[Assam] s the Assam Youth Really Concerned? - a Column in the Assam Sentinel
Illegal immigration and using illegal immigrants for political mileage is not soemthing which is exclusive to India or specific parties. There are millions of illegal immigrants (mostly hispanic) in US (is the US government dysfunctional, unresponsive, incapable ? ) who work in menial jobs. Political parties use carrot of granting amnesty to get the hispanic votes . The latest carrot used by Democrats is Comprehensive Immigration Reform which is being chanted everyfew months. Meanwhile, to appease the citizens opposed to illegal immigration, thsi same group of poliicians have hiked fees for legal immigration (work visas) on the pretext that this money will be used for border security. It is interesting that in stead of penalizing illegal immigrants or those employing illegal immigrants , they are penalizing those employing legal immigrants . The reason is simple -- kiths and kins of illegals form a larger vote bank. The state of AZ recently framed laws to detect illegal immigrants and Fed quickly moved to court to get it nullified as it is in violation of federal law (--- anything that departs from the masters' rules, will be held unconstitutional ). * Maybe, they are the last hopes of a stagnant and moribund society, and it needs students to rescue it from all kinds of problems. *** You keep getting it wrong Ram. It IS about making the state, the governmental machinery FUNCTIONAL, accountable! Of course that is easier said than done. If Assam depends on India to do it, will never happen, not in another fifty years. I explained why earlier, a number of times. Once again, because of India's fractured polity. So if Assam wants it done, it will have to do it on its own. But it won't happen under Indian controls, because anything that departs from the masters' rules, will be held unconstitutional, never mind that it does not seem like Indian law-making has any such test as being constitutional or not ( IMDT, AFSPA--neither of which got challenged in courts for constitutionality , when they should have been, at enactment!), or a mechanism to enforce the test. *** WHEN the system of civil conflict resolution is made functional, then only the question of 'student movements', 'andwlons', insurgencies and rebellions will begin to recede and disappear in time. On Aug 22, 2010, at 9:54 AM, Ram Sarangapani wrote: C'da, You are such a nice person Ram, you scare me :-). I have always maintained a B'deshi is a 'B'deshi, and India cannot have one policy for one kind and a different one for the other. The problem is whenever the illegal B'deshi problem is brought up, JUST like these MLAs wanting special treatment for 'Hindu B'deshis', there many other groups and individuals who try to paint any serious discussion on the subject as being anti-Muslim or some 'lungi kheda' drive. And that is unfortunate. This is about national policy matters, and not about the whims and desires of some political party or individuals. It is also about India protecting it's territorial integrity, and the GOI should just implement it's border control/immigration policy. If we had to go by yesterday's Sentinel editorial piece that you admired, Only certain parts, not all. Hopefully, forwarding doesn't mean a complete endorsement. Finally when students do that, taking to the streets and shutting things down, does it REALLY lead to any meaningful action, or for that matter any action at all? Pushing students for is merely yet another admission, except on the sly, that the government is dysfunctional, unresponsive, incapable. You might have missed it - but I did mention something about students as an aside. IMHO. The idea of involving students to galvanize political action is one of the worst things a state or country can do. Students just need to be in the classrooms. Involving students is passe at best, and these days, in most developed countries, students keep to the classrooms, and leave politics to politicians. But, look at the scenario in India - students are signatories to national accords, are treated like State representatives, are courted by politicians, and even journalists like Bikash Sarmah expect students to take to do something. Maybe, they are the last hopes of a stagnant and moribund society, and it needs students to rescue it from all kinds of problems. --Ram On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 8:23 AM, Chan Mahanta cmahanta at gmail.com wrote: Neither group ought to be encouraged - specially by MLAs You are such a nice person Ram, you scare me :-). The only thing left now is about what they OUGHT to do. And if they don't do what they ought to, who should be the next line of defense? If we had to go by yesterday's Sentinel editorial piece that you admired, it
Re: [Assam] s the Assam Youth Really Concerned? - a Column in the Assam Sentinel
