Hello Mahanta da I changed the subject matter to The Minority Assamese as Answer to Chitta was sounding too personal and intent is also to attract more audience including those who have failed before me as every one would like to be satiated by your reply (the final one). This is another thing that many people would any way open a mail from Chan Mahanta to read it surreptitiously.
Thanks for your attempt to reply and for opening on to me a deluge of thoughts and questions in an attempt to drown me, whilst I had only one very specific question like Gabbar Singhs kitne aadmi the for you. The question was whether you believe or not that you are in minority league? Yes of course-I did not expect short crisp reply. But like a sorcerer you were trying to lead me away from my quest with your wizardry of words. Still I will steer clear and lead you to my specific query. I will also resort to cut, paste and dissect style reply you so often apply to counter thoughts and ideas that you dont prescribe to, though I dont find it comfortable as it looks too argumentative. (Now Mahanta da-do not respond to this-otherwise it will just get protracted). **Is it an uniquely Assamese condition? That your people and mine, are so uniquely apathetic that they will soon forget thus perhaps are deserving of what they get? We all know guilty going unpunished is not at all uniquely Assamese condition. You can bomb the parliament of India and still escape hang mans noose. I admit situation is very bad in India. But I for the time being agree with your tacit reasoning in the question you posed that it is an Indian ill. But will it go away if Assam is free from India? Because USA (United States of Assam) will run under the same constrains and set up as those of India which resulted that pathetic condition at the very first place. But dont you think this lax attitude has proved to be beneficial to some of the indigenous people of our state also? Because you can bomb, kill, extort but still get condoned to lead a comfortable life with an allowance to keep your AK-47 if you attend one of those surrender ceremonies and if your committed all those crimes purportedly for a cause for autonomy or secession. You surely will agree!! I will come to that later. **Now we are in complicated territory, getting ahead of ourselves. To understand these issues we will have to take a few steps back and take a look at a larger context : Mahanta da here you are digressing. All I wanted to know was who are your people who are yearning for freedom? Any answer like all Assamese people, all Assamese speaking people, people from Brahmaputra valley, people who have never seen Dispur-any thing would have been satisfying. But you skipped because I think you are facing difficulty in finding them. **So WHY independence then? What is wrong with Indian rule -- that you, your kin and your friends are comfortable with, and I will have to guess, prospered from? Tricky-I will tackle this in two parts. **So WHY independence then? Here you got it wrong Mahanta da? I caught your Googly. I have to stop you here because you are basing your logic on the premise that it is a GIVEN that there is cry for independence in Assam. I replace your WHY with WHERE. Because this was the crux of my question! WHERE is the cry for independence in Assam? Where Mahanta da? Which section? Which community? Which portion of Assam-lets go to most backward district of Assam-Dhemaji? Baska? Chirang? Or in Bodoland where Mr Mohilary has revealed his grand plan of having nothing to do with Assam and Assamese in next 20 years? You have to be specific here Mahanta da. You will have to answer my 95% poll result query, then only you can go from where to why. **What is wrong with Indian rule -- that you, your kin and your friends are comfortable with, and I will have to guess, prospered from? You guessed it wrong-Mahanta da. Just because I come from Guwahati or Bongaigaon does not mean everything is fine with every one I know of. Most of my childhood friends and numerous of my cousins are far from prosperous and are still struggling. May be you would not have hazarded a guess about my kith and kins prosperity had my title been Pegu or Padum instead of Pathak. Time is changing Mahanta da-dont go by surnames in Assam nowadays. **Now we are in even more complicated territory. And here it will be helpful to know a little more about you, your kins' and friends' circumstances. I am not seeking personal info. Just give us a general introduction, about you, your parents, your grand-parents. We will have to look at this data in relation to the overall condition of the people of Assam and see if you are typical or the exception. This was interesting-you can be funny sometimes. How can I give you impersonal introduction about my parents, grandparents? I will give my introduction to you separately Mahanta da. And dont be surprised if I am related to you-knowing fully well how small different Assamese communities are. But for the purpose of this debate, I think you dont need to look at my family data. I told you on my earlier post that you can discount