C'da, Thanks for the solutions you provided.
> **** That is a serious problem. One of the reasons Assam seeks to get > out of the tangled mess that is India. OK that is one reason. What are the other ones? All along you have maintained that this demand for independence in NOT because of lack of development & growth, but something more intrinsic. I guess that would be Assamese identity & preserving Assamese culture. >Or do you think if Assam is set free it will become the basket case of the world? >Or are you paranoid about the lungi-menace ? Oh!, I think it will definitely become a satelite of Bangladesh. That is just a geographical truth. There simply are more B'deshis and what better place for them to come to and settle down than the fruited plains of Assam? I wonder what then will happen to the Assamese identity & culture. Wonder what will happen to these demands for growth & development. We know of course it can never be better than Dacca at the most. Am I paronoid about the 'lungi menace'. Heh! heh! Paronia is an affliction of an imagined horror or menace. But this the real McCoy, C'da :). It may some difficulty for B'deshis to come over now, but in an 'independent Assam' it will be cake walk for B'deshi. Your solutions is actually a red-carpet welcome to them B'deshi. All you need is wear their national attire, the 'lungi' to make them feel all the more welcome :):) >Elekshuns:.....> People deserve to throw out the effective system and adopt a more > reliable one. Did I read that right? Are you now putting the onus on 'PEOPLE' to change a system? How is that possible? You are the people's champion. You have always maintained that they had no recourse, etc. Each point of your solution requires that active participation of 'people'. The people are the ones that need to make these changes isn't it? > # By developing a modern and fair constitution for assam What, 25 + years wasn't enough to come up with a draft?. Even the Iraqis may be ahead of the curve here. Today's world, the best thing to do is to copy such things from other countries. My suggestion would be to forget writing and developing such a thing, instead just copy the US Constitution, and promote it as an 'independent Assam' effort. Of course, the new leaders don't have to follow that dang thing. > # By having campaign finance regulations that have teeth and > are enforceable. Assam elekshuns are controlled by outside business > interests thru BLACK MONEY that desi-demokrasy is impotent in curbing Are we discusssing campaign finance, PAC money etc in US, business influence in the US. For a moment, I got lost. But, I am back. Noble goals no doubt. I am with you here. Of course, you are expecting the 'people' correct all this, right? Or, are you expecting this from the new leaders of this independent Assam - who BTW have a great track record of murder, looting, kidnappings, and amassing great wealth. Like you, I think these great leaders will change overnight, and transform into knights in shining armor. > # By adopting a candidate selection process that is not beholden to the > 'high-command'. Another good idea. About a year ago, some people in Houston put up a candidate ( Berry) for Mayoral elections. (key word local elections). The guy was almost certain to win for the republican side - but, here comes Tom Delay and few others, and they categorically told Berry to withdraw - as they had a better candidate. He withdrew promptly (people were just shocked). So, what the high command says, gets done, whether it is DC or Dispur. > system must be re-tooled to attract and enable the able from Assam > to run for office. And the management must not be automatically go > to the largest vote-getter, qualified or not. C'da. I share your frusturation. But this ain't going to change. This 'hoi saar, nohoi saar' attitude requires an attitudinal change in people. A change in the mindset. The need to understand democracy and how to assert for rights recognize the responsibilities. Thats an education by itself. > An executive style of government instead of the feeble and impotent > parliamentary kind practised in India would be a good alternative. You mean, the CEO type that GW has. Maybe so, maybe so. ># A thorough overhaul of the judiciary is crucial, with local people > as judges, and not foreign ones, sent in to serve at Guwahati for > sins in their native lands. At first sight, this sounds great. But if one were to look a little deeper - you will find WHY the framers of the British, India, and even the US constitutions, wanted to make sure that is isn't the case. When locals are judges in a panchayat or a district court, thats fine -as they understand the local situations better than outsiders. But locals for State High courts is not always a good idea. Why, simple reason is that local judges may have conflicts of interests as they may know the attorneys, the plaintiffs, and defendants. Heck some may even be realted. BTW: There are a number of Assamese who are judges in other states also. So, its not just Assam that has these damn foreigners. :). > I hope you catch my drift Ram. I can go on and on, but I hope that > won't be necessary. I do. The bottom line is that all your proposals will remain as such because they would require people support and a through change in attitudes in people. Assuming everything is going downhill (as you often say) in India, it is the people in India who should be willing to change their own lots. Until then, this is the type of democracy they have to contend with. --Ram On 9/1/05, Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Ram: > > > At 3:14 PM -0500 9/1/05, Ram Sarangapani wrote: > >Hi C'da, > > > >Hope you had a nice trip out West. > > > *** Yes, indeed. Had a great trip. Thanks. > > > > >Since the two are so intertwined, we obviously cannot separate the > >issues. > > **** That is a serious problem. One of the reasons Assam seeks to get > out of the tangled mess that is India. It will be good for