The real solution is for the government abrogating special class staus to one and all simply because of birth as a ST, SC, OBC etc. etc. descriptions of ethnic and linguistic origin. Most of us are all mixed race all over the world. Financial and other forms of aid by government should be given on economic considerations, that is, ability to pay by an individual. Even as a school student in Shillong I used to wonder why Stanley Nichols Roy got income tax free income of lachs of rupees in those days of the 50s when probably 99% of the Indians were pooer than him. He lived luxuriously as owner of the United Fruit Co.
Many SC and ST and OBCs are Lakhpattis today. Thay are big bureaucrats and politicians, doctors and lawyers who made tons of money just as other bureaucrats and politiciians over the last 6 decades in independent India. It is about time India looked at policies based on reason, equity and fairness rather than age old bad politics. Anybody irespective of birth should have economic help and opportunity to get ahead in life if the government can offer help for education, healthcare etc. and if that citizen deserves such help. Barada Sarma Station Guwahati ====== moderator appended assamonline ====== From: "Shantikam Hazarika" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Wed Nov 28, 2007 8:01 pm Subject: Wakeup Call from Guwahati streets You have raised a very serious issue which no one has unfortunately taken much seriously. The sociological implications of the tea workers condition and future needs to be understood. they have been deliberately kjept backward and used as a vote bank. But days are changing. They are also getting aware of changes around and want a share. On top, scopes for their employment and even livelihood are disappearing as bigger gardesn where they generally stay are becoming sick or closing down. They have no avaneues left for them but to earn livelihood by desperate means. Political kleaders with narrow outlook would exploit their distress for their petty gains and that is menifested in what happened in beltola and its aftermath. The challenges before the Assamese people are many and one of the challenges would be the future of the tea garden people, and I refuse to use the word adivasi because they are assamese first. Shantikam From: Debojyoti Bordoloi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Thu Nov 29, 2007 12:01 am Subject: Re: [asom] Wakeup Call from Guwahati streets Really a noble idea,but will the POLITICAL BIGWIGS of the STATE allow this to happen anyhow? I have a doubt, what about you guys? Debojyoti Bordoloi ----- Original Message ---- From: Mohan R. Palleti <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 4:38:40 AM Subject: [asom] Wakeup Call from Guwahati streets Assam Agribusiness Statistics published by NIC, inform that in the year 2000 the total number of laborers employed in Tea Gradens in Assam is 60253 Assuming that there were no children at home and there were nobody unemployed, and therefore assume that every tea garden employee was accounted for. If the decadal growth rate of Assam is 18.85%, then today's population should be around 7,950383. However modest this calculation is, be aware that this is a big number to reckon with in terms of political power. The actual figure however will be much larger than this. Guess what would happen if all these people because of some political influence change their religion because they have been crushed under the foot and suddenly remember that they have been alienated for a long time. I seriously think that the Assam government should provide them with a assamese status and no longer call them adivasis. Adivasi means aborigines. They may have been aborigines from another state with a distinct culture. So is everybody an aborigine from another culture. In assam itself we have several indigenious cultures, who do not call themselves adivasis. The present day tea garden laborers came here during pre-independance. But today everybody speaks assamese. Children go to assamese schools. The should be given a new assamese name. Maybe something like Hazira okhomia's or something that ties them with Assam. Evey tea garden should have a namghor where these people should be encouraged to join the mainstream if they are Hindu's. Other faiths can have their own synagogues. This way a strategic balance will be maintained. Thanks Mohan Rao Palleti
