Dear Friends, Perhaps, local LIS professionals can throw more light on this incident. Has the Central Library done anything to hurt the advocates of Manipuri-script? Why was the library targeted when the issue is about the script to be used in schools? An objective report on the local situation (language issues, language data on local population, nature of library collections---script-wise, etc.) would be most welcome. This incident throws up another important agenda item that should bother us: Disaster Prevention & Management In spite of early warning/threats, we could not protect the valuable library collection. Shall we think about how to handle such threats to libraries? I would prefer not to us the term 'insanity' to describe this incident. Can we have some historical background that helps us to understand why a section of the local people have developed so much hatredness towards the Bengali-script. Thank you Sincerely T.V. Prafulla Chandra Senior Editor Date sent: <color><param>0000,0000,8000</param>Thu, 14 Apr 2005 09:54:19 +0530</color> From: <color><param>0000,0000,8000</param><</color> To: <color><param>0000,0000,8000</param><</color> <bold>Subject: <color><param>0000,0000,8000</param>[LIS-Forum] Insanity: Fire breaks out in Manipur's biggest library</bold></color> <underline><color><param>0000,8000,0000</param>[ Double-click this line for list subscription options ]</underline></color> Dear Friends Please read the sad news below. Should love for one script end up in destroying the other? THINK. Vyasamoorthy ======================================= Regional The Hindu dated 13/4/2005 http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200504131903.htm Fire breaks out in Manipur's biggest library Imphal, April 13 (PTI): Valuable books and other materials were destroyed when unknown persons set fire to Manipur's biggest library, 'Central Library', here today, official source said. Sources said fire personnel took more than five hours to control the fire. Chief librarian H. Devendra Singh told media persons that books worth over Rs 10 crore were destroyed in the fire. Activist of social organisation, MEELAN, which has been demanding introduction of Manipuri script in schools had "earlier threatened to burn the library if their demand was not accepted by the government", sources said. At present Bengali script is in used in Manipur. Dr.P.Vyasamoorthy, Advisor, Virtual Information Centre, ICICI Knowledge Park, Genome Valley, Turkapally, Shameerpet Mandal, RR District, Hyderabad 500078 INDIA Email: vyasamoorthy@icicikp.com Phone - Office: +91(40)23480053 Fax: +91(40)23480007 Phone Residence: +91(40)27846631 _______________________________________________ LIS-Forum mailing list LIS-Forum@ncsi.iisc.ernet.in http://ncsi.iisc.ernet.in/mailman/listinfo/lis-forum <nofill> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NISC Export Services Pvt. Ltd. (an affiliate of NISC International, Inc. USA) S-1 Ballad Estates, St.Ann's School Road, Tarnaka, Hyderabad 500 017 Andhra Pradesh, India - Tel:+91 40 27001517 Tel/Fax:+91 40 27002538 WWW.NISC.COM A company in service to NISC worldwide. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------