[Assam] Of Deceit and Betrayal - Sentinel Editorial

[Chan Mahanta]

OK Ram, let us take a detailed look at the Sentinel's opinion that 
impressed you and Bhuban Kokaideu , not to mention the silent ones, 
so:


>Given that the PCG was hand-picked by the ULFA to further its own 
>interest, and given that the PCG did >actually present a very 
>partisan view of the whole 'insurgency' riddle as if it was to voice 
>not the >Asomiya concern but only the ULFA's, one would readily 
>conclude that the very process of peace >was on a shaky ground.


*** Self-fulfilling prophecies are not something  that thinking 
people hold in high esteem. If the Sentinel was so prescient, and had 
no trust in the ULFA or the PCG, what did IT do, to do the right 
things, as it may so deem,  by the people of Assam?


*** Is it not rudimentary logic, that if ULFA delegates someone, to 
look after its interests in a possible set of negotiations with whom 
it has been fighting, namely the GoI and its apologists and proxies 
in Assam, that it would delegate people who have at least EMPATHY 
with their cause, if not complete alignment?

Would it not be entirely infantile for the Sentinel, and others who 
think like it,  to expect it would be otherwise? Like selecting a 
group of people that would represent the thoughts ad wishes of the 
Sentinel for example?

And to think that the rag would air its illogic in this fashion, for 
the world to see, is quite amazing. It demonstrates its own surreal 
existence and life in denial.


>It is not only the wise and enlightened Asomiyas who negate the idea 
>of Asom's sovereignty, but, as of >now, it is also the ordinary 
>Asomiya masses who have had enough of senseless violence - the 
>reason why >the State remains so backward - that went in the name of 
>a romantic revolution, continuing as ever.

*** If the Sentinel here represents the WISDOM of these 'enlightened 
Asomiyas', one can only shudder at the enlightenment and wisdom 
referred to.


>The writing on the wall is that sovereignty is too utopian,------


*** Utopian means something that is 'ideal but impractical'. One 
would like to think the editorial writer at least knows what the 
words he/she writes mean.

If sovereignty for Assam is too ( sic) 'ideal but impractical', then 
what is reasonably 'ideal but practical' for Assam, as an alternative 
but acceptable middle ground for Assam? Mind you now, the Sentinel 
does not decry sovereignty as something undesirable, just that it is 
too impractical.

After all, parties to a conflict enter into negotiations  not to 
surrender, but to find an acceptable middle ground or some trading 
that will satisfy both, don't they?

Would those who can think, not want to know from the Sentinel 
therefore, what they, who represent the 'wise and enlightened 
Asomiyas' , think is as ideal as sovereignty for Assam but also 
something more practical?



>  especially at a time when the very notion of sovereignty has 
>changed in the wake of >transnationalism and globalization.


*** I can't believe what an absurd and unreal world these editorial 
writers live in! Can you Ram, with a straight face, tell us that 
these words reflect the the realities of the world today ? Is it NOT 
the Sentinel that is indulging in something 'too( sic) Utopian' ?



>---Not only this,(the  absurdity of assuming that somehow the idea 
>and need for sovereignty of nations is now  passe') by this time the 
>ULFA must have also had the wisdom - out of its own >experience with 
>the Indian state - to understand that there is absolutely no reason 
>to dwell on >the sovereignty theme , that too for a State whose 
>populace has so much to share with the rest of the >country.


*** Huh? That ULFA should know by now that  'there is absolutely no 
reason for sovereignty now' ?  Why? Because this state has so much to 
give away, to let be stolen by the rest of the country?

I don't know whether to laugh or cry! These guys are just too unreal!!


>  And one expected the PCG to make the ULFA understand this simple fact.

*** Based on what? What is this expectation of the PCG based on? If 
the ULFA, having given thousands of lives over twenty years, have NOT 
listened to its detractors like the Sentinel, and held the third 
largest standing army of the world at bay, expects the PCG now to 
bring them around to the Sentinel's line of thinking?

How much more absurd can one get Ram? Tell me, please!


>Having said this, what now transpires is that the ULFA might have 
>never wanted to sit for direct >talks with the Government of India. 
>After all, the ULFA's desire for peace in Asom also means 
>the >desire of the Bangladesh-ISI duo for the same peace - which 
>cannot be.


*** How deeply perceptive of the Sentinel, whose wisdoms ooze thru 
the lines of this infantile piece!


>annex the State, and the notorious ISI ever think of normalcy in 
>this part of the country? And so the voice >of ULFA C-in-C Paresh 
>Baruah sounds not like an Asomiya's that would rescue Asom from an 
>imminent >doom - annexation by Bangladesh and the making of an 
>Islamic state (since Bangladesh is not secular but >Islamic).


*** Now we begin to see the real truths here. It is the fear of the 
not-secular (how very un-Indan, heh-heh!), but Islamic state of 
B'desh., isn't it?

Well, whatever happened to the idea of sovereignty being passe' in this era of
"--transnationalism and globalization." ?
Went flying out of the window in front of the advancing lungi-menace?



>That is why perhaps we hear Paresh Baruah passing a decree: that 
>'Indians' living in Asom should >pay tax to the ULFA, and that the 
>Asomiyas are to make generous contributions for the making >of a 
>sovereign Asom - an Asom, as we have written several times here, in 
>the grip of aliens; an >Asom that cannot belong to the Asomiyas, 
>already a minority by now in their own land. What a >refreshing 
>equation, then, that illegal Bangladeshis in Asom have been exempted 
>from the ULFA's >tax configuration!


