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Monday, May 27, 2013

How Social Media Helps Chakmas to Address Issues in Mizoram

By Suman Chakma

A Brief Note on Social Networking :

     "Social networking" has been around forever. It's the simple act of expanding the number of people you know by meeting your friends' friends, their friends' friends and so on. They are a part of one's life in today world.

    According to Mr. Sorav Jain (Masters in International Marketing Management, Leeds University Business School, U.K.), who has also been awarded with the Best Market Research Presentation Award. Following are the 10 most popular social networking sites of the world. They includes :


     1. Facebook: It was founded by Mark Zuckerberg (Chairman and CEO), Equador Severin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes on 2 November 2004 and is the most popular Social Networking site of the world.
     2. MySpace: It was founded by Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson in 2006. It is now owned by Specific Media LLC and pop music singer and actor Justin Timberlake.
     3. Twitter: It was founded by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Evan Williams and Biz Stone on 21 March 2006.  
Twitter is a very simple service that is rapidly becoming one of the most talked-about social networking service providers today.
     4. LinkedIn: It was founded by Reid Hoffman, Allen Blue, Konstantin Guericke, Eric Ly and Jean-Luc Vaillant in 2003. LinkedIn is an online social network for business professionals, which is designed specifically for professional networking, to help them find a job, discover sales leads, connect with potential business partners. 
     5. Bebo: It was founded by Michael Birch and Xochi Birch in January 2005. In U.K, Bebo is the second best social network.
     6. Friendster: It was founded by MOL Global (Ganesh Kumar Bangah, CEO) in 2002. It was one of the first Web sites to bring it into mass culture. It was designed as a place to connect with friends, family, colleagues and new friends over the Internet.
     7. Hi5: It was founded by Tagged (Ramu Yalamanchi) on 21 June 2003. It shares many similarities with many social network sites; however, it introduces some twists that make it worthwhile for people who love trying out new and interesting online communities.
     8. Habbo: It was founded by Sulake Corporation (Sampo Karjalainen Aapo Kyrola) in 2000. The Habbo online community is inhabited by pixelated, cartoon-character alter egos. You can meet others in public rooms (nightclubs, restaurants, shops) and create private rooms for selected friends. Habbo social networks is very popular in places like the United Kingdom, Japan, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Finland and more. 
     9. NING: It was founded by Gina Bianchini, Marc Andreessen (Chairman) and Jason Rosenthal (CEO) in 2004. It is the leading online platform for the world's organizers, activists and influencers to create social experiences that inspire action.
     10. Classmates: It was founded by Classmates Online, Inc. (Randy Conrads) in 1995. Classmates.com is different from most social networks, in the sense that most of its features are available to premium member.




                           " Democracy is the road to socialism. "
                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                      ~  Karl Marx


1. Introduction : 

       Since I have joined social networking sites (Orkut, was my first of its kind), I made friendship with so many peoples, so are others. I hope and belief that most of the Chakmas introduced themselves in social networking sites with Orkut as like me. I guess, Orkut was more  popular at that time. Meanwhile, they (my new friends) also met their new friends. In this way our networks expands and turn beyond horizon. Now, of course, commonly by means of "facebook, twitter and blogs".

2. Impacts of Social Networking on Chakmas : 

     Everything has its negative and positive influence. So, I shall consider here only the positive one, despite of so many ill effects.
    
     The results of social networking among the Chakmas became more pronounced in Mizoram (India) only after the inception of Mizoram Chakma Development Forum (MCDF http://mcdf.wordpress.com/ ) on 11 October in the year 2009 under the Presidentship of Dangu Hemanta Larma and co-founder Dangu Paritosh Chakma, which was a turning point of the Chakmas towards development in Mizoram. Most of the Chakma youngsters have also been convinced, and stood firm and join them as a representatives from different corners, places, organisations, etc to uplift the otherwise downtrodden Chakma's societies in Mizoram. Although, there were already many Chakma's civil organisations in Mizoram like Mizoram Chakma Students' Union (MCSU), Central and Zonal Young Chakma Association (CYCA and ZYCA respectively) and Chakma Mahila Samittee (CMS), and many others,etc. All of them were silent, they were like nothing but a puppet of the local politicians, without whose support their households do not run longer actively without taking loans from others,which was their weakness. Also several Student Bodies were also not active and politically influenced until the appearance of MCDF which lessen them from political involvement a lot. I salute you for your right innovation and noble services.

     Before the initiation of MCDF, there was no genuine publicity regarding the Chakmas in media, newspapers, etc. People know us around the world as refugees or junglees, which is not true in real. (Tega and Toizong valleys (now Mizoram) were a part of Chakma Kingdom during British Rule, Meanwhile  Zo tribes (now Mizo) were wandering elsewhere in different groups at different places headed by Older peoples in that particular grouping as Chief).


