Re: [Assam] "The future belongs to the nation who appreciates herpast"

[Himendra Thakur]

Dear Mukul,
 
I am really flabbergasted by seeing 
the error in your analysis. Throughout her past, with the kernel principle 
of acceptance, appreciation and adoration, India had been one nation … from 
Assam to Tamil Nadu to the Himalayas … the major aggression was inflicted by 
invaders who practiced conversion instead of acceptance, derision instead of 
appreciation, detestation instead of adoration. By taking advantage of the 
higher civilization of magnanimity that India developed, the invaders won at 
their second attack in 1193, overran the Indo-gangetic plains with superior 
cavalry at a high speed (approx 1800 miles in 12 years), burnt down Nalanda 
University in 1200 AD, occupied Bengal in 1205 … they were stopped by Assam. 
Assam saved 
India’s sovereignty whereas 
the rest of India fell at the sting of the 
invaders. For 664 years, Assam was the only India outside 
the domination of the invaders.
 
When I made the above analysis in my 
article “ATAN BURAGOHAIN SAKO” you retorted with a short statement that “History 
is bunk” and also quoted a song (or something) that one should be “short & 
stupid.” That is your choice, but I refuse to be stupid. 
 
Being unable to persuade anybody 
with your own “short & stupid” statement that “History is Bunk,”  you are now trying to use “History” to 
promote your own “short & stupid” view of “Sovereign  Greater 
Oxom” … I am sorry I had to 
use your own adjectives against you. These are very harsh words. I hope you will 
forgive me for using these words.
 
Finally, I urge you to give up what 
is “short & stupid” and persuade the younger generation to feel that “Assam 
is India” … India’s sovereignty is Assam’s sovereignty …  
 
I completely agree that there must 
not be any exploitation. In fact, there are exploitations all over 
India. I have been working very 
closely with Swami Agnivesh who is fighting to stop the exploitation of child 
labourers by carpet manufacturers in Haryana. Exploitation must be fought. But, 
one must not mix up exploitation with sovereignty. 
 
With the best 
wishes,
Himendra

  - Original Message - 
  From: 
  mc 
  mahant 
  To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
  Cc: assam@assamnet.org 
  Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 5:50 
  PM
  Subject: Re: [Assam] "The future belongs 
  to the nation who appreciates herpast"
  
  
  <>>
  You Bet! 
  Sovereign  Greater Oxom is all about that
  mm
  

From: "Rajen Barua" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To: 
Subject: 
[Assam] "The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her 
past"Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 16:45:58 -0600



"The future 
belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"
   
- Persian saying.
 
RB
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[Assam] From the BBC

[Ram Sarangapani]

Why don't they demand in hard currency instead of the measly Rs? After all they don't trust the GOI on anything, why their currency?

 
Rebels threaten India oil company 



By Subir Bhaumik BBC News, Calcutta India's state-run oil company ONGC says separatists have demanded it pay them more than $1m or stop operations in the north-eastern state of Assam. 

ONGC said the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) was asking for 5bn rupees ($1.13m) "without much delay". 
ONGC has several oilfields and gas exploitation centres in Assam, India's third largest oil-producing state. 
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the rebels must end extortion if they wanted peace efforts to succeed. 

"If they want the peace process in Assam to continue, they must understand there's no scope for extortion, killing or any kind of violence," he told a news conference in the Assam capital, Guwahati. 
'Shocked' 
ONGC officials say the rebel demand came last week. 
"We have received this demand and we are shocked," said company chairman Subir Raha. 
Ulfa has yet to say whether it made the demand. 
Last week a bomb blast damaged an oil pipeline in Assam's western district of Bongaigaon, badly damaging a pipeline carrying crude to an oil refinery. 
The blast happened barely a few hours before Prime Minister Singh laid the foundation stone for a thermal power station in Bongaigaon. 
Ulfa is one of the most powerful of nearly a dozen separatist groups fighting Indian security forces in the north-east. 

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Re: [Assam] Enjoy the Present

[BBaruah]

The great Buddha appears to be wiser than the rest.
 
