Re: [Assam] From Tehelka

[tridip]

well, i guess, any form of fundamentalism is bad and should be condoned- be it hindu, muslim or the christian fundamentalismso when we talk about fundamentalism its taking all into account. its not that fundamentalism in one religion is better or worse thanof a diff. religion just because i am a hindu doesnt mean that i'll defend hindu fundamentalists... yups i am a proud hindu and because of that very fact my head bows in shame everytime a godgra happens or every time a graham staines gets killed. and may be that's why most of us are quick to denounce hindu fundamentalism
moreover hindu fundamentalism is a relatively new phenomenon... and we are certainly not used to it...after all hinduism is a soft religion ( 'em ready to be slammed for this)...and with some political parties openly supporting hindu fundamentalists i sometimes wonder whether india is a secular country in it truest from??? and i say this in context to godhra.

regards,
tridip
lucknow


umesh sharma [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

the writer forgot to mention the fact that fundamentalism in India is not started by Hindus - of different ploitical hues -- but there are consistent fundamentalist movements which killed hundreds of thousands of Hindus -- in Kashmir, in Punjab and riots initiated by muslims in Meenakshipuram etc in Kerala etcor by Christians in Nagland, Meghalaya, Tripura etc. I wonder noone talks about them in the same vein as denouncing Hindu fundamentalism.

Do u?

UmeshChan Mahanta [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
CARNAGE 84We, the bloody peopleBy Sankarshan ThakurIN AN UNREQUITED LAND:A child from one ofTrilokpuri's ravaged familiesPhotographed by Gauri GillWe are the apparatchik of serial and periodic political madness, we are the midwives of the abortion of the sensesFor a talkative society, we tell very little of the essence of ourselves. We babble in the subconscious hope it will drown our truths. We've erected opaque mental monuments to Buddha and Gandhi to blind our eager resort to bloodletting. When the glare catches us red-handed, we wipe our sins on others and melt into our vast convenience of numbers. Narendra Modi. Pravin Togadia. Lal Krishna Advani. Jagdish Tytler. Sajjan Kumar. HKL Bhagat. Bal Thackeray. Hiteswar Saikia. Bhagwat Jha Azad. Remember him? Bhagwat Jha Azad of Bihar?
 Remember Bhagalpur of 1989? Remember a village called Chanderi and another called Logain?It was eventually left to the vultures to rip the cover. The bodies, 116 of them, had lain there decomposing for six weeks. In that period the village had grown wiser to the fineries of tilling - dead men made good compost. A lush winter crop of mustard had sprung on the bed of corpses they had laid. But the village was also to grow wiser to a thing or two about old idioms: Dead men do tell tales, it is seldom they don't.The stench had risen high off the field and the vultures had begun to swoop low. The killing had been consummated weeks ago, an entire settlement of Muslims on the edge of Logain. Their common guilt the villagers had consigned to a common grave. The carnage was an open secret in the village but to the world beyond it was just a secret. Until the vultures arrived, followed by that rar!
! e thing
 called a policeman with a conscience. He had the crop shaved and the field dug up. The skulls flew into the sky as the spades got to workŠ.Some among us were there and told the story. Logain became, like many of our stories, the child of memory's whore - an unwanted, forgotten consequence of collective shame. We are a nation eddying with bastard deeds. Nellie. Moradabad. Bhiwandi. Hashimpura. Maliana. Meerut. Kanpur. Bhagalpur. Sopore. Baroda. Aligarh. Mumbai. Chittisingpora. Ahmedabad. Delhi. We lay blood-litter on the streets and retreat into our homes. Nobody owns up. We decamp from facts and populate our horrors with clichéd characters of fiction - a violent mob, a murderous horde, a crowd screaming, slashing, burning, a mass that suddenly descended and vanished.Who? Wherefrom? Us. Herefrom. Every single time. It is we who pillage, rape and murder. Under wrongful excitement and exhor!
! tation.
 Under criminal instruction and protection. Under the Modis and Togadias and Tytlers, yes. They are the leaders but we are there to be led. We are the apparatchik of serial and periodic political madness, we are the midwives of the abortion of the senses. Then we wash our hands and line up for secular prabhat pheris, our opaque monuments to Buddha and Gandhi urgently recalled to veil memory and guilt.The Babel Tower of inquiries and commissions, reports and recommendations that we have piled for ourselves is a route of escape. The tabling of Nanavati conclusions has become the hour of more deflective clamour, a booster dose of obfuscation. A talkative society talking endlessly. Or an argumentative society, as we are told on formidable authority, arguing on. About who and how. About cause and consequence. About crime and the absence of 

Re: [Assam] From Tehelka

[Amlan Saha]

I will just repeat what Montesquieu and Diderot had said about religion 
- the concept religion embodies everything that is divisive, intolerant 
and benighted in the world.  I think they were spot on.  There IS no 
good religion or bad religion.


Amlan.


On 12 Aug 2005, at 09:50, tridip wrote:

well, i guess, any form of fundamentalism is bad and should be 
condoned- be it hindu, muslim or the christian fundamentalismso 
when we talk about fundamentalism its taking all into account. its not 
that fundamentalism in one religion is better or worse than of a diff. 
religion just because i am a hindu doesnt mean that i'll defend 
hindu fundamentalists... yups i am a proud hindu and because of that 
very fact my head bows in shame everytime a godgra happens or every 
time a graham staines gets killed. and may be that's why most of us 
are quick to denounce hindu fundamentalism
moreover hindu fundamentalism is a relatively new phenomenon... and we 
are certainly not used to it...after all hinduism is a soft religion ( 
'em ready to be slammed for this)...and with some political parties 
openly supporting hindu fundamentalists i sometimes wonder whether 
india is a secular country in it truest from??? and i say this in 
context to godhra.

 
regards,
tridip
lucknow
 
 
umesh sharma [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
the writer forgot to mention the fact that fundamentalism in India is 
not started by Hindus - of different ploitical hues -- but there are 
consistent fundamentalist movements which killed hundreds of 
thousands of Hindus -- in Kashmir, in Punjab and riots initiated by 
muslims in Meenakshipuram etc in Kerala etcor by Christians in 
Nagland, Meghalaya, Tripura etc. I wonder noone talks about them in 
the same vein as denouncing Hindu fundamentalism.

 
Do u?
 
Umesh

Chan Mahanta [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

CARNAGE 84

We, the bloody people

By Sankarshan Thakur
IN AN UNREQUITED LAND:
A child from one of
Trilokpuri's ravaged families
Photographed by Gauri Gill

We are the apparatchik of serial and periodic
political madness, we are the midwives of the
abortion of the senses
For a talkative society, we tell very little of
the essence of ourselves. We babble in the
subconscious hope it will drown our truths. We've
erected opaque mental monuments to Buddha and
Gandhi to blind our eager resort to bloodletting.
When the glare catches us red-handed, we wipe our
sins on others and melt into our vast convenience
of numbers. Narendra Modi. Pravin Togadia. Lal
Krishna Advani. Jagdish Tytler. Sajjan Kumar. HKL
Bhagat. Bal Thackeray. Hiteswar Saikia. Bhagwat
Jha Azad. Remember him? Bhagwat Jha Azad of
Bihar? Remember Bhagalpur of 1989? Remember a
village called Chanderi and another called Logain?

It was eventually left to the vultures to
rip the cover. The bodies, 116 of them, had lain
there decomposing for six weeks. In that period
the village had grown wiser to the fineries of
tilling - dead men made good compost. A lush
winter crop of mustard had sprung on the bed of
corpses they had laid. But the village was also
to grow wiser to a thing or two about old idioms:
Dead men do tell tales, it is seldom they don't.

The stench had risen high off the field and the
vultures had begun to swoop low. The killing had
been consummated weeks ago, an entire settlement
of Muslims on the edge of Logain. Their common
guilt the villagers had consigned to a common
grave. The carnage was an open secret in the
village but to the world beyond it was just a
secret. Until the vultures arrived, followed by
that rar! ! e thing called a policeman with a
conscience. He had the crop shaved and the field
dug up. The skulls flew into the sky as the
spades got to workŠ.

Some among us were there and told the story.
Logain became, like many of our stories, the
child of memory's whore - an unwanted, forgotten
consequence of collective shame. We are a nation
eddying with bastard deeds. Nellie. Moradabad.
Bhiwandi. Hashimpura. Maliana. Meerut. Kanpur.
Bhagalpur. Sopore. Baroda. Aligarh. Mumbai.
Chittisingpora. Ahmedabad. Delhi. We lay
blood-litter on the streets and retreat into our
homes. Nobody owns up. We decamp from facts and
populate our horrors with clichéd characters of
fiction - a violent mob, a murderous horde, a
crowd screaming, slashing, burning, a mass that
suddenly descended and vanished.

Who? Wherefrom? Us. Herefrom. Every single time.
It is we who pillage, rape and murder. Under
wrongful excitement and exhor! ! tation. Under
criminal instruction and protection. Under the
Modis and Togadias and Tytlers, yes. They are the
leaders but we are there to be led. We are the
apparatchik of serial and periodic political
madness, we are the midwives of the abortion of
the senses. Then we wash our hands and line up
for secular prabhat pheris, our opaque monuments
to Buddha and Gandhi urgently recalled to veil
memory and guilt.

The Babel Tower of inquiries and commissions,
reports and recommendations that we have piled
for 

[Assam] From Tehelka

[Chan Mahanta]

CARNAGE 84

We, the bloody people

By  Sankarshan Thakur
IN AN UNREQUITED LAND:
 A child from one of
 Trilokpuri's ravaged families
 Photographed by Gauri Gill

We are the apparatchik of serial and periodic 
political madness, we are the midwives of the 
abortion of the senses
For a talkative society, we tell very little of 
the essence of ourselves. We babble in the 
subconscious hope it will drown our truths. We've 
erected opaque mental monuments to Buddha and 
Gandhi to blind our eager resort to bloodletting. 
When the glare catches us red-handed, we wipe our 
sins on others and melt into our vast convenience 
of numbers. Narendra Modi. Pravin Togadia. Lal 
Krishna Advani. Jagdish Tytler. Sajjan Kumar. HKL 
Bhagat. Bal Thackeray. Hiteswar Saikia. Bhagwat 
Jha Azad. Remember him? Bhagwat Jha Azad of 
Bihar? Remember Bhagalpur of 1989? Remember a 
village called Chanderi and another called Logain?


 It was eventually left to the vultures to 
rip the cover. The bodies, 116 of them, had lain 
there decomposing for six weeks. In that period 
the village had grown wiser to the fineries of 
tilling - dead men made good compost. A lush 
winter crop of mustard had sprung on the bed of 
corpses they had laid. But the village was also 
to grow wiser to a thing or two about old idioms: 
Dead men do tell tales, it is seldom they don't.


