple of kilometers further into the hills you will find Elephant Falls, a famous tourist destination that displays waterfalls at a much smaller scale than what you will experience at Cherrapunji. Though not as breathtaking, you will see some smaller attractions on the way including a naval base, a potato farm, and tea gardens.
Finally, you must stop and see Umiam Lake, a magnificent manmade reservoir. You can kayak and rent other water sporting equipment so that you can actually enjoy your time on the lake.
Shillong is definitely one of India’s best-kept secrets. As the Khasis would say, “Leit Suk!”

Another new district in Meghalaya

Shillong, Mar 15 : Under fire for announcing the creation of three districts outside assembly in Meghalaya, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today said another district would be carved out to fulfil the aspiration of the people of the state. "One more district will be created in the first phase of upgradation of the administrative units of the state," the chief minister said during his reply to the debate on the governor’s address in the assembly. The chief minister had on Friday last told reporters the decision of his government to upgrade three civil sub-divisions -- Khliehriat in Jaintia Hills, Resubelpara in East Garo Hills and Ampati in West Garo Hills -- to full fledged districts. The Opposition NCP had on Monday said that the chief minister's announcement was an "insult" to the assembly members for making the statement outside the House during session.

Meghalaya CM confident of tackling GNLA

Shillong : Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma Tuesday exuded confidence that his government will effectively tackle insurgency in the Garo Hills and ensure lasting peace in the state.
The Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), headed by former police officer Champion R. Sangma, has unleashed terror in the three impoverished districts of Garo Hills in western part of Meghalaya.
"We are sincere in our approach to tackle this problem and the government will address the root cause of insurgency in the state," he told members of the assembly.
Opposition leader Conrad K. Sangma said the law and order in Garo Hills was worse than that in Manipur.
"Over 30 people, including security personnel, have been killed in the Garo Hills during the last two year by GNLA," Conrad said.
The chief minister said: "As almost 30 percent of GNLA cadres are from Assam, this issue requires greater dimension in tackling it and therefore, we need the cooperation of the government in our neighbouring state."
The GNLA, one of the five Garo rebel groups, is fighting for a separate Garoland in western part of Meghalaya.
It has forged an operational alliance with the United Liberation Front of Asom and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland.

Oppn walkout over Meghalaya's claim on CM residence

Guwahati, Mar 14 : Not satisfied with the state government's reply on Meghalaya's claim that Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's official residence was on the neighbouring state's land, opposition parties today staged a walkout from the assembly. Asom Gana Parishad MLA Padma Hazarika today raised the issue of Meghalaya government's claim on 12 disputed places, including the Chief Minister's residence in Koinadhara Hill which was earlier the Assam State Guest House and urged the government to make its stand clear on the matter. BJP MLA Prashanta Phukan also raised the issue saying the matter was serious as Meghalaya's Revenue Minister had made the statement in their assembly yesterday. Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain said the state government was committed to protect every inch of its land and no claim by any neighbouring state would change this stand. "We are in favour of resolving the issue within the constitutional framework and not by a boundary commission as demanded by Meghalaya," he said. The Chief Minister announced in his budget speech yesterday that a number of schemes were undertaken for the all-round socio-economic development of the people living in the inter-state border areas, Hussain said. The opposition parties then staged a walkout alleging the reply reflects the government's indifference towards the issue and was far from satisfactory. Meghalaya Revenue Minister R C Laloo had said in the assembly yesterday that differences persisted with Assam at 12 places along the border, with one being the land on which stands the Assam State Guest House stands, currently occupied by the Assam Chief Minister, along the inter-state border falling within the Khanapara-Pilangakata block.

Meghalaya: Lokayukta to be Set Up Soon

Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today said the office of the Lokayukta was in the process of being set up in the state after the opposition NCP slammed the ruling Congress for its failure to do so.

"A vigilance cell under the political department headed by the chief secretary as its chief vigilance commissioner has been created to look into allegations of corruption," the chief minister said.

Speaker Charles Pyngrope said "I spoke through the office of the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court to discuss this."

The Speaker called on the Leader of the Opposition Conrad K Sangma and the chief minister to follow it up with the Chief Justice.

"I do not understand why the government is taking so long to appoint the Lokayukta when the Meghalaya Lokayukta Act was passed in 2002," the Leader of the Opposition said earlier.

