Hi Chitta:
Here I will attempt to address your queries, one at a time.
You seem to be quite conversant about the role of
CISF. Perhaps you are an OIL or ONGC employee?
>But here it was a case of sheer ego boosting exercise.
CRPk dekhi uthil gaa, CISFe bule muku khaa. The
officer must be punished.
*** What you are speaking of here is an
environment of anarchy. When the ranks of the
keepers of the peace and the upholder of the rule
of law indulge in such behavior, it means only
one thing: There is NO deterrence. They can do
whatever they wish to--obviously with impunity,
as thousands of episodes of fake-encounter
killings, killings in detention, disappearance
after arrests amply illustrate.
>But no body is going to
follow it up in Assam-so may be he will end up getting
secretly transferred to some oil installation in
Ankleswar basin. Are we in a position to do something
to force authorities punish such high handed arrogant
officials?
*** Yours is a typically lament here. Let us
examine it and its underlying assumptions and
implications:
Is it an uniquely Assamese condition? That your
people and mine, are so uniquely apathetic that
they will soon forget thus perhaps are deserving
of what they get?
I make the question purposely provocative,
because I have seen it any number of times
presented here, exactly with such implications.
And I will follow up, after I hear from you on
that. There is a whole lot more to it than meets
the eye. I wished you and others were aware of
them. But I also know how you never were
conditioned to ask the questions and look deeper
to get at the bottom of these things. I hope your
participation in Assamnet will change that :-).
>you refuted Ram das
anguished declaration that you are always the fair
and balanced by saying that your partisanship lies
with my peoples aspiration of running their lives
as they say fit.
*** Not exactly. I don't buy the pithy arguments
that we have to be 'balanced' - to distribute
guilt all across the board since no-one is
blameless and thus 'upai-nai aaru'. There is such
a thing as a degree of guilt, of responsibility.
That is why I get so sarcastic with those who
wear the mantle of 'fair-and-balanced' to paint a
picture of insipid greys that obliterate the
whites and blacks of the picture. And I do not
hesitate to point out why it could be a
politically motivated attempt to shield the
guilty, the responsible. That is why I make no
apologies for my partisanship about Assam's
rights. I don't go about waving that flag of the
'fair-and-balanced', instead I make the arguments
I do to explain my stance.
>Respecting your siding and at the same time letting
you know that my heart also lies with the aspiration
of those same people for a better life, may I ask
you the following small question?
*** I know you do. I also know that even those
who you might not agree with your stance about
how to achieve them hold the same aspirations --
of having a roof over their heads, three square
meals a day, an opportunity to send their
children to a school where they can get an
education, a minimum amount of health care so
that they don't have to die premature deaths from
diseases that ought not kill any more. In that we
are on common ground.
>Background
By my people you must be referring to Assamese people
and by running their lives as they say fit you must
be meaning an independent Assam. Are the Assamese
people really aspiring to be free or independent from
India? Yes-some are. But not all of them-not the ones
I know of. As far as my relatives, friends, parents,
brothers, numerous cousins spread all over Assam are
concerned (and if you consider them my own people),
freedom from India is not much of an issue for them.
*** Now we are in complicated territory, getting
ahead of ourselves. To understand these issues we
will have to take a few steps back and take a
look at a larger context :
WHY is it that SOME in Assam want independence or
sovereignty or the right to determine the way to
achieve what you and the others -- all- do? Is
independence some kind of a divine decree, a
'bor' which will magically transform Assam from
its misery to that shining land?
Obviously not, I am sure you will agree.
So WHY independence then? What is wrong with
Indian rule -- that you, your kin and your
friends are comfortable with, and I will have to
guess, prospered from?
Now we are in even more complicated territory.
And here it will be helpful to know a little more
about you, your kins' and friends'
circumstances. I am not seeking personal info.
Just give us a general introduction, about you,
your parents, your grand-parents. We will have
to look at this data in relation to the overall
condition of the people of Assam and see if you
are typical or the exception. And if you are the
exception, WHAT was it that has led to you and
your kins' escape from where the rest find
themselves in. If it is hereditary traits or
sheer hard work and individual enterprise or that
zeal to pull yourselves up by the boot-straps
that Indian governance afforded you and which you
would not want to swap or lose -- for yourselves
or for other aspirants for that good life. We
will need to determine HOW you got ahead in-spite
of what those others so decry and want to
change--namely Indian governance and Indian
control of Assam's future.
