C'da. My 2 cents here.
I too agree it is important that whatever is included, whether they are of great personalities or of the history of Assam, be first of all accurate.
More so since I KNOW how interested Indians are , by and large, >about
others , their culture, their history, their language--what have >you. By and large, Indians are perfectly happy to suck-up to those >who they deem are superior and are ever ready to p--s down on >whom they deem inferior. Is that a sweeping statement? "Indians" are like any others (and I am differentiating them from their evil Govt. machinery:)). They would get interested only when required. And you, of course, dropped from the skies:) :) and are therefore not affected by this lousy Indian trait. How many Assamese do you know, are very conversant with the tribal cultures in Madhy Pradesh or Rajasthan? Or of different states like Kerala or Orissa or UP? But, why go so far away, how about the Khasis, or the Lushais or the Nagas? Or how about Upper/Lower Assam. How many of us know are "interested" and eager to know more about all of them? Yes, there are many who make it point to know about others' cultures, and then there are others who are oblivious. Most of the news in the news is Guwahati centric and there are Guwahatians who know little about other areas of Assam. So, in your eyes, are these "Guwahatians" p-s down others who they deem .....? Lets shift to the US, how many in New York or St. Louis know about the Alamo? Are there people out there who think Texans are cowboys?. The US is only now learning that there are Shias, Sunnis and Kurds and they are all Muslims. They have just started hearing about countries like Pakistan or Afganistan or even India - for different reasons though. Many in other parts of India probably know more about the violence in Assam than they do about the Assamese language. C'da - this is human nature. We often concentrate only on issues and places when there is a need or otherwise of great interest to us. Lets face it, there are precious few people in the world who are interested in others' cultures, way of life and language in an academic sense or really, really interested. And, unfortunately, even many of those are so interested, because it makes them be perceived as culturally up-to date. If we are interested, I think, it is important for Assamese intellectuals, media in Assam, and others to highlight, inform, enlighten, and tell people in other parts of India about Assam, its culture, its tea gardens, its industry and of the people every chance they get. Just my thoughts. --Ram On 6/30/07, Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Thanks for the thought Chitta. As you might have noticed, I did contribute a few things to Assam.org <http://assam.org/>. While I agree it is a good thing to aim to put together a comprehensive, accurate and inclusive account of Assam ( and I will be pleased to contribute in areas I am capable of), to do so to educate or interest Indians will be about the last of my priorities. I care less about what Indians know about Assam . More so since I KNOW how interested Indians are , by and large, about others , their culture, their history, their language--what have you. By and large, Indians are perfectly happy to suck-up to those who they deem are superior and are ever ready to p--s down on whom they deem inferior. On the issue of debasement of Kanaklata's name and account, I take issue with those who would be apologetic for NOT making enough info. public, for not educating Indians about her. The responsibility for doing the required legwork, about finding accurate information lies with those who are doing it. If one looks at the many different Indian websites about India and Indians, one can instantly see all the errors, misinformation and even debasement that run rife. It points to a culture of absence for the quest of excellence and accuracy that is endemic in India in every sphere of life. At 8:19 AM -0700 6/29/07, chittaranjan pathak wrote: Dear Dr. Das Thanks for highlighting the erroneous biography to coast guard. I think they will amend based on your feedback. Also you have tried to bring it the notice of the press in Assam. Hopefully , the description will be corrected. But I think error may not be willful. It is really hard to find biographies or information about Assamese personalities. Many outsiders don't know about our famous luminaries as there are so few Assamese outside Assam to give them the information. When late film director Satyajit Ray was chosen by Assam government for Sankardev award, the maestro admitted that he did not know who Sankardev was. May be all of us in Assamnetters can do our bits to fill this gap. When somebody googols Assam, the portal of "Assam.org" appears amongst the first few hits. Those interested in Assam or Assamese may try to get into the "Great Assamese personalities" list. It is a great list but it seems the list is not getting much attention lately. It will be great to have the biographies or at least short account of all the personalities. For those interested in Assamese personalities, this site should provide good insight. May I suggest that the webmasters take special interest to make this section more informative? And it will be great if the knowledgeable Assam netters take some time off to populate the biographies or life sketches of few luminaries each. It will be great if prolific e-writer like Mahanta da diverts some of his attention to fill this gap. I am sure there are many more members who can contribute. Shri JP Rajkhowa (who I believe is a member) has chronicled Chilarai's life and times. Can we look to people like you Dr. Das, Mahanta da and Rajkhowa deu and numerous others to help the custodian of the website fill this gap? A feedback of the custodians on this incomplete list would be appreciated. Regards Chittaranjan Pathak ------------------------------ Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect. Join Yahoo!'s user panel<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=48516/*http://surveylink.yahoo.com/gmrs/yahoo_panel_invite.asp?a=7+>and lay it on us. _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
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