He said, "While corruption is the driving issue in the country, I cannot understand why the delay here."

Pine City to promote sport fisheries

SHILLONG: With angling being one of the popular hobbies of the people in Meghalaya, which has numerous rivers and streams, the departments of fisheries and tourism have decided to jointly promote "sport fisheries" in the state.

"This will offer an opportunity to all angling enthusiasts to travel to far off places for angling. It will also boost the economy of the state as hotels, restaurants, lodges and sport fishing equipment shops will be set up near angling hotspots, thereby generating employment for the locals," says an official.

Informing that the fisheries department has already earmarked Rs 20 crore for the programme, the official said the total budget works out to Rs 26.43 crore.

"The department will identify suitable pockets in rivers and develop them for sport fisheries. After development, these spots will be handed over to the communities, NGOs, angling associations for management and angling will be allowed on payment of fixed fees," he added. He said locals would be engaged to prevent indiscriminate catching of fish.

He added that country boats, including other accessories required by the river patrolling personnel, would be provided and sheds for sheltering the guards would be constructed near "sensitive areas" of the rivers. "Sport fisheries will undoubtedly generate income for the rural people and also help conserve the indigenous fauna of the state," said another official in the tourism department.

There are numerous angling spots in Meghalaya, one of which is at Ranikor, a small town on the India-Bangladesh border. About 140 km from Shillong, it is one of the best fishing spots in the state with its immense natural beauty and innumerable fresh water fish.

"The place offers great opportunity to be converted into one of the angling paradises in the state," the official said. Other rivers, including Simsang in Garo Hills, Rilang, Khri and Umngot in Khasi and Jaintia Hills, are some of the known sporting sites in Meghalaya, where angling competitions are organized from time to time.

'More districts in Meghalaya soon'

SHILLONG: The state government is taking steps to create three more districts in addition to the existing seven during the course of the year, governor Ranjit Shekhar Mooshary told the assembly on the first day of the budget session on Friday.

"The government realizes the need for bring the administration closer to the people in order to lend focus to the development efforts as necessary corollary to peace and stability," he said.

Pointing out that for 2011-12, annual plan allocation for the state is Rs 2727 crore, an increase of 18.56 per cent over the earlier year's allocation, Mooshahary said the government was committed to implementing the newly launched Integrated Basin Development and Livelihoop Promotion Programme.

"The state government has been able to steer to a marked level of financial stability and various e-governance initiatives and integrated financial management system have been made operational for processing all inputs received from the treasuries," he added.

"The system of government receipts and payments were simplified by implementation of the Cyber Treasury in July, 2011 and now registered dealers can pay their taxes online at any time or place," the government said. Mentioning that the "assured career progression scheme" adopted earlier has addressed the problem of stagnation in service, he said steps were being taken for creation of an employee database, including pensioners.

Garo rebels pose challenge to peace: Governor

Shillong : Meghalaya Governor R.S. Mooshahary Friday expressed concern over the spurt of violence unleashed by rebels of the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA).

"This group (GNLA) poses a serious challenge to peace and development efforts but the government is taking all steps in order to effectively counter anti-national and criminal activities," the governor said in his address to the Meghalaya legislative assembly, marking the start of the budget session.

On the influx of illegal migrants and rebels from Bangladesh, Mooshahary said expeditious completion of the border fencing was a priority for the government.

On the vexed inter-state border dispute with Assam, Mooshahary said the matter is being pursued with the central government.

He also said the Meghalaya government stood committed to providing good governance to the people of the state.

"My government is committed to providing good governance and an administration which is clean, responsive, accountable and target oriented," he said.

'Border fencing top priority of Meghalaya govt'

Shillong: Meghalaya government has prioritised completion of border fencing along the Indo-Bangladesh Border, Governor RS Mooshahary said on Friday.

"The 443 km International border poses its own problems in terms of influx, smuggling and easy transit routes to the militant groups of the region (North East India)," Mooshahary said while addressing the Budget Session of the Assembly.

He said, "expeditious completion of the border fencing is therefore a priority for the government."

The state government has also taken up with the Centre to intensify patrolling along the border, where human habitation and settlements are located near the border, to erect the fence at zero-line, the Governor said.