Neither group ought to be encouraged - specially by MLAs You are such a nice person Ram, you scare me :-). The only thing left now is about what they OUGHT to do. And if they don't do what they ought to, who should be the next line of defense? If we had to go by yesterday's Sentinel editorial piece that you admired, it would be the YOUTH, students! I didn't quite know how students do that, other than by taking to the streets or shutting things down. Do you? Finally when students do that, taking to the streets and shutting things down, does it REALLY lead to any meaningful action, or for that matter any action at all? Pushing students for is merely yet another admission, except on the sly, that the government is dysfunctional, unresponsive, incapable. On Aug 21, 2010, at 11:52 PM, Ram Sarangapani wrote: Hi Uttam, Don't know what the deal is, but to me illegal Hindu B'deshis are no different from illegal Muslim B'deshis. Neither group ought to be encouraged - specially by MLAs --Ram da On Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 10:52 PM, uttam borthakur uttambortha...@yahoo.co.in wrote: Three MPs and two MLAs of the Assam Unit of BJP have lodged a demand to grant citizenship to Hindu-Bengalis migrating from Bangladesh. They are Ms. Bijoya Chakrabarty, Kabindra Purkayastha, Rajen Gohain, Mission Ranjan Das and Sushil Dutta. They have disclosed it in press meet on 21 August at New Delhi according to a report in Pratidin today. Uttam Kumar Borthakur ___ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org ___ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org ___ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
Re: [Assam] s the Assam Youth Really Concerned? - a Column in the Assam Sentinel
C'da, You are such a nice person Ram, you scare me :-). I have always maintained a B'deshi is a 'B'deshi, and India cannot have one policy for one kind and a different one for the other. The problem is whenever the illegal B'deshi problem is brought up, JUST like these MLAs wanting special treatment for 'Hindu B'deshis', there many other groups and individuals who try to paint any serious discussion on the subject as being anti-Muslim or some 'lungi kheda' drive. And that is unfortunate. This is about national policy matters, and not about the whims and desires of some political party or individuals. It is also about India protecting it's territorial integrity, and the GOI should just implement it's border control/immigration policy. If we had to go by yesterday's Sentinel editorial piece that you admired, Only certain parts, not all. Hopefully, forwarding doesn't mean a complete endorsement. Finally when students do that, taking to the streets and shutting things down, does it REALLY lead to any meaningful action, or for that matter any action at all? Pushing students for is merely yet another admission, except on the sly, that the government is dysfunctional, unresponsive, incapable. You might have missed it - but I did mention something about students as an aside. IMHO. The idea of involving students to galvanize political action is one of the worst things a state or country can do. Students just need to be in the classrooms. Involving students is passe at best, and these days, in most developed countries, students keep to the classrooms, and leave politics to politicians. But, look at the scenario in India - students are signatories to national accords, are treated like State representatives, are courted by politicians, and even journalists like Bikash Sarmah expect students to take to do something. Maybe, they are the last hopes of a stagnant and moribund society, and it needs students to rescue it from all kinds of problems. --Ram On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 8:23 AM, Chan Mahanta cmaha...@gmail.com wrote: Neither group ought to be encouraged - specially by MLAs You are such a nice person Ram, you scare me :-). The only thing left now is about what they OUGHT to do. And if they don't do what they ought to, who should be the next line of defense? If we had to go by yesterday's Sentinel editorial piece that you admired, it would be the YOUTH, students! I didn't quite know how students do that, other than by taking to the streets or shutting things down. Do you? Finally when students do that, taking to the streets and shutting things down, does it REALLY lead to any meaningful action, or for that matter any action at all? Pushing students for is merely yet another admission, except on the sly, that the government is dysfunctional, unresponsive, incapable. On Aug 21, 2010, at 11:52 PM, Ram Sarangapani wrote: Hi Uttam, Don't know what the deal is, but to me illegal Hindu B'deshis are no different from illegal Muslim B'deshis. Neither group ought to be encouraged - specially by MLAs --Ram da On Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 10:52 PM, uttam borthakur uttambortha...@yahoo.co.in wrote: Three MPs and two MLAs of the Assam Unit of BJP have lodged a demand to grant citizenship to Hindu-Bengalis migrating from Bangladesh. They are Ms. Bijoya Chakrabarty, Kabindra Purkayastha, Rajen Gohain, Mission Ranjan Das and Sushil Dutta. They have disclosed it in press meet on 21 August at New Delhi according to a report in Pratidin today. Uttam Kumar Borthakur ___ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org ___ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org ___ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org ___ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
Re: [Assam] s the Assam Youth Really Concerned? - a Column in the Assam Sentinel
