Ram Da, I thought I was weighing a sort of balanced view, when I pointed out two possibilities: that the rape news was either plugged or may be wholly/ partially true. But you seem to have told me that I should take only one view.: that rape news is true. While the report on Supreme Court judgment reported in the TOI can be verified from the records of the Court and reports of the cases used for precedents; you perhaps cannot verify the authenticity of a reporter alleging rape by Kishanji or his camp followers. And if you are not too biased, you surely know what 'plugging' is in journalistic term, as I remember learning the term long ago from the notorious novel The Fountainhead in my teens. Does that mean each and every item in a news paper has to be 'plugged'? You simply cannot report that MMS has become a Naxal today; but you may always report that from a reliable source you have learnt that there is going to be a cabinet reshuffle. The first one would make you lose credibility, which a paper like TOI cannot afford; and the second it can always report without losing credibility, as it is not verifiable. In Assam, at this moment, NEWSLIVE owned by Himanta Biswa Sarma has to report Okhil Gogoi's meetings; but it also publishes hearsay that everyone speaking about Sri Gogoi having sold his soul to Himanta Biswa Sarma for a sum of Rs.2 crores, which is not verifiable. Why are you snaring me into a debate that takes us away from the core issues? Your second remark is also full of holes. Yes, Kishanji may not hold a court of inquiry against himself; that is why I said that if the Naxals/ Maoists fail to bring the guilty (whoever it is) to book, then they will lose support base in no time. Where did I go wrong? What new dimension have you added to what I said, but you are giving an impression that I had told something childish. It has taken 23 years to reach the Supreme Court a 'question' of compensation to displaced people, who had been displaced by the Government, that should have been settled by the Government, which claims to represent the people in a democracy.Except one with blinkers shall spread the angelic message around that " look, look, it may be justice delayed, but not justice denied; the beauty of the Indian judiciary that still works in this thriving democracy".
Ram Sarangapani assamrs at gmail.com Tue Aug 24 09:35:04 IST 2010Previous message: [Assam] The Naxal/Maoist Movement, Part 2?Next message: [Assam] I am not opposed to talks: ULFA leaderMessages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]Dear Uttam, >There may be two possibilities. (1) The story is state propaganda and (2) The story may be true, partially or wholly. >If it is a propaganda, Ah, yes. I had plum forgotten about that distinct possibility about the TOI making this whole thing (no doubt egged on by the state machinery). So, Uttam, what about the other stories (from the TOI)? Should we discount them...? I think, I'll just cherry pick. That suits me quite well. >If it is true, partially or wholly, then the Naxals/ Maoists would lose support if those guilty of the crimes are not brought to books and awarded >exemplary punishments either by their own courts, The problem, Uttam, is that (according to the story), it is the leaders who are the ones committing the rapes. I am not really sure they will be really gung ho on some kind of court (to punish the guilty). >BTW: 2000 farmers from Chattisgarh in the meanwhile have petitioned the President asking for permission to commit suicide, because of hunger. Hunger and poverty are real issues, and I certainly think these have to be addressed in all seriousness. But tell me something, why would potential suiciders (as GW Bush loved to say) want to take the permission from anyone. If the president gave her assent, would they go ahead? Mass suicides are organized, and quite possibly lead by some political hack. But I do believe there are genuine cases, which may be in the 100s at least, and do need governmental intervention. --Ram da Uttam Kumar Borthakur _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
