>So, are you suggesting it is GOI policy - ie shoot down people like the
>Gogois?
India does not have to have a publicized policy in place to hunt these
subject peoples down in its far flung colonies. There obviously is a half
century long tradition of its right to take the lives of Assamese, Nagas,
Manipuris, Kashmiris--you name them. AFSPA is only one of its most
egregious manifestations. Indians in an uniform obviously have the right to
kill Assamese. How else can this happen at Geleki in such a casual fashion?
Remember the secret killings of ULFA kin? Do you believe it was the
independent doing of a handful of SULFAs? And what was his name that Manoj
was going ga-ga over the day who orchestrated the secret killings of Sikhs
insurgents' families, and later counseled Assam govt.? It was NOT official
policy. was it?
>The Ulfa does appear, because it wasn't so long ago (begining of Jan)
they >killed 70 odd people (because they felt like it),
*** But what did Nikhilesh and Bholu had to do with ULFA? Oh, I
forgot--they are the same slit-eyed gooks as them ULFAs, right?
>But guess which one gets more mileage in certain quarters?
*** It is very convenient to look at these issues at unrelated independent
incidents. But that is a disingenuous argument. ULFA did not start out
killing Biharis at random. It has degenerated into such due to the decades
of Indian
misrule and its insane policies. While it is easy to condemn Bihari
killings by ULFA, all these killings of Assamese in the name ULFA hunting
are mere reactions of hapless soldiers or a few rogue elements, right?
>even if they are Biharis, a kind word or two - please
*** I can cry you a river of e-tears as well as any of you righteous ones
Ram. But I shall not indulge in such display of MY goodness. It is not about
me.
>"Fair & Balanced" as usual.
*** I don't have a need to wear the halo of my fair-and-balanced aura Ram.
I have always declared my partisanship -- for my people's aspirations of
running their lives as they see fit.
At 4:11 PM -0600 2/6/07, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
C'da
>>it seemed to suggest that killings of this type was an ongoing policy.
>*** Remeber, Abu Gharib was NOT US official policy either.
So, are you suggesting it is GOI policy - ie shoot down people like the
Gogois?
>*** How does ULFA appear in this scene? What has ULFA got to do with
this? Unless, >the damn place is OWNED by Indian goons with guns, and anyone
they suspect are >ULFA are fit to be shot. Is that what your position is
Ram?
The Ulfa does appear, because it wasn't so long ago (begining of Jan) they
killed 70 odd people (because they felt like it), and then they killed a few
more in bombings. The Gelekey killings also happened around the same time.
But guess which one gets more mileage in certain quarters? :). After all,
its only some Biharis, who is counting?
>>At least at the risk of being termed as biased,
>*** Why would anyone think of you to be biased Ram ? You are only being
>fair and balanced , defending the rights of Indian goons in Assam :-).
Bhalke leng maarile dei. But it still doesn't change the equation - C'da -
even if they are Biharis, a kind word or two - please :):)
C'da - you are the one who is "Fair & Balanced" as usual. I try not to
defend any goons - be they from the GOI or the ULFA.:
--Ram
On 2/6/07,* Chan Mahanta* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>And if the CISF is 'NOT empowered' how does it carry weapons?
*** CISF is an industrial security force. The are not in charge of ULFA
hunting in Assam. Their domain ought to be inside the compound of their
charge.
>it seemed to suggest that killings of this type was an ongoing policy.
*** Remeber, Abu Gharib was NOT US official policy either.
>I don't see much hand-wringing and anguish when ULFA goes on a killing
spree in these >columns. Whats good for the goose ....
*** How does ULFA appear in this scene? What has ULFA got to do with this?
Unless, the damn place is OWNED by Indian goons with guns, and anyone they
suspect are ULFA are fit to be shot. Is that what your position is Ram?