Maybe, they are the last hopes of a stagnant and moribund society, and it needs students to rescue it from all kinds of problems. *** You keep getting it wrong Ram. It IS about making the state, the governmental machinery FUNCTIONAL, accountable! Of course that is easier said than done. If Assam depends on India to do it, will never happen, not in another fifty years. I explained why earlier, a number of times. Once again, because of India's fractured polity. So if Assam wants it done, it will have to do it on its own. But it won't happen under Indian controls, because anything that departs from the masters' rules, will be held unconstitutional, never mind that it does not seem like Indian law-making has any such test as being constitutional or not ( IMDT, AFSPA--neither of which got challenged in courts for constitutionality , when they should have been, at enactment!), or a mechanism to enforce the test. *** WHEN the system of civil conflict resolution is made functional, then only the question of 'student movements', 'andwlons', insurgencies and rebellions will begin to recede and disappear in time. On Aug 22, 2010, at 9:54 AM, Ram Sarangapani wrote: C'da, You are such a nice person Ram, you scare me :-). I have always maintained a B'deshi is a 'B'deshi, and India cannot have one policy for one kind and a different one for the other. The problem is whenever the illegal B'deshi problem is brought up, JUST like these MLAs wanting special treatment for 'Hindu B'deshis', there many other groups and individuals who try to paint any serious discussion on the subject as being anti-Muslim or some 'lungi kheda' drive. And that is unfortunate. This is about national policy matters, and not about the whims and desires of some political party or individuals. It is also about India protecting it's territorial integrity, and the GOI should just implement it's border control/immigration policy. If we had to go by yesterday's Sentinel editorial piece that you admired, Only certain parts, not all. Hopefully, forwarding doesn't mean a complete endorsement. Finally when students do that, taking to the streets and shutting things down, does it REALLY lead to any meaningful action, or for that matter any action at all? Pushing students for is merely yet another admission, except on the sly, that the government is dysfunctional, unresponsive, incapable. You might have missed it - but I did mention something about students as an aside. IMHO. The idea of involving students to galvanize political action is one of the worst things a state or country can do. Students just need to be in the classrooms. Involving students is passe at best, and these days, in most developed countries, students keep to the classrooms, and leave politics to politicians. But, look at the scenario in India - students are signatories to national accords, are treated like State representatives, are courted by politicians, and even journalists like Bikash Sarmah expect students to take to do something. Maybe, they are the last hopes of a stagnant and moribund society, and it needs students to rescue it from all kinds of problems. --Ram On Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 8:23 AM, Chan Mahanta cmaha...@gmail.com wrote: Neither group ought to be encouraged - specially by MLAs You are such a nice person Ram, you scare me :-). The only thing left now is about what they OUGHT to do. And if they don't do what they ought to, who should be the next line of defense? If we had to go by yesterday's Sentinel editorial piece that you admired, it would be the YOUTH, students! I didn't quite know how students do that, other than by taking to the streets or shutting things down. Do you? Finally when students do that, taking to the streets and shutting things down, does it REALLY lead to any meaningful action, or for that matter any action at all? Pushing students for is merely yet another admission, except on the sly, that the government is dysfunctional, unresponsive, incapable. On Aug 21, 2010, at 11:52 PM, Ram Sarangapani wrote: Hi Uttam, Don't know what the deal is, but to me illegal Hindu B'deshis are no different from illegal Muslim B'deshis. Neither group ought to be encouraged - specially by MLAs --Ram da On Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 10:52 PM, uttam borthakur uttambortha...@yahoo.co.in wrote: Three MPs and two MLAs of the Assam Unit of BJP have lodged a demand to grant citizenship to Hindu-Bengalis migrating from Bangladesh. They are Ms. Bijoya Chakrabarty, Kabindra Purkayastha, Rajen Gohain, Mission Ranjan Das and Sushil Dutta. They have disclosed it in press meet on 21 August at New Delhi according to a report in Pratidin today. Uttam Kumar Borthakur ___ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org
Re: [Assam] s the Assam Youth Really Concerned? - a Column in the Assam Sentinel
Three MPs and two MLAs of the Assam Unit of BJP have lodged a demand to grant citizenship to Hindu-Bengalis migrating from Bangladesh. They are Ms. Bijoya Chakrabarty, Kabindra Purkayastha, Rajen Gohain, Mission Ranjan Das and Sushil Dutta. They have disclosed it in press meet on 21 August at New Delhi according to a report in Pratidin today. Uttam Kumar Borthakur ___ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
Re: [Assam] s the Assam Youth Really Concerned? - a Column in the Assam Sentinel
Hi Uttam, Don't know what the deal is, but to me illegal Hindu B'deshis are no different from illegal Muslim B'deshis. Neither group ought to be encouraged - specially by MLAs --Ram da On Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 10:52 PM, uttam borthakur uttambortha...@yahoo.co.in wrote: Three MPs and two MLAs of the Assam Unit of BJP have lodged a demand to grant citizenship to Hindu-Bengalis migrating from Bangladesh. They are Ms. Bijoya Chakrabarty, Kabindra Purkayastha, Rajen Gohain, Mission Ranjan Das and Sushil Dutta. They have disclosed it in press meet on 21 August at New Delhi according to a report in Pratidin today. Uttam Kumar Borthakur ___ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org ___ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
