Hi Mayur:
You are so kind. But you know what? You are even better with
words. I had to look up 'felicity' for example. Hereby I welcome you
to the Mutual Admiration Society of Assam Net. The past inductee was
Kamal Deka, but he is on a sabbatical ( I hope) for now. Its already
getting to be a crowd.
Unfortunately it is NOT about words. I will
readily admit that words make a piece interesting, add zest, spice
things up. And I try to do my share to add a little color to the
proceedings. If it is all business, it will become too boring too
soon. But if there is no meat in the dish, no amount of garam-masala
would rescue it.
Now about your choice of adjectives:
*** 'Excessive analytical bent--'
What does it mean? What is excessive, what is normal and what is
sub-par? Obviously you don't appreciate the degree of my analytical
bent. You find it excessive. Would it be too much to ask for an
example or two of my excesses, and suggestions on how those could have
been toned down to a NORMAL level of analysis? I ask, because I have
no way of telling. And I hope you will help. For if you don't it would
be like, how to put it nicely now, -- how about 'potaan-dhan'( a
grain of rice without the kernel)?
I would like to note here that our desi-education and culture
does not promote critical and analytical thinking. In fact the schools
and colleges, even the high-faluting ones like the IITs, decidedly
FROWNed ( in my days anyway) upon students' questioning what is handed
down to them as Gospel. Luckily they learn to overcome them when they
leave for the west, some of them at least. I know of those who never
manage to shed it, not realizing what afflicts them.
>What will happen if we replace the word Assam with
India ?
*** Depends upon the beholder. Should Indians be proud to live in
the cave, it is their choice. But what does that have to do with what
Assam wants? Why should Assam's aspirations be judged by what Bihar
might want or what Gujarat might want or what Andhra might want? If
they are comfortable with India's style of dysfunctional, remotely
controlled, centralized governance, all power to them. Their
circumstances are different. Their history is different. Their culture
is different. But why should Assam be equated with them?
>You are extremely ingenious in drawing analogies to support
your viewpoint.
*** Going by your excessive emphasis on my ingenuity, I am not
sure if it is a compliment or a criticism like my 'excessive'
analytical bent; but regardless, it is the least I could do. Because
if I don't, I would be like those who just render drive-by opinions
and expect them to be accepted by others because they say so. My
approach is out of respect for the intelligence of others in this
forum. Without it I could not have built my only asset, my
credibility. I may not agree with others' views, but I never discount
their intelligence, either by rendering pompous verdicts or by making
disingenuous arguments.
>But some netters will definitely find it disingenuous ( which
you find >repulsive and abominable in other people's
writing).
*** That is their choice, their prerogative. Moi xurujor mukhot
xwpa diboloi kwn
( Who am I to tell the sun not to shine?). But the real test is
in the substance and credibility of their arguments, their
opinions.
cm :-)
At 11:38 PM -0800 11/3/05, mayur bora wrote:
Dear Mahanta da
Your superb command over the language, felicity with
the words and excessively analytical bent of mind have
tempted me to take a leaf from your post to Rajib and
pose a question to you. I hope you would not desist
from caring to reply to my query.
>>Assam is Assam and it's
>> wishes are not subject to
>> somebody else's choices, wishes or demands)
What will happen if we replace the word Assam with
India ?
You are extremely ingenious in drawing analogies to
support your viewpoint. But some netters will
definitely find it disingenuous ( which you find
repulsive and abominable in other people's writing).
Mayur
Chandigarh
--- Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > >The basis of modern Indian nationhood from most
> claims
> >is the common cultural links across all the regions
> of
> >the country.
>
>
> *** But that ought to be VOLUNTARY, not out of a
> lust for land, held together with brute military
> force.
>
>
> > >Going by this logic of who ruled whom, the Nagas
> >should not have a country
>
> *** That is no argument. Assam is Assam and it's
> wishes are not subject to
> somebody else's choices, wishes or demands.
>
>
> But let me ask you, one of the most avid
> advocates of India, WHY it is good for India to
> hold onto Assam, or how it is good for Assam to
> continue to submit to Indian rule?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> At 8:01 AM -0800 11/3/05, Rajib Das wrote:
> >There was never one India ruler that had ALL of
> India
> >under his belt. The Cholas were never ruled from
> >Pataliputra as well. And Assam as it is known today
> >was not ruled for ever from Pragjyotishpur.
> >
> >The basis of modern Indian nationhood from most
> claims
> >is the common cultural links across all the regions
> of
> >the country. Actually that is how most modern
> nations
> >(including those of Europe) came about.
