the problem for the assamese people come from a variety of other sources. foremost among them is the inability of the assamese to solve the inter-ethnic conflicts in the region. historically, those who claimed to speak for the assamese have neither convinced anyone that their problems are problems for the ethnic groups too, nor have they accepted the problems faced by ethnic groups as their own. even today, as the ethnic conflicts are increasing, the assamese are largely silent and seem to have no opinion.
I DON'T THINK ANY SENSIBLE PERSON WOULD DISPUTE THE ABOVE FACT. SOMETIME BACK, IN MY MAIDEN MAIL TO ASSAMNET, I MENTIONED THIS AS ONE OF THE MAIN WEAKNESSES OF THE ASSAMESE. HOWEVER AT THE SAME TIME, ONE SHOULD NOT TRY TO PUT THE ISSUE OF BANGLADESHI INFILTRATION INTO ASSAM UNDER THE CARPET. IT ASSUMES GREATER SIGNIFICANCE WHEN IT WAS ATTEMPTED TO BE SHOWN IN THE MIDST OF A WELL WRITTEN POST THAT SINCE NOTHING CAN BE DONE, LET US CLOSE OUR EYES TO THIS BURNING PROBLEM WHICH CAN JEOPARDISE OR AT LEAST UNDERMINE THE EXISTENCE OF ASSAMESE BY OUTNUMBERING THEM IN FUTURE IF THE PRESENT SITUATION CONTINUES UNABATED. MY VIEWS ARE VERY CLEAR ON THIS TROUBLING ISSUE. 1. AS RIGHTLY POINTED OUT BY SAURAV, IT IS MORE OF AN ECONOMIC ISSUE THAN ANY CONSCIOUS ATTEMPT AT NATION BUILDING ON RELIGIOUS LINES. 2. HINDUTVA GANG SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO FISH IN TROUBLED WATER IN ASSAM IN THE NAME OF PROTECTING HINDUISM AND CREATING FURTHER CHAOS. LET THEIR ACTIVITIES BE RESTRICTED TO OTHER SIDE OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL CHICKENNECK CONNECTING ASSAM TO OTHER PARTS OF INDIA. 3. I DON'T THINK ANY EFFORT TO DETECT AND DEPORT IMMIGRANT ON THE BASIS OF ANY CUT OFF DATE IS PRACTICAL AND IMPLEMENTABLE. 4. BECAUSE EVEN IF WE SUCCEED IN DETECTING SOME, WHETHER BANGLADESH IS GOING TO ACCEPT THEM ? IT MAY SNOWBALL INTO AN AVOIDABLE INETRNATIONAL ISSUE WITHOUT ANY POSITIVE IMPACT ON ASSAM. 5. LET US BE PRACTICAL AND TRY TO LOOK FOR A SOLUTION ABOUT HOW TO STOP INFILTRATION THROUGH THE POROUS BORDER FROM NOW ONWARDS. IT WOULD NO DOUBT BE A HERCULEAN TASK KEEPING IN VIEW THE KIND OF RESPONSE IT MAY ELICIT FROM GOI, GOA OR ULFA. EVERYONE SEEMS TO HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN MAINTAINING THE STATUS QUO. ALL SAID AND DONE, IT IS A BIG PROBLEM STARING OMINOUSLY AT COLLECTIVE FACE OF ASSAMESE AND LET US NOT TRY TO BELITTLE THIS ISSUE, MAY BE IN AN ATTEMPT TO OVERANALYSE THE SITUATION AND IDENTIFY NEW (OF COURSE GENUINE) PROBLEMS. REST I CAN'T AGREE MORE WITH SAURAV. VERY BALANCED AND THOUGHTFUL REJOINDER TO HIMEN DA'S ARTICLE. MAYUR --- SP <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > dear himendra-da, > > > Himendra Thakur said on AssamNet: > > > + Dear Saurav, > + > + I never mentioned that the attack in Saraighat > was made by Muslims. Please > + check it out carefully. Please also find out why > you missed this very vital > + point. > + > + I was very definite to point out that the attack > was made by Invaders . the > + same invaders who attacked India in 1193 (& again > in 1526.) These were > + Islamic invaders from outside India. Nothing is > "muddled up" in this > + statement. > + > > though you assert you mentioned invaders and not > muslims, the rest of > your post was fixated on muslims. you seem to be > pointing at the muslims > not by name but by implication. and believe me, the > implication is very > transparent. > > still, "invader" too has serious problems. the > muslims came to be > called yavana, but the word was originally used for > the greeks and > the scythians (origin: ionia). the rajputs and > other militant groups > in northwest india are descendents of the scythians > (sakas), and they > too were invaders at some point and were called > yavanas. > > btw, "thakur" comes from the scythian subgroup > thukarian!! > > atan burhagohain, in whose name you want to build a > xako, was a descendent > of "invaders" who came in 1228. just as aurangzeb > was a descendent of > "invaders" who came in 1526. > > > + After the 1193 attack, the invaders, having the > advantage of excellent > + cavalry equipped with Arab horses, spread over > the Indo-Gangetic plains at a > + very high speed. Defeating all local rulers, they > arrived in Bihar by 1200 > + AD (about 1400 miles in 7 years, @ 200 miles per > year) and, after beheading > + the Buddhist scholars, they burnt down Nalanda > University. They proceeded > + further to the East. They occupied Bengal in > 1205. They were stopped in > + Assam. These are historical records. > > > invasions are common occurances in historical