[Assam] s the Assam Youth Really Concerned? - a Column in the Assam Sentinel
Bikash Sarmah has given a good synopsis of this problem. Quite often (and in this net too), a demand or a desire to solve the illegal Bangladeshis problem in Assam is promptly cast as communal. This is unfortunate, Assamese Muslims or bonafide Bengali residents of Assam are equally affected by this problem, and it is in the OVERALL interest of Assam Assamese that this problem be solved, and soon. While Delhi has the responsibility of controlling and manning the Indo-Bangladesh border, it is paramount to recognize that the state and her people also have an active role. There a so many groups in Assam that are willing to make a concession here and a concession there for short term political or pecuniary gains. And then, there are the people - who are more than willing to employ illegal Bangladeshi help at the drop of a hat as they are cheaper (and well, they are there). The problem has not just become huge, but has grown tentacles, and legs, and has basically become monstrous. If I were a betting man, I would say that this problem will never be solved - politics in Assam and Delhi will for ever reap the various benefits of keeping this issue alive. Its a darn shame! --Ram ps: Maybe netters will discuss this with some gravitas, instead of attacking each other, putting down each other's personalities, backgrounds, and trying to show off they have all kinds of solutions up their sleeves for all kinds of problems. :-) :-) Is the Assam Youth Really Concerned? THE REALITY MIRROR By the Assam youth I do not mean the ‘never-aging’ student leader. I am also not obviously talking of the Bangladeshi youth in Assam awaiting a greater Bangladesh to happen, nor am I talking of the youth of the erstwhile East Bengal/ East Pakistan descent who may not find anything wrong with a greater living space for Bangladeshi nationals. I mean those who are sons of the soil, who are 25 and below, those who were born when the so-called historic Assam Accord was signed 25 years ago and those who were born thereafter who are now mature enough to understand what is going on around them, if of course they are interested in the affairs of the beleaguered State of Assam, the best living space for the swelling illegal Bangladeshi crowd out to reduce the indigenous people of the State into a persecuted minority in their very homeland. But is the Assam youth concerned? Is he informed by the reality of the problem? Does he realize the gravity of the situation? Can he foresee who might preside over his destiny in the near future? Does he know who are the kingmakers in his State? Does he even have an inkling of the actual design? Let us start with the design. The design is this: get Assam flooded by as many illegal Bangladeshis as possible so that their original living space, Bangladesh, which faces an acute paucity of land and other resources to sustain the burgeoning population resulting from polygamy, is extended to include the resourceful Assam in a greater Islamic state of Bangladesh. (There is stress on the word ‘‘Islamic’’ because Bangladesh is an Islamic state, will remain so, given its highly Islamized society and despite an attempt at secularism by the present government of Sheikh Hasina, and therefore, a greater Bangladesh will patently be a Islamic state.) Let us call it the unfinished agenda of Partition, the agenda of making Assam a Bangladeshi-majority area with geo-strategic ramifications typical of such a zone, given (1) the proximity with China with which Bangladesh presently shares a very good relationship, a relationship that is becoming multidimensional by the day, ranging from the usual business ties to military aid to Bangladesh, and that will evolve by the day because China is desperate to expand its sphere of influence and beat India thus, and (2) the Bangladesh chapter of the Pakistan Army’s rogue spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), whose chief intent to be in that country is to destabilize India’s Northeast and through the Northeast the rest of the country, and make its valuable jihadi contribution to the making of a greater Islamic state in this part of the world. Let the Assam youth be informed by these facts of life. This is no fiction. Does the youth know what Stratfor, a US news intelligence service and strategic think tank, said three years ago? In April 2007, it came up with a report on the infiltration of ISI operatives into the strategically located India’s Northeast. In its report titled “India: Islamization of the Northeast”, Stratfor harped on the attempts by the ISI in tandem with Bangladesh’s intelligence agencies to exploit the instabilities fuelled by the militant groups of the Northeast so that India could be prevented from emerging as a key global player. The report said that the ISI and Bangladesh’s intelligence agencies were working clandestinely in Bangladesh to bring all the Northeast-based militant outfits and jihadi elements under one umbrella.