                                          " Ekko tara (Hugi) aamare rule gottondea- Luro sugor salot uttondea. "


     Once, there appeared a namesake newspaper from Kamalanagar, the Head-Quarter of Chakma Autonomous district Council (CADC) having named Adama Phor- The village Light. However, that newspaper could not become so much popular, due to lack of informations and technologies and thus discontinued. But, now with the advancement of technologies, media and informations, etc even though sans having any local newspapers, the Chakmas can convey the messages, shares opinions, fight for the same cause and empowered them. In this way the Chakma peoples in Mizoram become aware and are fighting against any political propaganda and vandalism. One of such kind was against Lalthanhawla's ( present Chief Minister of Mizoram ) racist remark ( http://www.merinews.com/article/chakmas-decry-racist-lalthanhawla/15849295.shtml or http://www.sinlung.com/2011/05/lal-thanhawla-racist-remarks-hurt.html or http://meghalayachakmastudentsunion.blogspot.in/2011/09/petitions-to-mr-lalthanhawlachief.html ) on the Chakmas, which we could not have done sans media and social networking support. The onus for demonstrating such "UNITY and FRATERNITY" among us is because of social media and social networking. It also make us realize that 'TEAM' work meaning- 'Together Everything Achieves More'. So let us everyone adhere to team work. 

An Undated photograph of  Pre-Mizoram 
Lushai women

     Sometimes, we could not have understood each others if there were no aid from social networking and social media for discussion between the Chakmas and Mizos clash frequently which is due to Dangu Benjamin Rualthanzauva, Founder of a Mizo community blog 
http://www.misual.com/2012/11/24/chakma-te-hi-tu-te-nge-an-nih/#more-107326 ), who is nothing but an anti-Chakma racist. He used to write against the Chakmas if he happen to write in his blog. For instance, once he penned a  topic in his blog with a gloomy undated photograph wherein there were four unknown women with bare body only covering the female parts and claiming that the women in the photo were Chakma gals, but later on proved that they were Mizo gals. This is how he cost his labour in maintaining his blog with such non-sense subject. I am not saying that every Mizo who scroll his blog trust in his writing, as they are intelligent enough to choose good or bad, but such futile and annoying subject may creates hazardous consequences at large. He is simply marring his image and time, showing his incorrigible nature. Even some Chakmas feedback the same thing to such meaningless subject as a retaliation. These things won't be over, and more unwelcome treat would be seen in near future, but we can lessen it if all the intellectuals involve here (discuss in social forum like facebook, twitter, blogs, etc.) which will certainly help in rejuvenating the bilateral relation between the Chakmas and the Mizos in Mizoram. And we can take the advantage of today's social networking and social media, which playing as a pivotal role before creating such misunderstanding and misleading. 

     Now, even the Fellow Researchers, Professors, Scholars, etc are browsing the informations, datas, via internet without practically surveying and researching. If such opposite informations are already available regarding a particular community or thesis in lieu of genuine one then they will take that as priority instead of hard works and toiling. It then results negative imprintings. Thus, whoever, taking the informations, datas from that same concern Professors, Scholars, etc beliefs in according to the reports. It ultimately lead to hatred and dishonoured. One of such example by Suparna Nandy, a blacklisted CMJ, University Scholar (http://www.caesjournals.org/spluploads/IJCAES-BASS-2012-198.pdf), who has have might not heard even a word of about the Chakmas before her thesis but has now completed examining the political activities of the Chakmas in Chittagong Hill Tracts that help developed the migrated Chakmas to set the goal of identity creation in Mizoram.
 

3. Communication and Relations among Chakmas :

     If there were no social media or social networking, we the Chakmas through out the world would not have known each other. I would have asked myself, who the hell this Dr. Amit Chakma ? or Dr. Bhumitra Chakma or Dr. Tapas Chakma ? or may be Raja Debashish Roy ? Now I know them nicely than they are nice. And I am proud of them. Very rarely we know about the Chakmas of Rakhine, a Myanmar state without the help of internet belonging informations. So, without social media and social networking we would have felt unrelated or alienated among the Chakmas. It is social networking or social media which is playing pivotal roles in making us friendly and homely even though we are deserted to each others and are far from one another.

     Without all these informations present today in the internet viz- wikipedia, registered websites, blogs, pages,etc, we would have been felt limited, worthless and aimless, despite losing even all our fundamental rights we are enjoying a bit today.

3 comments:

  1. Dangu Suman Chakma, I loved your article the way u wrote it. This is really important to understand each others between the Chakmas and Mizos in Mizoram before accusing each others with such futile propagandas and vandalism...Thank you, and keep writing...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you @ Anonymous, for your profound concern sharing with us about the Chakmas and Mizos of Mizoram, and also for your compliment as well...You welcome !!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you @Make My Love for giving me such an invaluable information for this site. You are welcome !!!

    ReplyDelete

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