Source: The Sangai Express / Manipur Information Centre
New Delhi, Jul 27:
The story of Nengcha Lhouvum from Manipur appeared on the front page of the Delhi edition of Indian Express on Wednesday.
Who is she ? Is she a sportstar ? No, she isn't.Then why her story has appeared as frontpage story with photograph ? It is because of her bold and extraordinary service to mankind.
She is none other than India's Ambassador to Lebanon, the country which has become a war zone.
The story has the headline in bold letter From Manipur to Beirut : Envoy leads from front to help Indians get out of war zone.
In the byline story, Jayanth Jacob reports, 'With no letup in the Israeli pounding and people desperate to get out of Beirut, Nengcha Lhouvum knows she has a huge job in hand.
As India's Ambassador to Lebanon, she has to oversee the evacuation of some 12,000 Indian Nationals caught in the Israel-Hezbollah fight.' "It's not an ordinary situation here.
But we are putting in our best effort, it's my duty." Lhouvum told the Indian Express over phone from Beirut.
The story goes, 'A Thadou Kuki from Churachandpur in Manipur who studied in Shillong and joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1980, Lhouvum landed in Beirut in March 2005.' Batchmate and husband Gautam Mukhopadhyay is in Damascus, the Indian's envoy to Syria.
In fact, husband and wife coordinated the evacuation of the first lot of Indians via road to Damascus.' "Anybody in my place would have done the same.
It's team work, don't forget that," says Lhouvum.
It's another matter that she has a very small team at Beirut; they are just nine, including the Embassy's security guards.
"We have another 200 requests for evacuation pending.
As of now, the process is on." Indian warships have been carrying people to Cyprus from where they are being flown home.
The story further goes, 'Those who have worked with Lhouvum say she has done some commendable work.
As Joint Secretary, South East Asia and ASEAN during the Narasimha Rao years, she actively promoted the Look East policy.
Later, she played a key role in organizing the first IndoASEAN car rally in 2004.India's North�East, she always maintained, stood to gain from the Look East policy.
She has served as Second Secretary in the Dhaka mission and Deputy Consul General in New York.