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Veteran Naga leader Isak Chisi Swu dies in Delhi
New Delhi:Isak Chisi Swu, who for decades spearheaded a bloody insurgency in Nagaland before shaking hands with New Delhi, died on Tuesday after months of battling a kidney ailment.
Swu, the 85-year-old Chairman of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM), passed away at 12.40 p.m. at the Fortis Hospital here, doctors said.
He was admitted to the hospital on July 5 last year for a series of surgeries including for urinary tract infection that confined him to bed for months.
His son Pasheto told IANS here: “Yes, it is true that dad (Isak Swu) passed away today. His body will be flown back to his ancestral village in Nagaland soon.”
His illness prevented Isak Swu from attending the signing of a historic Naga Peace Accord on August 3, 2015 between the NSCN-IM and the Indian government at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence.
A colourful personality, Isak Swu was a co-founder of the NSCN — often dubbed the mother of all insurgent groups in the country — in 1980 along with long-time Naga comrades Thuingaleng Muivah and S.S. Khaplang.
The NSCN was formed to protest the Shillong Accord signed between the Indian government and the Naga National Council (NNC).
But differences cropped up within the NSCN after some time, leading to the departure of Khaplang, who formed his own group, the NSCN-K. This group is still at war with India.
Muivah and Isak Swu remained together, mostly resident in Thailand and the Netherlands, even after deciding to go for talks with New Delhi.
And while Muivah was considered the group’s dominant hardline leader, Isak Swu represented its softer side maintaining close ties with the Church.
A former member of the NNC, Isak Swu was born in 1929 in Chishilimi Naga village in Zunheboto district of Nagaland.
He took early education at the American Mission School at Chishilimi and the Government High School at Kohima. He graduated in political science from St Anthony’s College in Shillong.
He joined the underground in the late 1950s. He was the Foreign Secretary of the NNC before being elevated as its Vice President.
Married to Khulu, the couple have five sons and one daughter.
Isak Swu’s death comes at a time when the NSCN-IM and the Indian government are still negotiating for a final conclusion of the Naga Peace Accord.
The Naga insurgency is India’s oldest and is known to have received at various times financial and other support from Pakistan, China and the US.
From demanding independence from India, the NSCN-IM now seeks a “Greater Nagalim” or Greater Nagaland comprising Nagaland as well as Naga populated areas of neighbouring states.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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