Bhuban
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Re: [Assam] Reforms - The CONCLUSION

[mc mahant]

Umesh
This is the fundamental issue.
They won't dare to change "Our Sacred Constitution Written by our FOUNDING FATHERS(copied directly-forgot about the irrelevance)"
As a result you have physical and mental blocks.
Bring us all -including the '"Wannabe Supre-power-buffs"- into a whole set of physical and mental blocks---leaving only one path open---as Mao said "Power speaks best from the barrel of the gun".
Think,realize,do missionary work in the Hindi Belt.Tell'm " Overhaul the Constitution each year"
mm
 
mm
 




From:  umesh sharma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>Reply-To:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]To:  Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Ram Sarangapani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>CC:  ASSAMNET Subject:  Re: [Assam] Reforms - The CONCLUSIONDate:  Fri, 13 Jan 2006 16:12:54 + (GMT)

C-da,  
   
You make a valid point about urgency of reform needed in Assam and also that there are people who can and are willing to take up. Who stops them? Is someone at Delhi bent on killing them or maiming them?  
   
Umesh  
   
   
C-da wrote:  
   
"If Rajen or your assertions are accurate that Assam is the most corrupt of the various colonies of India, then it behooves it needs those reforms, NOW! The sickest needs the treatments most urgently.  
  
Question is who will take charge of such reforms, NOW? The answer is that  
there are plenty of people, right in Assam--and outside too, to take it on. Ready, willing and able.  
  
But they cannot do that under prevailing Indian rule. That is the difference."  
  
  
  
 
Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
  
  


  
Ram:  
  
One last time on these issues:  
  
>But you must agree that ANY reform in India or Assam MUST come from an informed >public.  
  
  
*** Yes I do. And that is exactly why I asked for YOUR recommendations, Rajen's recommendations. But what did you show?  
  
Therefore it follows that Assam cannot depend on its intelligentsia establishment, the supposedly informed lot, the one that controls the media, the economy and the political machinery -- and even its purported cream of the crop of NRA's in the west.  


Certainly not on its uninformed, uneducated masses, struggling merely to survive against the incredible odds, while their assets, resources are being plundered and looted by India and partially being redistributed to a tiny minority of Assam's  privileged.  
  
But that does not mean Assam ought to wait for India to effect the reforms that it had decades to start with and demonstrate a trend. It did did not, because it cannot. Assam will have to do it for itself. Take charge of its own future!  
  
You make the argument of other states prospering in spite of the dysfunctional Indian governance. And thus you demand the same from Assam.  
  
It is a preposterous argument. Imagine demanding an ill-fed, poor child of illiterate parents from the slums same performance as children of IAS Babus or Engineers or Doctors because they go ,to the same school. That is exactly what you are doing.

  
Assam's circumstances are not the same as Karnataka's, or Tamil Nadu's or Bihar's. Assam must do what it needs to under its own circumstances, and not what Karnataka  does or West Bengal does.  
  
Assam must REFORM and RE-order its governance for its own sake, because it is essential for its survival and progress, regardless of what India does or does not.  
  
And even if I were to accept your argument -- which I don't--that some Indian states are prospering in-spite of their broken governance, it still makes no sense for Assam to labor under it--because its circumstances does not give it that luxury. If Rajen or your assertions are accurate that Assam is the most corrupt of the various colonies of India, then it behooves it needs those reforms, NOW! The sickest needs the treatments most urgently.  
  
Question is who will take charge of such reforms, NOW? The answer is that
  
there are plenty of people, right in Assam--and outside too, to take it on. Ready, willing and able.  
  
But they cannot do that under prevailing Indian rule. That is the difference.  
  
  
  
c-da  
  
  
  
  
  
  
At 1:54 PM -0600 1/2/06, Ram Sarangapani wrote:  
C'da  
   
>That Ram is called accountability. It is  DETERRENCE  
   
I fully agree its a major component. The laws do exist for such punishment, and they would be implemented at a much faster speed if the 'public', the media and others are on top it it and expose corrupt individuals and till
punishments are rendered. Jail time for those stealing public funds always existed. Politicians & the powerful have been able to thwart legal proceedings by employing corrupt practices and circumventing and undermining the system.  
   