Mooshahary has also lamented the need of keeping a 'close watch' along the inter-state border with Assam in view of the ethnic clashes last year.

Taking note of the spurt of terror activities of the Garo Hills-based Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) in Garo Hills region and in pockets of West Khasi Hills district, the Governor said, "the state police and Central agencies are taking all steps to effectively counter anti-national and criminal activities."

Basing reports on how the state machineries are in control during important celebrations in the state including cultural festivals, Mooshahary said, "internal security and law and order situation has remained stable... There are no critical issues (as such)."

Governor: Assam-Meghalaya boundary needs close watch

SHILLONG: Observing that internal security and law and order in Meghalaya has been stable, governor Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary on Friday said "developments" on the Assam-Meghalaya boundary needed "close watch" in view of ethnic clashes last year.

"Differences over the inter-state boundary with Assam are being pursued in the right earnest by the state government and a complete dossier of documents supporting our claims has been handed over to the Assam government," the governor said in his address to the assembly on the opening day of the budget session. He added, "The assembly had passed a resolution, urging the Centre to set up a boundary commission to deal with this problem."

Expressing concern over the spurt in activities of the Garo National Liberation Council (GNLA) in the Garo Hills and certain areas of West Khasi Hills, Mooshahary emphasized sustained efforts to neutralize all militant groups in the state. "The state police, with the assistance of Central agencies, is taking all steps to effectively counter anti-national and criminal activities," said the former chief of the BSF and the elite NSG.

Asserting action against GNLA and those found supporting the group, the governor added that the group posed serious challenge to peace and development efforts.

Pointing out that the 443-km long international border that the state shares with neighbouring Bangladesh "poses its own problems in terms of influx, smuggling and easy transit routes to militant groups of the region", the governor called for expeditious completion of the border fencing.

Agatha slams Meghalaya Govt for water crisis

SHILLONG, Mar 8  – Union Minister of State for Rural Development Agatha Sangma today criticised Meghalaya Government for alleged failure to address water crisis at Tura, the headquarters of West Garo Hills district.

Agatha had asked the chief secretary to immediately take steps to restore water supply to this western town of the State.

Tura, located 340 km west of Shillong, with a population of more than five lakh, is the headquarters of Garo Hills Division comprising three districts – West Garo Hills, East Garo Hills and South Garo Hills.

Agatha’s brother, Leader of Opposition in State Assembly, Conrad K Sangma, also met the chief engineer, Public Health Engineering department on the issue.

Residents of Tura are facing acute drinking water shortage for the past two weeks owing to a mechanical failure, officials said.

The District Deputy Commissioner Pravin Bakshi said, “Steps will be taken to solve the water crisis. Fire brigade water tanks will be sought to ferry water to the residents.

Psychiatrists on the Silver Screen

By Rhys Bevan-Jones, Hywel Dda Health Board and Cardiff University (Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences)

Psychiatrists in Film

I have a special interest in the relationship between psychiatry and the visual arts, film and multimedia, and I often use film clips when teaching psychiatry to medical students at Cardiff University School of Medicine. Films can engage students and can help demonstrate mental health issues, for example various mental states and disorders. It is important to be cautious and selective however when using films as teaching aids as there are many poor or inaccurate portrayals of mental health difficulties, although these examples can help promote discussion as well on issues such as stigma. The practice of psychiatry and psychiatrists have also been a focus of many films, and these may influence people’s perception of psychiatrists.

Whilst there are many ways in which to categorise the depictions of psychiatrists in film, some (e.g. Schneider in ‘The American Journal of Psychiatry’ in 1987) suggest lumping them into three categories. The first category includes the evil psychiatrist, sometimes referred to as ‘Dr Evil’. This representation dates back to the early 20th century German Expressionist films, such as ‘The Cabinet of Dr Caligari’ (1920) and the ‘Dr Mabuse’ series. A recent example of ‘Dr Evil’ is Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins (another Welsh connection) most famously in ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (1991), and by Brian Cox in ‘Manhunter’ (1986). A second category is ‘Dr Wonderful’, the psychiatrist who does everything to help his or her patients, although often becoming involved in their personal lives as a result. Examples include Madeleine’s Stowe character in ‘Twelve Monkeys’ (1995) and Bruce Willis in one of his more sensitive roles in ‘The Sixth Sense’ (1999). The third category is not as well-defined, but could be described as the humorous eccentric, and is sometimes labelled as ‘Dr Dippy’. These representations are seen in the Mel Brooks film ‘High Anxiety’ (1977).

