>What happened to the arguments of the wise that >a dedicated devotion to desi-demokrasy would solve all of the >problems ?
Are you suggesting we import bidesi-demokrasi or bilati-demokrasi to solve Assam's problem? Rajen ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chan Mahanta" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, April 25, 2005 10:44 AM Subject: RE: [Assam] The meek shall be homeless -II > >You are absolutely correct. My suggestion really is impractical. I > >think, it came out more out of sheer frustration at the state of > >affairs than anything else. > > > *** Frustration? Why? What happened to the arguments of the wise that > a dedicated devotion to desi-demokrasy would solve all of the > problems ? Or are those merely disingenuous arguments, the truth > being really the opposite? > > > But I won't hold my breath on the expectations of a truthful answer :-). > > > > > > > > > > > At 8:17 PM +0000 4/24/05, Ram Sarangapani wrote: > >Bhuban da, > > > > >Ram has made the above suggestion. It is not a practical one. For > >quite some > >>time past the Assamese daily Pratidin used to name leaders as well members > >>of the public alleged to be involved in corruption and crime. Of late this > >>type of reporting appears to be absent.The paper has certainly changed for > >>better or worse. > > > >You are absolutely correct. My suggestion really is impractical. I > >think, it came out more out of sheer frustration at the state of > >affairs than anything else. > > > >There are times though, when there is irrefutable eveidence, and if > >newspapers can be be investigative, such things do prove valuable. > > > >Of course we certainly don't want any witch hunts or bias against > >some particular group, but if GMC and ASEB are that corrupt, why > >shouldn't the media launch sting operations and catch the corrupt > >with their hands caught in the jar? > > > >Of course, again as you say, the newspapers who want do do this type > >of investigative reporting must be financially sound to fight > >litigation that might follow. > > > >--Ram > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >From: umesh sharma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > >To: [email protected] > > >Subject: RE: [Assam] The meek shall be homeless -II > > >Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2005 19:38:28 +0100 (BST) > > > > > >Ram-da, > > > > > >Well said!! It is all across India. > > > > > >Umesh > > > > > >Ram-da wrote: > > >It come to such a pass, that parents of eligible brides often > >seek officials from GMC or ASEB or other places for grooms who have > >'bhira poisa ase nohoi'. > > > > > > > > >Ram Sarangapani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > >Question is how? What kind of rising will do the job? > >Hartals, >gheraos, >bandhs, physical uttom-modhyom to the perceived > >guilty, > > > > > >What Assam needs are very strong leaders who are interested in > >Assam as opposed to filling their pockets. It may not seem much, but > >people (NGOs) are doing what they can. It was because of the huge > >public outcry that there was a speedy trial and conviction of the > >culprits who raped & murdered a 12 year old girl in Guwahati. > >Bottomline is, if people so desire and are adamant that corruption > >be stemmed, they have the ability to affect changes. > > > > > >One suggestion, I would have is for newspapers and other media to > >give a monthly list of all these corrupt officials and term them as > >DNB has rightly said 'anti national'. The newspapers can make sure > >such errant officials are thrown off their jobs and summarily run of > >town. > > > > > >Unfortunately, the situation seems to be such that corruption by > >GMC/PWD or the ASEB is considered 'normal'. The people it seems > >have come to accept these probably as 'Generally Accepted Corrupt > >Practices' (GACP) - our own home-grown version of GAAP :-) > > > > > >It come to such a pass, that parents of eligible brides often > >seek officials from GMC or ASEB or other places for grooms who have > >'bhira poisa ase nohoi'. > > > > > >So, unless people's attitude towards corruption is changed, yes > >nothing is going to happen. Its not enough for people to be > >complacent and keep saying they are helpless. > > > > > >--Ram > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >From: Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > >To: [email protected] > > > >Subject: [Assam] The meek shall be homeless -II > > > >Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2005 09:42:26 -0500 > > > > > > > >I looked for the author's promised recommendations on how to fix the > > > >'problem/s'. > > > > > > > >I did not find any. Of course I am disappointed. > > > > > > > >DNB has merely repeated the litany of complaints of the people of > > > >Assam that has been going on for decades now. His recommendation to > > > >the people to rise against what ails Assam is a day late and a > > > >dollar short. Others saw the handwriting on the wall much earlier. > > > >And some realized that nothing would change unless Assam wrested the > > > >powers to take care of itself from a remote Center and took to arms. > > > > > > > >DNB is right about only one thing: That nothing would change unless > > > >the people RISE. Question is how? What kind of rising will do the > > > >job? Hartals, gheraos, bandhs, physical uttom-modhyom to the > > > >perceived guilty, marching on the lax judges that fail to convict > > > >anyone, writing news-paper editorials excoriating the nations top > > > >law-enforcement agency, the CBI, for failing to get convictions more > > > >than the pathetic 8%, or abolish Assam police whose conviction rate > > > >is probably even less? What? > > > > > > > >Or maybe he should have been more explicit and told the people of > > > >Assam to get more moral? > > > > > > > >In