Rajib:
At 8:04 AM -0800 11/4/05, Rajib Das wrote:
But C-Da, it is indeed an argument - following exactly
the lines you worked along :-)
*** First, for a product of the 21st century desi-knowledge
brigade, you disappoint me every time you parrot my line of arguments
and even words and phrases, particularly when you so vehemently
disagree with them. You ought to have learnt by now that it is very
unproductive to fight the 'enemy' on its terms :-). It is a sure-fire
recipe for no getting anywhere, if not for losing. A friendly
suggestion, not merely for these debates, but for life in general, is
that it is very important for one to seek out creative answers, seek
new paths to solving problems. Your generation, with the backgrounds
like some you have had, ought to be able to deliver far more than
echoing those that you obviously do not agree with. It is like the
Hinduttwa brigades' tack of trying to be bad clones of Jehadistas or
Talibans, without their zeal. A patently lost cause!
Let us say Assam becomes sovereign. And the Bodos of
Kokrajhar say no. The Bengali ghettos in Guwahati say
no. The Tiwas say no. The Cacharis say no. Will the
sovereign government of Assam hand over their lands to
those guys?
*** Here are too many assumptions for the question which forms
your answer, to hold any water. Allow me to explain:
First, you have assumed that the smaller indigenous groups of
Assam, including the Bengali speaking ones who have lived in
geographical Assam for generations will or most likely refuse to be a
part of a sovereign Assam. But that assumption could be legitimate
ONLY if you have explored WHY this situation has developed in recent
decades--of each indigenous group seeking to carve out its own
sovereign state, and concluded credibly that it could NOT
resolved except, may only be kept under check by brutal Indian
military might like Saddam Hussein or the erstwhile USSR or the
PRofChina.
But that is a false assumption. For someone like yourself with an
IIM-MBA, I would have expected an analysis of the reasons why this
condition has developed
in the NE, and exploration of solutions there for.
Not that the subject was never broached in this forum. I have
gotten hoarse explaining some of the reasons. But those of you who do
not accept them, and are endowed with analytical skills and outlooks,
should be able to articulate your OWN assessments and lay out the
reasons for it as you see them.
Once you have done that, you could look into how to resolve the
problem. I know
the answers conceptually and am convinced that a sovereign Assam,
and even a truly autonomous Assam with REAL powers to re-orient its
governance can resolve these issues quite easily, because there is
a historical precedent for it. These people lived side by side, in
relative peace, interdependently, in for centuries.
The above two combined, therefore, makes the analogy of
Assam's disaffections as a part of India very different from the
disaffections of the many indigenous people of the NE , which is a
PRODUCT of the reigning Indian system of unaccountable, dysfunctional
governance steeped in the politics of (not) sharing the
spoils.
I understand your and other ethnic Bengalis' fears and mistrusts
of the Oxomiya
chauvinists. But that has changed dramatically over the decades,
even if not dead. But it will be the easiest thing to overcome, when
the intelligentsia of the communities could join forces,
backed by a functioning and trustworthy system of law-enforcement and
justice of a reformed Assam government, considering the fact that
the Assamese are the closest to the Bengalis in every describable
ethnic/cultural traits among all the people of the South Asian
sub-continent (with the exception of our indigenous Bodos, Karbis,
Misings, Tiwas etc. who are historically more closely related
kin.)
So, put your thinking cap on and go at it. Don't try to throw my
arguments at me, when you don't agree. That does not go anywhere
:-).
c-da
And especially in our parts of the
country, if indeed you do handover Kokrajhar to
Bodoland, what about the Assamese there who want to be
a part of sovereign India? Or sovereign Assam for that
matter?
As to why Assam should be a part of sovereign India, I
will address it in a separate e-mail!
> > *** 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
>
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