With the resent cash for questions, the media having exposed these powerful politicians, they have been expelled. The CBI and the Auditor General's office are now contemplating civil actions against the culprits. At least the national media is keeping on top of it. And things are NOT that easy for the errant Delhi po

Re: [Assam] Enjoy the Present

[Ram Sarangapani]

MM da,
 

<<>
>Sorry! Doesn't rhyme
Not having any poetic talents, I am taking advantage of 'modern poetry that doesn't need rhymes or meters.
--Ram 
On 1/16/06, mc mahant <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:



<<>
Sorry! Doesn't rhyme.
mm




From:  Ram Sarangapani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To:  Barua25 <
[EMAIL PROTECTED]>CC:  mc mahant <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, 
assam@assamnet.orgSubject:  Re: [Assam] Enjoy the PresentDate:  Mon, 16 Jan 2006 20:04:39 -0600 


And Barua,

How about this:

 

Forget the past, and forget the future, 

We don't have plans, but we have slogans

We have slogans, and lots of them,

One for every occassion.

 

(Just made it up - you think some might want to adopt this as their mantra?)

 

 

 

On 1/16/06, Barua25 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
 


And:

 

Don't regret the past, but learn from the past.

Don't worry about the future, but plan for the future.

And enjoy the present.

                                            -    Buddhist Wisdom

 

- Original Message - 



From: mc mahant 



To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 

Cc: assam@assamnet.org 

Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 7:50 PM

Subject: RE: [Assam] "The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"

 


<>>

You Bet! 

Sovereign  Greater Oxom is all about that

mm





From: "Rajen Barua" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To: <
 
assam@assamnet.org>Subject: [Assam] "The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 16:45:58 -0600

"The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"

   - Persian saying.

 

RB

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>http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org






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Re: [Assam] Enjoy the Present

[mc mahant]

<<>
Sorry! Doesn't rhyme.
mm




From:  Ram Sarangapani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To:  Barua25 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>CC:  mc mahant <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, assam@assamnet.orgSubject:  Re: [Assam] Enjoy the PresentDate:  Mon, 16 Jan 2006 20:04:39 -0600

And Barua,

How about this:

 

Forget the past, and forget the future, 

We don't have plans, but we have slogans

We have slogans, and lots of them,

One for every occassion.

 

(Just made it up - you think some might want to adopt this as their mantra?)

 

 

 

On 1/16/06, Barua25 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: 


And:

 

Don't regret the past, but learn from the past.

Don't worry about the future, but plan for the future.

And enjoy the present.

                                            -    Buddhist Wisdom

 

- Original Message - 



From: mc mahant 


To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 

Cc: assam@assamnet.org 

Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 7:50 PM

Subject: RE: [Assam] "The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"

 


<>>

You Bet! 

Sovereign  Greater Oxom is all about that

mm





From: "Rajen Barua" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To: <
assam@assamnet.org>Subject: [Assam] "The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 16:45:58 -0600

"The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"

   - Persian saying.

 

RB

>___>assam mailing list>assam@assamnet.org
>http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org





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Re: [Assam] Enjoy the Present

[mc mahant]

<<>>
Each NRA  should do that for the 97% Assam- dwellers .They all want to to see the backside of the Looters
mm


From: "Barua25" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To: "mc mahant" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>CC: Subject: Enjoy the PresentDate: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 19:58:54 -0600

And:
 
Don't regret the past, but learn from the past.
Don't worry about the future, but plan for the future.
And enjoy the present.
                                            -    Buddhist Wisdom
 
- Original Message - 

From: mc mahant 
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Cc: assam@assamnet.org 
Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 7:50 PM
Subject: RE: [Assam] "The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"


<>>
You Bet! 
Sovereign  Greater Oxom is all about that
mm


From: "Rajen Barua" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To: Subject: [Assam] "The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 16:45:58 -0600


"The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"
   - Persian saying.
 
RB
>___>assam mailing list>assam@assamnet.org>http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org



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Re: [Assam] Enjoy the Present

[Ram Sarangapani]

And Barua,
How about this:
 
Forget the past, and forget the future, 
We don't have plans, but we have slogans
We have slogans, and lots of them,
One for every occassion.
 
(Just made it up - you think some might want to adopt this as their mantra?)
 