>At least at the risk of being termed as biased,
*** Why would anyone think of you to be biased Ram ? You are only being
fair and balanced , defending the rights of Indian goons in Assam :-).
c-da
At 3:41 PM -0600 2/6/07, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
C'da,
>Where did the Industrial Security Force get its authority to go shoot
>down unarmed civilians on a public road?
No one does - not the army, the CRP, the Govt. the CISF or even the ULFA.
>Mind you it was not the army, not the CRPF, who are empowered with
>AFSPA to have an open season on the people of Assam, no >questions asked.
And if the CISF is 'NOT empowered' how does it carry weapons?Shouldn't
that in itself be a big problem for them?
>But I guess the widows and the children of Nikhilesh and Bholu could
>take comfort in >the fact that it is not GoI policy to indulge in these
>killings. After all India is a civilized >country, the world's biggest
>democracy! They ought to be proud of it.
You are absolutely correct, relatives of Nikhilesh and Bholu cannot take
any comfort in whatever the Govt policy is.
I had to bring it up, because in the original piece (Xonzoi Bornora's), it
seemed to suggest that killings of this type was an ongoing policy. Is it?
Or is this just some officers or officials taking the law into their own
hands?
While this is a sad story, I don't see much hand-wringing and anguish when
ULFA goes on a killing spree in these columns. Whats good for the goose ....
C'da - To me killings by ULFA or CISF or the CRPF amounts to the same
thing - atleast for folks like Nikhilesh and Bholu, or the 70 odd Biharis or
those many Assamese killed by bomb blasts by ULFA.
At least at the risk of being termed as biased, we ought to treat all such
deaths in equal measure.
--Ram
On 2/6/07,* Chan Mahanta* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Ram:
I have only one question:
Where did the Industrial Security Force get its authority to go shoot down
unarmed civilians on a public road?
Mind you it was not the army, not the CRPF, who are empowered with AFSPA
to have an open season on the people of Assam, no questions asked.
And, oh--I almost forgot: MM Singh also proclaimed no tolerance for such,
didn't he?
But I guess the widows and the children of Nikhilesh and Bholu could take
comfort in the fact that it is not GoI policy to indulge in these killings.
After all India is a civilized country, the world's biggest democracy! They
ought to be proud of it.
>Where did these guns come from?
*** How about 60 years of Indian Military presence that has caused the
deaths of 150 thousand Nagas plus and Assamese leading to the disaffections?
Is that possible?
c-da
At 2:21 PM -0600 2/6/07, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
C'da,
Thanks for forwarding this. It was an excellent read. Nikhilesh seems to
have had a full life, full of zest and adventure. It is indeed a sad
commentary on the ongoing conflict between the Govt. and the insurgents, and
ordinary people getting caught in-between.
However, I find it a bit difficult to rationalize that CISF personnel
would deem it necessary (or take the trouble) to kill two people just
because they were overtaken. If nothing else, imagine the mounds of
paperwork and explanations they would have to provide their superior
officers.
>They are saying that he did not stop when asked to.* His associate who
survived >has a diametrically opposed story that is easier to believe* .
They were shot and >killed without any provocation. There is talk of a
high-level cover up even as the >state government announced a compensation
package and the arrested an >accused.
C'da - I don't quite get this. Why is it "easier" to believe a
diametrically opposite story?
>For a small place, Gelekey has many people with guns. The government and
>security agencies would have us believe that this is because there
>are Naga and Assamese rebels in the area. Even if that were true, the
>government, not to be outdone, has thrown in its companies of army and
>paramilitary personnel making the small forty-square kilometres a veritable
>garrison.
The above also baffles me. The author says that Gelekey has too many guns,
and the Govt. says thats because there are rebels (Naga/Assamese) in the
area.
The the author puts in a rejoinder "*Even if this were true*"
The question to the author then is: Where did these guns come from? Does
he mean to say the common, everyday khetioks of Gelekey carry guns?