Re: [Assam] s the Assam Youth Really Concerned? - a Column in the Assam Sentinel
But is the Assam youth concerned? Is he informed by the reality of the problem? Does he realize the gravity of the situation? Can he foresee who might preside over his destiny in the near future? Does he know who are the kingmakers in his State? *** What I am curious about is what has the establishment, those who are the pillars of society, the kingmakers, the journalists, were/are responsible for border protection, immigration control etc., BEFORE the problem became as pervasive as it has now ? They are the ones that have put in place the successive dysfunctional governments and have helped perpetuate them. *** IF, the people , not the select groups of bad people, don't care and employ B'deshis, it means there IS a need for it and they don't care whether they wear scull-caps or lungis. Should they be excoriated for that, calkled names, because certain elites or other such 'groups' do? Here I would like to point out how easily the tables could be turned on such arguments. *** That said, there have been a number of possible ways to stem the flow, control the numbers, yet prevent them from growing permanent roots, acquiring land and slipping into the voter's lists, floating around for decades. Are the powers that be unaware of them? Have the apparatus of state lifted a finger to do anything about it? Have the journals aired them and encouraged a debate on them to not only inform the public but to examine them for efficacy? And if the establishment does not care or are coerced into silence by their partisan political needs and tactics, then why blame the youth? On Aug 20, 2010, at 12:56 PM, Ram Sarangapani wrote: Bikash Sarmah has given a good synopsis of this problem. Quite often (and in this net too), a demand or a desire to solve the illegal Bangladeshis problem in Assam is promptly cast as communal. This is unfortunate, Assamese Muslims or bonafide Bengali residents of Assam are equally affected by this problem, and it is in the OVERALL interest of Assam Assamese that this problem be solved, and soon. While Delhi has the responsibility of controlling and manning the Indo-Bangladesh border, it is paramount to recognize that the state and her people also have an active role. There a so many groups in Assam that are willing to make a concession here and a concession there for short term political or pecuniary gains. And then, there are the people - who are more than willing to employ illegal Bangladeshi help at the drop of a hat as they are cheaper (and well, they are there). The problem has not just become huge, but has grown tentacles, and legs, and has basically become monstrous. If I were a betting man, I would say that this problem will never be solved - politics in Assam and Delhi will for ever reap the various benefits of keeping this issue alive. Its a darn shame! --Ram ps: Maybe netters will discuss this with some gravitas, instead of attacking each other, putting down each other's personalities, backgrounds, and trying to show off they have all kinds of solutions up their sleeves for all kinds of problems. :-) :-) Is the Assam Youth Really Concerned? THE REALITY MIRROR By the Assam youth I do not mean the ‘never-aging’ student leader. I am also not obviously talking of the Bangladeshi youth in Assam awaiting a greater Bangladesh to happen, nor am I talking of the youth of the erstwhile East Bengal/ East Pakistan descent who may not find anything wrong with a greater living space for Bangladeshi nationals. I mean those who are sons of the soil, who are 25 and below, those who were born when the so-called historic Assam Accord was signed 25 years ago and those who were born thereafter who are now mature enough to understand what is going on around them, if of course they are interested in the affairs of the beleaguered State of Assam, the best living space for the swelling illegal Bangladeshi crowd out to reduce the indigenous people of the State into a persecuted minority in their very homeland. But is the Assam youth concerned? Is he informed by the reality of the problem? Does he realize the gravity of the situation? Can he foresee who might preside over his destiny in the near future? Does he know who are the kingmakers in his State? Does he even have an inkling of the actual design? Let us start with the design. The design is this: get Assam flooded by as many illegal Bangladeshis as possible so that their original living space, Bangladesh, which faces an acute paucity of land and other resources to sustain the burgeoning population resulting from polygamy, is extended to include the resourceful Assam in a greater Islamic state of Bangladesh. (There is stress on the word ‘‘Islamic’’ because Bangladesh is an Islamic state, will remain so, given its highly Islamized society and despite an attempt at secularism by the present government of Sheikh Hasina, and
