Thank you Barua. --Ram
On 8/26/07, barua25 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Good! > That itself makes another good speech. > Barua > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Ram Sarangapani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > *To:* ASSAMNET <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Sunday, August 26, 2007 4:56 PM > *Subject:* [Assam] A chance interaction with Shashi Tharoor > > > Yesterday, we had the good fortune to listen to Shashi Tharoor speak. Most > of us know that Tharoor was formerly a UN undersecrectary, and also ran an > unsuccessful campaign to win th UN Secy Gen post. He is also the author of a > number of books The event drew (I would guess) a couple of 1000 people) - > packed. It was also attended by Congressman Lampson, the Indian Ambassador, > Sen, the mayor etc etec. > > Anyway, Tharoor talked about (excellent speaker) "India's Soft Power in > the 21st Century World" > > He spoke at length of both India's successes and also of its failures, He > talked about space, of IT, of growth rates, literature, and of the Indian > spirit, And he also talked about poverty (something like 30-40% below > poverty level), of the wide disparities within the country. He spoke about > the "Indian Democracy" and of how there is still the "you cast your vote, > and vote your cast" - but he mentions how at times the democractic system > struggles & totters, and yet manages to survive and come out triumphant. > > He advocates "Soft Power" (SP)India which India practices very well - > bothe within & outside the country. He advocates this power of persuassion > as opposed to arms etc. SP can of course be in many forms - from Bollywood > to literature, from our engineers to software developers. He mentioned that > India was like a"Thali dinner". All different, items, some complementary, > while others not - but they all belonged to the same thali. > > I sort of took advantage of the Q & A session, hesitated, but asked him a > question about Assam & NE. > > My question (based on some of the queries we often get in the net here) > was what kind of Soft Power would Tharoor advocate the central Govt. take > toward Assam in particular and the NE in general. I referred to the > insurgency, the lack of development and wanted to know what steps Delhi > ought to take to make Assam and NE inclusive and share and share equally in > the overall Indian experiment. > > Tharoor, basically responded and told the audience that India's overall > success also depended on how well the all states were treated and how Delhi > should take proactive steps to ensure that Assam(NE) is not left out etc. > etc and that it was important development and growth efforts in Assam be > given a priority. > > He also mentioned that he would be visiting Assam, and that he has had a > long discussion with the CM, Assam. He seemed genuinely interested and even > referred to the situation in Assam a couple of times in other discussions. > Afterwards, I even got a chance of chatting with him for a few minutes. > > My reasons were very simplistic in asking the question. I did not expect > that there would be any overnight change in attitude or perceptions toward > Assam/NE or that Tharror could do on a personal basis. - but I thought I > would atleast plant the idea, or notion that Delhi cannot just keep thinking > that India is just made up of a few states and cities. I wanted to bring > this up in front of many American invitees, Ambassador Sen, Consul Gen. of > India, and others like the mayor etc. Good or bad, I wanted to show that > Assam/NE is/was being neglected in many ways - and I got to get that message > about Assam across in the forum. > > I have experimented this in a number of other forums too. I often raise > concerns about Assam and let often let NGOs and others to also pay interest > to states like Assam. Don't know if this works, but intend to keep trying. > > I also DO NOT think those of us interested in Assam ought to just lay back > and expect others to take interest. Today, there are many people both here > and in Assam, who are trying to make things happen. > > Today, because of the leadership of Hiren da & Usha (Hiren Sarma of > Houston), the Houston Assamese community was fortunate to be invited to a > presentation of Pratham USA by Mr. Yogi Patel. Pratham, as some of you know > is a non-profit organization and focusses on basic education for poor > children. The organization has done wonderfull things and made huge strides > in many parts of the country. > They now have a presence in Assam as well. > > I think, it is important for each of us to contribute what we can. > Pratham, from what I understand, will be able to match funds thru various > sources. Further, contributions can be earmarked specifically to Assam. I am > sure Hiren da can provide more information on Pratham if anyone wants > further information. > > --Ram > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > assam mailing list > [email protected] > http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org > >
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