 The stench had risen high off the field and the 
vultures had begun to swoop low. The killing had 
been consummated weeks ago, an entire settlement 
of Muslims on the edge of Logain. Their common 
guilt the villagers had consigned to a common 
grave. The carnage was an open secret in the 
village but to the world beyond it was just a 
secret. Until the vultures arrived, followed by 
that rare thing called a policeman with a 
conscience. He had the crop shaved and the field 
dug up. The skulls flew into the sky as the 
spades got to workŠ.


 Some among us were there and told the story. 
Logain became, like many of our stories, the 
child of memory's whore - an unwanted, forgotten 
consequence of collective shame. We are a nation 
eddying with bastard deeds. Nellie. Moradabad. 
Bhiwandi. Hashimpura. Maliana. Meerut. Kanpur. 
Bhagalpur. Sopore. Baroda. Aligarh. Mumbai. 
Chittisingpora. Ahmedabad. Delhi. We lay 
blood-litter on the streets and retreat into our 
homes. Nobody owns up. We decamp from facts and 
populate our horrors with clichéd characters of 
fiction - a violent mob, a murderous horde, a 
crowd screaming, slashing, burning, a mass that 
suddenly descended and vanished.


 Who? Wherefrom? Us. Herefrom. Every single time. 
It is we who pillage, rape and murder. Under 
wrongful excitement and exhortation. Under 
criminal instruction and protection. Under the 
Modis and Togadias and Tytlers, yes. They are the 
leaders but we are there to be led. We are the 
apparatchik of serial and periodic political 
madness, we are the midwives of the abortion of 
the senses. Then we wash our hands and line up 
for secular prabhat pheris, our opaque monuments 
to Buddha and Gandhi urgently recalled to veil 
memory and guilt.


 The Babel Tower of inquiries and commissions, 
reports and recommendations that we have piled 
for ourselves is a route of escape. The tabling 
of Nanavati conclusions has become the hour of 
more deflective clamour, a booster dose of 
obfuscation. A talkative society talking 
endlessly. Or an argumentative society, as we are 
told on formidable authority, arguing on. About 
who and how. About cause and consequence. About 
crime and the absence of punishment. Never once 
do we dare look ourselves in the mirror. Never do 
we stop pointing fingers at others. Outraged, 
shrieking justice, baying retribution, if legal. 
Hush. Where were you at the time? And what were 
you doing? You were electing Narendra Modi 
astride a bloodied rath. You were voting Sajjan 
Kumar and Jagdish Tytler back to respectable 
titles and hallowed portals. You were turning up 
in thousands to pirouette to the twisted bigotry 
of Pravin Togadia. You were letting Thackeray 
hone your hatreds.


 We need to ask few questions of each other. We 
need to ask questions of the households that were 
spared the mayhem of Trilokpuri. Ask the 
shopkeepers of Mandvi Ni Pole. Ask around in the 
bylanes of Hashimpura. Ask those who live across 
the charred remains of Gulberg. Ask the villagers 
of Logain, it's been 16 winters since that 
resplendent mustard crop that contained a gene of 
murdered blood. We cannot pretend being a civil 
society when we claim, every now and again, 
rights over uncivil liberties. We cannot invoke 
laws that we ourselves violate. We cannot look up 
to a Constitution that we trample underfoot.


 There are a myriad contemporary Indian stories 
we have forgotten. They are all true stories. 
They have dates and datelines. They have pegs and 
dead people hanging by them. And there are, among 
us, the many hands that hung them there that have 
since been washed in 

Re: [Assam] From Tehelka

[Ram Sarangapani]

C'da,
This article and others for the last few days do reflect on theviolence that 
crop up time to time in India.
I am glad that the likes of Jadish Tytler was forced to resign. Itsalso sad 
that the attrocities on innocent Sikhs took 20 years to evenbe recognized. Its 
heartening, that the PM at least 'hung his head inshame' and apologized for the 
attrocities, even though he was farremoved from the scene. At least it gives 
some closure to people wholost their loved ones.
Unscrupulous polititcians are at the core of the violence. Immediatelyafter the 
Indira Gandhi assination, it were people like Tytler whoinstigated the masses 
to attack Sikhs. Similarly, is the case whenMuslims are attacked.
The article below does seem to lay the blame entirely on the majority 
(Hindus).Not that one can condone any of the attrocities, is there 
anyculpability of minority groups in these incidents?
Why would Sikh bodyguards assasinate the PM? I am not sure aboutGodhra, but 
whats bandied about is that muslim groups cast the firststone by killing the 
'Hindu' political workers, and things startedspreading to other areas.
First hand in the 60s, I have seen Calcutta go up in flames whenHindu/Muslim 
mobs killed each other. Do we blame the masses or thepolititcians who started 
these?
IMHO, the country is much like a tinder box at times. With hugeuneducated 
masses are drenched with passions of one kind or another.All it takes is a 
cruel polititcian to light it up.
We have seen these types of incidents in Assam too, during theAssamese/Bengali 
conflicts or Nelli.  I was very young at that time,and know now how and why the 
conflict started, but do vividly remembera GU Prof (Gupta, a quiet Bengali 
gentleman) was stabbed just a coupleof homes away from us - we could hear the 
wife and son crying forhelp, but no one had the courage to go out and help 
(even the nextdoor neighbor).
Were those culprits ever brought to justice? Absolutely not, and giventhe 
political climate it would have been imprudent for anyone to getarrested - the 
incident was just brushed under the carpet.
I have also heard of similar incidents in Silchar, where Assamese weresingled 
out to be murdered.
So, in the end, whether we like it or not, it seems that crimescommitted during 
riots are 'not crimes'. A few days ago, I think youasked a question: If India 
was a violent country?
The answer is a resounding yes. The only thing, one can say is thatgiven the 
diversity of language, religion, caste, creed, states allliving in one place as 
a country, its a miracle these conflicts arenot as frequent as they used to be.
Maybe, people are at last learning to live in harmony and tolerance.
--Ram


On 8/11/05, Chan Mahanta [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: CARNAGE 84  We, the 
bloody people  By  Sankarshan Thakur IN AN UNREQUITED LAND:  A child from 
one of  Trilokpuri's ravaged families  Photographed by Gauri Gill  We are 
the apparatchik of serial and periodic political madness, we are the midwives 
of the abortion of the senses For a talkative society, we tell very little 
of the essence of ourselves. We babble in the subconscious hope it will drown 
our truths. We've erected opaque mental monuments to Buddha and Gandhi to 
blind our eager resort to bloodletting. When the glare catches us red-handed, 
we wipe our sins on others and melt into our vast convenience of numbers. 
Narendra Modi. Pravin Togadia. Lal Krishna Advani. Jagdish Tytler. Sajjan 
Kumar. HKL Bhagat. Bal Thackeray. Hiteswar Saikia. Bhagwat Jha Azad. Remember 
him? Bhagwat Jha Azad of Bihar? Remember Bhagalpur of 1989? Remember a 
village called Chanderi and another called Logain?   I!
t was eventually left to the vultures to rip the cover. The bodies, 116 of 
them, had lain there decomposing for six weeks. In that period the village 
had grown wiser to the fineries of tilling - dead men made good compost. A 
lush winter crop of mustard had sprung on the bed of corpses they had laid. 
But the village was also to grow wiser to a thing or two about old idioms: 
Dead men do tell tales, it is seldom they don't.   The stench had risen high 
off the field and the vultures had begun to swoop low. The killing had been 
consummated weeks ago, an entire settlement of Muslims on the edge of Logain. 
Their common guilt the villagers had consigned to a common grave. The carnage 
was an open secret in the village but to the world beyond it was just a 
secret. Until the vultures arrived, followed by that rare thing called a 
policeman with a conscience. He had the crop shaved and the field dug up. The 
skulls flew into the sky as the spades got to workŠ.   Som!
e among us were there and told the story. Logain became, like many of our 
stories, the child of memory's whore - an unwanted, forgotten consequence of 
collective shame. We are a nation eddying with bastard deeds. Nellie. 
Moradabad. Bhiwandi. Hashimpura. Maliana. Meerut. Kanpur. Bhagalpur. Sopore. 
Baroda. Aligarh. Mumbai. Chittisingpora. Ahmedabad. 

Re: [Assam] From Tehelka

[Ram Sarangapani]

C'da,

  Nothing could be further from the truth. I
 agree with Khuswant Singh, that the Nanavati
 Report is an insult, that 

I wasn't talking about the report itself, but the fact that the PM
even at this late stage could apologize to the nation. That in it self
would bring some closure.

  I am very disappointed here Ram, that even
 YOU do not differentiate between an individuals'
 or a group of individuals' crime and the whole
 group or clan or religion these individuals

I tried to drive home that very point. I brought up the Sikh
bodyguards, because events perpetuated by ONE group (in this case the
Sikhs)  had a devastating effect on the whole nation.

Mobs, as we have seen time and again DO NOT know how to differentiate
between the culprits and the inocent bystander who just 'looks like'
the killers. Be it in India or even in organized countries like the US
where Indians are looked at in suspicion (after 9/11) even though they
had nothing to do with the Saudis.

My point is this: The sad ground realities are that Sikhs or other
groups planning such crimes ought to be aware that their actions may
affect the very communities they are trying to protect. This is
specially true when one belongs to a minority community and mob
violence is just a match-stick away. We can present all the logic we
want about such differentiation, but the stark realities are just the
opposite.

But, I do concur with you that people should be able to differentiate
the perpetuators from the innocent.

--Ram

On 8/11/05, Chan Mahanta [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 Ram:
 
   At least it gives some closure to people who
 lost their loved ones.
 
 
  Nothing could be further from the truth. I
 agree with Khuswant Singh, that the Nanavati
 Report is an insult, that it is too little, too
 late. I will forward his article and others' when
 I get a chance.
 
 
 
   Why would Sikh bodyguards assasinate the PM? I am not sure about
 Godhra, but whats bandied about is that muslim groups cast the first
 stone by killing the 'Hindu' political workers, and things started
 spreading to other areas.
 
 
  I am very disappointed here Ram, that even
 YOU do not differentiate between an individuals'
 or a group of individuals' crime and the whole
 group or clan or religion these individuals
 belong to or identify with, from being held
 guilty and mob justice meted out on ALL of them.
 
 I did not read the author's intent to blame the
 Hindus. Why should ALL Hindus take responsibility
 for the abominations inspired by Togadia or
 Thakre' or Modi or HKL Bhagat or Tytler? Cannot
 they reason?
 
 Of course, when one resigns to the fact that that
 one's humanity  is an unfathomable and alien
 concept or rule of law is just a convenient flag
 to wave, and the absence of justice is a fact of
 life that should not be questioned  or
 challenged, even in this day and age; not much
 could be expected.
 
