C'da, I too did not read the article till after reading your's and Jugal's comments. I really did not read anything written the way Jugal describes it - may be it was an implication (but it could just be me).
There may have been that "intellectual hypocrisy", but the author did make some excellent points explaining why reasons that the ULFA and others commonly say is the basis of their struggle, actually are either wrong, don't hold water, or are really impractical. Perhaps, you might want to read it after all. :) http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/details.asp?id=feb1007\edit1 --Ram On 2/11/07, Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I did not read the article, as I usually don't most of this kind of material that appear on desi-rags so routinely. I saw Chitta's and Sandip's comments indicating their approval of and common cause with the writer. I thought Jugal's comments would put in perspective the quality of the arguments made in the article. cm Comment: DomainKeys? See http://antispam.yahoo.com/domainkeys X-Yahoo-Newman-Id: 12609498-m-1 X-Apparently-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-YMail-OSG: RVv4baAVM1le9JQC5JAZkiY5XxNmBbf45pgN1OFUukZGY7ARxl4EqxVI44dUVs9QYbTH0 seN8YZAT_GkUg5HUzfQtScBLcSZPNFVJfufGEQKSBeoADh.7aizcpUUzB8Ns3L.P99_b P2kH1M- To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], [email protected], [EMAIL PROTECTED], Assam Foundation <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> X-Originating-IP: 68.142.206.135 X-eGroups-Msg-Info: 1:0:0:0 From: J Kalita <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> X-Yahoo-Profile: jugalkalita Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mailing-List: list [EMAIL PROTECTED]; contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] Delivered-To: mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] List-Id: <AssamSociety.yahoogroups.com<http://assamsociety.yahoogroups.com/> > List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2007 08:29:24 -0800 (PST) Subject: Re: [Assam Society] No future t o sovereignty demand — Ranen Kumar Goswami Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Yahoo-Newman-Property: groups-email-ff I am not sure of the point of this article. Once a region/country/nation loses its sovereignty, it can never regain it? Is that the point. India lost its sovereignty to the British in a "legal" fashion where papers were signed and sovereignty given over to the British. So, India should have never regained sovereignty in 1947? Poland lost its sovereignty many times over its history, to the Swedish, to the Germans, to the Russians. Didn't it regain it? So, the premise of this article doesn't make much sense to me. What's lost can be regained. The papers that were signed to accept the lost of sovereignty can be overwritten by new papers that give sovereignty back. It's sophistry to say sovereignty can never be regained. Histoy is a moving thing. Countries are born and die. In the past decade or so, the Soviet Union and the Yugoslov Union died and more than ten countries came into existence, i.e., regained sovereignty. Montenegro became a new nation just months ago, Kosovo will in a few years. In Asia, East Timor became a country a few years ago, Bangladesh became one a few decades ago. So, it is intellectual hypocrisy to write about only one side of the issue. Jugal --- Pradip Kumar Datta <[EMAIL PROTECTED] <pradip200%40yahoo.com>> wrote: > No future to sovereignty demand > — Ranen Kumar GoswamiWhen guns pass for rationale > and a thirst for innocent blood its basis, the > conclusion that comes out is sure to stand on its > head. Asom-India conflict is a poison fruit such a > conclusion has borne. Add to it another half-baked > wisdom from the distorted pages of our history, > 'Asom was never a part of India'. The heady cocktail > is the theory of a sovereign Asom. > > Asom was never a part of India and its forced > inclusion in the country has created the Asom-India > conflict. The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) > tries to shove this lesson of history down the > throat of Asomiya people. Did Asom not have any ties > with India in the past? Renowned intellectual Dr > Shiva Nath Barman has reminded us of our > mythological links. Asom had links with the mainland > India from time immemorial. Kamrup king Bhagadatta > fought for the Kauravas in the battle of Mahabharata > and laid down his life. Krishna married Rukmini and > Sankardev has immortalised the tale in his Rukmini > Haran Kabya. Bhim married Hidimba. Arjuna married > Chitrangada who was a princess from Manipur. > Madhabdev wrote, Dhanya Dhanya Bharat Borish (Hail! > O Bharat). Sankardev added a chapter to his Bhakti > Ratnakar, the title and content of which was > Bharatbarsha Prasansha (In praise of Bharatbarsha). > From time immemorial, Asom has remained culturally > and spiritually united with the mainland > India. The country was never under one > administrative umbrella till the British came. Most > of the States were independent, Asom being one of > them. The British brought all these States under one > centralised administration. Today's political unity > of Indians is an outcome of the anti-British freedom > struggle. The people of Asom joined this struggle > and paid their share of the price for freedom with > their life and blood. The political identity of > being Indians that they carry in their Asomiya souls > is the result of their participation in this > struggle. This identity they have earned for > themselves, no one has imposed it on them. > > Asom has lost her political independence much before > the Treaty of Yandaboo signed on February 24, 1826. > Because, about four years ago, the Burmese army > captured upper Asom and Guwahati. According to Dr > Surya Kumar Bhuyan, June 21, 1822, the day the > Burmese occupied Asom was the last day of her > independence. In fact, it was the last day of Asom's > independent political