In which category would the psychiatrists in ‘A Dangerous Method’ be placed? It may be argued that they could go into all three. Whilst Jung does not accuse Freud of having ‘evil’ intentions, he argues that Freud is too controlling and authoritarian as the father of psychoanalysis. Others might see both Jung and Freud as ‘Dr Wonderful’ as they work tirelessly to develop their ideas and practices and help their patients. Freud also expresses his fear to Jung in one scene that he might be mocked (possibly as a ‘Dr Dippy’) and that psychoanalysis might be seen as unscientific, especially if he incorporates Jung’s ideas.

A crucial difference between ‘A Dangerous Method’ and the films referred to above is that the characters in those films are fictional, whilst Freud and Jung are of course two of the most famous and influential psychiatrists in history. The film might well influence people’s perceptions of psychiatrists (perhaps as therapists who analyse dreams and have impressive facial hair), even though psychoanalytic psychotherapy does not have a central role in mainstream psychiatry in the UK today. However it has influenced a number of other psychotherapies and some of its ideas resonate in today’s medical practices. Psychoanalytic theory has also permeated the arts and culture in general and remains influential in these fields.

Freud’s Welsh connection

Another important figure in the history of psychoanalysis is Dr Ernest Jones (1879 – 1958), one of the most distinguished psychiatrists to come from Wales. Jones was a close friend to Freud and his biographer. I refer to him because my SciScreen talk landed on St David’s Day and the evening was sponsored by the Welsh Psychiatric Society.

Jones was born at 12 Woodlands Terrace, Gowerton, near Swansea, and there is a blue plaque to commemorate this. After qualifying at University College Hospital, London, he became interested in psychiatry. In 1907 he came across Carl Jung, and shortly afterwards he met Sigmund Freud who soon became a colleague. Jones was president of the International Psychoanalytic Association for many years, and had a great influence on the development of psychoanalysis in the English-speaking world. In 1938 he helped to rescue Freud and his family from Vienna and brought them to London. He wrote Freud’s definitive biography, which is a major source for the history of psychoanalysis. Ernest Jones died in 1958, and his ashes were laid in the family grave at Cheriton church, Gower near Swansea.

Introducing Biocultural Dialogues

On the 1st and 2nd of March, Natural Justice, the Union on Ethical Biotrade (UEBT) and GIZ hosted a meeting in Cape Town, South Africa to review a joint project on Biocultural Dialogues in Ethical Biotrade. The project focused on three pilot biotrade case studies of community-private sector dialogues in Madagascar, Peru and Brazil in 2011. The review meeting was led by Maria Julia Oliva (UEBT), Barbara Lassen (GIZ) and Johanna von Braun (Natural Justice) who facilitated the process of unearthing the lessons from the case studies for future work on Biocultural Dialogues. Gino Cocchiaro (Natural Justice) and Bern Guri (Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Development) presented further case studies involving dialogues with the private sector by traditional healers of Bushbuckridge (South Africa) and the Shea Nut harvesters of Ghana.

Participants included facilitators from Peru (Gabriela Salinas), Brazil (Luciana Alves) and Madagascar (Rina Razankolona) as well as international experts on biotrade and Access and Benefit Sharing from Brazil, Marcelo Salazar, (Instituto Socioambiental), Pierre du Plessis (CRIAA‐SA DC), Bern Guri (Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Development) and Kabir Bavikatte (Natural Justice). The project aimed to assess the potential role of Biocultural Dialogues as a tool to facilitate and strengthen community engagement with the private sector in ethical sourcing practices. 

The project sought to evaluate and further elaborate on the applicability of Biocultural Community Protocols in the first stage and Biocultural Dialogues in the second stage of biotrade supply chains and potentially Access and Benefit Sharing. The meeting concluded with the sketching of a framework for a Biocultural Dialogue approach as the second step after communities have embarked on the development of their Biocultural Community Protocols and a summary of the next steps for the project as a whole.

