That was a pretty good prologue. At least one comment (for now)
It will do the our netters good, if they can de-link the two issues.* It
will help them look at it >objectively, as opposed to as knee-jerk reactions triggered by ULFA antipathy.* Huh! The onus is on the supporters of "independence" not on others. Why don't the supporters of "independence" de-link completely and absolutely from what ULFA does. Why don't they publicly opposed their violence, oppose their stance and ideas for independence. Why don't they stop tacit support for ulfa. Why don't they come up with their OWN ideas - which does not take the violent path of ulfa. Basically, why don't they form their own opinions instead of running their campaign on the coattails of ulfa. And till such supporters do that - it is obvious that their motives would be confused with those of the ulfa. (BTW - is that so bad?) Just my thoughts:) --Ram * * On 2/18/07, Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I have been long gone from Assam when the people first took to the streets in the eighties; got shot at, beaten up and imprisoned and then took to arms; in the quest for Assam's independence. I was however aware of the first stirrings and the first expressions of resentment against Indian rule as far back as 1962 or thereabouts, when I completed my high school at Guahati. I left Assam in 1963 to attend IIT-KGP and left India in 1970. For two decades thereafter I had slowly become increasingly distanced from events and issues in Assam, primarily due to the difficulty of communication and the rigors of making a living and helping raise a family, like most others in my shoes; almost to the point that Assam was beginning to become a distant memory. Then came Assam net. Instantly I became re-connected to my roots . That was 1992 I think. And forgive the levity, the rest is history :-). I heard about ULFA, even before Assamnet. I remember the almost euphoric exuberance amongst our fellow Probaxi Oxomiyas, including those who today are some of its most strident and vocal opponents and how they applauded ULFA's activities in the pursuit of Assam's political self-assertion and even on such acts as summary justice meted out to corrupt officials and so forth. At no time before or since had I seen such Assamese nationalist aspirations vented. At times it was almost scary, because otherwise knowledgeable and thoughtful people were applauding acts of vengeance and obvious acts of ethnic/linguistic animosity.*It signaled a desperate yearning for effective and responsive governance and yet displayed a gaping void in the understanding of the fundamentals of the governance of a society with a rule of law.* What is however incongruous is that waving of the flag of* democracy* that my compatriots so love to do, no doubt from that desire to be associated with and noticed by that other great exponent of democracy, our very own United States. This discourse is NOT about ULFA. It is about the WHYs of independence. But ULFA being the most or only vocal of its proponents, the issue immediately gets lumped with ULFA. It will do the our netters good, if they can de-link the two issues.* It will help them look at it objectively, as opposed to as knee-jerk reactions triggered by ULFA antipathy.* * * Next: My Take on Why Independence-! cm * * * * * * * * _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
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