 
 
On 1/16/06, Barua25 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

And:
 
Don't regret the past, but learn from the past.
Don't worry about the future, but plan for the future.
And enjoy the present.
                                            -    Buddhist Wisdom
 
- Original Message - 

From: mc mahant 

To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Cc: assam@assamnet.org 
Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 7:50 PM
Subject: RE: [Assam] "The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"
 

<>>
You Bet! 
Sovereign  Greater Oxom is all about that
mm


From: "Rajen Barua" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To: <
assam@assamnet.org>Subject: [Assam] "The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 16:45:58 -0600
"The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"
   - Persian saying.
 
RB
>___>assam mailing list>assam@assamnet.org
>http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org

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[Assam] Enjoy the Present

[Barua25]

And:
 
Don't regret the past, but learn 
from the past.
Don't worry about the future, but 
plan for the future.
And enjoy the present.
    
                
                
        -    Buddhist 
Wisdom
 
- Original Message - 

  From: 
  mc 
  mahant 
  To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
  Cc: assam@assamnet.org 
  Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 7:50 
  PM
  Subject: RE: [Assam] "The future belongs 
  to the nation who appreciates her past"
  
  
  <>>
  You Bet! 
  Sovereign  Greater Oxom is all about that
  mm
  

From: "Rajen Barua" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To: 
Subject: 
[Assam] "The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her 
past"Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 16:45:58 -0600



"The future 
belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"
   
- Persian saying.
 
RB
>___>assam mailing 
list>assam@assamnet.org>http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org

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Re: [Assam] "The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"

[mc mahant]

<>>
You Bet! 
Sovereign  Greater Oxom is all about that
mm


From: "Rajen Barua" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To: Subject: [Assam] "The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 16:45:58 -0600



"The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"
   - Persian saying.
 
RB
>___>assam mailing list>assam@assamnet.org>http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org



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Re: [Assam] Emailing: DSC01346.JPG

[mc mahant]

<<<
The difference would have been we Assamese could have exported Xaj-Pani today like the Japanese Saki and make millions $$$.
Now we are neither eating Bora Sawl nor refined Xaj-Pani.
RB>>>
Thanks for thinking about another export innovation for OXOM.
Just you wait!!
mm
 


From: "Rajen Barua" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To: "mc mahant" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>CC: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>Subject: Re: [Assam] Emailing: DSC01346.JPGDate: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 16:55:41 -0600


>If the Bora Sawl gets fermented in the intestines into alcohol via sugar--why go through the elaborate fermentation process outside-anyway?
>That's why the  supposed-to-be-upper-castes  wasted no time inthat pursuit--??
>I am not sure. May be the Culture and History buffs can --- try long shots.Won't interrupt.
 
The difference would have been we Assamese could have exported Xaj-Pani today like the Japanese Saki and make millions $$$.
Now we are neither eating Bora Sawl nor refined Xaj-Pani.
RB

- Original Message - 
From: mc mahant 
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Sunday, January 15, 2006 8:23 PM
Subject: Re: [Assam] Emailing: DSC01346.JPG


<<
I think it is basically the enzyme required to start the fermentation.
Too bad the Upper caste Hindus donot do any of these.
RB>>>
Bakhor=Pitha.
Vegetable Enzymes indeed-like Hops for brewing beer!
If the Bora Sawl gets fermented in the intestines into alcohol via sugar--why go through the elaborate fermentation process outside-anyway?
That's why the  supposed-to-be-upper-castes  wasted no time inthat pursuit--??
I am not sure. May be the Culture and History buffs can --- try long shots.Won't interrupt.
mm


From: "Barua25" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To: "Dilip/Dil Deka" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,"ASSAMNET" Subject: Re: [Assam] Emailing: DSC01346.JPGDate: Sun, 15 Jan 2006 12:04:59 -0600


Would you mind sharing the recipe for Law Pani.
And what is 'Bakhor'? Is it what we call 'pitha'  in Upper Assam villages? 
I think it is basically the enzyme required to start the fermentation.
Too bad the Upper caste Hindus donot do any of these.
RB
- Original Message - 

From: Dilip/Dil Deka 
To: ASSAMNET 
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2006 8:39 PM
Subject: [Assam] Emailing: DSC01346.JPG

Towards you is Assam near Khetri, Kamrup. Across the bridge is Meghalaya. I am using the photo as a desktop background. Looks refreshing.
There is a majority Tiwa Hindu community on the Assam side and a christian Khasi community in Meghalaya. I was told they intermarry, depending on the man having the means to support the family. Sorry, you girls in the net, for this comment.
I enjoyed the Laopani made by the Tiwa locals and the ride to Meghalaya when I went to a picnic at Topatoli in Assam. I got the recipe for Laopani but didn't have the time to collect "Bakhar" to make Laopani in USA.
Dilip









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[Assam] monikut

[priyankoo sarma]

Can somebody send me a picture of a monikut in the 'namghor's? My friends so want to see one!