Re: [Assam] s the Assam Youth Really Concerned? - a Column in the Assam Sentinel
C'da, *** IF, the people , not the select groups of bad people, don't care and employ B'deshis, it means there IS a need for it and they don't care whether they wear scull-caps or lungis. Should they be excoriated for that, calkled names, because certain elites or other such 'groups' do? It is the common people (not select groups), and they are NOT bad or anything like that. It could be just that, when such work is required, the only people that are available are quite possibly Bangladeshis. And one can effectively argue - how does one go about identify such people (suspect of being illegal)? And it is good question, and a legitimate one. I think, just like here, some kind of national ID system can be implemented. Everyone carries one, and to acquire one, it would require certain documents be presented. It is easy to say, but I think, if there is will by both the Center the State, and there is an inclination by the people to help solve the problem, it can be done. The question of identification comes with a lot of political baggage. And it is becoming next to impossible to decipher whether an obviously benign question as how to identify possible illegal B'deshis is presented as an impediment to the process or not. The bottom line is to first recognize there are illegal B'deshis in Assam. Second, to recognize that a solution needs to be arrived at, and soon. Third, to assure minorities in Assam, that this process is not against them (this is the hardest, I think). *** That said, there have been a number of possible ways to stem the flow, control the numbers, yet prevent them from growing permanent roots, acquiring land and slipping into the voter's lists, floating around for decades. Are the powers that be unaware of them? Have the apparatus of state lifted a finger to do anything about it? Have the journals aired them and encouraged a debate on them to not only inform the public but to examine them for efficacy? Again, valid points. I am sure the powers that be are fully aware of them. The Center can be ignorant, and callous, but if a State government insists, without wavering, the Center will be galvanized into action. This is also where the youth come in to get the State take this problem seriously. (Isn't it how it is done?:-) As a side note : Isn't it very strange, that in the US, student politics basically ceased to exist (after Vietnam Civic Rights issues). Today, US students seem so apolitical. And in countries like India, we see a intellectuals journalists urging and expecting student groups to change national political behavior. All I see are student groups used as puppets and taking them away for the purpose they are in schools in the first place. I understand the dynamics, it's just sad! --Ram On Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 1:33 PM, Chan Mahanta cmaha...@gmail.com wrote: But is the Assam youth concerned? Is he informed by the reality of the problem? Does he realize the gravity of the situation? Can he foresee who might preside over his destiny in the near future? Does he know who are the kingmakers in his State? *** What I am curious about is what has the establishment, those who are the pillars of society, the kingmakers, the journalists, were/are responsible for border protection, immigration control etc., BEFORE the problem became as pervasive as it has now ? They are the ones that have put in place the successive dysfunctional governments and have helped perpetuate them. *** IF, the people , not the select groups of bad people, don't care and employ B'deshis, it means there IS a need for it and they don't care whether they wear scull-caps or lungis. Should they be excoriated for that, calkled names, because certain elites or other such 'groups' do? Here I would like to point out how easily the tables could be turned on such arguments. *** That said, there have been a number of possible ways to stem the flow, control the numbers, yet prevent them from growing permanent roots, acquiring land and slipping into the voter's lists, floating around for decades. Are the powers that be unaware of them? Have the apparatus of state lifted a finger to do anything about it? Have the journals aired them and encouraged a debate on them to not only inform the public but to examine them for efficacy? And if the establishment does not care or are coerced into silence by their partisan political needs and tactics, then why blame the youth? On Aug 20, 2010, at 12:56 PM, Ram Sarangapani wrote: Bikash Sarmah has given a good synopsis of this problem. Quite often (and in this net too), a demand or a desire to solve the illegal Bangladeshis problem in Assam is promptly cast as communal. This is unfortunate, Assamese Muslims or bonafide Bengali residents of Assam are equally affected by this problem, and it is in the OVERALL interest of Assam Assamese that this problem be solved, and soon. While Delhi has the