> >
> >Going by this logic of who ruled whom, the Nagas
> >should not have a country (or for that matter a
> state
> >even) - their territories were, for the most part,
> >variously ruled by the Meitis and the Burmese. And
> I
> >am sure more than half the tribes of the north east
> >did not have a king in their name.
> >
> >
> >
> >--- Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> >In an antithesis to the rebels claim that
> Assam
> >> >had never shared a common culture and history
> >> >with India before the Yandaboo >Treaty, Mamoni
> >> >pointed out that the Ramayana had always
> >> >influenced Assamese culture and society. An
> >> >acclaimed authority on the >epic, she said
> >> >Madhav Kandali, a 14th century Assamese poet,
> >> >was the first to re-tell the Ramayana in a
> >> >modern Indo-Aryan >language.
> >>
> >> >Yet, though she underscored Assams inseparable
> >> >cultural link with mainland India, she skirted
> a
> >> >question on Ulfas demand for a >sovereign
> Assam
> >> >for obvious reasons. "Please dont mix the
> two,"
> >> >she said.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> *** There is a very simple explanation here that
> >> many people tend to miss:
> >>
> >> In spite of all the cultural and religious links
> >> with India, Assam never was a
> >> subject of Indian rulers.
> >>
> >> That is how it ought to be. Keep the cultural
> >> links, the religious links and the trade links.
> >> They cannot be wiped out by an artificial line
> on
> >> the ground. It is not like all of a sudden Assam
> >> will become a vassal state of China, or Myanmar,
> >> or B-Desh. But why force Indian rule on Assam?
> >> Let both flourish, side by side, in friendship
> >> and mutual co-operation, like the two did over
> >> millenia, for the greater good of all.
> >>
> >> cm
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> At 7:42 AM +0000 11/3/05, Bartta Bistar wrote:
> >> >Guwahati, Thursday, November 3, 2005
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >Epics linked Assam with India culturally
> >> >
> >> >http://www.assamtribune.com/ 3 November 2005
> >> >By A Staff Reporter
> >> > GUWAHATI, Nov 2 The Ramayana and the
> >> >Mahabharata the two Indian epics have
> linked
> >> >Assam with the rest of India culturally in an
> >> >inseparable manner. Assam has a vibrant
> cultural
> >> >tradition that speaks of its cultural link with
> >> >the mainland. Its cultural relation with the
> >> >mainland is very strong and old. There were
> some
> >> >smaller paths across the Himalayas, which
> served
> >> >as the channels for surface communication among
> >> >the scholars of the State and from other parts
> >> >of India so far as maintaining mutual relations
> >> >was concerned.
> >> >
> >> >These were the observations made by noted
> >> >litterateur Dr Mamoni Raisom (Indira) Goswami,
> >> >who has now been acting as a mediator between
> >> >the Union Government the militant outfit United
> >> >Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). She was
> >> >replying to a question whether to her the
> >> >Ramayana tradition of the State was an
> >> >anti-thesis to the present clamour of some
> > > >circles that Assam was not linked with the
> rest
> >> >of India culturally in the past. Dr Goswami was
> > > >addressing a press conference at the Circuit
> >> >House here this afternoon in connection with
> the
> >> >four-day Second International Ramayana
> >> >Conference organised by the Asom Kalatirtha in
> >> >collaboration with the Srimanta Sankaradeva
> >> >Kalakshetra being held in the city from
> tomorrow.
> >> >
> >> >Dr Goswami also maintained that the ULFA
> >> >Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) Paresh Barua, whom
> >> >she described as very well-read person, had
> been
> >> >making contacts with her every now and then and
> >> >on one occasion she had raised the issue of the
> >> >August 15, 2004 Blast at Dhemaji, in which 13
> >> >persons, including ten children and three women
> >> >were killed. When this issue was raised, Barua
> >> >was silent for some time and then he denied
> >> >involvement of the ULFA in the incident and
> >> >named some people responsible for the incident.
> >> >But, Dr Goswami refrained from disclosing the
> >> >names of the people named by Barua in
> conncetion
> >> >with the Dhemaji tragedy.
> >> >
> >> >The newspersons told Dr Goswami that the
> >> >militant outfit had been denying its
> involvement
> >> >and blaming the police for all such misdeeds,
> >> >which affect the common people instead of the
> >> >security forces. They cited the example of
> >> >Russian mine expert Sergei Gretchenko, Sanjoy
> >> >Ghosh, the Sivasagar and the Boko blasts, in
> >> >which the ULFA had been denying its involvement
> >> >even as its involvement in all those cases was
> >> >established later on.
> >> >
> >> >It is also pertinent to mention here that even
> >> >ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa had admitted in
> >> >a covert manner the involvement of his outfit
> in
>
=== message truncated ===
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