Priyankoo



Dex matho eta dharona, thikonar xex xari...
The most important thing in life is never to forget who you are...


http://plaza.ufl.edu/priyanku

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[Assam] "The future belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"

[Rajen Barua]

"The future 
belongs to the nation who appreciates her past"
   
- Persian saying.
 
RB
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[Assam] Ml King & Gandhi, Ambedkar - east learns from west and....

[umesh sharma]

I share birthday with Martin luther king (jan 15) which is being celebrated today. he organized civil protest peacefully after learning from gandhi´s example a few deacdes before. ambedkar also learnt from his stay at columbia univ in new york that blacks in usa could not vote then even after 200 years of democracy. so when ambedkar had to design indiá``s constitution he was cAREFUL TO ensure that ALL got voting rights and also that dalits got special rights in education and jobs etc which even now us has nort done for blacks or other opporessed groups.     we learn from each other - from both the successes and the mistakes.     any comments     umeshUmesh Sharma5121 Lackawanna STCollege Park, MD 20740 1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone]Ed.M. - International Education PolicyHarvard Graduate School of Education,Harvard University,Class of 2005
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Re: [Assam] Reforms - The CONCLUSION - teaching democracy

[umesh sharma]

C-DA,though your point seems simplistic and biased in favor of westerners  being a superior people it does throw up some important questions..FOR ONE :  You assume that anyone who has lived in US or UK knows  a lot more about democracy becos they have experienced it. it is true  that you cannot know unless u have experienced it. for example love and  thus cannot preach it. good point.second: however it assumes that anyone who has never seen a democracyor  peace at work can never imagine it or reform his system . perhaps u  think that rule by people is a very complex process.third: you assume that anyone who has been in US or UK for  studies  for only a few years has no idea of how democracy works.  maybe you are right maybe not. many examples are there of those who  came to west to study and were democratic leaders in the nations. like  nehru , mahatma gandhi , currently appointed first female president of  africa  - in
 liberia today - she did a program at harvard some  years ago. foruth: now the question comes of the role of educational media. does  one really have to come to us or uk to get the education in democracy  or governance.  i took  some courses about teaching  democratic citizenship and peace  in developing countires to  school children - thru books , other media and learning-by-doing -so  does it mean that unless alll these children come to us or uk ro learn  about democracy at work they can never be democratic in their outlook.last: even if we teach them thru books how much needs to be learnt by citizens to learn to be democratic thru learning by doing  umeshC-DA WROTE:And I aim that challenge specifically to those who have lived in the USA or Britain for decades, and hopefully have, some clues, as to how democratic processes work.  Those who have seen and experienced nothing
 but the dysfunctional desi-system, are exempt. Umesh is included. He gets an extra reprieve because he has been so disoriented.cmUmesh Sharma5121 Lackawanna STCollege Park, MD 20740 1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone]Ed.M. - International Education PolicyHarvard Graduate School of Education,Harvard University,Class of 2005
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Re: [Assam] About Solutions

[mc mahant]

So, from now on, hopefully our discussions will center around 'negotiations' as opposed to "Independence' and from getting out from under the yoke of Desi- democracy - as we seemed to have settled the fact the 'independence' is elusive and the focus needs to be centered on 'negotiations'. 
 
--Ram
 
 Not negotiations' as opposed to Independence.
mm
It must be Negotiations ON Sovereignty




From:  Ram Sarangapani <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To:  Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>CC:  assam@assamnet.orgSubject:  Re: [Assam] About SolutionsDate:  Sun, 15 Jan 2006 21:39:08 -0600

C'da,

>*** So what does it mean? That those who have fought (and died) for twenty years, should just >give up and surrender?

 

Realisticly, that may one of the few solutions left. For militants to give up arms, join the mainstream and work for a better Assam. I know this statement undermines the lives lost and so on, but in the end pragmatic solutions are the only way. 