my ongohi bongohi to be true representative of Assamese people. At this stage let us not give them any benefit of doubt and let them all be classed as privileged exception not meriting to be representative of people of Assam-discounting the fact that many my cousins are without any job whose standard weapon to ward off embarrassment is business kori asu reply; numerous of my cousins and families from lower Assam are subjected to all kinds of subtle harassment and disadvantages in their newly carved out home territory of BTC districts for not being on winning side and discounting the .I will stop here least it becomes too personal and sounds parochial. So can we get back to those people who are yearning for independence-I do not loose track easily. **And if you are the exception, WHAT was it that has led to you and your kins' escape from where the rest find themselves in. If it is hereditary traits or sheer hard work and individual enterprise or that zeal to pull yourselves up by the boot-straps that Indian governance afforded you and which you would not want to swap or lose -- for yourselves or for other aspirants for that good life. We will need to determine HOW you got ahead in-spite of what those others so decry and want to change--namely Indian governance and Indian control of Assam's future. Frankly speaking I did not quite understand what you wanted to say here. Least you misunderstand this as a case of selective non receptiveness, I will nevertheless attempt a reply. If I am off the track, you will please save me from ridicule by rephrasing your question. By escape I suppose you mean this state of relative privilege where one can take some time off to connect to internet to talk about distant Assam? Clarification-not all my kith and kin have made this great escape. But neither they are decrying and wanting to change Indian control over Assams future for being deprived of this. For they can not afford to take that perilous journey having paid the price for being so devoted to a cause during eightys agitation. As you said they want better education for their children-and this they can not get inside camps in Myanmar, Bhutan or Bangladesh. But then they are my relatives, who might fail on data analysis, so I reiterate, leave them aside and please go through the 4 categories I listed on my first post. Then please attempt a reply-preferably in Ha or Na. No I dont dread a long reply from you, we can get to that after your short Ha or Na reply also. Bottom line is Mahanta da just because of I am based in Perth or you know my family or my immediate background , it will be very difficult for you classify all of my kith and kin back in Assam into a single category as we represent all the shades and come in huge number. In todays Assam you can not make the mistake of classifying a guy as unprivileged or disadvantaged just because he say he hails of from Dhudhnoi , Bismuri or Laimekuri or just because you dont have a clue about his linage. I wait not for your response to all I have written but to this this single query-whether seeing present state of Assam and Assamese, do you consider yourself to be part of the minority believer or not? Once you say yes or no-we will follow up after that. Best regards and have a nice weekend. Chittaranjan --- Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi Chitta: > > Here I will attempt to address your queries, one at > a time. > > You seem to be quite conversant about the role of > CISF. Perhaps you are an OIL or ONGC employee? > > > > >But here it was a case of sheer ego boosting > exercise. > >CRPk dekhi uthil gaa, CISFe bule muku khaa. The > >officer must be punished. > > *** What you are speaking of here is an > environment of anarchy. When the ranks of the > keepers of the peace and the upholder of the rule > of law indulge in such behavior, it means only > one thing: There is NO deterrence. They can do > whatever they wish to--obviously with impunity, > as thousands of episodes of fake-encounter > killings, killings in detention, disappearance > after arrests amply illustrate. > > > >But no body is going to > >follow it up in Assam-so may be he will end up > getting > >secretly transferred to some oil installation in > >Ankleswar basin. Are we in a position to do > something > >to force authorities punish such high handed > arrogant > >officials? > > *** Yours is a typically lament here. Let us > examine it and its underlying assumptions and > implications: > > Is it an uniquely Assamese condition? That your > people and mine, are so uniquely apathetic that > they will soon forget thus perhaps are deserving > of what they get? > > I make the question purposely provocative, > because I have seen it any number of times > presented here, exactly with such implications. > And I will follow up, after I hear from you on > that. There is a whole lot more to it than meets > the eye. I wished you and others were aware of > them. But I also know how you never were > conditioned to ask the questions and look deeper > to get at the bottom of these things. I hope your > participation in Assamnet will