India, and > better for Assam. > > Do you believe it will hurt India, and thus in your infinite goodness > do not want to see that? Or do you think if Assam is set free it will > become the basket case of the world? Or are you paranoid about the > lungi-menace ? > > Which one Ram :-)? > > > > >Its not just reforms (for developement or growth), you posts reflect > >the utter lack of faith in desi-demokrasy, elekshuns, and system of > >governance in India. > > **** And with good reasons. I did not use to be so. I too was a > 'pucca' desi-patriot. But I got wiser, and I learned how to read the > handwriting on the wall. Not just in this case, but in most all other > areas of life too. And it has served me well, and thus my confidence. > > > > ELEKSHUNS are a tool, a mean for selecting a team to mind your > collective affairs. If that slate of the elected are unable to > deliver, then such > elekshuns deserve to be shunned. They are not icons on to themselves, > inviolate, to be held up on a pedestal like yet another desi-god. > People deserve to throw out the effective system and adopt a more > reliable one. > > How? > # By developing a modern and fair constitution for assam > > # By having campaign finance regulations that have teeth and > are enforceable. Assam elekshuns are controlled by outside business > interests thru BLACK MONEY that desi-demokrasy is impotent in curbing. > > # By adopting a candidate selection process that is not beholden to the > 'high-command'. Remember how Bhupen Hazarika proudly announced that > he will do whatever his 'Atalji' told him, whatever this masters in > the 'high command' had in store for him? But BH is not an exception > to the rule. He is the norm. Others have been actually worse. Is > that democracy in your book Ram? > > # By changing the administrative system, where a demagogue > that can draw > large numbers of vote gets to be that important minister, in charge of > managing those complex affairs of state, riding herd/hard over his > itinerant IAS minions going 'hoy saar, hoy-saar' failing which > they might end managing a bankrupt undertaking at Jokaisuk. The > system must be re-tooled to attract and enable the able from Assam > to run for office. And the management must not be automatically go > to the largest vote-getter, qualified or not. > > An executive style of government instead of the feeble and impotent > parliamentary kind practised in India would be a good alternative. > > # A thorough overhaul of the judiciary is crucial, with local people > as judges, and not foreign ones, sent in to serve at Guwahati for > sins in their native lands. > # Complete overhaul of the police system with civilian oversight, > who will be trained to SERVE the people, and not RULE over them like > the desi-coloninal system in place. Police will have adequate > educational qualifications with adequate compensation for a dignified > lifestyle. And police staff shall NEVER again be menial > house-servants for MLAs, ministers and bureaucrats. > > > I hope you catch my drift Ram. I can go on and on, but I hope that > won't be necessary. > > I look forward to your rebuttal :-). > > c-da > > > > > >This is what you say today: > >> I can't give India solutions to its problems. But I sure do have > >> ideas for Assam. > > > >But this is what you said last week: > > > >**** Until such time as Indian policies rule over Assam, the two could > >not be separated. > > > >Since the two are so intertwined, we obviously cannot separate the > >issues. Problems in India affect Assam (and vice versa I would think). > > > >So, as long as Assam is still a part and parcel of India, we can't be > >all gripes and no solutions for the country. > > > >Its not just reforms (for developement or growth), you posts reflect > >the utter lack of faith in desi-demokrasy, elekshuns, and system of > >governance in India. > > > >That would obviously lead one to think that you do have a solution up > >the sleeve (which you were willing to share with us, last week). > > > >> Your comment implies that there is no better way. Only those who > >> intentionally keep themselves behind blinders would believe that. > > > >On the contrary, that wasn't my implication at all. I think there is a > >lot that India needs to take care of. > > > >But I also believe that with a huge and diverse population, the > >country has in its own way been able to move forward in a democratic > >setup, making corrections along the way. You cannot give me another > >example where the fundamentals of democracy are still intact, given > >the myraid of problems that India faces. I believe there are enough > >intelligent people at the Center, who do think about solutions to move > >the country forward. And lastly, I understand that Delhi cannot be > >Assam centric all the time, it has the whole country to look after. > >Being the Center, it must at least try to give a fair shake to each > >state. > > > >So, once again C'da, without going into semantics and spins, what do > >you see as a possible solution for holding free and fair elekshuns, > >correcting desi-demokrasy, and changing the system of governance.? > > > >Will await with bated breath :) :) > > > >--Ram > > > >On 9/1/05, Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> Ram: > >> > >> > >> I can't give India solutions to its problems. But I sure do have > >> ideas for Assam. > >> > >> Your response implies there are no better options. But that is not > >> credible. There are many Indians themselves, even in govt., including > >> MMS, who know that reforms are direly needed. But it is fractured the > >> nature of India which prevents the forced conglomeration that passes > >> for a country from effecting the reforms it is required to. > >> > >> Your comment implies that there is no better way. Only those who > >> intentionally keep themselves behind blinders would believe that. > >> > >> > >> c-da > >> > > > > >> > _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