 

>If this group of  Assam's well-wishers, are so utterly incapable of contributing something >constructive to the resolution of the conflict , it would be nothing less than tragic


 

This statement tells me that YOU now propose of a 'negotiated settlement'. This is a far cry from demands of independence. Are you telling us that clarion calls for independence are really posturing? 


 

So, are you suggesting that the Ulfa is probably demanding something 'far less' than independence? If thats the case, all they have to do is throw away their arms and negotiate with the GOI. 


 

Most Assamese will definitely support that, as they are interested in the NEXT step - ie development, fair share from the Center, and more control of Assam's resources.

 

Heck, with all this posturing, it sure had me fooled!

 

  >1: Neither side is likely to achieve a military victory. 

 

Not true, the GOI can if it wants achieve a military victory. There may be PR costs, but if it wants it can. The ULFA on the other hand can do some damage here and there - but thats about it. 


 


  >2: It is not in the best interest of either party to continue indefinitely with the armed conflict/s.

 

Not true again. The way it looks like (the more we see it), it is probably 'beneficial' to officials involved in both the GOI and ULFA. 

 

Now, if we were to SEPARATE the officials from the chaff, YES it would NOT be in the best interest of India, Assam, Assamese or any other Indian. 

 

So, from now on, hopefully our discussions will center around 'negotiations' as opposed to "Independence' and from getting out from under the yoke of Desi- democracy - as we seemed to have settled the fact the 'independence' is elusive and the focus needs to be centered on 'negotiations'. 


 

--Ram


 

 

 

 

 

--Ram

 

 

 

 

On 1/15/06, Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: 


 

Some thoughts here about the points raised by Utpal and/or Ram:

 

>Those who control GOI are politicians who care less for the people of Assam and NE and care less for >the lives of soldiers that die in NE. So achieving independence through an armed struggle is next to >impossible. 


 

*** So what does it mean? That those who have fought (and died) for twenty years, should just give up and surrender? I would like to think that an intelligent and informed person who  dwells on the practicality of an endeavor would not stake one's arguments on such an unrealistic expectation. And  if one does, what are the chances of anyone considering such advice with any degree of seriousness?  It is a proposition that could be safely concluded to be DoA ( dead on arrival). And thus yet another futile exercise. 


 

But if not that, then  what are the options  or suggestions?

 

*** Implicit in the pursuit of the whole idea of a negotiated political  settlement is an acceptance of the

facts by the parties to the conflict that:

 

    1: Neither side is likely to achieve a military victory.

 

    2: It is not in the best interest of either party to continue indefinitely with the armed conflict/s.

 

    3: A negotiated political settlement may  not include everything the feuding parties

    are fighting over. In fact it could be surmised by all but the completely naive and

    clueless, that it would not. That is why the search NEGOTIATED solution.

 

Now then, even though ULFA or PCG and GoI  may not have explicitly declared what  they will or will not agree to as minimum requirements, regardless of the public posturing, what are the chances of their being unaware of the above realities? 


 

 

If we know the answer to that question, then the entire set of arguments raised here are irrelevant.

 

And  those who do not have a clue to the answer to those questions, are inconsequential to the resolution of the conflict. They have NOTHING at all to contribute is how *I* see it.

 

 

If this group of  Assam's well-wishers, are so utterly incapable of contributing something constructive to the resolu

[Assam] FW: WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[mc mahant]

From: "madhumita mahanta" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]Subject: WARNING!!1Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 02:34:18 +

WARNING! 
 
 
This is not a joke! 

Please Be Extremely Careful especially if using internet 
mail such as Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL and so on. This information arrived this morning direct from both Microsoft and Norton. 

Please send it to everybody you know who has access to 
the Internet. 

You may receive an apparently harmless email with a Power Point presentation "Life is beautiful." 

If you receive it DO NOT OPEN THE FILE UNDER ANY 
CIRCUMSTANCES, and delete it immediately. If you open this file, a message will appear on your screen saying: "It is too late now, your life is no longer beautiful." 

Subsequently you will LOSE EVERYTHING IN YOUR PC and the person who sent it to you will gain access to your name, e-mail and password. 

This is a new virus which started to circulate on Saturday 
afternoon. AOL has already confirmed the severity, and the antivirus software's are not capable of destroying it. The virus has been created by a hacker who calls himself "life owner." 