change that :-). > > > > >you refuted Ram das > >anguished declaration that you are always the fair > >and balanced by saying that your partisanship lies > >with my peoples aspiration of running their > lives > >as they say fit. > > *** Not exactly. I don't buy the pithy arguments > that we have to be 'balanced' - to distribute > guilt all across the board since no-one is > blameless and thus 'upai-nai aaru'. There is such > a thing as a degree of guilt, of responsibility. > That is why I get so sarcastic with those who > wear the mantle of 'fair-and-balanced' to paint a > picture of insipid greys that obliterate the > whites and blacks of the picture. And I do not > hesitate to point out why it could be a > politically motivated attempt to shield the > guilty, the responsible. That is why I make no > apologies for my partisanship about Assam's > rights. I don't go about waving that flag of the > 'fair-and-balanced', instead I make the arguments > I do to explain my stance. > > > > > >Respecting your siding and at the same time > letting > >you know that my heart also lies with the > aspiration > >of those same people for a better life, may I ask > >you the following small question? > > > *** I know you do. I also know that even those > who you might not agree with your stance about > how to achieve them hold the same aspirations -- > of having a roof over their heads, three square > meals a day, an opportunity to send their > children to a school where they can get an > education, a minimum amount of health care so > that they don't have to die premature deaths from > diseases that ought not kill any more. In that we > are on common ground. > > > > >Background > >By my people you must be referring to Assamese > people > >and by running their lives as they say fit you > must > >be meaning an independent Assam. Are the Assamese > >people really aspiring to be free or independent > from > >India? Yes-some are. But not all of them-not the > ones > >I know of. As far as my relatives, friends, > parents, > >brothers, numerous cousins spread all over Assam > are > >concerned (and if you consider them my own > people), > >freedom from India is not much of an issue for > them. > > > *** Now we are in complicated territory, getting > ahead of ourselves. To understand these issues we > will have to take a few steps back and take a > look at a larger context : > > WHY is it that SOME in Assam want independence or > sovereignty or the right to determine the way to > achieve what you and the others -- all- do? Is > independence some kind of a divine decree, a > 'bor' which will magically transform Assam from > its misery to that shining land? > > Obviously not, I am sure you will agree. > > So WHY independence then? What is wrong with > Indian rule -- that you, your kin and your > friends are comfortable with, and I will have to > guess, prospered from? > > Now we are in even more complicated territory. > And here it will be helpful to know a little more > about you, your kins' and friends' > circumstances. I am not seeking personal info. > Just give us a general introduction, about you, > your parents, your grand-parents. We will have > to look at this data in relation to the overall > condition of the people of Assam and see if you > are typical or the exception. And if you are the > exception, WHAT was it that has led to you and > your kins' escape from where the rest find > themselves in. If it is hereditary traits or > sheer hard work and individual enterprise or that > zeal to pull yourselves up by the boot-straps > that Indian governance afforded you and which you > would not want to swap or lose -- for yourselves > or for other aspirants for that good life. We > will need to determine HOW you got ahead in-spite > of what those others so decry and want to > change--namely Indian governance and Indian > control of Assam's future. > > We will follow up on these and other points after we > hear from you. > > Until then. > > m-da > > > > > > > > > > At 2:29 AM -0800 2/7/07, chittaranjan pathak wrote: > >Dear Shri Mahanta da > >Warm up > >Thanks for the insight on the unfortunate Galeki > >incidence. Yes you are right-CISF is meant to be > >checking security passes and stuff like oil tanker > >permits at the industrial installation gates, > loading > >bays etc. It was clearly a case of overstepping > their > >boundaries. > >Somebody was asking-why they are given guns? Till > >recently many of them were having only sticks. But > now > >they are guarding all the vital oil/gas/nuclear > >installations other places like Akshardham, > >parliament, airports etc and role includes warding > off > >terrorist attacks also. So guns are justified and > so > >would have been the killing had the shots been > aimed > >at some saboteur climbing a high security wall of > an > === message truncated === ____________________________________________________________________________________ 8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time with the Yahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#news _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