Re: [Assam] s the Assam Youth Really Concerned? - a Column in the Assam Sentinel
Ram: I think, just like here, some kind of national ID system can be implemented. Everyone carries one, and to acquire one, it would require certain documents be presented. It is easy to say, but I think, if there is will by both the Center the State, and there is an inclination by the people to help solve the problem, it can be done. Carrying an ID alone, in no way, shape or form, will prevent anyone from hiring them, IF there IS a need for them. Let me give you an example: *** Namti, is not exactly an urban megalopolis where anyone could go unnoticed. Everyone knows most everybody else. So, if as 'siletiya' as B'deshis are locally referred to, come around looking for work, they would be instantly recognized.Nobody will need to ask for IDs. Now why would anyone think there is a need for B'deshi laborers in a place like Namti ? It isn't like the villages are teeming with factories, or middle-class housewives attending community meetings requiring household help. They also don't have the capacity to pay! But they DO need people to help with tilling the rice fields or harvesting or thrashing paddy. So, even people at villages of Namti EMPLOY B'deshi laborers. So, those of you urban kharkhowas would demonize them lazy Oxomiya villagers who don't work, but employ B'deshis. You would want to know why they can't have their own children do that work, like we have seen over and over again, and keep their oxom pure for the establishment's enjoyment. But those who find it easy to demonize them, forget that their youth maybe going to high-school or college and get an otherwise useless degree with which to get a govt., white collar job, to beef up the family's cash situation. Those who have arable land in today's rural Assam today and has a son or a daughter a white collar job, like a school-teacher, or a clerk in a govt. office or a peon in a rare factory, earning some cash, are the ones who are doing fairly well. So, cashless as they maybe , the rural youth are no longer working their rice paddies, B'deshis are. For cash or for barter. And no amount of ID cards will change that. Furthermore, the ID cards will be a dime a dozen, within a year of its introduction, Narayana Murthy's software prowess not-withstanding. Then what will you do? is an inclination by the people to help solve the problem, it can be done. Yes, everything CAN be done. There can be border security. There can be immigration control. There could be able and honest policing. There can be GUEST WORKER programs. There can be reliable prosecuting agencies for illegals. There could be tribunals for adjudication in a coupe of years instead of a life-time. Tell me WHAT cannot be done? But WHY is it NOT DONE? Everything else is of little meaning. On Aug 20, 2010, at 2:35 PM, Ram Sarangapani wrote: C'da, *** IF, the people , not the select groups of bad people, don't care and employ B'deshis, it means there IS a need for it and they don't care whether they wear scull-caps or lungis. Should they be excoriated for that, calkled names, because certain elites or other such 'groups' do? It is the common people (not select groups), and they are NOT bad or anything like that. It could be just that, when such work is required, the only people that are available are quite possibly Bangladeshis. And one can effectively argue - how does one go about identify such people (suspect of being illegal)? And it is good question, and a legitimate one. I think, just like here, some kind of national ID system can be implemented. Everyone carries one, and to acquire one, it would require certain documents be presented. It is easy to say, but I think, if there is will by both the Center the State, and there is an inclination by the people to help solve the problem, it can be done. The question of identification comes with a lot of political baggage. And it is becoming next to impossible to decipher whether an obviously benign question as how to identify possible illegal B'deshis is presented as an impediment to the process or not. The bottom line is to first recognize there are illegal B'deshis in Assam. Second, to recognize that a solution needs to be arrived at, and soon. Third, to assure minorities in Assam, that this process is not against them (this is the hardest, I think). *** That said, there have been a number of possible ways to stem the flow, control the numbers, yet prevent them from growing permanent roots, acquiring land and slipping into the voter's lists, floating around for decades. Are the powers that be unaware of them? Have the apparatus of state lifted a finger to do anything about it? Have the journals aired them and encouraged a debate on them to not only inform the public but to examine them for efficacy? Again, valid points. I am sure the powers that be are fully aware of them. The Center can be ignorant, and