Meghalaya govt to revoke ST stutus from Bhong tribe

Shillong, Mar 7 (PTI) Meghalaya government today announced that it would revoke the order granting schedule tribe status to Bhong community following protest by six organizations here. Chief Secretary W M S Pariat made the statement after members of joint action committee of six social organizations observed an hunger strike here in protest against granting schedule tribe status to the Bhong community here. Working President of the Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP), Joe Lyttan told this to reporters after a meeting with the chief secretary. Lyttan claimed that Bhong community, staying in Ri Bhoi district, originally belonged to Assam and should not be considered as tribal of Meghalaya.

sciSCREEN Lite - Patience

On Wednesday March 21st at 6.15pm at Chapter Arts Centre, there will be a sciSCREEN Lite - two introductory talks - before the film Patience (After Sebald) commences.

A richly textured essay on landscape, art, history, life and loss, Patience (After Sebald) offers a unique exploration of the work of internationally acclaimed writer W.G. Max Sebald (1944 – 2001) via a walk through East Anglia tracking his most influential book, The Rings of Saturn. The much anticipated new feature by the Grierson Award-winning Director of Joy Division, Patience is the first film about Sebald internationally, marking ten years since the writer’s untimely death, and with contributions from major writers, artists and film-makers.

The speakers will discuss the making of the documentary and will place Sebald within the wider context of modern German literature. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the speakers:

• Di Robson, Producer. She is Co-Artistic Director of Artevents and Director of DREAM (Di Robson Event and Arts Management), and Co-Curator / Producer of The Re-Enchantment.
• Professor Gerrit-Jan Berendse FLSW, Professor of Modern European Literatures and Cultures, School of European Languages, Translation and Politics, Cardiff University.

‘Grant Gee's film should make anyone want to read The Rings of Saturn and the rest of Sebald's relatively small but exquisite oeuvre, some eight or nine books in all.’

Philip French, The Observer

Natural Justice Job Vacancy: Staff Lawyer / Legal Expert

Natural Justice (Lawyers for Communities and the Environment) is a pioneering international team of legal practitioners. We do cutting edge work on environmental and human rights law, support communities and provide technical advice to governments to secure environmental and social justice. Natural Justice currently works in Africa, Asia and Latin America and has offices in South Africa and Malaysia. 

Natural Justice has been working with communities, NGOs and the government in India since 2009. Due to increasing demand by Natural Justice’s India partners, we are seeking a lawyer or legal expert to set up the Natural Justice India office and support our work in India. 

Specific tasks will include: providing assistance to communities, CBOs and NGOs, including those working within the framework of the Asian Regional Initiative on Biocultural Community Protocols; supporting elements of a UNDP-GEF project on medicinal plants conservation areas; developing legal empowerment materials; providing technical advice to government agencies; engaging in or supporting litigation if necessary; developing a network of law students to increase the pool of people providing this kind of advice; and organizing related meetings and workshops, particularly in the run up to the 11th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. 

The following attributes and skills are considered beneficial: 

• A keen interest in advancing the rights of tribal and traditional communities to govern their territories, waters and natural resources; 

• Having a law degree or significant qualifications or expertise in human rights, environment and/or land law and related institutional arrangements; 

• Familiarity with the Indian legal system especially environmental and constitutional law; 

• Being registered as an advocate in one of the Indian state bars with the ability to engage in litigation if necessary will be an asset; 

• Experience working with communities and/or civil society organizations on related issues; 

• Analytical skills coupled with an ability to, on the one hand, engage with government agencies and, on the other, organize local meetings and present otherwise complex issues in a simplified yet comprehensive manner; 

• A willingness to travel on a regular basis as well as an ability to work for extended periods with communities and CBOs/NGOs in remote areas; 

• Fluency in English with the ability to engage in research, draft reports and legal documents; and 

• Fluency in Hindi and any other Indian language with an ability to engage in discussions with communities and run workshops where necessary. 

Natural Justice is a close knit and nurturing collective that places a high premium in facilitating opportunities for the professional and personal growth of its members. Natural Justice will offer a good salary that will be commensurate with skill and experience. Besides this, joining Natural Justice will offer the individual a chance to work with a passionate and highly professional global team and gain valuable international experience. 