C'da, this is a very sad story, and those responsible for these deaths
ought to be fully punished. It really did not need any spin, whatsoever. The
story would have still carried the sad plight in many of Assam's villages.
--Ram
On 2/6/07,* Chan Mahanta* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Nikhilesh and Bholu Gogoi were assassinated and
Arup Saikia seriously injured at Geleki, by the
CISF, about five miles from my ancestral village
at Namti, the night before I left the place in my
recent trip to Assam. I got word of the killings
from the young men who gave me a ride outb of our
village the next morning.
The following article by Xonzoi is on the Tehelka
website also, except in an edited version.
cm
Usually, legends have a larger-than-life aura
around them. They are masters of all they survey.
While this may be the general trajectory, it does
not explain how legends are born (and killed) in
small towns in far-off places like Assam.
Nilikesh Gogoi was a coal trader, a poet, a
farmer, a collectivist, an oral historian and a
person who resolved conflicts between people in
the hills and the authorities in the valley. He
was, in short, a local legend.
On January 23, 2007, he and his two of his
business associates were returning from a normal
trip to the hills that border Gelekey. On the
way, they overtook a slow-moving jeep manned by
personnel of the Central Industrial Security
Force (CISF). Just about the time that they were
going to go clear of the four-wheeled vehicle in
front on them, they were shot at. Nilikesh Gogoi
and his pillion rider - Bholu Gogoi - died
instantly, but their companion, Mr. ?rup Saikia,
survived the shooting. Nilikesh Gogoi died
instantly.
The fact that the CISF personnel felt empowered
enough to take his life in this manner and
expected to get away with it, is a statement
about the tragedies that unfold with the
government of India's security policy for the
Northeast. I risk making this note a sane,
rational analysis of militarization, at a time
when I should be mourning a friend.
Nilikesh Gogoi was the undisputed scamp and
pixie-king of the Assam-Naga foothills. His
universe stretched from Sibsagar town to the
villages of Anakhi Imsen, not a very huge tract
of land but stable enough to be a storehouse of
history, myths and folklore. He crisscrossed the
winding Pioneer Road, whizzed across the
Lahdoigarh Line, and stumbled all over the place
as though borders never mattered to him. Truth be
told, he was not too convinced by modern maps and
surveying techniques. Over several shots of rum,
he would reel off names of villages and towns
that were the domain of the Naga people in the
olden days. At times like this, his conversations
- like his wonderful imagination - would be free
from chronological and political fetters. The
past, with its myths and immense possibilities of
romance, was what could happen tomorrow,
according to him. At times this, he was
irresistible.
One day, not so long ago, he strapped my
partner's rucksack on to his back and took her up
a treacherous mountain track to meet with her
fellow Naga people who lived along the frontiers
of the plantation complex. He explained to her
that he was carrying something very important and
so, needed her rucksack. He was carrying rum and
his stories about how the planters came in the
nineteenth century, cut the forests to make tea
chests, and pushed the Nagas further from the
valley where they would come to trade. These
stories grew bigger and more real as he narrated
how the Lahdoigarh Line sequestered the hill
people and how planters brought in troops to
secure their precious investments. His stories,
fuelled by a bit of rum, spoke of the times when
his ancestors, realizing the limits of their
power had made peace with the Naga people and
evolved a civilized system of respect for each
other's authority. He liked that part of the
past. He half-jokingly wore the mantle of a
latter-day Supatphaa (Gadadhar Singha), the great
Ahom adventurer king of the seventeenth century,
and issued mock commands to his grinning friends.
Later, in the course of this rough ride up the
mountain, he would look remorsefully at the
ground when my partner berated him for his
impossible projects that mostly involved rum. To
make up for his almost adolescent trespass, he
sang a Naga Bihu song: "Milakpani te ahibo, sopna
te dekhibo S" (I shall come to the River Milak
and you will see me in your dreams). That song
was my personal anthem, when my colleague and I
walked the streets of Bangkok trying to connect
with our Thai cousins. Sitting on the streets of
the city with a bewildered audience, we sang his
song and it made us so proud.