*** If Esom cannot belong to them Esomiyas, then what on earth are 
the Sentinel's saviors, GoI or the GoA doing for god's sakes? How 
come their protectors are asleep at the wheel while the Sentinel 
remains tongue-tied, unable to demand action from whom it deems to be 
the legitimate rulers and Owners of Oxom ?

Fox News could not be more fair and balanced Ram .



>  that illegal Bangladeshis in Asom have been exempted from the 
>ULFA's tax configuration! >Is it not the ISI and its partners in 
>Bangladesh that would have the minority in Asom - the Asomiyas - 
>as >extortion targets? In a land that is to be the most suitable 
>part of a greater Bangladesh, why should the >Bangladeshis be taxed 
>or asked to make generous contribution?



*** I must agree here; that does sound highly unfair :-).

For gosh's sakes is the Sentinel really all that dense, to expect 
B'deshis tottering in the edge to be taxed like the Indian fat cats 
who exploit Assam's resources and not pay their fair share of taxes?

And you highlight that fact Ram? Tsk, tsk, I am disappointed.



>As for direct talks with the Government of India then, first Mr 
>Baruah & Co should free themselves of the >Bangladesh-ISI grip to 
>undo their deceit and betrayal.


*** Indeed sound advice. The Sentinel does Oxom a great favor here by 
pointing out for ULFA leaders what they ought to be doing. But would 
it not have been  even better advice to just tell them to surrender 
and become SULFA's, a tad bit more PRACTICAL, perhaps?




**** I don't know Ram! I am not quite sure what to think of your and 
Bhuban Kokaideu's applause of this piece of work in the form of an 
editorial. It must be that my thought processes and analytical 
responses are either entirely screwed up, or never developed enough 
to you good folks' levels. What can I say ?

But I would be looking forward to a detailed rebuttal. Netters I am 
sure would be waiting with bated breath. Please don't disappoint them.


c-da  :-)


















At 12:25 PM -0500 9/26/06, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
>Here is another one from the Sentinel. I understand, it doesn't 
>provide 'comfortable reading' for some of our netters, but they do 
>point out a few things. Highlights mine.
>
>There are also some interesting thoughts on raising capital for 
>'bidiness' (of course without any collateral).
>
>--Ram
>
>
>Of Deceit and Betrayal
>That the peace process between the Government of India and the ULFA 
>should meander after having had the Asomiyas hoping for winds of 
>change following the constitution of the People's Consultative Group 
>(PCG) by the banned outfit, is not so surprising. Given that the PCG 
>was hand-picked by the ULFA to further its own interest, and given 
>that the PCG did actually present a very partisan view of the whole 
>'insurgency' riddle as if it was to voice not the Asomiya concern 
>but only the ULFA's, one would readily conclude that the very 
>process of peace was on a shaky ground. It is not only the wise and 
>enlightened Asomiyas who negate the idea of Asom's sovereignty, but, 
>as of now, it is also the ordinary Asomiya masses who have had 
>enough of senseless violence - the reason why the State remains so 
>backward - that went in the name of a romantic revolution, 
>continuing as ever. The writing on the wall is that sovereignty is 
>too utopian, especially at a time when the very notion of 
>sovereignty has changed in the wake of transnationalism and 
>globalization. Not only this, by this time the ULFA must have also 
>had the wisdom - out of its own experience with the Indian state - 
>to understand that there is absolutely no reason to dwell on the 
>sovereignty theme , that too for a State whose populace has so much 
>to share with the rest of the country. And one expected the PCG to 
>make the ULFA understand this simple fact.
>Having said this, what now transpires is that the ULFA might have 
>never wanted to sit for direct talks with the Government of India. 
>After all, the ULFA's desire for peace in Asom also means the desire 
>of the Bangladesh-ISI duo for the same peace - which cannot be. How 
>can Bangladesh, where the ULFA top brass finds a safe haven and 
>whose nationals crowd Asom to annex the State, and the notorious ISI 
>ever think of normalcy in this part of the country? And so the voice 
>of ULFA C-in-C Paresh Baruah sounds not like an Asomiya's that would 
>rescue Asom from an imminent doom - annexation by Bangladesh and the 
>making of an Islamic state (since Bangladesh is not secular but 
>Islamic). The voice is ISI's, in collaboration with the 
>fundamentalist and terrorist groups having their field day in a 
>Talibanized Bangladesh. Else, a simple letter was all that the 
>Centre wanted from the ULFA - a letter stating the outfit's desire 
>for direct talks, for peace, for the sake of the people of Asom, for 
>a better tomorrow here, but surely not for the sake of illegal 
>Bangladeshis on whom the outfit remains so blissfully silent as 
>though these illegal hordes were the one that the outfit would 
>protect, come what may.
>That is why perhaps we hear Paresh Baruah passing a decree: that 
>'Indians' living in Asom should pay tax to the ULFA, and that the 
>Asomiyas are to make generous contributions for the making of a 
>sovereign Asom - an Asom, as we have written several times here, in 
>the grip of aliens; an Asom that cannot belong to the Asomiyas, 
>already a minority by now in their own land. What a refreshing 
>equation, then, that illegal Bangladeshis in Asom have been exempted 
>from the ULFA's tax configuration! And why should not they be? Is it 
>not the ISI and its partners in Bangladesh that would have the 
>minority in Asom - the Asomiyas - as extortion targets? In a land 
>that is to be the most suitable part of a greater Bangladesh, why 
>should the Bangladeshis be taxed or asked to make generous 
>contribution? As for direct talks with the Government of India then, 
>first Mr Baruah & Co should free themselves of the Bangladesh-ISI 
>grip to undo their deceit and betrayal.
>
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>assam at assamnet.org
>http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
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