Interested candidates are invited to send a covering letter and CV to: Harry Jonas at harry@naturaljustice.org 

Deadline for applications: 26 March 

For more information see: • www.naturaljustice.org • http://natural-justice.blogspot.com • www.community-protocols.org

New Report on the Impact of Land Grabbing by Extractive Industries

The Gaia Foundation launched a new report on the impact on the earth of land grabbing by extractive industries on the 29th February. The report, titled 'Opening Pandora's Box: The New Wave of Land Grabbing by Extractive Industries and the Devastating Impact on Earth', seeks to publicise the scope of the expansion on this phenomenon around the world.

The webpage from the report launch states "This report alerts global citizens to the dynamics in the extractive industries as a whole, and shows the alarming scale of this overall trend. Just as in the Greek myth, when Pandora opened the box and let out all the troubles known to mortals, so too this new wave of land grabbing for mining is leading to unimaginable destruction. If hope does remain, we must wake-up and act now. The extent and the scale of the increase in extraction over the last 10 years is staggering. For example, iron ore production is up by 180%; cobalt by 165%; lithium by 125%, and coal by 44%. The increase in prospecting has also grown exponentially, which means this massive acceleration in extraction will continue if concessions are granted as freely as they are now."

Download the full report here or read a summary from the report launch here.

Psychoanalysis and Buddhism: Three Phases of a Cultural Encounter

By Steven Stanley, Cardiff School of Social Sciences

We might say that psychoanalysis and Buddhism are both therapies; diagnosing and alleviating our psychological or existential suffering. But the productive, one hundred year dialogue on the margins of these traditions did not begin quite so auspiciously.

Phase 1: Orientalism

Freud and Jung famously fell out over the issue of spirituality.

Freud says psychoanalysis needs to be scientific, not mystical. Religion is an illusion (Future of an Illusion, 1927). Meditators are deluding themselves. Their ‘oceanic experiences’ (Civilization and its Discontents, 1930), or feelings of oneness with God, are an escapist regression to infantile narcissism, or fetal experience in the womb.

Franz Alexander quickly followed suit, describing some advanced Indian meditative states as melancholia, catatonia, or schizophrenic dementia. Nirvana is the ‘deepest regression to the condition of intrauterine life’.

Perhaps the historical Buddha would have been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic?

Orientalists pathologised Eastern religious practitioners to further the European project of imperialist colonization.

Phase 2: Ambivalence

Jung is an important figure in the dialogue between psychology and religion. He discusses Christianity, Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism - particularly their mystical strands. Like William James, he saw religion as a psychological reality.

Individuation is Jung’s key concept for spiritual and personal growth. The highest goal is unus mundus: a numinous state of unity of consciousness and unconsciousness, similar to some meditative states. We need to step aside and let the unity of Self or God archetypes guide us toward wholeness.

Jung visited India and was interested in yoga. He developed his own ideas and interpretations of it, sometimes disagreeing with yogic philosophy.

He wrote a commentary to the Tibetan Book of the Dead (1937); an introduction to D.T. Suzuki’s Zen Buddhism (1949); and had a conversation with Zen scholar Hisamatsu (1958).

While Jung admired and studied Eastern philosophy, he argued against its widespread use in the West. We cannot copy or steal from each other’s ways. Each must pursue their own path. Westerners are unable to assimilate such culturally distant ideas and practices.

Phase 3: Integration

The post-WWII encounter between Japan and the United States allowed American psychoanalysts to learn Zen.

Karen Horney investigated Morita Therapy in which you pay ‘wholehearted attention’ to everything you do. It fitted a 1950s conservatism of accepting the world, rather than changing it.

In 1960, Erich Fromm argued Zen and psychoanalysis offered parallel ways of liberating the modern person from civilization – through the relaxed spontaneity of ‘beginner’s mind’.

But both lacked experience of meditation.

In 1979 Kornfield, Ram Dass and Miyuki – psychology professionals who had trained in Eastern spiritual practices - debated whether ‘psychological adjustment is liberation’. How compatible is the narcissistic ‘growth movement’ with spiritual development? Much of the debate concerned Buddhist and Jungian ideas.

Buddhism and meditation had started to enter the consulting room. Middle class Buddhists were in analysis. Analysts meditated to train their attentions, cultivate ‘unconditional positive regard’ for clients, or create internal ‘holding environments’. Perhaps the talking cure on the couch could compliment the ‘silent cure’ on the meditation cushion? Buddhist and psychoanalytic schools intermingled.