existence. At the time of > Yandaboo, Asom had only five districts: undivided > Kamrup, undivided Darrang, undivided Nagaon, > undivided Sivasagar, undivided Lakhimpur and a part > of Karbi Anglong. But does ULFA want to liberate the > pre-Yandaboo Asom? No. It wants to liberate the > present-day Asom; the Asom the British made bigger, > the Asom the people of the State inherited from the > British as a result of their anti-British struggle > in which they had taken part shoulder-to-shoulder > with the people of the rest of the country! The > State has suffered dismemberment several times since > 1947. Yet it is much bigger than the > pre-Yandaboo Asom ULFA keeps talking about. Its > guns can not silence this truth. > > The States surrounding Asom do not want to secede > from India though a section of people from Nagaland > do. Even this section now appears to have given up > their demand for sovereignty and settle for more > federal powers within India. This section too is > antagonising the people of three neighbouring States > with its claim on their territories and thus is > weakening its demand for Nagalim from within. Does > ULFA want Asom to be an isolated island surrounded > by States seeking to stay within India? But that too > will not be possible as banners of revolt are > already flying in Karbi Anglong, North Cachar Hills > districts and Bodoland. Neither do they want to stay > in Asom nor do they recognise ULFA as the sole > representative of the State. The DHD, spearheading > the movement for a Dimasa State, says it will remain > firm in its demand for a Dimasa State within the > Indian constitution irrespective of the success or > failure of the ULFA-Government talks. Extremist > Karbi organisation UPDS has > alleged that ULFA represents the Asomiya people, > not Asom; ULFA-nominated People's Consultative Group > (PCG) is conducting talks with Delhi for the Asomiya > only, not Asom. Moreover, the organisation has > pointed out that there is no tribal representative > in the PCG. Bodo leadership's tendency to leave Asom > is too well-known to need any mention. The Bodo > Peace Forum, playing a key role in bringing the NDFB > into the peace process, has said its struggle for a > separate Bodo State will continue at any cost. > > The people of the Barak Valley do not want freedom > of the ULFA brand and it is as clear as daylight. Do > people of the Brahmaputra Valley want it, or for > that matter, the Asomiya people want it? Not to > speak of the all-India political parties, even the > regional political formations like the Asom Gana > Parishad (AGP) or the AGP (P) are against the idea > of a sovereign Asom. The AGP reiterated its stand > against secessionism at its general body meeting in > Guwahati on January 20, 2007. The party's well-known > stand is that it wants a federal restructure of the > Indian Union with maximum powers to the State. The > All Assam Students Union (AASU), which has a strong > command over the Asomiya opinion, has publicly > stated its stance against a sovereign Asom. An > angered ULFA has recently branded the AASU > leadership as agents of the Indian State. AASU, on > the other hand, criticises the Bangladesh-sheltered > ULFA leadership for its silence over the influx of > Bangla nationals in Asom. Another > influential organisation, the Asam Jatiyatabadi > Yuba-Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) also advocates more > powers to the State, not sovereignty. > > The Asam Sahitya Sabha, which has been playing a > pivotal role in shaping Asomiya national > consciousness since its birth in the 19th century, > is also against an Asom outside India. Sabha > president Kanaksen Deka asserted at a Press meet in > Guwahati on January 19, 2007 that Asom was, is and > will remain an inseparable part of India. Except for > a few die-hard pro-ULFA organisasions, no other mass > organisation, student or youth organisation, trade > union, peasant organisation or any other > organisation worth the name has supported the > sovereignty demand. Then who wants a separate > sovereign existence outside India? It is only ULFA > who does. > > It has every right to nurse a sovereign dream. > Maybe, in its view, only a sovereign existence can > ensure happiness and prosperity for the people of > Asom. That is why it has jumped into a struggle for > independence. But what is the nature of this > struggle? Has it formed any mass organisation to go > to the people to favourably influence their opinion > and win their support? No, it hasn't. There's no > alternative to mass organisations to win mass > support and persuade the people to join the fight > for freedom. It uses bullets and bombs even to turn > mass support in its favour. And this is exactly why > it is terrorist. It uses terrorist methods to impose > its will on the people. The call for boycott of > National Games was one such instance. Lesser the > public support, more are its terrorist activities. > Some milestones of its freedom struggle are the mass > grave at Lakhipathar, massacre of children at > Dhemaji and killings of Hindi speaking labourers. It > feels no qualms before planting bombs > in public places. Then, what has happened to its > war of independence? Mass support is a must for such > a war. The State is not scared of guns not backed by > mass support. Even these guns, it uses more often > than not, against the unarmed civilians and not > against the armed forces. Needless to say, there > will be no freedom without mass support, no freedom > can be achieved by avoiding war with the Army and > killing the unarmed innocents. So, no astrology is > required to safely predict that there is no future > at all to ULFA's sovereignty demand. (Assam Tribune > Editorial) > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --------------------------------- > Sucker-punch spam with award-winning protection. > Try the free Yahoo! 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