> 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?........If Hindi's expansion is not controlled,
> it will spell the deathknell for Assamese.....> 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. ....> 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
> TV channels, radio stations, slowly Assam is being Hindi-ized. Is that
> not also slow disappearance of Assamese?........If Hindi's expansion is not controlled,
> it will spell the deathknell for Assamese.....> 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. ....> 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
Looks like we Assamese have
a serious problem. The problem is we Assamese are confused as to
who is our real enemy. We are confused what is our real problem. One of
the main reasons why Oxom Gono Adwlon (OGA) failed was
because the student leaders failed to assure the minority non Assamese
groups living in Assam that the agitation was not against them. The non
Assamese speaking Minority groups saw inside the confused Assamese mind and
did not feel secure. For Assamese fears such as above, they realized that in the
name of illegal immigrants, the agitation was actually against all non Assamese
speaking people. The non Assamese sensed exactly the above confusion
inside the Assamese mind. This has devastating affect on the overall
movement, because very soon this fear went inside the Assamese sub ethnic
groups. The AASU-AGP group split into sub ethnic groups. The split went so
far as that finally the Bodo student groups openly declared that they were
in fact not Assamese. They asked the same question to the Assamese
brothers that the Assamese were asking others. You are talking of wearing
Assamese Mekhekla Saddor, singing Assamese Bihu, but how many of you Assamese
wear the Bodo dress, sing a Bodo Bihu song or even try to learn Bodo language
? Your Oxom Xahityo Xobha is nothing but an Assamese Xahityo
Xobha. So we will have our own Bodo Xahityo Xobha, our own Bodo Student
groups, bye bye. Eventually the OGA failed. The rest is history.
Yes we Assamese have manifold
problems. But only way we can overcome these problems is for us to think
clearly, coolly, logically and rationally and not emotionally.
Yes the illegal immigration from
Bangladesh is our # 1 serious problem. That we donot see any solution does
not dissolve the problem away. Nor should we try to undermine the problem like
in above emotional and immature thinking.
The overwhelming Hindi culture is
also a problem. We all need cultural protection. But need to be analyzed
and addressed completely differently.
Corruption is a
problem.
Under development is a
problem
All are our problems, and all need
to be addressed separately, logically and rationally.
It is an escapist mentality if
someone, overwhelmed with these problems, donot want to discuss these problems
and suddenly try to declare that GOI is our problem and offer a magic
solution that once Assamese become independent, all our problems will be
resolved. Because that declaration is not based on any logic or rational.
It is based on pure emotion and slogan.
Rajen Barua
----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>;
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>;
<assam@assamnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 10, 2006 10:29
AM
Subject: Re: [Assam] Secession from India will be
death for the Assamese
> 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
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