Mindfulness meditation is important in these integrations. It involves recollecting what is happening while it is happening; becoming more aware and engaged with the present moment. It fits some analysts’ turn from a ‘there and then’ focus on the influence of past traumas on the present, to a ‘here and now’ focus on relational meaning-making between therapist and client. Instead of a transcendent absorption state, it offers a third way beyond expression and repression.

Conclusion

In an interesting twist of fate, psychoanalysis never became a science. While Buddhism became increasingly secularized. Indeed, psychoanalysts have played an important role in interpreting Buddhism as a psychotherapy. The Buddha has become ‘the first psychologist’.

Freud’s aim was to move people from neurotic misery to common unhappiness. Now, positive psychologists are trying to optimize our wellbeing through a ‘science of happiness’. How does this square with Buddhist teachings encouraging us to go ‘beyond the pursuit of happiness’ for its own sake? Perhaps we are misunderstanding Buddhism in the way Jung warned. And perhaps there is a grain of truth in Freud’s critique. Are we deluding ourselves once more?

Recommended Reading:

Safran, J. (2003). Psychoanalysis and Buddhism: An Unfolding Dialogue. Boston: Wisdom.

Meghalaya launches online interface for grievances redressal

Shillong, Mar 2 (PTI) Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today launched an online interface of the government -- Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System -- aimed at redressing public grievances for effective governance. "It is a citizen-centric initiative of the government for welfare of general public aimed at empowering citizens to lodge their grievances online and in local language," Sangma said. It is initiated by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. According to the IT officials, preparational training has been imparted to nodal agencies and the staff in the districts with support of IT department in the State. It is a single window application for online receipt of grievance by any citizen from any geographical region any time, they said. "For a more effective governance, citizens can lodge a formal complaint in any local language with any government department," he said. He added concerned government authorities and district administration will redress action within specified time limit. The nodal grievances officers can access grievances and forward them online to various departments for speedy redress action and reporting, the officials said.

Sangma seeks better border patrol in northeast

Shillong : Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma Thursday regretted that the international border in India's northeastern states was not manned as efficiently as in the western states.

"The northeastern border has not been as stringently manned unlike the western sector, so we have requested the home ministry to ask the BSF (Border Security Force) to intensify their patrol on the border," Sangma told reporters after a review meeting with Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Mullappally Ramachandran.

"We are trying to fence the international border to the best of our abilities," Ramachandran said.

India's landlocked northeast shares a 4,500-km border with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and China but connects with the rest of India by a narrow 22-km strip of land called the Siliguri corridor.

Ramachandran is scheduled to visit Dawki on the India-Bangladesh border Friday to get first-hand knowledge on the ground situation and also to oversee the fencing of the international border.

"We have demanded from the home ministry to direct the BSF to intensify patrolling along these vulnerable areas," Sangma said.

Due to Meghalaya's insistence for better border management, the home ministry had recently deputed BSF's special director general to visit the border in the Meghalaya sector as a priority, Sangma said.

History, Psychoanalysis and A Dangerous Method

By Keir Waddington, Cardiff School of History, Archeaology and Religion

In using the intellectual and emotional ménage à trois between Jung, Freud and Spielrein to explore Edwardian debates about psychoanalysis, Cronenberg uses history in particular ways. While Freud himself was never interested in film, Cronenberg’s cinematic history repackages popular ideas about psychoanalysis, presenting a narrative bristling with lengthy expositions, father figures, word association, and the interpretation of dreams to feature what many believe are psychoanalysts’ core preoccupations – sexual transgression, Oedipal complexes, neurosis and suppression all wrapped in Edwardian manners. If A Dangerous Method departs from usual cinematic representations of psychoanalysts in its efforts to uncover the historical and philosophical backbone of modernity, Cronenberg’s history needs, much like the dreams recounted in the film, to be interpreted.