 It speaks very poorly of a nation and its
 culture, its civilization or absence of it.
 
 c-da
 
 
 
 
 
 
 At 1:16 PM -0500 8/11/05, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
 C'da,
 
 This article and others for the last few days do reflect on the
 violence that crop up time to time in India.
 
 I am glad that the likes of Jadish Tytler was forced to resign. Its
 also sad that the attrocities on innocent Sikhs took 20 years to even
 be recognized. Its heartening, that the PM at least 'hung his head in
 shame' and apologized for the attrocities, even though he was far
 removed from the scene. At least it gives some closure to people who
 lost their loved ones.
 
 Unscrupulous polititcians are at the core of the violence. Immediately
 after the Indira Gandhi assination, it were people like Tytler who
 instigated the masses to attack Sikhs. Similarly, is the case when
 Muslims are attacked.
 
 The article below does seem to lay the blame
 entirely on the majority (Hindus).
 Not that one can condone any of the attrocities, is there any
 culpability of minority groups in these incidents?
 
 Why would Sikh bodyguards assasinate the PM? I am not sure about
 Godhra, but whats bandied about is that muslim groups cast the first
 stone by killing the 'Hindu' political workers, and things started
 spreading to other areas.
 
 First hand in the 60s, I have seen Calcutta go up in flames when
 Hindu/Muslim mobs killed each other. Do we blame the masses or the
 polititcians who started these?
 
 IMHO, the country is much like a tinder box at times. With huge
 uneducated masses are drenched with passions of one kind or another.
 All it takes is a cruel polititcian to light it up.
 
 We have seen these types of incidents in Assam too, during the
 Assamese/Bengali conflicts or Nelli.  I was very young at that time,
 and know now how and why the conflict started, but do vividly remember
 a GU Prof (Gupta, a quiet Bengali gentleman) was stabbed just a couple
 of homes away from us - we could hear the wife and son crying for
 help, but no one had the courage to go out and help (even 

Re: [Assam] From Tehelka

[Chan Mahanta]

 I tried to drive home that very point. I brought up the Sikh
bodyguards, because events perpetuated by ONE group (in this case the
Sikhs)  had a devastating effect on the whole nation.



 You are missing the whole point- entirely, Ram.

Because two Sikhs killed Indira Gandhi, does it 
mean ALL Sikhs are guilty of that? Or should ALL 
Sikhs be held responsible for that?


NOT all Sikhs conspired to have IG assassinated, 
did they? Did even ALL the Khalistani movement 
partisans conspire to have IG's bodyguards kill 
her?



Your arguments are NO different from the mobs 
here Ram. Not a a tad bit different.




 Mobs, as we have seen time and again DO NOT know how to differentiate
between the culprits and the inocent bystander who just 'looks like'
the killers.



 Mobs are not made of inanimate objects that 
behave in accordance with Newton's laws. They are 
human beings. Or so one would expect them to be, 
anyway,and thus slightly different from inanimate 
objects.
Are the Modis, the Togadias, the Bhagats and 
Tytlers expected to act like inanimate objects? 
Would you subscribe to that notion Ram?





My point is this: The sad ground realities are that Sikhs or other
groups planning such crimes ought to be aware that their actions may
affect the very communities they are trying to protect.


 This is a really unbelievable argument here, 
certainly not one of your better ones Ram.




 Be it in India or even in organized countries like the US
where Indians are looked at in suspicion (after 9/11) even though they
had nothing to do with the Saudis.



*** And this is more of the same. When have American mobs butcher brown
skinned people , while being instigated by 
leaders of its communities and the law looking 
the other way? Is there even a modicum of truth? 
The criminal who shot up the Sikh gas station 
attendant at Phoenix, got the death penalty.


How many desis were even prosecuted for the Sikh 
pogroms and Muslim pogroms in India? How long did 
it take the Nanavati Commission to prepare a 
watered down, white-wash job of a 'fact-finding' 
investigation--not a prosecution ? Twenty one 
years Ram. Twenty one long years! That in the 
world's largest democracy, the seat of a five 
thousand years old 'civilization'(?)!



 But, I do concur with you that people should be able to differentiate
the perpetuators from the innocent.



 That is fundamental to a civilized society 
with a rule of law Ram. Where are the MORAL 
leaders of these people, your people and mine?




c-da












At 2:39 PM -0500 8/11/05, Ram Sarangapani wrote:

C'da,


  Nothing could be further from the truth. I
 agree with Khuswant Singh, that the Nanavati
 Report is an insult, that


I wasn't talking about the report itself, but the fact that the PM
even at this late stage could apologize to the nation. That in it self
would bring some closure.


  I am very disappointed here Ram, that even
 YOU do not differentiate between an individuals'
 or a group of individuals' crime and the whole
 group or clan or religion these individuals


I tried to drive home that very point. I brought up the Sikh
bodyguards, because events perpetuated by ONE group (in this case the
Sikhs)  had a devastating effect on the whole nation.

Mobs, as we have seen time and again DO NOT know how to differentiate
between the culprits and the inocent bystander who just 'looks like'
the killers. Be it in India or even in organized countries like the US
where Indians are looked at in suspicion (after 9/11) even though they
had nothing to do with the Saudis.

My point is this: The sad ground realities are that Sikhs or other
groups planning such crimes ought to be aware that their actions may
affect the very communities they are trying to protect. This is
specially true when one belongs to a minority community and mob
violence is just a match-stick away. We can present all the logic we
want about such differentiation, but the stark realities are just the
opposite.

But, I do concur with you that people should be able to differentiate
the perpetuators from the innocent.

--Ram

On 8/11/05, Chan Mahanta [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 Ram:

   At least it gives some closure to people who
 lost their loved ones.


  Nothing could be further from the truth. I
 agree with Khuswant Singh, that the Nanavati
 Report is an insult, that it is too little, too
 late. I will forward his article and others' when
 I get a chance.



   Why would Sikh bodyguards assasinate the PM? I am not sure about
 Godhra, but whats bandied about is that muslim groups cast the first
 stone by killing the 'Hindu' political workers, and things started
 spreading to other areas.


  I am very disappointed here Ram, that even
 YOU do not differentiate between an individuals'
 or a group of individuals' crime and the whole
 group or clan or religion these individuals
 belong to or identify with, from being held
 guilty and mob justice meted out on ALL of them.

 I 

Re: [Assam] From Tehelka

[Ram Sarangapani]

*** And this is more of the same. When have American mobs butcher brownskinned 
people , while being instigated byleaders of its communities and the law 
lookingthe other way? Is there even a modicum of truth?
To continue, c'da,
Maybe not brown-skinned, but definitely blacks.
Missisippi - It took nearly forty + years to convict one old man, onlythe other 
day, and that too in a country that boasts itself as thecradle of modern 
democratic values?
How many were prosecuted for the LA riots, where the White trucker was killed?
How many were prosecuted for the great NY blackout riots?
So, it does happen here too, inspite it being the most organized anddeveloped 
country, where everything is in place.
No, there is no mob going after brown-skinned people in the US, butpeople do 
get incited into a frenzy and form into mobs that often goviolent, and no one 
is prosecuted. The riots of LA and NY aretestimonials.
--Ram

On 8/11/05, Chan Mahanta [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:   I tried to drive home 
that very point. I brought up the Sikh bodyguards, because events perpetuated 
by ONE group (in this case the Sikhs)  had a devastating effect on the whole 
nation.    You are missing the whole point- entirely, Ram.  Because 
two Sikhs killed Indira Gandhi, does it mean ALL Sikhs are guilty of that? Or 
should ALL Sikhs be held responsible for that?  NOT all Sikhs conspired to 
have IG assassinated, did they? Did even ALL the Khalistani movement 
partisans conspire to have IG's bodyguards kill her?   Your arguments are 
NO different from the mobs here Ram. Not a a tad bit different. Mobs, 
as we have seen time and again DO NOT know how to differentiate between the 
culprits and the inocent bystander who just 'looks like' the killers.   
 Mobs are not made of inanimate objects that behave in accordance with 
Newton's laws. They are human beings. Or so one would!
 expect them to be, anyway,and thus slightly different from inanimate 
objects. Are the Modis, the Togadias, the Bhagats and Tytlers expected to act 
like inanimate objects? Would you subscribe to that notion Ram?My 
point is this: The sad ground realities are that Sikhs or other groups 
planning such crimes ought to be aware that their actions may affect the very 
communities they are trying to protect.   This is a really unbelievable 
argument here, certainly not one of your better ones Ram. Be it in 
India or even in organized countries like the US where Indians are looked at 
in suspicion (after 9/11) even though they had nothing to do with the 
Saudis.   *** And this is more of the same. When have American mobs butcher 
brown skinned people , while being instigated by leaders of its communities 
and the law looking the other way? Is there even a modicum of truth? The 
criminal who shot up the Sikh gas station attendant at Phoenix, got t!
he death penalty.  How many desis were even prosecuted for the Sikh pogroms 
and Muslim pogroms in India? How long did it take the Nanavati Commission to 
prepare a watered down, white-wash job of a 'fact-finding' investigation--not 
a prosecution ? Twenty one years Ram. Twenty one long years! That in the 
world's largest democracy, the seat of a five thousand years old 
'civilization'(?)!But, I do concur with you that people should be able 
to differentiate the perpetuators from the innocent.    That is 
fundamental to a civilized society with a rule of law Ram. Where are the 
MORAL leaders of these people, your people and mine?c-da   
  At 2:39 PM -0500 8/11/05, Ram Sarangapani wrote: C'da,
 Nothing could be further from the truth. I   agree with Khuswant Singh, 
that the Nanavati   Report is an insult, that  I wasn't talking about 
the report itself, but the fact that the PM even at this late stage co!
uld apologize to the nation. That in it self would bring some closure.   
  I am very disappointed here Ram, that even   YOU do not differentiate 
between an individuals'   or a group of individuals' crime and the whole  
 group or clan or religion these individuals  I tried to drive home that 
very point. I brought up the Sikh bodyguards, because events perpetuated by 
ONE group (in this case the Sikhs)  had a devastating effect on the whole 
nation.  Mobs, as we have seen time and again DO NOT know how to 
differentiate between the culprits and the inocent bystander who just 'looks 
like' the killers. Be it in India or even in organized countries like the US 
where Indians are looked at in suspicion (after 9/11) even though they had 
nothing to do with the Saudis.  My point is this: The sad ground realities 
are that Sikhs or other groups planning such crimes ought to be aware that 
their actions may affect the very communities they are !
trying to protect. This is specially true when one belongs to a minority 
community and mob violence is just a match-stick away. We can present all the 
logic we want about such differentiation, but the stark realities are just 
the 

Re: [Assam] From Tehelka,

[Chan Mahanta]