His grasp of history and politics was simply
unparalleled. He kept a critical distance from
dominant political parties and organisations. His
universe was rather small, but like any good
activist, he knew it well. The plantations that
dot the landscape of Gelekey, the local marts
where people barter their good and incur debts,
the small settlements of migrants - were all part
of his politics and his life. He knew that the
lines between legality and illegality were
ambiguous in the frontiers and the presence of a
gun blurred the boundaries further. Like any
person who has to survive this predicament, he
pushed himself into work that would make life a
little more to his liking. He had a bed and a
warm meal ready for him in all the Naga villages
along the foothills. To them, he was a friend who
could talk to the police and contain conflicts
that usually arose when Naga villagers came to
the valley markets. For him, the Naga villages
were his home. His political strategies were a
matter of scale. Of course, he also spoke about
the indignities heaped upon the people of Iraq,
but he was equally passionate about the
collective farm that he had helped start. He
would take unsuspecting visitors to the farm that
was systematically organized - gourd in one
section, bamboo in the other, a bit of tea on
higher ground and paddy in the low-lying areas -
in marked contrast to his restless behaviour when
people dropped by. He was always in a hurry to
point out where history, politics and economy
met, in his huge universe of forty square
kilometres.
One was always surprised with his natural ability
to navigate through the vicious politics that
surrounded the various security agencies in the
area. For a small place, Gelekey has many people
with guns. The government and security agencies
would have us believe that this is because there
are Naga and Assamese rebels in the area. Even if
that were true, the government, not to be
outdone, has thrown in its companies of army and
paramilitary personnel making the small
forty-square kilometres a veritable garrison.
Nilikesh saw them as temporary trespassers, like
the British planters. He charmed them, perhaps
even infuriated them, but he always looked right
through the barrel of their guns. His life in the
small town was always a chaotic run for
documents, titles, the occasional conversation
with a friend, a few stern words to errant
associates and he took all of this - including
runs in with the authorities - in his stride. In
the evenings, when friends dropped in from far
away places, he would wrap his fingers around a
cup of tea and narrate mad stories about ghosts
and spirits. For those of us not used to the
layered life of Gelekey, it seemed that the
ghosts and spirits were all around us. He would
taunt these ghosts, as he would taunt the armed
paramilitary personnel for their corruption.
Then he would head home, partly with gastric
pains and partly out of sheer hunger. However, he
was never exhausted. Had his partner, Kunti,
allowed it, he would come right back after the
household was asleep. She was a formidable person
and he always took care never to test the limits
of her patience. What an incredible supply of
adrenalin for a man so small and wiry! He was
just unstoppable.
Ironically, that is what the CISF are saying now.
They are saying that he did not stop when asked
to. His associate who survived has a
diametrically opposed story that is easier to
believe. They were shot and killed without any
provocation. There is talk of a high-level cover
up even as the state government announced a
compensation package and the arrested an accused.
As one tries to come to terms with the loss, one
realizes that this is an unending and vicious
cycle of lies and subterfuge. Following all the
innumerable loss of lives in Assam, the
administration will walk the tired road and hope
for things to become a little quiet before
ploughing the barren fields of security and
counter-insurgency.
They may reduce Nilikesh Gogoi to another
statistical victim of counter-insurgency, but if
he were alive, he would cackle into his glass of
tea. He always believed that legends could not
die. They always re-appeared in time. This, then,
is his time to re-appear. Nilikesh Gogoi's
universe has just become bigger. From Palo Alto
to Purona Bosti, those who knew him and what he
stood for will sing his Milakpani song. Those in
power will wonder what this song means. It is,
after all, a simple song about the legends, myths
and folklore of the foothills. It is about how
our people live despite the conditions imposed
upon us and in some wild, wonderful way, justice
will be done.
Xonzoi (Sanjay) Barbora
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