Hello Himnen-da:
Best wishes to you and the family for the Holidays.
Your note came as a complete surprise. I am NOT the editor of
"assam.org", just another netter.
BTW, MC Mahant is not someone you seem not to know. He is the
same one from your batch at ITT-KGP. If I remember correctly I thought
you know him well.Yes, he IS my brother.But I am not my brother's
keeper -- even though that is a highly un-Christian thing to say on
the X-mas day.
Be that as it may, assamnet is forum where anyone can express
himself/herself -- as they see fit. Of course that does not include
personal attacks and such. I don't see Mukul Mahanta's criticism of
Lyngdoh as a "personal attack". Lyngdoh is a very public
persona and he has been involved in political matters. That makes him
fair game for public scrutiny.
That is not to suggest I endorse my brother's views - whatever
those might have been in this instance. I hope my own view of
Lyngdoh's comments were not hard to understand for you. And I stands
behind them.
"How will Shri MC Mahant
(complete name unknown) feel if someone disqualifies him by saying
I never met an Assamese Hindu Mahanta caring for India's rapid
strides towards Super-Power Status??"
*** That question would be somewhat redundant under the
circumstances :-).
Best,
Chandan
At 7:14 PM -0800 12/24/05, Himendra Thakur wrote:
To
The Editor, Assam.org
Dear Sir,
I am pained to see the personal attack on Shri James Michael Lyngdoh by Shri MC Mahant in your journal. I met Shri Lyngdoh in 1997 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi when he was the Principal Secretary of the President of India and Chairman of the Association of the IAS Officers of India. Representing International Society Against Dowry & Bride-Burning in India, I wanted to talk with him on a very sensitive subject of issuing an appeal to the IAS Officers not to take dowry in their marriage. Instead of the customary practice of denying and covering up the matter on behalf of other IAS Officers, Shri Lyngdoh not only granted me an hour-long interview, but also called the General Secretary of the Association of the IAS Officers to join the discussion. At his instance, the General Secretary, a senior IAS Officer from a dowry-infested area of India, agreed to issue the appeal. I was immensely impressed by the straightforward truthfulness of Shri Lyngdoh.
It is extremely unfortunate that Shri MC Mahant has written I never met a Khasi Christian caring for India's rapid strides towards Super-Power Status. In our search for the truth, we should scrutinize what is being said, irrespective of who said it. Democracy is ruined by ethnic stereotyping. By his own behavior, Shri Mahant has proved that Lyngdohs remarks on some aspects of Indias democracy were right. How will Shri MC Mahant (complete name unknown) feel if someone disqualifies him by saying I never met an Assamese Hindu Mahanta caring for India's rapid strides towards Super-Power Status??
With due respect,
Himendra Barthakur, Boston, USA [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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