Ram:

Look uphttp://www.cali.org/riots/introduction.html


and 
http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/oralhistory.hom/Vance-C/DetroitReport.asp


For the Detroit Riots---starting at page 41


That will tell you whether prosecutions took place or things were 
buried as un-prosecutable.



c-da




The Los Angeles County Sheriff's  Department

The NAACP Legal Defense  Educational Fund, Inc., and  other civil 
rights attorneys who traditionally have worked  together as Police 
Watch filed a civil rights  class action against the Los Angeles 
County Sheriff's  Department in September of 1990 alleging that 
deputies in  Lynwood, California, a predominantly Hispanic community 
near  South Central Los Angeles, systematically used excessive 
force, racial harassment, and illegal searches and seizures. 
Plaintiffs sought injunctive relief as well as damages in the  case, 
Thomas v. County of Los Angeles. The LDF filed  the suit in part to 
revive injunctive relief against abusive  police practices in the 
wake of the Supreme Court decision in  City of Los Angeles v. Lyons. 
The plaintiffs filed  the case five months before the Rodney King 
beating.
 Plaintiffs in the Thomas litigation  moved for a preliminary 
injunction against the Sheriff's  Department to curtail the use of 
excessive force and illegal  searches and seizures in July 1991, a 
few weeks after the  Christopher Commission Report appeared. At the 
initial  hearing on the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary 
injunction, federal District Court Judge Terry J. Hatter,  Jr., 
stated on the record that the court would favor an  examination of 
the Sheriff's Department like the examination  that the Christopher 
Commission conducted of the Los Angeles  Police Department. 
Plaintiffs' counsel conveyed that message  to the Los Angeles County 
Board of Supervisors at a public  hearing on the Sheriff's Department 
the following day. In  September 1991, Judge Hatter entered a 
preliminary injunction  that required all employees of the Sheriff's 
Department to  follow the Department's own stated polices and 
guidelines  regarding the use of force and the procedures for 
conducting  searches, and required the Department to submit use of 
force  reports to the court on a monthly basis. The Ninth Circuit 
Court of Appeals stayed the preliminary injunction pending  appellate 
review.
 The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors  appointed retired state 
court Judge James Kolts to  investigate the Los Angeles County 
Sheriff's Department in  December 1991. The principal findings of the 
Kolts Report  issued in July 1992 were that there was excessive force 
and  lax discipline within the Sheriff's Department and that the 
Department had been unable to reform itself. Community-based 
policing and civilian monitoring of the Department were among  the 
major recommendations of the Kolts Report. Judge Kolts  and Sheriff 
Sherman Block subsequently issued a joint  statement in which they 
agreed to implement many of the  recommendations of the Kolts Report.
 The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the  plaintiffs' standing 
to seek injunctive relief against the  police abuse by the Sheriff's 
Department in Thomas v.  County of Los Angeles in October 1992. The 
decision  reflected a victory for the plaintiffs in light of the 
Rizzo-Lyons  line of cases, which had restricted the right of 
plaintiffs to seek injunctive relief. The Court of Appeals 
nevertheless vacated the preliminary injunction as issued and 
remanded for further proceedings. The plaintiffs did not seek 
further preliminary injunctive relief because misconduct by  deputies 
apparently had subsided in the wake of the Thomas  litigation, the 
Kolts Report, and the world-wide  attention focused on police abuse 
in Los Angeles.
 In July 1995, a federal jury found the County of  Los Angeles, 
Sheriff Sherman Block and two of his top  assistants liable for civil 
rights violations by their  deputies and awarded $611,000 in damages 
to plaintiffs Darren  Thomas, Michael Sterling and Kevin Marshall. 
The verdict ended the first of 24 cases that remained pending against 
the  Sheriff's Department as part of the Thomas  litigation.
 In December 1995, the Los Angeles County  Sheriff's Department and 
the plaintiffs settled the Thomas  litigation for $7,500,000 in 
payment for injuries and  attorneys' fees. The settlement also 
required the County to  make available an additional $1.5 million for 
force and  cultural diversity training, to have fully operating a 
computerized force tracking system by March 1997, and to  extend the 
contract for a special counsel to monitor the  implementation of the 
Kolts Report through December 1999.
 Meanwhile, undercover investigations into  corruption in the Los 
Angeles County Sheriff's Department  began in Operation Big Spender 
in late 1988. As of December  of 1993, nineteen deputies had been 
convicted and the  investigation was continuing.

Re: [Assam] From Tehelka

[umesh sharma]

the writer forgot to mention the fact that fundamentalism in India is not started by Hindus - of different ploitical hues -- but there are consistent fundamentalist movements which killed hundreds of thousands of Hindus -- in Kashmir, in Punjab and riots initiated by muslims in Meenakshipuram etc in Kerala etcor by Christians in Nagland, Meghalaya, Tripura etc. I wonder noone talks about them in the same vein as denouncing Hindu fundamentalism.

Do u?

UmeshChan Mahanta [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
CARNAGE 84We, the bloody peopleBy Sankarshan ThakurIN AN UNREQUITED LAND:A child from one ofTrilokpuri's ravaged familiesPhotographed by Gauri GillWe are the apparatchik of serial and periodic political madness, we are the midwives of the abortion of the sensesFor a talkative society, we tell very little of the essence of ourselves. We babble in the subconscious hope it will drown our truths. We've erected opaque mental monuments to Buddha and Gandhi to blind our eager resort to bloodletting. When the glare catches us red-handed, we wipe our sins on others and melt into our vast convenience of numbers. Narendra Modi. Pravin Togadia. Lal Krishna Advani. Jagdish Tytler. Sajjan Kumar. HKL Bhagat. Bal Thackeray. Hiteswar Saikia. Bhagwat Jha Azad. Remember him? Bhagwat Jha Azad of Bihar?
 Remember Bhagalpur of 1989? Remember a village called Chanderi and another called Logain?It was eventually left to the vultures to rip the cover. The bodies, 116 of them, had lain there decomposing for six weeks. In that period the village had grown wiser to the fineries of tilling - dead men made good compost. A lush winter crop of mustard had sprung on the bed of corpses they had laid. But the village was also to grow wiser to a thing or two about old idioms: Dead men do tell tales, it is seldom they don't.The stench had risen high off the field and the vultures had begun to swoop low. The killing had been consummated weeks ago, an entire settlement of Muslims on the edge of Logain. Their common guilt the villagers had consigned to a common grave. The carnage was an open secret in the village but to the world beyond it was just a secret. Until the vultures arrived, followed by that rar!
e thing
 called a policeman with a conscience. He had the crop shaved and the field dug up. The skulls flew into the sky as the spades got to workŠ.Some among us were there and told the story. Logain became, like many of our stories, the child of memory's whore - an unwanted, forgotten consequence of collective shame. We are a nation eddying with bastard deeds. Nellie. Moradabad. Bhiwandi. Hashimpura. Maliana. Meerut. Kanpur. Bhagalpur. Sopore. Baroda. Aligarh. Mumbai. Chittisingpora. Ahmedabad. Delhi. We lay blood-litter on the streets and retreat into our homes. Nobody owns up. We decamp from facts and populate our horrors with clichéd characters of fiction - a violent mob, a murderous horde, a crowd screaming, slashing, burning, a mass that suddenly descended and vanished.Who? Wherefrom? Us. Herefrom. Every single time. It is we who pillage, rape and murder. Under wrongful excitement and exhor!
tation.
 Under criminal instruction and protection. Under the Modis and Togadias and Tytlers, yes. They are the leaders but we are there to be led. We are the apparatchik of serial and periodic political madness, we are the midwives of the abortion of the senses. Then we wash our hands and line up for secular prabhat pheris, our opaque monuments to Buddha and Gandhi urgently recalled to veil memory and guilt.The Babel Tower of inquiries and commissions, reports and recommendations that we have piled for ourselves is a route of escape. The tabling of Nanavati conclusions has become the hour of more deflective clamour, a booster dose of obfuscation. A talkative society talking endlessly. Or an argumentative society, as we are told on formidable authority, arguing on. About who and how. About cause and consequence. About crime and the absence of punishment. Never once do we dare look ourselves in the mi!
rror.
 Never do we stop pointing fingers at others. Outraged, shrieking justice, baying retribution, if legal. Hush. Where were you at the time? And what were you doing? You were electing Narendra Modi astride a bloodied rath. You were voting Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler back to respectable titles and hallowed portals. You were turning up in thousands to pirouette to the twisted bigotry of Pravin Togadia. You were letting Thackeray hone your hatreds.We need to ask few questions of each other. We need to ask questions of the households that were spared the mayhem of Trilokpuri. Ask the shopkeepers of Mandvi Ni Pole. Ask around in the bylanes of Hashimpura. Ask those who live across the charred remains of Gulberg. Ask the villagers of Logain, it's been 16 winters since that resplendent mustard crop that contained a gene of murdered blood. We cannot pretend being a civil society when we claim, ever!
y now and
 again, rights over uncivil liberties. We cannot 

Re: [Assam] From Tehelka

[umesh sharma]

Good article.