Leaving aside that it was Anna O, Freud’s first patient, who coined the term “the talking cure”, that Freud first used the term psychoanalysis in 1896, and that others were experimenting with his methods before Jung, including British psychiatrists who adopted aspects of “the talking cure”, Cronenberg’s beautifully composed film gets some of the story right. Certainly, Jung admired Freud’s work, notably his Interpretation of Dreams (1900), and a paternalistic and troubled relationship did develop between them. As A Dangerous Method shows, Freud considered Jung his natural successor until they fell out in 1912 for a variety of personal and professional reasons, including theoretical differences about the libido and the unconscious. Jung was interested in the occult – he wrote his doctorate on the psychopathology of the occult – and as the film shows he researched word association, though Cronenberg neglects to tell us that the relationship between Jung and Freud started after Jung sent Freud his work on word association, which he believed supported Freud’s theories. Equally, Spielrein was a patient of Jung’s at Burghölzii asylum and they did have an affair. While medical ethics at the time were more about conduct between doctors rather than between doctors and patients, and popular imagery of medical practitioners often associated them with a rapacious sexuality, Jung was dismissed when the affair with Spielrein became known. Spielrein did go on to be a colleague of Jung’s and worked with Freud before returning to Russia, while Otto Gross did have an influence on Jung, who later claimed that his entire worldview changed when he treated Gross. So far so good.

At one level, Cronenberg might be forgiven for not giving the viewer much of the context of Freud and Jung’s ideas. While this is hard to do in a film, it does mean that Cronenberg’s history is a selective one, particularly with regard to how many continental psychiatrists at the time were becoming concerned with new theories of the mind – both organic interpretations associated with neuropathology and more psychotherapeutic models. As the film suggests, work therapy and hydrotherapy were employed in asylums; restraint was used for violent patients, but psychiatrists other than Freud and Jung, particularly those in France and Germany, were also turning to new approaches with a new group of neurotic and hysterical patients who it was felt were amenable to psychodynamic treatments. Equally, the period saw new theories about sexuality and an interest in ‘sexual inversions’ or perversions.

Freud and Jung were influenced by these ideas, but we do not see this in A Dangerous Method. Although Phillip French in the Guardian argues that the film is an ‘objective, historical look at the early days of psychoanalysis’, Cronenberg offers up another version of the ‘founding’ myth of psychoanalysis. While he adds in Jung and Spielrein, A Dangerous Method downplays how psychoanalysis was part of a larger psychotherapeutic movement; overlooks how Freud’s ideas were shaped by work on neuropathology, hysteria and hypnosis; and misses out some great stories, such as how Freud advocated the use of cocaine as a mental stimulant and aphrodisiac or how his claims about incest in Viennese society nearly got him into trouble. Cronenberg equally overlooks that Bleuler, the director of Burghölzii who appears fleetingly in A Dangerous Method, was a key earlier promoter Freud’s ideas, influencing Jung to use word association to test Freud’s theories. Cronenberg’s vision of the history of psychoanalysis equally overstates public opposition, telling us more about contemporary anxieties among psychoanalysts in North America than it does about the Edwardian dimension. True, the sexual dimension of Freud’s ideas was unpalatable but was more often downplayed as evidence suggests that the British public enthusiastically took to work on the interpretation of dreams. Cronenberg also gives his characters a degree of prescience – for example, in how Jung dream foretells the First World War or in Freud’s warning that psychoanalysis represents a ‘plague’ coming to America where psychoanalysis was to have a considerable influence after 1945 – which says more about his sense of inevitability than it does about the period.

And finally, there is the relationship between Jung and Spielrein and of course the spanking. True, Spielrein was beaten by her father. True, Jung lied to Freud about Spielrein, suggesting that she was a fantasist. It is true that women were institutionalised because they were viewed, as Spielrein describes herself, as ‘vile and filthy and corrupt’, but there is also evidence (such as from contemporary pornography) that Edwardians engaged in and enjoyed a broad spectrum of sexuality, which was not always seen as aberrant. More importantly, there is no evidence that Jung and Spielrein’s relationship was a sadomasochistic one. If the sadomasochistic dimension is untrue, Cronenberg further misrepresents the relationship between Spielrein and Jung: Jung was her dissertation supervisor, while he and Freud belittled Spielrein as a colleague while simultaneously using her ideas about the ‘death instinct’.

Cronenberg then prefers a racier history that continues to support the foundation myths about psychoanalysis. His A Dangerous Method helps obscure some of the richness out of which psychoanalysis developed, and downplays the other interesting histories that might be told.