C'da,
>But somehow, it appears that there is a loophole in your psyche that lets the Lungi Menace fall
>thru
Its NOT the lungi menace that bothers me. For all I care, they could be hordes of peaceful Buddhist monks coming across. Its very simple, these hordes of Bangladeshis are entering India ILLEGALLY.
As far as I am concerned, that is all that matters. Some ardent Hindu advocates may argue that its ONLY the Muslim illegals that are a problem. For me, it doesn't matter if they are Muslims, Hindus or Buddhists. If the are illegal, they ought to be deported.
So my contention (being simplistic to the core) is that the illegal migration into Assam ought not to be put on a religious bent. Illegals are illegals. To what religion these illegals belong is far besides the main problem of the heavy and undue tax on scarce resources of Assam (and India).
I don't make distinctions on illegals based on their religion.
>But then what? It must be something to do with which way one faces to offer their prayers? Or the >color of their ensign? Or is it the crescent moon? Beef eating perhaps -- naah, you Texans >oughtta be OK with that!
Again, besides the point. What, and how they pray or call on their maker is entirely up to them. I am not losing any sleep over that. Heck, I often don't know which side the sun rises every morning :)
And them burgers and steak & potatoes in Texas are out-of-this-world. :).
I recommend - Ruth's Crisp Steakhouse, and the Texas Cattle Ranch.
Being simplistic again, I justify my eating habits (and tut-tuts from other Hindus) by claiming that these are American cattle, so obviously I haven't broken Hindu sentiments. Moreover, I stopped eating Indian beef after I left India :))
But lately, we have cut down on all meats, and Alpana is a pure vegitarian - more for health (and kindness to animals) and less for religion. :):)
">We should all work to eliminate the degeneration that India was forced to > >go through the 664 years of foreign rule." ?
I have to admit, I have no clue what subjugation we are referring to - the British? If it is, I have my own pet theories of the Raj and its effects. Many netters probably won't like my theories, so I'll let it go at that.
>*** Are you suggesting that perhaps ALL of them pajama wearing, lungi sporting. Meccah-way >kneeling, border-crossers are potential, if not already so, Jihadistas, out to separate good >Bamuns , Goxains and Bhokots from their gods if not their lives
?
No such suggestion. But this much is there - unfortunately, Islam does seem to have produced more than its share of Jehadists (terrorists), and sucide bombers.
It is really upto Muslim intellectuals and thinkers to reshape this thinking, if they care so much about their religion, so that the world doesn't think ALL Muslims are jehadists (which we all know is certainly NOT the case).
We are well into the 21st century, it is surprising we still have jehadis and terrorists running loose all over the map, in this day and age.
As far as our backyard illegals from bangladesh into Assam, we can well expect an increase in crime, population, cultural changes, and slow and steady eradication of Assamese as a language or entity.
Is that good for Assam - you can judge for yourself.?
--Ram
On 1/5/06, Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Ram:
>And I thought, I was always in religious moderation.
*** Yes, YOU are. I won't deny you that.
But somehow, it appears that there is a loophole in your psyche that lets the Lungi Menace fall thru. It certainly could not be about the remnants of that unkind cut ( remember "bosiya kando, bosiya kando" ?). So what could it be? That 600 plus years of subjugation? We know Himen-da has been reeling under that, but you are not the kind to be hung up on such. But then what? It must be something to do with which way one faces to offer their prayers? Or the color of their ensign? Or is it the crescent moon? Beef eating perhaps -- naah, you Texans oughtta be OK with that! What is it Ram? I give up.
>And it becomes more acute when moderate netters try their very best and come to >the defense of religious extremists.
*** You mean like in endorsing Himen-da's exhortation on:
">We should all work to eliminate the degeneration that India was forced to > >go through the 664 years of foreign rule." ?
Did you really mean that Ram? I know Himen-da was stung by my reference to that Statute of Limitations. But what is your problem?
>These moderate netters of course would show Hindu extremism as being the >dominant practice of Hinduism,
*** Would they? Like when?
>and thereby equating it to other extremists running loose in this world.