times > and are legitimate > steps in new nation building. they do not negate > legitimacy. the most > beautiful example is assam. > > > + Under the early Islamic rule, a new custom, > called Jawhar-Vrata, got started > + in the Indo-Gangetic plains: groups of Hindu > women would jump into a bonfire > + to evade molestation. The historical record of > Jawhar Vrata ( not present in > + pre-Islamic India) proves the degree of atrocity > by the Islamic invaders. > + > > jauhar is a custom and ritual found exclusively in > the desert regions of > rajasthan and not in the indo-gangetic plains. the > most celebrated incident > involved the rajput queen padmini. but that tells > only half the story. > in the 13th century a rajput army cornered by turks > decided to > immolate all those who could not fight, women, > children and the infirm, > ground to dust the diamonds in their possession, > melt the gold and silver, > destroy all provisions and then go out to battle and > die. > > as a military strategy, there is a term for > this---scorched earth policy. > it worked wonders, especially in the desert, where > invading armies > depended heavily on captured provisions and treasure > to sustain themselves > in the short term and make profit in the long run. > that this strategy > worked in the desert regions is no surprise, which > further explains why > the custom did not become popular elsewhere. > > before you make it into a hindu-muslim issue, take > into consideration > the facts that jauhar had a military origin, that it > was geographically > localized mainly to the desert regions, that it was > identified with just > one varna (kshatriya) and that too an ethnic > subsection of it (rajputs) > and that women did not have a large say in it---some > were forcibly > immolated and even killed by the sword. > > > + What I wrote above are historical facts. I am now > going make an assumption > + that, under the early Islamic rule in > Indo-Gangetic plains, if a Hindu > + family had five brothers, two would convert to > Islam to protect the > + remaining three. That was how the Indian Muslims > started. They protected the > + Hindus on one hand, and cooled down the > ruthlessness of the Invaders on the > + other hand. > + > + The above assumption is based on the fact that, > unlike Persia, land of > + Zoroastrian population, which became completely > Islamized, Hindus survived > + in India, thanks to their Muslim brothers. > Another historical fact is that, > + in the later years, the Invaders softened to a > great extent. > + > + However, the Hindus could survive under Islamic > Rule only by playing a > + double standard: one opinion inside the house, > and a very different opinion > + outside. Another survival skill was the capacity > to change the meaning of a > + spoken word: if a Hindu said something against > the Sultan and was challenged > + by a Sultan's katwal, the Hindu must be able to > change the meaning of what > + he said, just to save his neck. Running for > several centuries, these habits > + have become second-nature of the people of the > Indo-Gangetic plains, which > + can be observed even today. Hindus were > definitely living a life of > + second-class citizen under Islamic rule. No > wonder such a situation gave > + rise to quislings and petains and pierre lavals > who prospered by exploiting > + their fellow countrymen. > > > that your view on medieval india is based on a > hindu-muslim dichotomy > is best exemplified in the three paragraphs above. > they are imaginary > and fantastic to say the least. > > > + My great anxiety is the danger that Assamese > people are facing due to the > + huge number of Bangladeshi infiltrators. The > anxiety is based on > + geopolitical forces. My great fear is that the > landmass of Assam will become > + like Kashmir or Chittagong Hill District. My > great fear is that Assamese > + people will become like Kashmiri refugees now > living in the streets of Delhi > + or Lucknow, or Chakma refugees who are being > driven out from place to place. > > your characterization of the threat to the assamese > people was the main > reason for this and the previous post. so here is > my brief take on > it. > > the kashmir problem is more than the hindu-muslim > problem that you > make it out to be. i don't want to recount well > known history---sheikh > abdullah's stand on pakistan and national > conference's rejection of > the muslim league's proposal. the latest problems > stem === message truncated === __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! 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