Dear Manoj
You are correct. But in Assam and so in India, you will note that the ruling
polity has changed from what it was before the British came and when they left.
So, the caste -hindus as a 'class' ( some over -simplification is involved
though) have been enjoying the fruits of that change since then, as the society
has remained agarian and under-developed. But over time, the divested ones
began to assert themselves and the results are noticeable in 'Mandal' and such
schisms. (It is an oversimplification again). Also the winds of change that is
blowing in the economy may qualitatively change this picture in the coming
days. If you look at Assam,its frequent divisions into smaller units,
transition from Bordolye to Sinha to Saikia and then to Mahanta again, various
ethnicities asserting themselves etc. indicate the shape of the things. But
again, some people want to equate castes with economic classes, which may be an
over-simplification.
It seems the people born with caste hindu tags are making a bee-line to
de-class themselves:-) Sense of guilt my dear, sense of guilt. You'll find it
in the deepest niches of your heart, however hard you try to deny it.
Manoj Das <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
we cannot really generalise. birth is a pure accident..:)
mkd
On 10/18/07, SANDIP DUTTA <[EMAIL PROTECTED] > wrote: C'da,
OK got it. But whats wrong in being a Hindu? Why is it sordid and something
not so nice to be - if thats how you look at it?
Regards,
Sandip
----- Original Message ----
From: Chan Mahanta < [EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: A Mailing list for people interested in Assam from around the world
<[email protected] >
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 10:19:25 PM
Subject: [Assam] My Allergies
You may or may not be aware of the fact that I was born a caste Hindu. One
slightly higher in the food chain than some and lower than the demigods. So I
know ALL I ever needed to know about caste Hindus and their sordid but
not-so-secret ways.
And Bengalis had nothing to do with it, even though I have many fine and
close Bengali friends who have told me of their Hindu baggage, which I have no
doubt, is much heavier and more soiled than the kharkhowa caste-Hindus', and
does not make it lighter or cleaner even if it was brought out in the open in
vivid colors by the Naxals and assorted 'leftists'., however vile they might
seem to the children of the superior gods.
C'da, Just one question out of curiosity. You mentioned in one of your
emails that you were living in West Bengal before you left India. Did you pick
up your allergies towards caste hindu/hindutwa and all the associated ideas
over there. I understand that Naxalism was just beginning to take root there at
that time. Seems you are caught in that time wrap and your present ideas have
its foundation from what you saw or experienced? Regards, Sandip
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
_______________________________________________
assam mailing list
[email protected]
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
_______________________________________________
assam mailing list
[email protected]
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
Uttam Kumar Borthakur
---------------------------------
Now you can chat without downloading messenger. Click here to know how._______________________________________________
assam mailing list
[email protected]
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
