Dear Chanda,
You have done a good job. However, the following issues needs to be clarified.
>>** Assamese people are NOT defined by the work ethics of government
>>workers
>>in urban centers of Assam or by school teachers,college professors
>>and
>>other such 'buddhijibi' people; people who make a living by the
>>their wits.
>>THese are the people whose work ethics can be questioned, thanks to
>>the
>>absence of low expectations of productivity combined with a
>>non-existent
>>system of accountability in return for a GUARANTEED income;
>>fashioned and
>>perpetuated by Indian governance and faithfully emulated even by
>>the
>>private sector, including the profession of journalism.
How can you seperate the 'budhijibi's from the 'rural people'? Why do we need a system of accountability? Aren't the need of 'developing a work culture' and 'shaping the future of the younger generation' reason enough for ethical behaviour by the school teachers and college teachers?
that the people among who I grew up, work extremely hard, merely to
>>survive. They have no weekends and holidays, no fixed
>>income.Actually
>>sometimes no income at all to speak of; no healthcare, no pension.
>>There is
>>no such thing as 'working hours', no standard time, Indian or
>>otherwise to
>>make fun of.Between first light and nightfall is their working day.
>>They
>>cannot and do not go on 'bandhs','gheraos'or 'hartals'. Most, if
>>not all of
>>them; men, women and children too HAVE TO work. Hard, strenuous
>>physical
>>work, with their diseased and malnutrition ravaged bodies, in the
>>heat and
>>humidity that the airconditioned-poffice-worker set would not
>>understand.
>>They cannot delegate their WORK to 'servants', 'kam-kora
>>lora-sowali' or
>>peons,assistants and clerks. If they don't, they perish. They don't
>>have
>>the luxury of going 'lahe-lahe'. If the monsoons don't come timely
>>enough
>>and the ground is too hard to break with the plough, they go at it
>>with a
>>long handled hoes. They have to. Do the writer/s of this article
>>have any
>>clue as to what that might be like?
that the people among who I grew up, work extremely hard, merely to
>>survive. They have no weekends and holidays, no fixed
>>income.Actually
>>sometimes no income at all to speak of; no healthcare, no pension.
>>There is
>>no such thing as 'working hours', no standard time, Indian or
>>otherwise to
>>make fun of.Between first light and nightfall is their working day.
>>They
>>cannot and do not go on 'bandhs','gheraos'or 'hartals'. Most, if
>>not all of
>>them; men, women and children too HAVE TO work. Hard, strenuous
>>physical
>>work, with their diseased and malnutrition ravaged bodies, in the
>>heat and
>>humidity that the airconditioned-poffice-worker set would not
>>understand.
>>They cannot delegate their WORK to 'servants', 'kam-kora
>>lora-sowali' or
>>peons,assistants and clerks. If they don't, they perish. They don't
>>have
>>the luxury of going 'lahe-lahe'. If the monsoons don't come timely
>>enough
>>and the ground is too hard to break with the plough, they go at it
>>with a
>>long handled hoes. They have to. Do the writer/s of this article
>>have any
>>clue as to what that might be like?
Chanda, don't you think the scenario has changed? What you are talking about was about the earlier generations. Now, even if the monsoon is not delayed, they can't complete the 'bhuin rua' till 'Bhadra' (Bhado) instead of 'Shravana'. Further, until & unless you adopt modern agricultural methods, farming does involve real hard work. Only because of the hard works, the earlier generations had a more or less smooth & better living standards. How many people in the village now can make 'khorahi', 'Passi', 'Bisoni'? Is 'burha tamul' is available in the villages ? Can you find 'leteku', 'poniol', 'kon bilahi', 'gul nemu' in the villages now? How much labour is required to grow them?
Regarding working conditions, even in other parts of the country, the working condition of the farmers are similar. Comparing the conditions in which you are living now to the conditions of our brothers in villages will not serve any purpose except sympathising with them. The truth is that this is india.
Further, I believe that being self-critical only helps you to improve. If you take it sentimentally, it'll definitely result in loss of self-assurance.
I also want to reassure you that even if I am critical about my fellow brothers and sisters in villages in the Assam net, I always take pride about their character, while discussing the same with our colleagues from other states. I am proud to be an assamese and belonging to a rural back ground.
