Ram:
Thanks for your response.
I can't get into details now, but just one quick questions ( more to follow later):
>(not the system, but the practice). The system is fine, but many of the leaders in the Center and in Assam have not done what it takes to develop India allround
*** If nothing is the matter with the SYSTEM, how will autonomy help Assam, even after it gets autonomy? It will be the same system in which no one could be held accountable, it will be the same system that is opaque, it will be the same system that selects and elects the people to run the machinery of government.
And since the people are bad, will autonomy all of a sudden make them good, so Assam will begin to thrive?
Something is seriously amiss in the reasoning here Ram :-). Can you explain?
c-da
PS: You do make a couple good points though. Will 'splain later.
At 9:38 AM -0500 5/5/05, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
C'da,
I remember things slightly differently however. Ram, Dilip, yourself all chimed in in favor of autonomy when we were discussing Mamoni Goswami's efforts to bring the Center to a dialog with the ULFA. I was curious about why you all were ready to settle for autonomy, while defending the Indian governmental system with claims that nothing is the matter with it. It was self-contradictory.
Lets try this one more time. I don't believe any of us said that 'nothing' is wrong with GOI (not the system, but the practice). The system is fine, but many of the leaders in the Center and in Assam have not done what it takes to develop India allround Right now there is a lot of lop-sided developement and so there are lots of things that are not what we want for a state like Assam. In many ways Assam's problems are unique. Over and above that, there is that general feeling of being left out of all the good things (right or wrong), and then there that general apathy.
Why Autonony?
With more autonomy, the Assamese become the masters of their own fate. No more blaming Dilli for our misfortunes or crediting dilli for our strides. The State can become more focussed on placing the onus on GOA as opposed to GO. The State can benefit from fortunes in tea, timber, and oil. The Center needs to only control certain things like border control, immigration and military.
Thus the State becomes mostly responsible for its own development, but at the same time not worry about external agggression from say B'desh. The Center can help in bringing international business to the state. Education can be streamlined.
Autonomy is a far better solution than that proposed by ULFA and others. A number of States are already inclined to go for autonomy. Even the Center is willing to discuss autonomy for states (not just Assam).You want independence, then you have to fight that alone, and no state in India is going to support it.
As for independence, when has ULfa or you or anyone else given us something concrete. No one has given any gurantees, except to say they want it. Thats more like an unruly child's must haves.
Imagine an independent Assam, depleted of its resources (while fighting for this independence), and becoming an easy pick for a country like B'desh to occupy overtly or covertly. What then, are you then going to fight for independence from B'desh?
If you wnat to be practical - independence is just a pie in the sky, a near impossibility. The next best thing is for more autonomy for states. Assam should join with other States for this. Autonomy for states should be viewed as a change in the system of governance so as to reach all the states. It has its pitfalls, but those have to worked out. Autonomy should not be viewed as DEMAND, but rather as a progression for a more vibrant India.
I remember quizzing you all about what you folks would do with autonomy that you cannot do with the system in place as is
One would have to be blind not to realize that there are things that Assam (or the NE) needs for development & growth. The current system seems to work well for states like Maharastra or other states where their representatives holler for more. In the case of Assam, our poor reps to the Center, get their pay checks, and then 'ghoror lora ghoroloi ahile' - thats it. They nor the good people of Assam that sent them have done their bit, -- Kay Sara, Sara...
So that is one good reason why autonomy would be a panacea for Assam.
More later if I have any ideas left :-)
--Ram
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