Umesh




Chan Mahanta [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: 
Condemned and mute, for centuries they have been washing the clothes of dalits, giving them haircuts, slaughtering dead cattle, and doing other menial sub-human jobsTamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa should read this. This is bound to infuriate her if she really meant what she said a few years ago while seeking votes in Andipatti, that she believes in only one caste: the human caste. It is bad enough that dalits cannot become presidents in reserved panchayats in Tamil Nadu. But shamefully, things are worse for another invisible community living in the state, a faceless, diminished people who are not even a 'mere vote bank' for political parties. A people she may not even know - that they actually exist!This is something that is hard to believe. A sin that has been covered up for much too long. Unlike the oppre!
ssive
 patterns prevalent in the nation's caste society, here the sinned are the sinners! This is the tale of a people who are 'untouchables' even for the 'historical' untouchables. A shocking revelation of a people twice discriminated and daily trampled over.Meet the Puthirai Vannars, the dhobis for the dalits of Tamil Nadu. A community that's been suffering in silence for ages, in perpetual bondage to the dalits, and living in isolation as 'outcastes' on the fringes of dalit colonies. Denied human rights and self-respect, there is no political leader or party or democratic institution to speak up for them in this big democracy that is India.Condemned and mute, for centuries, they have been washing the clothes of the dalits, giving them haircuts, slaughtering dead cattle, and doing other menial jobs. To this day, they wash the bloodstained clothes of dalit women in labour, and the clothes of dalit girls who attain
 puberty. Worse, till a few decades ago, they were shunned as 'unseeables'. It was a curse to even 'look' at them. In those days, the Vannars had to complete their work in the night and stay out of sight of the other castes in the daytime.If they ventured out during the day, they had to tie a coconut leaf to their body, which they pulled along wherever they went. The frond swept the ground and wiped out their footmarks. They could not even spit on the ground as the others did so routinely. Instead, they had to spit into a halved coconut shell, which hung from their necks. "This horrible practice had been in vogue for hundreds of years. It was the Justice Party that enacted a law abolishing it in 1932. Once declared illegal, the practice slowly faded out," says TM Prakash, a social activist working among Puthirai Vannars in the dalit-dominated Tiruvannamalai district. Not much headway has been made after that landmar!
k social
 reform.Today, an estimated two million people from this community are living in the state. "Though we are found in most districts, about 50 percent of the population lives in Virudhunagar, Villupuram and Tiruvannamalai districts. Our people are slaves of the dalits - to the Parayars in northern districts, to the Pallars in southern districts, and to the Arunthathiyars in western districts," says SB Udhaya Kumar of Ramnad, an upcoming leader from the community.Slaves they are. You have heard of the dictum 'no work, no pay'. But for the Puthirai Vannars it is all work and no pay. "They are treated like bonded labourers," says Arul Valan, a Catholic priest in Villupuram, who is fighting for their rights. "Each family of Puthirai Vannar works for a certain number of dalit families in a village. They work hard round the year, washing their clothes and doing other menial jobs that is required of them by tradition. But
 they don't receive their wages in cash. Once in a year, each dalit household they work for, gives them about 25 kilos of paddy. That's about it," he says.There is of course the daily allowance - again in kind. It is the traditional practice of Puthirai Vannars to go around the dalit homes, every morning and evening, begging for food. Rosamma from Cuddalore says, "We cry out standing outside the dalit houses, 'amma, soru podunga amma' (amma, please give some food.) They give us leftover food which we collect in a vessel." For many, it's a daily khichdi meal - of leftover food from dalit houses. Though in some villages this shameful practice has finally ended, in many others the tradition still continues___Assam mailing listAssam@pikespeak.uccs.eduhttp://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assamMailing list FAQ:http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/assam/assam-faq.h!
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[Assam] From Tehelka

[Chan Mahanta]

Condemned and mute, for centuries they have been washing the clothes 
of dalits, giving them haircuts, slaughtering dead cattle, and doing 
other menial sub-human jobs
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa should read this. This is 
bound to infuriate her if she really meant what she said a few years 
ago while seeking votes in Andipatti, that she believes in only one 
caste: the human caste. It is bad enough that dalits cannot become 
presidents in reserved panchayats in Tamil Nadu. But shamefully, 
things are worse for another invisible community living in the state, 
a faceless, diminished people who are not even a 'mere vote bank' for 
political parties. A people she may not even know - that they 
actually exist!


 This is something that is hard to believe. A sin that has been 
covered up for much too long. Unlike the oppressive patterns 
prevalent in the nation's caste society, here the sinned are the 
sinners! This is the tale of a people who are 'untouchables' even for 
the 'historical' untouchables. A shocking revelation of a people 
twice discriminated and daily trampled over.


 Meet the Puthirai Vannars, the dhobis for the dalits of Tamil Nadu. 
A community that's been suffering in silence for ages, in perpetual 
bondage to the dalits, and living in isolation as 'outcastes' on the 
fringes of dalit colonies. Denied human rights and self-respect, 
there is no political leader or party or democratic institution to 
speak up for them in this big democracy that is India.


 Condemned and mute, for centuries, they have been washing the 
clothes of the dalits, giving them haircuts, slaughtering dead 
cattle, and doing other menial jobs. To this day, they wash the 
bloodstained clothes of dalit women in labour, and the clothes of 
dalit girls who attain puberty. Worse, till a few decades ago, they 
were shunned as 'unseeables'. It was a curse to even 'look' at them. 
In those days, the Vannars had to complete their work in the night 
and stay out of sight of the other castes in the daytime.


 If they ventured out during the day, they had to tie a coconut leaf 
to their body, which they pulled along wherever they went. The frond 
swept the ground and wiped out their footmarks. They could not even 
spit on the ground as the others did so routinely. Instead, they had 
to spit into a halved coconut shell, which hung from their necks. 
This horrible practice had been in vogue for hundreds of years. It 
was the Justice Party that enacted a law abolishing it in 1932. Once 
declared illegal, the practice slowly faded out, says TM Prakash, a 
social activist working among Puthirai Vannars in the dalit-dominated 
Tiruvannamalai district. Not much headway has been made after that 
landmark social reform.


 Today, an estimated two million people from this community are 
living in the state. Though we are found in most districts, about 50 
percent of the population lives in Virudhunagar, Villupuram and 
Tiruvannamalai districts. Our people are slaves of the dalits - to 
the Parayars in northern districts, to the Pallars in southern 
districts, and to the Arunthathiyars in western districts, says SB 
Udhaya Kumar of Ramnad, an upcoming leader from the community.


 Slaves they are. You have heard of the dictum 'no work, no pay'. But 
for the Puthirai Vannars it is all work and no pay. They are treated 
like bonded labourers, says Arul Valan, a Catholic priest in 
Villupuram, who is fighting for their rights. Each family of 
Puthirai Vannar works for a certain number of dalit families in a 
village. They work hard round the year, washing their clothes and 
doing other menial jobs that is required of them by tradition. But 
they don't receive their wages in cash. Once in a year, each dalit 
household they work for, gives them about 25 kilos of paddy. That's 
about it, he says.


 There is of course the daily allowance - again in kind. It is the 
traditional practice of Puthirai Vannars to go around the dalit 
homes, every morning and evening, begging for food. Rosamma from 
Cuddalore says, We cry out standing outside the dalit houses, 'amma, 
soru podunga amma' (amma, please give some food.) They give us 
leftover food which we collect in a vessel. For many, it's a daily 
khichdi meal - of leftover food from dalit houses. Though in some 
villages this shameful practice has finally ended, in many others the 
tradition still continues

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[Assam] From Tehelka: Red tape. Myopia. Decay.

[Chan Mahanta]

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro

Red tape. Myopia. Decay. That's the condition of 
most State-run cultural institutions. The 
National Film Development Corporation is 
bankrupt. So is the Films Division. Even Mumbai's 
prestigious National Gallery of Modern Art gropes 
for a vision

NGMA
Sonia Faleiro
NFDC and FD
Sanjukta Sharma


The library is closed, the librarian is on 
maternity leave. And NGMA is short-staffed. There 
are other problems as well.

 Artist Bose Krishnamachari says the circular gallery space
 creates shadows, which cause havoc with the paintings
When Saryu V. Doshi, Honorary Director, National 
Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai, completed 
her term on June 24, the future of this city 
landmark became a question mark. Doshi's 
eight-and-a-half years' tenure will be remembered 
for landmark shows like the 'Picasso 
Metamorphoses, 1900-1972', the 'Bhupen Khakhar 
Retrospective', as well as the opportunities she 
offered young Mumbai artists. The NGMA is 
expected to come under the direct purview of the 
NGMA, Delhi.


Many fear this move will not only heighten the 
bureaucratic stranglehold typical to State-run 
institutions, but that the blinkered autocracy 
its Delhi branch is notorious for, will make 
Mumbai suffer. When contacted, Rajeev Lochan, 
Director, NGMA, Delhi, said, I have nothing to 
say about the NGMA. Write anything you like. As 
Mumbai artist Akbar Padamsee points out, The 
NGMA will become a mere space, rather than a 
reflection of the mind and soul of the city.


The question is, despite Doshi's passion, how 
effectively did the NGMA play the role of a 
national gallery? In offering visitors space to 
commune with art, in cataloguing art history and 
pointing to the future of Indian contemporary art?


 Sir Cowasji Jehangir donated the formerly named 
Cowasji Jehangir Hall to the state in 1911. 
Initially used for concerts, the hall fell into 
disuse during the 1960-1970s with the advent of 
private, air-conditioned auditoriums, and was 
hired out for boxing matches and trade union 
meetings. The artist community galvanised public 
support to convert the hall into a museum of 
contemporary art. It took 12 years and Rs 3.5 
crore to create five galleries, an auditorium, a 
library, cafeteria, office and storage space.


Today, the premier art museum does not have 
enough space for a permanent exhibition showing 
the historical trajectory of art as well as a 
contemporary show. The library is closed, the 
librarian is on maternity leave. And NGMA is 
short-staffed. Doshi promises that a café and a 
shop will be in place in six months, but it's 
been so long coming, people aren't exactly 
holding their breath.


There are other problems too. Artist Bose 
Krishnamachari says, We need straight walls. The 
circular space creates shadows, which cause havoc 
with the paintings. The standard of NGMA 
curators is also a sore point. Gallery Chemould's 
Shireen Gandhy, who is coordinating a drive to 
prevent the Delhi takeover, says, Since we don't 
have a training ground for museum directors and 
curators, we should import them.


Bina Sarkar Ellias, Editor, Gallerie magazine, is 
of the view that a national gallery must be in a 
constant state of creation. There's too much 
dead space in the NGMA, she says. Artist Atul 
Dodiya elaborates: The city requires a wonderful 
contemporary arts museum. For this, the NGMA must 
work with museums abroad to bring the great 
masters' works to India. It must create awareness 
of art and become a public space. Gandhy agrees: 
In national museums elsewhere, the concern is to 
ensure the audience keeps coming back for more. 
Here, people visit a show and then don't return 
for months.


The NGMA, Mumbai, has its failings, but it 
appears that the Delhi tie-up will only stunt 
independent thought and make it known for red 
tape and bureaucratic bullying.


  
Manmohan Shetty, NFDC chairman, says, 'I've 
nothing to do.' The organisation ran a loss of Rs 
4 crore last year
It is the usual maze of wooden tables, 
over-stacked steel racks and deadpan faces. 
Beyond its neon-lit facade, the office of the 
National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) has 
the semblance of a 'Government of India 
enterprise'. Posters of old NFDC classics adorn 
the walls of the three floors that its 200 
employees work out of. Not much happens on a 
daily basis. We are not producing any films right 
now. It's just paperwork for import and export of 
films, says NK Vyas, Manager, Finance, NFDC. 
Imports include obscure Hollywood films or 
newsreel - 10 hours of the Oscar ceremony from 
1945 to 1980, for example.