Please be assured that this discussion is in the best of spirits.
Regards
Mridul
>From: Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], assam@pikespeak.uccs.edu
>Subject: Rickshaw pullers, labourers go missing - Another View
>Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 08:21:07 -0500
>
>Hi Mridul:
>
>I will respond to your rationales for asserting
> >--fact that Asssamese people are one of laziest of all in
> >the country excepting some people from lower Assam.
>
>in detail.
>
>But before I do that, I thought the following letter I wrote to the
>Assam Tribune in 2001, will orient you to what will be forthcoming.
>BTW, AT did print that letter, the first and last, censoring some
>parts here and there, including the very last paragraph.
>
>I am also forwarding another post of mine in Assam Net in response
>to one Deep Kataki, who took issue with my letter.
>
>c-da
>
>
>
>
>>Status: U
>>X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2001 12:15:57 -0500
>>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>>From: Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>>Subject: A letter to the Editor
>>Cc: assam@pikespeak.uccs.edu
>>
>>Dear Editor,
>>
>>I just saw the article "Of Osama and the Assamese" from your paper
>>forwarded to Assam Net, an internet e-mail list of people from
>>Assam and
>>other assorted Assam interested people.
>>
>>Living in the USA, we have had more than our fair share of Osama
>>stories.
>>What intrigues me however is the CONNECTION sought to be
>>established by
>>your columnist/s between the magnitude of destruction of life and
>>property
>>in the WTC towers attacks and the pejorative stereotype of
>>"lahe-lahe" and
>>"kaniya" to paint ALL Assamese. Even if it might be a somewhat
>>tongue-in
>>cheek commentary,I take issue with the assumptions and assertions
>>the
>>writers make. Allow me to explain:
>>
>>** Assamese people are NOT defined by the work ethics of government
>>workers
>>in urban centers of Assam or by school teachers,college professors
>>and
>>other such 'buddhijibi' people; people who make a living by the
>>their wits.
>>THese are the people whose work ethics can be questioned, thanks to
>>the
>>absence of low expectations of productivity combined with a
>>non-existent
>>system of accountability in return for a GUARANTEED income;
>>fashioned and
>>perpetuated by Indian governance and faithfully emulated even by
>>the
>>private sector, including the profession of journalism.
>>
>>** I am a rural Assamese. Grew up at Namti in Xiboxagor district.
>>Even
>>though I have not lived in Assam for over 38 years, I do know for a
>>fact
>>that the people among who I grew up, work extremely hard, merely to
>>survive. They have no weekends and holidays, no fixed
>>income.Actually
>>sometimes no income at all to speak of; no healthcare, no pension.
>>There is
>>no such thing as 'working hours', no standard time, Indian or
>>otherwise to
>>make fun of.Between first light and nightfall is their working day.
>>They
>>cannot and do not go on 'bandhs','gheraos'or 'hartals'. Most, if
>>not all of
>>them; men, women and children too HAVE TO work. Hard, strenuous
>>physical
>>work, with their diseased and malnutrition ravaged bodies, in the
>>heat and
>>humidity that the airconditioned-poffice-worker set would not
>>understand.
>>They cannot delegate their WORK to 'servants', 'kam-kora
>>lora-sowali' or
>>peons,assistants and clerks. If they don't, they perish. They don't
>>have
>>the luxury of going 'lahe-lahe'. If the monsoons don't come timely
>>enough
>>and the ground is too hard to break with the plough, they go at it
>>with a
>>long handled hoes. They have to. Do the writer/s of this article
>>have any
>>clue as to what that might be like?
>>
>>** The rural school teacher usually goes to the field at first
>>light,
>>before he gets to school to perform his teaching duties, tired, and
>>unprepared. The urban one does his on private tuition.