a functional constitutional democracy, there are built in > > > >mechanisms with which the people can correct the course of its > > > >governance.Fix what is broken, amend what needs improving, so on and > > > >so forth. DNB realizes, like many before him already did, that such > > > >constitutional, peaceful means do not work in Indian democracy. For > > > >if they did, if they could be counted upon for the people to rely > > > >on, he would have cited them, would have pointed the uninformed to > > > >the tools available which they ought to use. > > > > > > > >Did he? Could he? > > > > > > > >Can Assam Netters fill in and supply what DNB missed? > > > > > > > >Too bad it was yet another exercise in running in circles, leading > > > >to nowhere. > > > >What I wonder about is whether it is a self inflicted condition or a > > > >genuine > > > >unawareness born out of never having seen any better. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >The meek shall be homeless -II > > > >WITH EYES WIDE OPEN > > > > > > > >D. N. Bezboruah > > > >Last week I had ended by saying that if we let the anti-social and > > > >criminal elements in our society have their way for ten more years > > > >they will dispossess all law-abiding citizens of their hearths and > > > >homes and banish the law for good. I was perhaps wrong about the > > > >ten years. Having started the process of selling Assam to > > > >Bangladesh already, they are in a tearing hurry to quit the scene > > > >of their treachery and disappear before anyone can get to them. So > > > >the process may take much less than we imagine. > > > > > > > >The first thing to bear in mind is that Assam is too full of people > > > >who cannot make a decent living out of their education, their > > > >skills or their wits. They certainly cannot make a living out of > > > >their manual labour. This is not to say that everyone here falls in > > > >that category. What I wish to convey is that a majority of the > > > >people who are in politics or in any kind of political management > > > >belong to this class who must make a living out of crooked practices > > > >alone. The only problem is they think that this is what politics is > > > >all about. So they sincerely believe that hoodwinking the people > > > >and living off them like overgrown parasites is perfectly > > > >legitimate activity in a democratic society. And therein lies the > > > >danger to the law-abiding citizen. So if we do not have our eyes > > > >wide open to look into our tomorrows, we are going to be outwitted > > > >by people who are less educated, less honest and less industrious > > > >than we are. And they are going to win against good people because > > > >they are more determined, more united in crime and far more > > > >desperate. They have nothing else to depend on except their > > > >crookedness. > > > > > > > >There are umpteen organizations that we can take up as examples to > > > >show how the crooked have always managed to defraud the honest and > > > >the law-abiding citizens. For the time being, we shall look at just > > > >two of them (or what were two organizations but have become six > > > >now). One is the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and the other > > > >the former Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) that has now been > > > >broken up into five organizations, the names of which I cannot > > > >remember. I do not have to tell anyone that the GMC is not exactly > > > >an organization full of saintly souls. Had it been so, the > > > >commercial wards of Fancy Bazar, Pan Bazar and Athgaon would not > > > >have managed to get away with paying a fraction of the municipal > > > >taxes that they owe to the GMC, they would not have managed to get > > > >by on the old absurd rates even after increasing the size of their > > > >holdings several times, they would not have managed to flout all > > > >the building bye-laws and they would not have escaped punishment > > > >for regularly pumping water from the water mains. We know all these > > > >activities that cause severe losses to the GMC are possible because > > > >there are more people within the GMC who think of their own pockets > > > >before they think of the GMC that has employed them. I salute the > > > >minority in the GMC who can claim, hand on heart, that they are not > > > >guilty, but I maintain that they have been undone by too many > > > >errant brothers. The GMC also has hundreds of conservancy staff who > > > >have drawn their salaries for years without doing any work at all. > > > >They have even managed to increase their salaries and allowances. > > > >And because they do not work and because the garbage of the city > > > >must be cleaned, the GMC has had to entrust the task of garbage > > > >clearance to contractors who must be paid separately even though > > > >the GMC is already paying its conservancy staff. This is an > > > >anti-national crime on the part of both the conservancy staff who > > > >draw their salaries without working as well on the part of the > > > >officers who allow this to happen. And in a democracy, an > > > >anti-national crime is an anti-people crime. In other words, those > > > >guilty of this crime are enemies of the people. And what are these > > > >enemies of the people up to now? They are very anxious to get all > > > >the Asian Development Bank and World Bank development loans that > > > >are being extended to the GMC. But they have no intentions of > > > >treating these loans as loans. They would rather treat them as > > > >grants and siphon out whatever is possible into their own coffers. > > > >But the ADB and the WB are not as lenient customers as the Central > > > >Government. They know how to arm-twist beneficiaries into returning > > > >loans. And when this happens, the GMC will start hiking taxes > > > >eight, nine