Once NFDC was a catalyst for India's parallel 
cinema movement (it produced Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, 
Mirch Masala, Sati, Yugant, among others, and 
financed films like Ardh Satya). Today it is 
defunct. The government needs to pump in more 
money, says Vyas. But even with an annual budget 
of Rs 3-4 crores until 2003, NFDC has failed to 
fuel good cinema in India. It is 

[Assam] From Tehelka

[Chan Mahanta]

http://www.fromallangles.com/newspapers/country/india/tehelka.com.htm


WHAT 'S RIGHT ABOUT INDIA

POACHERS ON THE RUN

Kaziranga National Park's anti-poaching philosophy is the biggest 
conservation success story of the century, write Nitin A. Gokhale and 
Samudra Gupta Kashyap


Other Articles of the Series
PART I
Kaziranga's pride
PART II
Tiger, tiger burning bright
PART III
Poachers on the run
Tourists and normal visitors apart, Kaziranga National Park also 
attracts another category of people whose number may not be very high 
but are nevertheless dangerous for the inmates, particularly the 
rhino. Yes, they are the poachers or illegal hunters who want to kill 
the rhino and take away its horn which apparently fetches a high 
premium in the international market.


 If game hunters nearly decimated the rhino in the early 20th century 
before Kaziranga was declared a reserved forest, the latter day 
hunters remain the greatest threat to the rhino. These poachers not 
only shoot but adopt other means to kill the animal to get hold of 
its horn which supposedly possesses aphrodisiac properties and 
therefore brings up to $50,000 per kg in certain countries of Asia 
and Europe. The average weight of the Indian rhino's horn is about 
750 gm.
Human Instinct: dedicated forest guards in Kaziranga stake their 
lives to protect precious wildlife


The first attempt to stop rhino killings were made during the late 
1930's under the leadership of Arthur John Wallace Milroy and Mahi 
Chandra Miri. While Kaziranga was declared a game sanctuary in 
November 1916, it was not until 1938 that hunting was stopped at the 
instance of Milroy, who was then the conservator of forests in Assam. 
Milroy was also responsible for throwing the sanctuary open to 
tourists the same year, thus initiating a new chapter in Kaziranga's 
history. Milroy, who made a big name for himself as a conservationist 
was a true forest man. As Chris Wemmer, in a tribute called Milroy: 
the Gaonburra Sahib, says, Milroy is a rare breed of forest officer 
who could be called a complete forester. He was responsible for 
initiating legislative measures for protection of the Great Indian 
One-horned Rhinoceros and setting up many game sanctuaries in Assam 
in the beginning of the 20th century.


Later PD Stracey, who went on to become chief conservator of forests, 
took off from where Milroy had left and speeded up the anti-poaching 
campaign to protect the rhinos after World War II. Stracey is also 
remembered for having changed Kaziranga's status from a 'game 
sanctuary' to a 'wildlife sanctuary' in 1950 because the word 'game' 
connotated animals for hunting. Gradually, the protection of 
Kaziranga became a kind of missionary zeal for successive forest 
officers. The entire administrative pattern for the protection of the 
sanctuary was thus re-organised with anti-poaching measures becoming 
the main focus.


 Poachers have been found to adopt four different methods to kill the 
rhino for its horn. The most popular method used to be known as the 
traditional 'pit-trap' technique in which they would dig a pit of 
roughly 2 metres by 1.5 metres size which was deep enough to hold an 
adult rhino without providing it any space to even wriggle out of it. 
This pit used to be then covered with grass and thatch while some 
even put sharpened bamboo poles below the grass so that the rhino 
would get injured and therefore would be unable to make any attempt 
to come out of the hole. This pit is normally dug on the dandi - the 
same pathway that rhinos habitually take - and once a rhino falls 
into this trap, the poachers come out of hiding and cop off the horn, 
leaving the rhino to bleed to death.


Interestingly, the rhino horn is not actually a 'horn' as one would 
think. As Durga Prasad Neog, a veteran forest official, who set in 
motion many of the procedures that made Kaziranga into a world famous 
national park, told these writers: A rhino horn, unlike many other 
animals, is not really a horn but is a mass of several thousand 
agglutinated hair and their epidermis which becomes a horn-like 
structure because of the combined effect of sweat and other exudation 
from the rhino's snout comprising mostly of keratin tissues.


It is actually an external appendage to the rhino's body and a 
reasonably strong blow can dismantle it.


The death-by-pit method that had once almost gone out of fashion has 
gradually made a comeback in Kaziranga. Although gun shot method is 
faster and can be carried out by a small team, the ever-alert 
Kaziranga staff has become almost omnipresent and can give hot chase 
to the poachers to dig the pit and wait for the kill. Indeed, the 
number of animals, including tigers, has gone up considerably, 
thereby making it riskier than before for several men to venture deep 
into the park. 

While three other methods - electrocution, poisoning and snaring - 
have been reported from other rhino habitats in Assam, poachers who 

[Assam] From Tehelka

[Chan Mahanta]

The Conspiracy Bubble Bursts 

The Central Review Committee on POTA has 
categorically rejected the 'terrorist' theory of 
the Godhra carnage, much to the discomfort of 
those who supported the draconian law. Amit 
Sengupta reports


The Godhra accused cannot be tried under the 
Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), according to 
the Central Review Committee headed by Justice SC 
Jain. This is bad news for Narendra Modi, the 
bjp-led nda and supporters of the draconian law, 
especially those who backed the large-scale and 
arbitrary arrests of several individuals, mostly 
Muslims, after the killings in coach S/6 of the 
Sabarmati Express at Godhra on February 27, 2002. 
Indeed, after the UC Bannerjee report, which 
stated that the Godhra killings were not part of 
a pre-planned conspiracy, the latest revelations 
by a high profile official body with impeccable 
credentials, proves that all the bluster 
manufactured by the bjp-led Gujarat government, 
has turned out to be a big bluff.


Surely, the Modi administration's repeated 
contention that the Godhra killings was a 
conspiracy and the Gujarat carnage that followed 
the train burning was nothing but a spontaneous 
act, a mass outrage, following Newton's third 
law of equal and opposite reaction, has been 
grounded into dust. Besides, all those arrested 
under POTA - they are still rotting in prison - 
can demand not only compensation but retributive 
justice for the suffering and humiliation 
suffered by them. This is precisely what civil 
society groups and public interest lawyers are 
now demanding.


 In a scathing observation, the Committee on POTA 
has categorically rejected, the 'conspiracy' or 
'terrorist' theory. Hence the charges vis-à-vis 
POTA get automatically nullified.


 Even if we accept the submission of the learned 
public prosecutor that this incident is a part of 
a pre-planned conspiracy, we do not find any 
evidence on prima facie ground that this 
conspiracy was one envisaged under the provisions 
of POTA, said the Justice Jain Committee. Under 
sub-section (3) of Section 3 of POTA, 2002, 
argues the report, the conspiracy to commit a 
terrorist act is punishable. As per Section 1(a) 
of Section 3(a) a terrorist act is one which is 
done with intent to threaten the unity, 
integrity, security or sovereignty of India or to 
strike terror in the people. From the evidence 
on record, we do not find even on prima facie 
ground that this conspiracy was allegedly hatched 
with intent to threaten the unity, integrity, 
security or sovereignty of India or to strike 
terror in the people or any section of the 
people.
 The Justice Jain Committee report is of the view 
that from the beginning the prosecution was not 
sure whether the provisions of POTA can be 
applied in this case. This is the reason why in 
the first chargesheet, which is the main 
chargesheet, and which was filed after three 
months of the incident, the provisions of POTA 
were not invokedŠ Even thereafter, though the 
investigation continued, the prosecution was not 
sure whether the provision of POTA could be 
invoked and that is why Shri Kantipuri Bawa, the 
Investigating Officer, on behalf of the state 
government, filed an affidavit dated 5.3.2003 
before the Gujarat High Court therein having 
realised that there is no sufficient evidence and 
material to attract provisions of POTA, the same 
can be droppedŠ


From this conduct of the prosecution, we infer 
that the prosecution itself was not sure whether 
this could attract the provision of POTA and 
hesitatingly they have implicated all the accused 
persons to face the trial under the provisions of 
the draconian lawŠ


 The committee is certain that the February 27, 
2002, tragedy was a simple case of unlawful 
assembly committing various offences under the 
ipc and other Acts but certainly not under POTA. 
This committee, therefore, is of the view that 
the accused persons may be tried under the 
provisions of ipc, Indian Railways Act, 
Prevention of Damages of Public Property Act, 
Bombay Police etc., and the violation of 
notification No.u/mkp/pls/mjs/Vashi/433 dated 
14.2.2002 issued by the Additional District 
Magistrate, Panchmahal, Godhra, but not under the 
provisions of Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002.


 Significantly, the committee points that the 
'conspiracy' alleged to have been hatched during 
the night of February 26, 2002 at Aman Guest 
House does not seem to be probable on the case 
of prosecution itself. The cause of the 
incident is a quarrel of one of the karsevaks 
with the tea vendor of Muslim community at the 
platform itself when the train halted. The 
committee has also pointed out that the accused 
had collected spontaneously on hearing that 
persons from the Muslim community had been 
beaten and a Muslim girl was being abductedŠ


 The assembly, which according to the prosecution 
were members of the conspiracy, was initially in 
front of S-2 and not in front of S-6 which was 

Re: [Assam] From Tehelka

[Anjan K. Nath]

Worse still is that we know him personally!
- Original Message - 
From: Chan Mahanta [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: Rajen Barua [EMAIL PROTECTED]; assam@pikespeak.uccs.edu
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 10:14 PM
Subject: Re: [Assam] From Tehelka


I think it IS a good way to explore it. Too bad it had to be a compatriot 
of ours, more so because it involves one from our neck of the woods :-).