*** Are you suggesting that perhaps ALL of them pajama wearing, lungi sporting. Meccah-way kneeling, border-crossers are potential, if not already so, Jihadistas, out to separate good Bamuns , Goxains and Bhokots from their gods if not their lives?
c-da :-)
At 5:14 PM -0600 1/5/06, Ram Sarangapani wrote:C'da, C'daI just don't know what to say:>*** Unless you weigh it on the scales of religion, for example, something that drives Himen-da or >Ram. Or on the scales of languageScales on religion? Me, driven by religion? And I thought, I was always in religious moderation. My problem is usually with those rabid religious freaks - Muslims or Hindus or any others in-between.And it becomes more acute when moderate netters try their very best and come to the defense of religious extremists. These moderate netters of course would show Hindu extremism as being the dominant practice of Hinduism, and thereby equating it to other extremists running loose in this world.--Ram
On 1/5/06, Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>I think any answer of the form of yes or no is likely to be useless -
*** Unless you weigh it on the scales of religion, for example, something that drives Himen-da or Ram. Or on the scales of language, for some others. Or on the scales of 'culture'-- even though it gets tricky on how to define culture.
So on and so forth.
At 4:00 PM -0600 1/5/06, Roy, Santanu wrote:
Content-class: urn:content-classes:message
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C61243.6BB5F87F"Dear Ram-da:I am rather skeptical of the idea of having a enumeration of "Assam's problems". Because it is not clear what such a list is supposed to mean. I guess we can include anything that has an adverse consequence on the economy, the existing society, the welfare of the existing population or in fact, on anything we happen to like - as being a problem. An even more liberal list would include anything that bothers us.Mosquitoes in Assam bother me. In fact, they bother me a lot - hell of a lot more than Bangladeshis. And they cause more deaths. Are mosquitoes a problem? Shall we include them in the list? What would it mean?Regarding "Bangladeshis!" - I think an unnaturally high rate of migration of population to Assam in the last century has caused severe problems for the ecology of the state, degradation of natural resources such as land, forests, has led to depletion of common property and state owned assets and has threatened the existing cultural assets (such as language, social norms) of the indigenous people. On the other hand, it has also contributed positively to raw economic growth in the agricultural sector and may provide the essential stimulus for attracting industry through cheap labor if proper infrastructure is available some day. However, I think, by most social criteria, one can say that on balance, the adverse effects are dominant.But does that make it a problem or not? I think any answer of the form of yes or no is likely to be useless - reduce it to the level of the mosquitoes.Regards,Santanu.
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ] On Behalf Of Ram Sarangapani
Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 2:18 PM
To: ASSAMNET
Subject: [Assam] Identifying Assam's problemsThere have been a lot of discussions on this net (and in Assam) regarding the problems that Assam faces. One of the things that struck me was Santanu's query about Bangladeshi immigrants. I am not sure where exactly he stands on that issue, but the thought occurred to me that maybe we all do not agree on what the problems are. We also seem to have some difficulty in identifying the problems.For example, the influx problem. Some think it is a huge problem, while others don't. Also, we have problems even if we agree that 'influx' is a problem ie. in identifying who exactly are the illegals in Assam.So, I thought it might be of some use if we could come up with some sort of survey that would tell us what most of us think Assam's problems are. It is not exhaustive, and I am just giving a few here (as a sample). Maybe some questions are too sensitive and could be cast away. Others are just too broad - but at least it may give us some direction and tell us if we are all on the same page on most issues.Once we can identify the major issues, then we can discuss a more meaningful manner.Sample Survey (Answer Yes/No/Maybe) Identifying Problems for Assam1. Is illegal immigration?2. Is the GOA a problem for Assam?3. Is the GOI a problem for Assam?4. Lack of reforms in Assam?5. Lack of reforms in India as a whole?6. Are bandhs a problem for Assam?7. Is the ULFA (or other insurgent groups) a problem for Assam?8. Are attitudes of Assamese intelligentia a problem?9. Being a part of India a problem for Assam?10. This attitude of some Assamese to separate from India a problem for Assam?11. Is losing the Assamese identity a problem for Assam12. Is the Assamese work culture a problem for Assam?13. Not getting due recognition from others in India a problem for Assam?14. Not enough large industries or quality educational institutions in Assam a problem?Feel free to add/delete :
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