Due to huge influx of Hindi-speaking people, due to tens of 24/7 Hindi TV channels, radio stations, slowly Assam is being Hindi-ized. Is that not also slow disappearance of Assamese? Why is there not a 24/7 TV channel in Assamese yet? Why NE-TV, which is the only cable channel from Assam goes around the streets of Guwahati with Assamese hosts interviewing Assamese people on the streets of Guwahati in Hindi? It shows where things are going. If Hindi's expansion is not controlled, it will spell the deathknell for Assamese. Why are new FM channels in Guwahati mostly exclusively in Hindi? These are signs of how things are going, how thing are going to happen in the future.
Himen da is concerned only about religion! Assamese is not a religion, it's a language! Bangladeshis came in huge numbers to Assam till the late 70s, possibly the 80s. Most of the so-called Bangladeshis came in Sadulla's time, about a hundred years ago. The kids of these immigrants are going to Assamese medium schools, learning Assamese, calling Assamese their mother tongue. The problem with such people is that they have too many children; the way to stop is to spread education among the women in these communities. However, the trend in the 90s, 00s is that Hindi is slowly taking over. It's not that Bengali taking over Assamese electronic media, it's Hindi taking over the electronic space of Assam completely. By electronic space I mean cable TV and other emerging media. Those who have foresight will see that such electronic media will inundate Assam in the next 10-15-20-50 years. Instead of singing Hindi songs in Bihu gatherings, Assamese children are/wil be dancing to Hindi movie tunes! It will become fashionable for Assamese childeren, growing up in Assam now, to be able to read and write Hindi and English, and not Assamese. They will read Hindi and English newspapers and not Assamese. They will get their news reports from Hindi and English newscasts and not Assamese. They will start talking to each other in Hindi and English and not Assamese. (I don't mind the English part that much, but I mind the Hindi part. English will never replace Assamese or a local vernacular, but Hindi has the potential to do tha!) So, as I said I hope Himen da realizes Assamese is a language and not a religion. My understanding of the situation is that the so-called Bangladeshi immigrants and their progeny pose a threat to the dominance of Hindu religion in Assam, but they don't pose a threat to Assamese language as much as India and Assam's rapid Hindi-ization do. Because people like Himenda are Hindu-religion sentimentalists, they see the threat to Hindu relgion's dominance and say it's threat to the Assamese language. I see it only partially that way. I see bigger threat to the dominance of the Assamese language which makes us call ourselves Assamese, is from India, not from Bangladesh. Strictly from a languge point of view, due to our geographic location Assamese speakers have to be wary of two languages: Bengali and Hindi, both with huge populations. From the 1800s to about the 1950s, Assamese, I believe was threatened by Bengali dominance in Assam. Independence from the British threw out the dominance of the British as well as the Bengali (who came with the British) from Assam. From the 1960s to the 1990s, I believe, Assamese was gaining its dominance in Assam. But, starting the 1990s and 2000s, due to the proliferation of electronic media, Hindi is starting to gain an upper hand. Right now, Assamese speakers should be more wary of Hindi speakers than Bengali speakers, but should be watching out both groups. Since Assam is part of India now, Hindi has become the royal vernacular like Bengali was when the British ruled India from Calcutta till the early 1900s. Hindi is the royal language now, and Assamese is becoming the step-language in Assam, being slowly replaced from public and electronic spheres by Hindi. We must watch out for this Hindi-ization and thwart it and prosper. Jugal -----Original Message----- From: Malabika Brahma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Himendra Thakur <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: J Kalita <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; assam@assamnet.org Sent: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 14:24:44 +0000 (GMT) Subject: Re: [Assam] Secession from India will be death for the Assamese Dear Hitendra uncle, Yes. We are the same neighbors of Upasana. Although I support the idea of plesbicite in Assam to decide its fate, I am against secession from India and if ever there is a plesbicite, I will vote against secession. Infact I believe majority of people in Assam will vote against secession. But I believe the maturity of a nation lies in "voluntary union" as opposed "forced union" and thats why I support the concept of instrument of secession in the constitution. A nation is just a notion until and unless all the constituents are united voluntarily. Best wishes Utpal Himendra Thakur <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Dear Malabika and Utpal, Did you read the history of American Civil War? The American Civil War is one of the most momentous and controversial periods in American history. This bitter war was fought to stop secession of the southern states. The Southern states were just not allowed to secede. Secession was just out-of-question. No wonder today America is the strongest country in the world. After fighting two world wars, European countries have decided to unite ... step by step ... They are now on the path of economic recovery. Instead of internecine (mutually destructive) wars, they have developed Unity. Instead of secession, they have embraced affiliation. Some people do not want to read history. They say "History is Bunk" ... I emphasize that we must learn from history. I completely agree with you that the Injustice that Assam has gone through must be corrected. The injustice to Assam was committed by a group of sightless people ... including some Assamese leaders. They can be controlled and eliminated. You do not have to secede from India to achieve that. You do not burn the house to kill rats ... you use a rat-trap. Intelligence and skill are required to make a good rat-trap. Due to the huge population of Bangladeshi infiltrators in Assam, secession from India will be death for the Assamese ... the international border between Bangladesh and Assam will melt into thin air and the plight of the Assamese will be the same as the plight of the Chakma tribe. Please consider if you will like to take that risk. With the best wishes, Himendra ----- Original Message ----- From: Malabika Brahma To: Malabika Brahma ; Ram Sarangapani Cc: assam@assamnet.org Sent: Monday, January 09, 2006 7:01 PM Subject: Re: [Assam] What prevents India from holding a plesbicite What I typed >> A nation can be mature only as much as its population will allow it. Don't you think? The nation can also me only as much mature as the framework will allow it. What I meant was The nation can also be only as much mature as the framework will allow it. Malabika Brahma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Ram da, >>That would be the easy part (thinking about it) - but the tougher part would to hold >>one at all. Whether its Kashmir or Assam, it is next to impossible to hold one. But peace itself has been elusive and almost impossible to achive in Kashmir and Assam for last 27 years, isn't it? I think more than "impossible", it is the question of gathering the required courage. >> A nation can be mature only as much as its population will allow it. Don't you think? The nation can also me only as much mature as the framework will allow it. Ram Sarangapani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Hi there Utpal, No, I don't think I am right all the time -and am sure others think likewise. >There is easy way to find out. Hold a plesbicite under a free neutral environment and avoid all >bloodshed. That would be the easy part (thinking about it) - but the tougher part would to hold one at all. Whether its Kashmir or Assam, it is next to impossible to hold one. Why do I say this: Whichever side looses, they are going to claim there was widespread intimidation etc, etc. Yes, one could say - get those international observers (Jimmy Carter) to observe. But that is very unlikely. India will never submit to that (claiming sovereignty issues). Add to the equation, that many feel that Assam is filled up with illegal Bangladeshis (and maybe even ISI agents). The question that comes to mind is, if thats the situation (like Pakistanis in Kashmir), why would we ever want to go for a plebicite of a population that would want to merge with B'desh or Pakistan? About a plebicite being bloodless - I seriously doubt if that will be be the turn of events. >I hope someday the nation called India will be matured enough to incorporate the "instrument of >seccession" in the constitution. A nation can be mature only as much as its population will allow it. Don't you think? --Ram da On 1/9/06, Malabika Brahma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Chandan da thinks he is right. So does Rajen da or Ram da or Mike da or my self. May be we all are right or may be not. It does not matter what I or you feel (the elites of Assam) , what really matters is what the people of Assam feel. May be most of the people in Assam want seperation from India or may be they don't. There is easy way to find out. Hold a plesbicite under a free neutral environment and avoid all bloodshed. But somehow I think the present form of GOI does not have the moral courage to face the free and fair ballot that would decide the fate of Assam or NE for that matter. Also the question is whether pro-independence groups of NE have the moral courage face the same. I hope someday the nation called India will be matured enough to incorporate the "instrument of seccession" in the constitution. Utpal Brahma -------- Yahoo! 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