At 8:27 AM -0500 5/6/05, Rajen Barua wrote:
May be we can take up this case for an analysis of the system Vs people of
the Indian system
- Original Message -
From: Chan Mahanta [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: assam@pikespeak.uccs.edu
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 8:09 AM
Subject: [Assam] From Tehelka

 Probe into inquiry
   Justice has seldom been insulated from malpractice in India
   By  Nitin A. Gokhale
 Justice SN Phukan's blatant justification of accepting lavish
 hospitality of the defence forces when he was heading the Tehelka
 panel enquiring into wrongdoings in defence purchases should not come
 as a surprise given the nature of these appointments. Most enquiry
 commissions, set up either at the Centre or in the states, are used
 by governments of the day either as tools to obfuscate the truth or
 as coverups for culprits. Those who head such probes are therefore
 chosen with great care. Often politicians appoint judges with proven
 malleability. If that does not work, then governments choose people
 who are favourably inclined, or, better still, those who can be
 'guided' towards a particular conclusion. We may never know what
 exactly prompted the National Democratic Alliance (nda) government to
 appoint Justice SN Phukan as head of the Tehelka panel after Justice
 Venkataswamy resigned. But for most of his legal career Phukan was
 regarded as a bit of a plodder who knew how to work the system. More
 important, he also knew how to avoid unnecessary attention.
 Inquiry panels are
   used by governments
   to hide the truth
   and protect the
   culrprits. Those who
   head the probes are
   chosen with care
   After retiring from the Supreme Court in 2002, Phukan became
 chairman of the Assam Human Rights Commission (ahrc). Then the nda
 government pulled him out of relative obscurity to head the Tehelka
 panel in January 2003. Even as he was conducting the probe into the
 Tehelka episode, Phukan continued to hold on to his post as chairman
 of ahrc. This, former colleagues say, was typical Phukan: have Plan B
 ready if something goes wrong with Plan A. He could have easily let
 someone else take up the ahrc post while handling the Tehelka panel,
 but having worked with the government for over two decades, he knew
 the value of a fallback option. Throughout his career, Phukan always
 shunned the limelight as a strategy. Except once, in 1998, when he
 wrote to the then President KR Narayanan threatening to resign as a
 protest on being superceded.
   Like his justification about defence ministry junkets, Phukan did
 not find anything wrong in pointing out that he belonged to Assam and
 therefore any slight to him might lead to a terrible feeling of
 alienation among the people of the Northeast. Now the quiet man from
 Jorhat is having to live through his 15 minutes of infamy. He is,
 however, not alone. Take a random survey of the fate of most inquiry
 commissions, and in a majority of cases there is bound to be a hidden
 hand guiding the conclusion. Phukan is only one among a long list of
 men in gowns wearing tainted hallows.
 May 14 , 2005
 ___
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 http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam
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[Assam] From Tehelka

[Chan Mahanta]

Probe into inquiry
 Justice has seldom been insulated from malpractice in India
 By  Nitin A. Gokhale
Justice SN Phukan's blatant justification of accepting lavish 
hospitality of the defence forces when he was heading the Tehelka 
panel enquiring into wrongdoings in defence purchases should not come 
as a surprise given the nature of these appointments. Most enquiry 
commissions, set up either at the Centre or in the states, are used 
by governments of the day either as tools to obfuscate the truth or 
as coverups for culprits. Those who head such probes are therefore 
chosen with great care. Often politicians appoint judges with proven 
malleability. If that does not work, then governments choose people 
who are favourably inclined, or, better still, those who can be 
'guided' towards a particular conclusion. We may never know what 
exactly prompted the National Democratic Alliance (nda) government to 
appoint Justice SN Phukan as head of the Tehelka panel after Justice 
Venkataswamy resigned. But for most of his legal career Phukan was 
regarded as a bit of a plodder who knew how to work the system. More 
important, he also knew how to avoid unnecessary attention.

Inquiry panels are
 used by governments
 to hide the truth
 and protect the
 culrprits. Those who
 head the probes are
 chosen with care
 After retiring from the Supreme Court in 2002, Phukan became 
chairman of the Assam Human Rights Commission (ahrc). Then the nda 
government pulled him out of relative obscurity to head the Tehelka 
panel in January 2003. Even as he was conducting the probe into the 
Tehelka episode, Phukan continued to hold on to his post as chairman 
of ahrc. This, former colleagues say, was typical Phukan: have Plan B 
ready if something goes wrong with Plan A. He could have easily let 
someone else take up the ahrc post while handling the Tehelka panel, 
but having worked with the government for over two decades, he knew 
the value of a fallback option. Throughout his career, Phukan always 
shunned the limelight as a strategy. Except once, in 1998, when he 
wrote to the then President KR Narayanan threatening to resign as a 
protest on being superceded.

 Like his justification about defence ministry junkets, Phukan did 
not find anything wrong in pointing out that he belonged to Assam and 
therefore any slight to him might lead to a terrible feeling of 
alienation among the people of the Northeast. Now the quiet man from 
Jorhat is having to live through his 15 minutes of infamy. He is, 
however, not alone. Take a random survey of the fate of most inquiry 
commissions, and in a majority of cases there is bound to be a hidden 
hand guiding the conclusion. Phukan is only one among a long list of 
men in gowns wearing tainted hallows.

May 14 , 2005
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Re: [Assam] From Tehelka

[Rajen Barua]

May be we can take up this case for an analysis of the system Vs people of
the Indian system

- Original Message - 
From: Chan Mahanta [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: assam@pikespeak.uccs.edu
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 8:09 AM
Subject: [Assam] From Tehelka


 Probe into inquiry

   Justice has seldom been insulated from malpractice in India

   By  Nitin A. Gokhale

 Justice SN Phukan's blatant justification of accepting lavish
 hospitality of the defence forces when he was heading the Tehelka
 panel enquiring into wrongdoings in defence purchases should not come
 as a surprise given the nature of these appointments. Most enquiry
 commissions, set up either at the Centre or in the states, are used
 by governments of the day either as tools to obfuscate the truth or
 as coverups for culprits. Those who head such probes are therefore
 chosen with great care. Often politicians appoint judges with proven
 malleability. If that does not work, then governments choose people
 who are favourably inclined, or, better still, those who can be
 'guided' towards a particular conclusion. We may never know what
 exactly prompted the National Democratic Alliance (nda) government to
 appoint Justice SN Phukan as head of the Tehelka panel after Justice
 Venkataswamy resigned. But for most of his legal career Phukan was
 regarded as a bit of a plodder who knew how to work the system. More
 important, he also knew how to avoid unnecessary attention.

 Inquiry panels are
   used by governments
   to hide the truth
   and protect the
   culrprits. Those who
   head the probes are
   chosen with care
   After retiring from the Supreme Court in 2002, Phukan became
 chairman of the Assam Human Rights Commission (ahrc). Then the nda
 government pulled him out of relative obscurity to head the Tehelka
 panel in January 2003. Even as he was conducting the probe into the
 Tehelka episode, Phukan continued to hold on to his post as chairman
 of ahrc. This, former colleagues say, was typical Phukan: have Plan B
 ready if something goes wrong with Plan A. He could have easily let
 someone else take up the ahrc post while handling the Tehelka panel,
 but having worked with the government for over two decades, he knew
 the value of a fallback option. Throughout his career, Phukan always
 shunned the limelight as a strategy. Except once, in 1998, when he
 wrote to the then President KR Narayanan threatening to resign as a
 protest on being superceded.

   Like his justification about defence ministry junkets, Phukan did
 not find anything wrong in pointing out that he belonged to Assam and
 therefore any slight to him might lead to a terrible feeling of
 alienation among the people of the Northeast. Now the quiet man from
 Jorhat is having to live through his 15 minutes of infamy. He is,
 however, not alone. Take a random survey of the fate of most inquiry
 commissions, and in a majority of cases there is bound to be a hidden
 hand guiding the conclusion. Phukan is only one among a long list of
 men in gowns wearing tainted hallows.


 May 14 , 2005

 ___
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Re: [Assam] From Tehelka

[Chan Mahanta]

I think it IS a good way to explore it. Too bad it had to be a 
compatriot of ours, more so because it involves one from our neck of 
the woods :-).




At 8:27 AM -0500 5/6/05, Rajen Barua wrote:
May be we can take up this case for an analysis of the system Vs people of
the Indian system
- Original Message -
From: Chan Mahanta [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: assam@pikespeak.uccs.edu
Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 8:09 AM
Subject: [Assam] From Tehelka

 Probe into inquiry
   Justice has seldom been insulated from malpractice in India
   By  Nitin A. Gokhale
 Justice SN Phukan's blatant justification of accepting lavish
 hospitality of the defence forces when he was heading the Tehelka
 panel enquiring into wrongdoings in defence purchases should not come
 as a surprise given the nature of these appointments. Most enquiry
 commissions, set up either at the Centre or in the states, are used
 by governments of the day either as tools to obfuscate the truth or
 as coverups for culprits. Those who head such probes are therefore
 chosen with great care. Often politicians appoint judges with proven
 malleability. If that does not work, then governments choose people
 who are favourably inclined, or, better still, those who can be
 'guided' towards a particular conclusion. We may never know what
 exactly prompted the National Democratic Alliance (nda) government to
 appoint Justice SN Phukan as head of the Tehelka panel after Justice
 Venkataswamy resigned. But for most of his legal career Phukan was
 regarded as a bit of a plodder who knew how to work the system. More
 important, he also knew how to avoid unnecessary attention.
 Inquiry panels are
   used by governments
   to hide the truth
   and protect the
   culrprits. Those who
   head the probes are
   chosen with care
   After retiring from the Supreme Court in 2002, Phukan became
 chairman of the Assam Human Rights Commission (ahrc). Then the nda
 government pulled him out of relative obscurity to head the Tehelka
 panel in January 2003. Even as he was conducting the probe into the
 Tehelka episode, Phukan continued to hold on to his post as chairman
 of ahrc. This, former colleagues say, was typical Phukan: have Plan B
 ready if something goes wrong with Plan A. He could have easily let
 someone else take up the ahrc post while handling the Tehelka panel,
 but having worked with the government for over two decades, he knew
 the value of a fallback option. Throughout his career, Phukan always
 shunned the limelight as a strategy. Except once, in 1998, when he
 wrote to the then President KR Narayanan threatening to resign as a
 protest on being superceded.
   Like his justification about defence ministry junkets, Phukan did
 not find anything wrong in pointing out that he belonged to Assam and
 therefore any slight to him might lead to a terrible feeling of
 alienation among the people of the Northeast. Now the quiet man from
 Jorhat is having to live through his 15 minutes of infamy. He is,
 however, not alone. Take a random survey of the fate of most inquiry
 commissions, and in a majority of cases there is bound to be a hidden
 hand guiding the conclusion. Phukan is only one among a long list of
 men in gowns wearing tainted hallows.
 May 14 , 2005
 ___
 Assam mailing list
 Assam@pikespeak.uccs.edu
 http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam
 Mailing list FAQ:
 http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/assam/assam-faq.html
 To unsubscribe or change options:
 http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/options/assam
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Re: [Assam] From Tehelka

[Ram Sarangapani]

C'da,

Phukan did not find anything wrong in pointing out that he belonged
to Assam and  therefore any slight to him might lead to a terrible
feeling of alienation among the people of the Northeast.

Talk about capitalizing on the woes of the masses.

The latest I heard was Phukan telling the media, that the trip he(and
wife) took from Mumbai on an airforce plane was horrible, and that he
did not know that he was not allowed these extra perks.

To be fair (even though this stinks to high heaven), this sordid
affair is still being investigated and probed.

--Ram

On 5/6/05, Chan Mahanta [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 I think it IS a good way to explore it. Too bad it had to be a
 compatriot of ours, more so because it involves one from our neck of
 the woods :-).
 
