That's a scary place you just described, Santanu. Am going to scratch it off the 'places to travel in India' list :), seriously. Some of my colleagues have been asking me to organize a tour to India where they, with others from the college/community, would accompany me. I was thinking about those few days - how I won't sleep until I put them on the plane to come back to the states. Now one more thing to worry/drop off the list. :)
It was good to see you back here. so you are all settled in SMU. Was thinking about you the other day, if y'll have moved or not. How is the weather there, I hear in last few days it was 'warmer' in Dallas than Houston.
Welcome to Texas! Keep in touch, in fact, do plan to visit us after you get a break or two. :)
>From: "Roy, Santanu" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: "Saurav Pathak" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,"Alpana B. Sarangapani" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>CC: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: RE: [Assam] girls from assam cheap in haryana
>Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 14:27:58 -0500
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Saurav Pathak [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Sent: Friday, August 08, 2003 12:43 PM
> > To: Alpana B. Sarangapani
> > Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Subject: Re: [Assam] girls from assam cheap in haryana
> >
> >
> > > maybe the problem isn't really the libido of haryanvi males. because
> > parents of rural assam do send their children to families in the
> > cities, to miss their childhood, education and a dignified and
> > sheltered life.
>
>Saurav:
>
>It is of interest to note that:
>
>1. Haryana is a state where the practice of bonded labor (i.e., slavery) -often child labor - in hazardous occupations (such as brick making or stone quarries) continues to be in vogue - not very common in neighboring Punjab.
>
>2. The dominant peasant Jat society is the least "Brahmanized" one I have seen in the Hindi heartland - it is habitually irreverent of religion based values and therefore forcibly taking "other people's women" (even an outside village's woman) is not really frowned upon. I have travelled through villages around Rohtak and Kurukshetra - and pretty much any woman that is not from the village is treated as legitimate object of acquisition. I have been told that this is a historical effect of this tract having been exposed to continuum of wars and invasions.
>
>3. The fact that these people have gone all the way to Assam to buy girls means that procuring girls from assam is significantly cheaper than anywhere in between. Think about it now - that includes Bihar, Orissa, Chhatisgarh, Jharkand, Eastern UP, Bangladeshis in all these areas, tribals of east India - in fact all of the so called traditional "labor catchment areas" including tribal & arid areas. It is the most telling comment on destitution in rural Assam, the sheer hopelessness.
>
>Personally, I don't see what policing can achieve - in Assam or Haryana. The fundamental problem is far deeper. Simply carrying out police action will only mean that the middlemen will have to share their spoils with the police. That will make the local police richer, but little else. Dissemination of information about the actual fate of emigres by social workers at the village can be somewhat helpful - but only up to a point. Perhaps, this is only a prelude to a more serious outflux of Assamese workers (yes like the "Biharis") to earn themselves a square meal in the developed parts of India.
>
>Santanu-da.
>
>
>
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