PLEASE SEND A COPY OF THIS EMAIL TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS and ask them to PASS IT ON IMMEDIATELY. 



___
assam mailing list
assam@assamnet.org
http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org

Re: [Assam] PAYOLA'S PAYOFF

[mc mahant]

Ask the India Electorate to vote in  a special referendum:


Should the 1950 Constitution be scrapped and every state given a chance to write and use their own?In the next 30 days?
Should all central functionaries including Defence,Justice,Home be summarily disbanded?
Should people pay directly to functionaries in cash/kind?
Should Bribes be a natural form of currency?
mm
 




From:  Dilip/Dil Deka <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>To:  ASSAMNET Subject:  [Assam] PAYOLA'S PAYOFFDate:  Sun, 15 Jan 2006 08:51:36 -0800 (PST)

The following article was published in Sunday's Houston Chronicle. Should US government let American companies run business overseas as European companies do or should they be held to higher moral (?)standards? Should bribery overseas be accepted as a cost of doing international business? If so, why shouldn't bribery in India be treated as legitimate also?  
What do you think?  
   
Dilip Deka  
==  
  
  
  
  
Viewpoints, Outlook   
   
  
  
  
  
Jan. 14, 2006, 6:37PMPAYOLA'S PAYOFFLegalize bribery? Yes, it's a fact of lifeQuit penalizing U.S. businesses: Let them pay the cost of doing business abroad  
By DONALD BATES  
  
"Corruption! Corruption is our protection, corruption is what keeps us safe and warm, and corruption is why we win."  
Those lines from the movie Syriana — spoken by a Texas oilman character who thinks nothing of offering bribes to successfully do business in the Middle East — are supposed to provoke moral revulsion in film-going audiences.  
They shouldn't. Not if you care about the United States being able to compete effectively in the global marketplace.  
Here's the truth: Many countries with a long history of global business, including France and Germany, even permit bribes and gratuities to be tax deducted as a cost of doing business.  
Like it or not, offering a bribe to gain a contract, speed up a procedure or ensure better service is a common and expected practice in the vast majority of the international business world.  
Yet, under U.S. law, we make it a crime for an American businessman to do what is expected and common in a host country, literally forcing American businessmen to operate in the shadows if they want to compete.  
Talk about moronic.  
If it's OK to drive 95 miles per hour in the Middle East, and a Houston oilman visiting there does so, should Texas state troopers give a speeding ticket to him if they find out about it because you can't go over 70 on Houston freeways?  
That's how goofy the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 is. It made giving gifts, money or anything of value to influence foreign officials illegal in countries where there is no objection to the practice.  
The exasperation of a fictional Texas oil company owner over that act came through loud and clear in Syriana: "We've all got the foreign corrupt practices act committed to memory — I've got a copy of it taped to the wall of my head."  
That 1977 act was amended by the Ombudsman Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, known as OCTA, which defined more specifically types of business acts not permitted under the law and provided for substantially increased fines for violations.  
Together, those acts make it extremely difficult at best and impossible at the worst for the United States to be truly cross-culturally competent and location-sensitive; therefore, and perhaps unintentionally, retarding the development of American ibusiness internationally.  
In 2004, it is estimated, U.S. firms lost more than 50 contracts worth $25 billion to rivals, such as the French and German corporations whose governments endorse business bribes.  
A case in point is the story of a U.S. manufacturing firm that wanted to establish an assembly operation in Turkey. Located in a remote part of Turkey to stimulate economic development, the plant needed a railroad spur constructed so it could operate efficiently. The Turks expected a little something to grease their palms. But the Americans didn't fork over anything.
  
After three years, the spur still was not built, and the irked Americans sold the company to a German firm. Immediately after the sale, the railroad spur was completed. The Germans knew how to do business in Turkey.  
An insidious side effect of these congressional acts is our cultural arrogance as we try to impose our values, our business practices and our way of doing things upon other countries. Imperialism with guns and troops is easily identified and countered.  
Imperialism of values, such as these congressional acts, is treacherous because it is indirect, subtle, cumulative and destroys the sovereignty of countries.  
The United States, in its cultural arrogance, was the driving force behind the 1997 international agreement called the Treaty On Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.  
The United States and 32 other countries, including Germany and France, signed t