 
 At 8:27 AM -0500 5/6/05, Rajen Barua wrote:
 May be we can take up this case for an analysis of the system Vs people of
 the Indian system
 
 - Original Message -
 From: Chan Mahanta [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 To: assam@pikespeak.uccs.edu
 Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 8:09 AM
 Subject: [Assam] From Tehelka
 
 
   Probe into inquiry
 
 Justice has seldom been insulated from malpractice in India
 
 By  Nitin A. Gokhale
 
   Justice SN Phukan's blatant justification of accepting lavish
   hospitality of the defence forces when he was heading the Tehelka
   panel enquiring into wrongdoings in defence purchases should not come
   as a surprise given the nature of these appointments. Most enquiry
   commissions, set up either at the Centre or in the states, are used
   by governments of the day either as tools to obfuscate the truth or
   as coverups for culprits. Those who head such probes are therefore
   chosen with great care. Often politicians appoint judges with proven
   malleability. If that does not work, then governments choose people
   who are favourably inclined, or, better still, those who can be
   'guided' towards a particular conclusion. We may never know what
   exactly prompted the National Democratic Alliance (nda) government to
   appoint Justice SN Phukan as head of the Tehelka panel after Justice
   Venkataswamy resigned. But for most of his legal career Phukan was
   regarded as a bit of a plodder who knew how to work the system. More
   important, he also knew how to avoid unnecessary attention.
 
   Inquiry panels are
 used by governments
 to hide the truth
 and protect the
 culrprits. Those who
 head the probes are
 chosen with care
 After retiring from the Supreme Court in 2002, Phukan became
   chairman of the Assam Human Rights Commission (ahrc). Then the nda
   government pulled him out of relative obscurity to head the Tehelka
   panel in January 2003. Even as he was conducting the probe into the
   Tehelka episode, Phukan continued to hold on to his post as chairman
   of ahrc. This, former colleagues say, was typical Phukan: have Plan B
   ready if something goes wrong with Plan A. He could have easily let
   someone else take up the ahrc post while handling the Tehelka panel,
   but having worked with the government for over two decades, he knew
   the value of a fallback option. Throughout his career, Phukan always
   shunned the limelight as a strategy. Except once, in 1998, when he
   wrote to the then President KR Narayanan threatening to resign as a
   protest on being superceded.
 
 Like his justification about defence ministry junkets, Phukan did
   not find anything wrong in pointing out that he belonged to Assam and
   therefore any slight to him might lead to a terrible feeling of
   alienation among the people of the Northeast. Now the quiet man from
   Jorhat is having to live through his 15 minutes of infamy. He is,
   however, not alone. Take a random survey of the fate of most inquiry
   commissions, and in a majority of cases there is bound to be a hidden
   hand guiding the conclusion. Phukan is only one among a long list of
   men in gowns wearing tainted hallows.
 
 
   May 14 , 2005
 
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Re: [Assam] From Tehelka

[Chan Mahanta]

Title: Re: [Assam] From Tehelka


To be fair (even though this stinks to
high heaven), this sordid
affair is still being investigated and probed.


Not just that, it might prove to be without any real lapse of
ethics on Phukan's part. So,I am not going to judge Phukan on
Tehelka's report alone. 

But the real issue is that there is a lot of truth to Tehelka's
assertion
that Justice has seldom been insulated from malpractice in
India.

There are umpteen proven examples for that.





At 9:23 AM -0500 5/6/05, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
C'da,

Phukan did not find anything wrong in pointing out that he
belonged
to Assam and therefore any slight to him might lead to a
terrible
feeling of alienation among the people of the Northeast.

Talk about capitalizing on the woes of the masses.

The latest I heard was Phukan telling the media, that the trip
he(and
wife) took from Mumbai on an airforce plane was horrible, and that
he
did not know that he was not allowed these extra perks.

To be fair (even though this stinks to
high heaven), this sordid
affair is still being investigated and
probed.

--Ram

On 5/6/05, Chan Mahanta [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 I think it IS a good way to explore it. Too bad it had to be
a
 compatriot of ours, more so because it involves one from our neck
of
 the woods :-).


 At 8:27 AM -0500 5/6/05, Rajen Barua wrote:
 May be we can take up this case for an analysis of the system
Vs people of
 the Indian system
 
 - Original Message -
 From: Chan Mahanta
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 To: assam@pikespeak.uccs.edu
 Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 8:09 AM
 Subject: [Assam] From Tehelka
 
 
  Probe into inquiry
 
  Justice
has seldom been insulated from malpractice in India
 
  By Nitin A. Gokhale
 
  Justice SN Phukan's blatant justification of
accepting lavish
  hospitality of the defence forces when he was
heading the Tehelka
  panel enquiring into wrongdoings in defence
purchases should not come
  as a surprise given the nature of these
appointments. Most enquiry
  commissions, set up either at the Centre or in the
states, are used
  by governments of the day either as tools to
obfuscate the truth or
  as coverups for culprits. Those who head such
probes are therefore
  chosen with great care. Often politicians appoint
judges with proven
  malleability. If that does not work, then
governments choose people
  who are favourably inclined, or, better still,
those who can be
  'guided' towards a particular conclusion. We may
never know what
  exactly prompted the National Democratic Alliance
(nda) government to
  appoint Justice SN Phukan as head of the Tehelka
panel after Justice
  Venkataswamy resigned. But for most of his legal
career Phukan was
  regarded as a bit of a plodder who knew how to
work the system. More
  important, he also knew how to avoid unnecessary
attention.
 
  Inquiry panels are
  used by governments
  to hide the truth
  and protect the
  culrprits. Those who
  head the probes are
  chosen with care
  After retiring from the Supreme Court
in 2002, Phukan became
  chairman of the Assam Human Rights Commission
(ahrc). Then the nda
  government pulled him out of relative obscurity to
head the Tehelka
  panel in January 2003. Even as he was conducting
the probe into the
  Tehelka episode, Phukan continued to hold on to
his post as chairman
  of ahrc. This, former colleagues say, was typical
Phukan: have Plan B
  ready if something goes wrong with Plan A. He
could have easily let
  someone else take up the ahrc post while handling
the Tehelka panel,
  but having worked with the government for over two
decades, he knew
  the value of a fallback option. Throughout his
career, Phukan always
  shunned the limelight
as a strategy. Except once, in 1998, when he
  wrote to the then President KR Narayanan
threatening to resign as a
  protest on being superceded.
 
  Like his justification about defence
ministry junkets, Phukan did
  not find anything wrong in pointing out that he
belonged to Assam and
  therefore any slight to him might lead to a
terrible feeling of
  alienation among the people of the Northeast. Now
the quiet man from
  Jorhat is having to live through his 15 minutes of
infamy. He is,
  however, not alone. Take a random survey of the
fate of most inquiry
  commissions, and in a majority of cases there is
bound to be a hidden
  hand guiding the conclusion. Phukan is only one
among a long list of
  men in gowns wearing tainted hallows.
 
 
  May 14 , 2005
 
 
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Re: [Assam] From Tehelka

[umesh sharma]

I think this incidence shows that the media is hitting at a defenseless man (with no political connections) who had no desire to use an airforce plane anyway. He neither had the authority to order the plane to go for him.

.It is Fernandes who shouldbe targetted, but the media cannot touch him --only make a sensitive media shy squirm and make some media worthy remarks -which they can print in their papers.

UmeshChan Mahanta [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:



To be fair (even though this stinks to high heaven), this sordid
affair is still being investigated and probed.


Not just that, it might prove to be without any real lapse of ethics on Phukan's part. So,I am not going to judge Phukan on Tehelka's report alone. 

But the real issue is that there is a lot of truth to Tehelka's assertion
that Justice has seldom been insulated from malpractice in India.

There are umpteen proven examples for that.





At 9:23 AM -0500 5/6/05, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
C'da,Phukan did not find anything wrong in pointing out that he belongedto Assam and therefore any slight to him might lead to a terriblefeeling of alienation among the people of the Northeast.Talk about capitalizing on the woes of the masses.The latest I heard was Phukan telling the media, that the trip he(andwife) took from Mumbai on an airforce plane was horrible, and that hedid not know that he was not allowed these extra perks.
To be fair (even though this stinks to high heaven), this sordid
affair is still being investigated and probed.--RamOn 5/6/05, Chan Mahanta [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I think it IS a good way to explore it. Too bad it had to be a compatriot of ours, more so because it involves one from our neck of the woods :-). At 8:27 AM -0500 5/6/05, Rajen Barua wrote: May be we can take up this case for an analysis of the system Vs people of the Indian system  - Original Message - From: "Chan Mahanta" [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: assam@pikespeak.uccs.edu Sent: Friday, May 06, 2005 8:09 AM Subject: [Assam] From TehelkaProbe into inquiry 
  Justice has seldom been insulated from malpractice in India   By Nitin A. Gokhale   Justice SN Phukan's blatant justification of accepting lavish  hospitality of the defence forces when he was heading the Tehelka  panel enquiring into wrongdoings in defence purchases should not come  as a surprise given the nature of these appointments. Most enquiry  commissions, set up either at the Centre or in the states, are used  by governments of the day either as tools to obfuscate the truth or  as coverups for culprits. Those who head such probes are therefore  chosen with great care. Often politicians appoint judges with proven  malleability. If that does!
 not
 work, then governments choose people  who are favourably inclined, or, better still, those who can be  'guided' towards a particular conclusion. We may never know what  exactly prompted the National Democratic Alliance (nda) government to  appoint Justice SN Phukan as head of the Tehelka panel after Justice  Venkataswamy resigned. But for most of his legal career Phukan was  regarded as a bit of a plodder who knew how to work the system. More  important, he also knew how to avoid unnecessary attention.   Inquiry panels are  used by governments  to hide the truth  and protect the  culrprits. Those who  head the probes
 are  chosen with care  After retiring from the Supreme Court in 2002, Phukan became  chairman of the Assam Human Rights Commission (ahrc). Then the nda  government pulled him out of relative obscurity to head the Tehelka  panel in January 2003. Even as he was conducting the probe into the  Tehelka episode, Phukan continued to hold on to his post as chairman  of ahrc. This, former colleagues say, was typical Phukan: have Plan B  ready if something goes wrong with Plan A. He could have easily let  someone else take up the ahrc post while handling the Tehelka panel,  but having worked with the government for over two decades, he knew  the value of a fallback option. Throughout his career, Phukan always
  shunned the limelight as a strategy. Except once, in 1998, when he  wrote to the then President KR Narayanan threatening to resign as a  protest on being superceded.   Like his justification about defence ministry junkets, Phukan did  not find anything wrong in pointing out that he belonged to Assam and  therefore any slight to him might lead to a terrible feeling of  alienation among the people of the Northeast. Now the quiet man from  Jorhat is having to live through his 15 minutes of infamy. He is,  however, not alone. Take a random survey of the fate of most inquiry  commissions, and in a majority of cases there is bound to be a hidden  hand guiding the conclusion. Phukan is o!
nly one
 among a long list of  men in gowns wearing tainted hallows.May 14 , 2005   ___  Assam mailing list  Assam@pikespeak.uccs.edu  http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam   Mailing list