C-da and Mukul-da (Mike),
It is heartening to note that Mukul-da is in Assam and helping in its upliftment through technology and business enterprise. C-da had indeed mentioned about his two elder brothers who had graduated from IIT-Kharagpur before him - when I was seeking his support and advice in helping a former female student of mine from Jaipur School - who ultimately joined the Architecture Division at the said IIT - the same from which C-da graduated. She is now in the second year there and the first female student from Jaipur School in any IIT.
It is heartening to note that he has used his expertise in identifying and developing new technologies in various areas - such as affordable housing, de-contamination of water, import substitution etc.
I have been replying to his mails in a friendly collegial manner - as if he were a twenty something young man - as is definitely his spirit -visible from his emails.
My only query is that he has not specified why he feels that ULFA is right in demanding a separate nation. Ofcourse, in his first email only he had exhorted all members of AssamNet to join ULFA through internet even - so his faith in ULFA is unquestioned.
I would be interested in knowing what does he plan to do if he were given a free hand in running the affairs of Assam - what steps would he take to improve the situation.
This negotiation between Indian Govt and PCG (on behalf of ULFA) reminds me of a negotiation I had undertaken on behalf of a close friend of mine - with his parents.
The Story of a rebellious son:
He - then a first year student - and son of a top and honest police Officer (then DIG) had run away from his home to Delhi determined to be free from the dictates of his authoritarian father. His father went in the police car to Delhi (alongwith my father) in cold winter of January - where his son was staying in a slum and working as a bus conductor. Despite all police arrangements to capture him - my friend escaped from his room - and later came to me for advice and money - then I was a third year student at Delhi Univ and had left my address with his landlord. By that time he had successfuly appeared for job interviews in many sales firms and wanted a career in business - his father being adamant that the son try for a govt job.
On the assurance from his family that he be allowed to return to Delhi with me if talks did not work out fine - we went to his home. His angry father was still determined that the son follow his dictates. But seeing that we both were getting up to go back to Delhi his mother assured him and me that if he completes his college they would let him seek a career of his own choice - and if anytime during his stay he felt like leaving for Delhi - he could discuss the matter once again with them - he placed full faith in me - and I was determined to support my friend -even at the cost of offending his family. I was afraid that his father might get me in jail for misleading his son - if he really got angry with me too and became unreasonable.
Fortunately, despite some hiccups - he stayed on an completed his college with high marks. Started off as a salesman in Asian Paints in their rural region (to work away from his home) and now is a successful manager based in Lucknow - the former bus conductor now travels by aeroplane to go to official meets - and is ahead of many IIM graduates in his company. Now seeking to go for a MBA degree.
I drew the conclusion that if he had not rebelled - his parents would not have relented inletting him pursue his dream career . But if his parents had not been considerate he would have perhaps not completed college and maybe his career would not have turned out as successful as it is now.
GOI and ULFA- PCG:
If I were negotiating with GOI - I would first be clear about what I want to do - if given the freedom to do so. If the aims and means to achieve those aims appear reasonalble - then the terms of that freedom can be negotiated -by help of the mediators . If both sides are adamant - both lose.
Umesh
Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Dear BK:I should have done this long back, that is to introduce my eldest brother, Mukul Mahanta, 70, to you all netters. But I avoided doing so purposely, because I had this guilt complex of hogging Assam Net bandwidth. What I did not need was the additional guilt of breeding nepotism also :-).Anyway, a number of netters know Mukul Dada personally here. You do too, just that his e-mail ID threw you off.For those who don't know him, for starters, he is NO bureaucrat :-) as Assam Tribune described him in the bio of PCG members.Mukul Dada grew up in Jorhat and Namti, went to Namti High School and matriculated from Jorhat Govt. High School, did his ISc from Cotton College,Guwahati and on to IIT-Kharagpur where he did his B.Tech and M.Tech in Electronics and Instrumentation ( one of the earliest Assamese in the field). He went to do post graduate studies at the Univ. of Southampton, UK, at the completion of which he joined the then Burmah Oil Company ( predecessor of OIL) in the UK and returned to lead the instrumentation of the oil pipelines in Assam.At the risk of sounding boastful, I cannot but state here that Mukul Dada is an Engineer's engineer, along with his social service and activism roles and an unabashed supporter of Assam's rights to self determination . He had every opportunity to leave, like so many of us did. But instead he returned to Assam after decades in Kolkata as a consulting engineer, factory manager and import substitution design engineer,where he went after his stint with BOC, to help Assam in many different arenas, including bamboo utilization and propagation ( much before it became fashionable to do so), affordable housing, water decontamination systems, power generation installations among others. He studied flood and erosion alleviation systems for the Brahmaputra and has just returned from China, where he went at the invitation of Shanghai Institute of Clean Coal Technology to look into getting technology from China/Russia to convert GAS/COAL/BIOMASS to Methanol in Assam.He has been a singular source of inspiration, not only for us, his son and six brothers and sisters but for many others not only in Assam but elsewhere in India as well.Best,cAt 7:05 AM -0400 10/9/05, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:Dear MikeI didn't know that you're a Namti boy. Do tell me about yourself. And a big thank you for your compliment. I should say you made by my day. My wife and I are now in holiday in Torreviaje,Spain where we've a bungalow. We're basking in sunshine, 30 degrees.RegardsBhubanTorreviaje, Spain
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