Ram:
>So, as insurgents get desperate, children are at stake. When
can we expect a >Beslan?
*** I don't know what a Beslan is, but if you or others are
surprised by the steady deterioration of the situation over the
decades, then it only goes to
underscore the living in denial.
Kashmir, Sri Lanka, Palestine ---- all have demonstrated, in
vivid colors, how from very low intensity guerilla fighting have, over
the decades, reached
suicide-bombings. One could only wonder what could be in the
offing next.
Assam is hardly any different. GoI's stonewalling in collusion
with Assam's establishment and the desi-intelligentsia's
well-known clueless-ness to the quality of their democracy ( while
frothing in the mouth singing its glories),
has been the singular cause of what we see today.
>All murders are bad, C'da. To the victims of secret killings
or even the >families of ulfa cadres the loss of their loved
ones is terrible. Nothing that >you or me or the GOI or the
ULFA can make it right.
*** That is touching Ram :-).
But if it REALLY is so, how can you suggest that the
grotesque child abuse perpetrated and perpetuated by India's middle
class--its establishment , is somehow NOT nearly as bad as the
purported employment of children by ULFA to plant bombs?
>But as a society, we specially have a much softer corner for
children. And when >their innocence is used for ulfa's or the GOI's
advantage, it doesn't speak >well of the perpetrators.
*** I don't know if GoI uses children to advance their mission,
just as I cannot be certain that ULFA does.
But what about Indian society? Does it or does it not, in a scale
unprecedented in the history of humanity, indulge in the most heinous
child abuse, and with complete impunity?
And is this the SAME society you refer to as having " ---a
much softer corner for children"? What society is this?
> Yes, millions of children everywhere in the
world are exploited - even in the US.
*** Heh-heh :-)! The ol' 'everybody does that' defense, huh? Does
not cut it though Ram. The MAGNITUDE does matter, even though it is
convenient not to consider.
>This is a societal problem.
*** Tell me about it!
>But just because the society is derelict or
hasn't been able to provide the best for our
>children,----
**** Must be quite acceptable, right?
>--it certainly does not mean insurgent
elements take that as a cue to send children >into >.harms
way?
*** And the reason being what again Ram? Because ULFA is not a
part of society?
Being extra-terrestrial and thus liable to be held to a higher
standard, they could be demonized, while the same Indians play
no-see,no-hear and no-speak of
the child abuse they not only see around them everyday but
participate in actively in vast numbers amongst its wealthiest and
'educated' sectors?
That indeed is a highly insightful proposition Ram. But you know
what, nothing could be a better illustration of Bhutor mukhot Ram naam
:-).
>It may seem so. But the reality is that it does hurt when
children are used in >this way.
*** No kidding!
>If the GOI were to send India's children to fight its wars
with Pakistan or >fight insurgencies,
*** You are good man. Since GoI has all the millions of
canon-fodders, they don't need to go recruit children to do their
dirty job on the Assamese, or the Manipuris, or the Kshmiris or the
Naxals across the country, leaving ULFA conveniently alone there to be
pilloried!
>---my indignation would have been similar or more.
*** I don't know anyone charging you with abetting
child-abuse Ram. You've got to stop responding like this every time
you get trapped in your own arguments, lest people start reading it
like " Gwxain ghorot kwn--moi kol khowa nai" :-).
Take care.
c-da
At 6:12 PM -0500 10/18/06, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
C'da,
>The point is about the continuation of the conflict spanning over two decades, getting worse over time. And as the >asymmetry widens, so does the desperation and its resultant by-products.
So, as insurgents get desperate, children are at stake. When can we expect a Beslan?
>Will you have the courage to face the victims of the 'secret killings' of Assam to suggest that their loss is not nearly >as bad as, say the children of Dhakuakhana, since the former was perpetrated by unknown evil people, while the >latter was, to be reasonably suspected to be by ULFA?
All murders are bad, C'da. To the victims of secret killings or even the families of ulfa cadres the loss of their loved ones is terrible. Nothing that you or me or the GOI or the ULFA can make it right.
But as a society, we specially have a much softer corner for children. And when their innocence is used for ulfa's or the GOI's advantage, it doesn't speak well of the perpetrators.
>Or can you, with a straight face argue, that the millions of children of India scouring garbage piles left by the Great Indian Middle Class' >consumption , for the struggle to survive and dying untimely deaths, homeless, hungry, bereft of the most rudimentary of the necessities of life, is >somehow not nearly as grotesque as children used to plant bombs by insurgent groups ?