>>
>>** Assam's population, I would daresay, still is vastly
>>outnumbered by
>>rural folks over the urban dwellers. If the urban 'babus' lack work
>>ethic,
>>that ought not to be slapped on over ALL Assamese. If some
>>journalist is
>>upset by their fellow 'lahe-lahe' going folks, they ought to set a
>>good
>>example by researching their stories through dilligent leg-work
>>instead of
>>re-gurgitating hackneyed and derisive stereotypes used by the likes
>>of
>>Nehru who had no idea what they were talking about. I hold L N
>>Bezbaruah in
>>very high esteem as a literateur and social commentator. But I
>>would bet
>>you a rupee that LNB,a scion of privileged Assamese aristocracy in
>>colonial
>>Assam had no idea what it meant to go push a plough in knee deep
>>mud,
>>infested with leeches and 'wpor-sokua' parasites to bring rice to
>>his
>>family.
>>
>>** I have made these arguments in Assam net before, as did some
>>other
>>people.The only reason I made a point of writing to you is because
>>harping
>>on poorly conceived and negative stereotypes ONLY deepens an
>>already
>>savaged people's loss of self assurance. A much better way will be
>>to set
>>good examples. And to ATTACK the conditions that have helped create
>>and
>>fostered the negative traits; namely
>>the establishment's unwillingness to hold public servants
>>accountable,of
>>its low expectations of performance. I am also acutely aware of
>>using the
>>'lahe-lahe' pejorative on the Assamese people as a means for
>>JUSTIFYING its
>>being robbed of its resources and of its exploitation.
>>
>>Sincerely yours,
>>
>>Chandan K. Mahanta
>>16770 Old Jamestown Road
>>Florissant, MO 63034-1409
>>USA
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> Of Osama and the Assamese
>>> The terrorist attacks on the twin towers of World Trade
>>>Center and
>>>the Pentagon in America were one of the most devastating of such
>>>terrorist strikes. Thousands of people died in both the places.
>>>The
>>>persons involved in these air-borne strikes carried out a highly
>>>sophisticated and planned attack with utmost accuracy.
>>> The reason behind the high number of casualties in these
>>>attacks on
>>>America is the presence of office-goers in both the offices at
>>>the time
>>>of the attacks. Both the Trade Center and the Pentagon are
>>>offices the
>>>later being a government office. People in America go to office
>>>right in
>>>the morning. They are punctual and are dedicated and devoted
>>>towards
>>>their job. Take the case of Pentagon, a government office on
>>>which the
>>>attack was executed around 9:03 in the morning. Government
>>>officials
>>>begin the work in the day at nine in the morning in America.
>>> Imagine how many people might have died had the attacks been
>>>carried out
>>>at a government office in our Assam. Not a single person would
>>>have died.
>>>Reason there would not be any government official present at
>>>that hour
>>>of time in the morning!
>>> Offices in Assam, and in many other places in India for that
>>>matter,
>>>start well past the stipulated duty time. You go to any
>>>government office
>>>in Assam at 10 in the morning, you will not find any official,
>>>perhaps,
>>>except the watchman. The office hour should start at 10 am, but
>>>our dear
>>>officials would always come late, as if they are doing a favour to
>>>the
>>>government coming to office. This mentality is not a sudden
>>>development,
>>>but a gradually cultivated one.
>>> Since time immemorial, the Assamese community has this
>>>reputation (?) of
>>>being kaania. Literary giants like Sahityarathi Lakshminath
>>>Bezbaruah
>>>wrote satirical prose severely criticising this kaania culture of
>>>the
>>>otherwise great (!) Assamese society. When the British came and
>>>took up
>>>the reigns of ruling Assam after the Yandaboo treaty in 1826, they
>>>instantly realised the easiest way to rule Assam let them (the
>>>Assamese)
>>>remain busy with opium. And for a sizeable number of years, Assam
>>>and the
>>>Assamese lived in a workless, indolent and sluggish environment.
>>> And that lazyness has become a habit with us Assamese. We are a
>>>community which always put things off lets do it tomorrow. Why
>>>not
>>>today? Why not now?
>>> When you speak of work culture, people in our society will be
>>>looking at
>>>you with a bit of surprise in their eyes Are you from a
>>>different
>>>planet? When the government talks of work culture, they will tell
>>>you how
>>>much anti-worker this government is. You go to a government
>>>office, you
>>>will be astonished how callous they are towards their work.
>>> Therefore, no need to worry. No one, even if he is the dreaded
>>>Osama bin
>>>Laden, can touch our government officials at their office hours.
>>>So much
>>>so for work culture!
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