Joseph Pulinthanath reached to the North East after completing his high school in native Kerala. "Coming to North East," he says, "was a choice I made as one aspiring to become a member of the Salesian society of Don Bosco and a priest." That was way back in 1980. For him the years since then, were divided between various places in the North East-Shillong, Dimapur for the past 15 years. Pulinthanath spoke in an unassumed manner to C V Joseph. Excerpts:

While the tales of Mughal emperors like Akbar and Shahjahan have often fascinated Indian playwrights and artists alike, the King of Mysore reserves his own place. From being made into one of the most popular serials of Indian television called 'The Sword of Tipu Sultan' to being performed on stage still …the story of the brave emperor also known as the 'Tiger of Mysore' remains one of the favourite tales of chivalry in the country.

He was once of the opinion that a politician should retire at the age of 60. He did retire at the age of 60 but in a different manner. Destiny forced Andhra Pradesh chief minister YSR Reddy to retire as he died in a helicopter crash while going to Chittur. Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy, commonly known as YSR Reddy, will always be recognised as the leader of the masses. The tiger of Kadapa, which he was addressed as, came up a hard way in his political career and eventually had built himself as the Congress supremo in Andhra Pradesh

Under intense international pressure and evidence put together by India and the FBI of the United States, Pakistan has finally acknowledged that the 26/11 Mumbai attacks were plotted from its soil.

It was an annual conference of the country's top police brass. Like in the past this time too the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and the Home Minister Shivraj Patil addressed the Police DGs and IGs. But what was striking this time was the different voices they spoke on challenges like Naxalism and terrorism and on how to handle the media. At the end of the two-day conference, the police chiefs were baffled.

Nearly a year after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had described Left-wing extremism as a "virus", a special anti- Naxal force -- COBRA - will soon see the light of the day after remaining mired in bureaucratic wrangling for months. The clearance to raise the 10,000-strong Combat Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA), under the command and control...

To help the tsunami hit victims in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has started developmental activities in the rural and tribal areas of Nicobar District. Development of playground at Small Lapathy village was the first work completed under NREGA.

To curb eve-teasing in the islands of Andaman and Nicobar, a special drive has been launched by the A&N police. Now, lady police units will be seen in the islands who will keep a strict vigilant on the eve-teasers of the islands.