or even ten times for no development work whatsoever. > > > >Middle-class taxpayers will be in no position to pay such taxes > > > >(and should not pay such taxes to subsidize pay without work) and > > > >will soon find that they will have to sell their property to pay > > > >municipal taxes! And those who have always got away with paying a > > > >fraction of their legitimate taxes will be the ones to buy up such > > > >property. This is the scenario that stares us in the face unless we > > > >wake up now to prevent what is on the agenda of the crooked ones. > > > >We must insist on the dismissal of those who draw salaries without > > > >work and the proper calculation and collection of taxes in the > > > >commercial wards of the city before there can be any talk of hiking > > > >taxes. We must collectively challenge unfair tax hikes in court and > > > >carry out a crusade against such tax hikes to subsidize payment of > > > >salaries without work. Incidentally, all political parties of the > > > >State will call such a crusade the handiwork of the Left, but that > > > >should not worry anyone because this is really just a complaint > > > >about the opportunities for easy money at the cost of the Assamese > > > >that would seem to have eluded them. > > > > > > > >Then there is the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) or rather > > > >its five new avatars. The installed capacity of the ASEB was 514 > > > >MW, and at one time the ASEB had about 24,000 employees. Over 46 > > > >employees per MW of electricity generated and distributed must be a > > > >sort of record fit for the Guinness Book of World Records. But > > > >today the new avatars of the ASEB generate less than 120 MW. True, > > > >the number of employees has come down to about 17,000. But the > > > >number of employees per MW generated has gone up to a more adverse > > > >141.66 or so. And what is the Assam Electricity Regulatory > > > >Commission (AERC) planning to do now? Why, it now envisages a 16 > > > >per cent return on equity for the new transmission companies of the > > > >ASEB. And yet, it was the same AERC that had turned down an appeal > > > >made by the ASEB for a three per cent return on equity made in the > > > >year 2002-03! What happens to the consumer? He ends up paying an > > > >increase of almost 50 per cent on power tariff. And he is being > > > >expected to do this when he knows that ministers in a democracy are > > > >getting free power, bureaucrats and officers getting away with > > > >paying a ridiculous pittance for the current they consume and a > > > >whole lot of power thieves are just stealing power. Some years ago, > > > >I did a report on power theft by two companies of Amingaon to the > > > >tune of Rs 2 crore. The senior officer of the ASEB who helped with > > > >this power theft was rewarded with a promotion just before he > > > >retired! And who is meekly subsidizing all this theft of power and > > > >the totally redundant number of employees? The meek, unquestioning > > > >bill-payers of course. It is the honest, regular bill-payers who > > > >end up paying for all the aberrations of the system and for everyone > > > >who gets electricity free or steals it. Should the law-abiding > > > >citizens not rise in protest to end such injustice and loot of > > > >power? They may choose to be as unheeding as they have been in the > > > >past. But in that case they are all working actively for their own > > > >funerals, and have no one else to blame. > > > >_______________________________________________ > > > >Assam mailing list > > > >[email protected] > > > >http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam > > > > > > > >Mailing list FAQ: > > > >http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/assam/assam-faq.html > > > >To unsubscribe or change options: > > > >http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/options/assam > > > > > >_______________________________________________ > > >Assam mailing list > > >[email protected] > > >http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam > > > > > >Mailing list FAQ: > > >http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/assam/assam-faq.html > > >To unsubscribe or change options: > > >http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/options/assam > > > > > >Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com > > >_______________________________________________ > > >Assam mailing list > > >[email protected] > > >http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam > > > > > >Mailing list FAQ: > > >http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/assam/assam-faq.html > > >To unsubscribe or change options: > > >http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/options/assam > > > >_______________________________________________ > >Assam mailing list > >[email protected] > >http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam > > > >Mailing list FAQ: > >http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/assam/assam-faq.html > >To unsubscribe or change options: > >http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/options/assam > > _______________________________________________ > Assam mailing list > [email protected] > http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam > > Mailing list FAQ: > http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/assam/assam-faq.html > To unsubscribe or change options: > http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/options/assam > _______________________________________________ Assam mailing list [email protected] http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/listinfo/assam Mailing list FAQ: http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/assam/assam-faq.html To unsubscribe or change options: http://pikespeak.uccs.edu/mailman/options/assam