We will follow up on these and other points after we hear from you.
Until then.
m-da
At 2:29 AM -0800 2/7/07, chittaranjan pathak wrote:
Dear Shri Mahanta da
Warm up
Thanks for the insight on the unfortunate Galeki
incidence. Yes you are right-CISF is meant to be
checking security passes and stuff like oil tanker
permits at the industrial installation gates, loading
bays etc. It was clearly a case of overstepping their
boundaries.
Somebody was asking-why they are given guns? Till
recently many of them were having only sticks. But now
they are guarding all the vital oil/gas/nuclear
installations other places like Akshardham,
parliament, airports etc and role includes warding off
terrorist attacks also. So guns are justified and so
would have been the killing had the shots been aimed
at some saboteur climbing a high security wall of an
oil installation with a khukri and a naked torch.
But here it was a case of sheer ego boosting exercise.
CRPk dekhi uthil gaa, CISFe bule muku khaa. The
officer must be punished. But no body is going to
follow it up in Assam-so may be he will end up getting
secretly transferred to some oil installation in
Ankleswar basin. Are we in a position to do something
to force authorities punish such high handed arrogant
officials?
Now my baptism of fire in Assamnet!
Coming to your last post where you refuted Ram das
anguished declaration that you are always the fair
and balanced by saying that your partisanship lies
with my peoples aspiration of running their lives
as they say fit.
Respecting your siding and at the same time letting
you know that my heart also lies with the aspiration
of those same people for a better life, may I ask
you the following small question?
Background
By my people you must be referring to Assamese people
and by running their lives as they say fit you must
be meaning an independent Assam. Are the Assamese
people really aspiring to be free or independent from
India? Yes-some are. But not all of them-not the ones
I know of. As far as my relatives, friends, parents,
brothers, numerous cousins spread all over Assam are
concerned (and if you consider them my own people),
freedom from India is not much of an issue for them.
In fact for the younger ones-freedom from Assam is
the in thing now. Longevity of most of the Assamese
youths is now 18 years in Assam. After that all of
them want to come out of Assam-be it for job or for
studies. And those who stay back-many a times many of
them are frustrated with the Delhi government but at
the same time they are frustrated with the local
government run by their own people. But by and large
they never in realistic term contemplate a life away
from India. They just want to a better life and seem
to be quite weary of another neo-nation building
exercise.
But if my ongohi bongohi are not representative
enough, do not the following point out that aspiration
for freedom is hardly an issue with the majority
people of Assam-Assamese as well as others?
1) AASU saying that it does not support independent
Assam. So does Asom Sahitya Sabha. Also now powerful
and vocal ethnic student bodies like AATASU, AKRSU
etc have never endorsed this sovereignty demand.
2) Poll conducted in Assam districts excluding Barak
valley (3 districts), hill councils (2 districts) and
BTC (4 districts), said 95% people One can not discard
the findings to be an orchestrated exercise as the
guys doing the polls were not fools to come up with
the findings knowing very well they can get killed for
what they are saying.
3) The Karbis and the Dimasas of the hill districts
always are always clamoring for certain degree of
autonomy from Assam government but are never aligned
with ULFAs Swadhin Asom demand. Same is the case with
Mishing, Tiwa and Rabha student bodies
4) Three major communities of Assam-Ahoms,
Koch-Rajbongshis and Tea garden tribes are demanding
scheduling under Indian constitution. Ultimate goal is
perceived economic prosperity and more representation
through reservation and independent Assam is the last
thing majority of these people have in mind.
Question
You may have reasons and a vision to side with the
cause of independent Assam.
What I am asking you now is whether do you agree or
not that you are siding with a microscopic minority of
the population of Assam who share the same vision
whereas majority have discarded this idea for more
practical reasons? Idea was romantic but in 2007
hardly there are any takers in Assam.
A very specific question-dont you agree?
Best regards
Chittaranjan Pathak
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