Whats your point C'da? Yes, millions of children everywhere in the world are exploited - even in the US. This is a societal problem. But just because the society is derelict or hasn't been able to provide the best for our children, it certainly does not mean insurgent elements take that as a cue to send children into harms way?
>The outrage is SELECTIVE and CONVENIENT, designed to make political points
It may seem so. But the reality is that it does hurt when children are used in this way. There are no excuses here. If the GOI were to send India's children to fight its wars with Pakistan or fight insurgencies, my indignation would have been similar or more.
--Ram
On 10/18/06, Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Ram:
The point is about the continuation of the conflict spanning over two decades, getting worse over time. And as the asymmetry widens, so does the desperation and its resultant by-products.
Do GoI's honchos huddle in the backrooms of the palace to connive to let loose the army , armed with AFSPA and other such devices, on the Assamese, or Kashmiris or the myriads of groups across India?
One would have to say, NO. It does not happen that way.
But the NET EFFECT is the same, isn't it?
Does it matter to its ultimate victims whether it is an outcome out of connivance of a few evil people, or universal exploitation or benign apathy?
Will you have the courage to face the victims of the 'secret killings' of Assam to suggest that their loss is not nearly as bad as, say the children of Dhakuakhana, since the former was perpetrated by unknown evil people, while the latter was, to be reasonably suspected to be by ULFA?
Or can you, with a straight face argue, that the millions of children of India scouring garbage piles left by the Great Indian Middle Class' consumption , for the struggle to survive and dying untimely deaths, homeless, hungry, bereft of the most rudimentary of the necessities of life, is somehow not nearly as grotesque as children used to plant bombs by insurgent groups?
Or maimed and deformed children begging on the streets of great Indian cities, plucking their scabs to bleed a little more, to compete with those others whose wounds are not nearly as bad; are nothing compared to ULFA or Kashmir militantsor tribal-Naxals exploiting their children to smuggle explosives to destroy the lives and life-styles of other INNOCENT Indians?
Give me a break Ram.
The outrage is SELECTIVE and CONVENIENT, designed to make political points andaugment the propaganda of the Indian establishment, to whom it is more important to hold on to the real-estate, of Assam, of Kashmir, and damn those who occupy the ground!
c-da
At 10:34 AM -0500 10/18/06, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
C'da,
>See, the Great Indian Middle Class, is soooo very kind to the children of its under->classes, it must hurt their sensitivities to see these ULFA rogues use children to do their >dirty work!
This is what one would call 'spinning out of control' :)
Yes, mal-treatment to children by any class of people is bad. But this mal-treatment is not an organized effort by the GOI or some state or even a group of people. What you are referring to is a social problem, and NOT a connived effort by groups of people trying to harm children.
In the case of the ULFA is pure and simple - they want to save their own hides and send children to fight men's wars. These obviously are really brave men - put women & children first. Remember Bhutan - they abandoned women & children and took off. That is the backbone of the organization.
Well - they may have an excuse - the whole world mistreats children - from Africa, Latin Americas to Asia (specially India) - so why shouldn't they take this a step further - let children do the dirty work and die if necessary?
--Ram
On 10/18/06, Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
No doubt Ram. You are right.
See, the Great Indian Middle Class, is soooo very kind to the children of its under-classes, it must hurt their sensitivities to see these ULFA rogues use children to do their dirty work!
So, Ram, I can appreciate your, Neep's and all others' outpourings of revulsion with something like this, and your disgust with those who see only GoI's insincerity and its supporters' hypocrisies.
But somehow Ram, this 'odhom' doesn't quite buy it.
c-da :-)
At 10:01 AM -0500 10/18/06, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
C'da,
This one you cannot spin. That ulfa is willing to put children on the frontlines (instead of risking their own sweet hides) speaks volumes of their world view.
Even if their cause was worthwhile, and the GOI and others are the ones that forced them to become insurgents, it still doesn't compute.
This organization who claim to be the one looking after Assam's interests, is all so willing to goad children into doing the dirty work and bear all the risks.
This is a new low, however you cut it.
--Ram
On 10/18/06, Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
If the recent history of such conflicts worldwide is any guide, it could be expected to hit even lower, as the stalemate progresses and the asymmetry of the conflict increases.
What is confounding is the smugness with which the party that holds all the cards would not do its share to find a negotiated solution, while waving its oh-so-pious wishes to the world.
Be it in Assam, be it in Nagaland, be it in Kashmir, be it in Sri Lanka.
Hypocrisy obviously has no bounds.
At 8:41 AM -0500 10/18/06, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
This is a new low.
On 10/18/06, Neep Hazarika <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
http://www.rediff.com/news/2006/oct/18asom.htm
---
Neep Hazarika
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