Hello Hazarika:
While I appreciate your clarifying what actually took place and how a
SECTION of the media presented it, I must come to Umesh's defense
here. He merely forwarded what others already posted, namely
Assamtimes .org. Umesh and other Assam lovers merely attempt to
spread word of trouble, not so much to malign Assam, but to make sure
good people get involved to stem the tide of bad happenings.
Verifying the facts before spreading the word is not Umesh's
responsibility, just like it is not of other netters who love to
forward all kinds of stuff that fit their personal political needs.
In that Umesh is just another innocent bystander doing what he does
best. I know I give him a hard time over many things, but on this
count I won't gang up on him.
I have a request here. What can you tell us about what the term
includes? Is this an euphemism used by the Indian press ( from
outside Assam) for Santhals , Tea Garden Laborers and other groups
from Central/ north India etc. who have lived long in Assam and are
called that historically? Or does it mean indigenous people of Assam
like Karbis, Bodos, Misings and the like?
At any event why did the Adivasi's have to take to the streets ?
Obviously the government has not responded to their demands, would be
my conclusion. Are their demands for getting special treatment
devised by democratic India for other groups unreasonable and/or
unfair? Do the caste-Hindu immigrants who rule the state, people like
yourself or myself, oppose it? And if so, why? Is it fair or
reasonable, in view of the prevailing Indian system of sharing the
spoils?
Also, why do you think the police not take appropriate and timely
action to allow an orderly protest march, and by their delay and
inaction allowed it to degenerate into a riot resulting in loss of
lives ? Is it a typical ineptitude of the police in general or a
failure of its leadership ? Or was the inaction and/or inappropriate
response a result of political interference, typical or otherwise?
Finally, to your knowledge, what exactly happened that turned the
march into a riot? Did the protesters get unruly by themselves and
started to damage public property angering the victims as the
assamtimes report indicated? Or were their acts of incitement from
the public or the storekeepers that caused it? I am sure there will
be demands for a judicial enquiry, the results of which will be
either inconclusive or secret and nothing will come out of the effort
as countless other such efforts historically have. But we, people
like yourselves, myself and others interested would benefit from
learning what the truths might have been, even though not officially
sanctioned.
Thanks in advance for sharing what you may know to be the truths.
Best.
m
At 1:03 PM +0530 11/25/07, Shantikam Hazarika wrote:
Umesh:
do you not have any other work?
The term Adivasi is a north Indian term, not prevalent in Assam and
the fact that the Association is called Adivasi Association indicates
who are the people fomenting trouble in Assam. And, sitting out there
you ought to have waited for the facts to filter before taking the
easy way out of posting a dubious news item on the net to misled
others.
One of the problem was that the police took a long time to get into
action and the statement in the news that "city police sprung into
action and dispersed the Adivasi people from the
protest rally site" is not true. In fact the frequent use of the term
Adivasi in the news item itself is mischievous, with the intent of
creating a divide.
Sitting in the comforts of the US, please at least try to do something
constructive, instead of spreading canards. I never expected you to
indulge in such things.
Shantikam Hazarika
On Nov 25, 2007 5:02 AM, umesh sharma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Newsletter Editor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
http://www.assamtimes.org/index.php?news=680
Group clash in the city: 12 killed, curfew in city
A string of group clash that leaves twelve people dead, as many as one
hundred people injured has forced the authority to clamp curfew in the city
on Saturday. The condition of thirty is reported to be critical.
The violence began as soon as the Advasi people in large numbers were
holding a rally demanding Scheduled Tribe status for the community.
The Adivasi protesters damaged as many as 150 vehicles while these were
plying in the Beltola areas. Moreover, some of them vandalized some shops
and markets in the area.
The angry people in general retaliated by attack and the clash left 5 people
to death.
The city police sprung into action and dispersed the Adivasi people from the
protest rally site. But another group further proceeded to the Khanapara
areas and then to Ganeshguri areas to stop the city buses.
The public in general got angry with these Adivasi students leaders and
retaliated with attack. As many as ten Adivasi students have fallen injured.
The injured people have been rushed to the hospital.
The entire Beltola area has come under curfew from 12 noon. The over all
situation has yet to be quelled.
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