[Assam] About Assam---From Tehelka

[Manoj Das]

welcome back Chandanda..

Assamnet was missing you!!

On 2/2/07, Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net> wrote:
>
> Xonzoi gives a balanced view of what has been going on, unlike the
> knee-jerk reactions of the desi-media and Assam 'intellectuals' with
> short memories and even shallower perceptions.
>
> cm
>
>
>
>
> Assam is Many Problems, But is Anyone Listening?
>
> The many non-migrant ethnic conflicts have been forgotten.
>
> http://www.fromallangles.com/newspapers/country/india/tehelka.com.htm
>
>
>   Sanjay Barbora
>
> The recent deaths of more than 60 Hindi-speaking migrants are the
> latest in the saga of ethnic conflicts that have ravaged Assam. While
> the victims' identities have been written about, the media and
> security agencies have only alluded to the identities of the
> perpetrators. In every instance, the authorities have been quick to
> blame armed opposition groups, send in more forces and never offer
> any concrete evidence about what happens thereafter. As a result,
> there is very little evidence about the genesis and trajectories of
> the conflicts and the manner in which its victims have had recourse
> to justice and reconciliation. One would think that given the
> persistence of such events, the Central and Assam governments would
> have worked out a mechanism to address the root of such conflicts.
>
>   Now, it would seem as though both governments have chosen to deploy
> more troops instead of opting for measures conducive to ethnic
> reconciliation and peace. The Centre's decision to intensify
> operations against groups like the United Liberation Front of Asom
> (ulfa) is bewildering. The recent attacks occurred when peace talks
> with the ulfa had reached an impasse. While talks were possible in
> 2005-06, the Indian Army continued its operations against the ulfa,
> leading the group to carry out its campaigns. Reports citing security
> sources alleged that the ulfa was continuing its non-military
> activities like recruitment and taxation. Such comments have played
> an important part in the uncritical demand for more military
> intervention and has given the Indian Army a peg to continue with a
> dangerous status quo that includes retaining draconian laws like the
> Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. When more than 30,000 victims of
> ethnic violence still live in relief camps, one wonders how
> introducing more troops in rural areas will help ameliorate their
> lives.
>
> The political community in India (including the Army) claims these
> measures are aimed at exacting revenge for the killings of migrant
> workers. Considering the fact that the killings of Dimasa and Karbi
> people (and Hmar, Santhal, Assamese and Bodo before them) went on for
> months before the authorities reacted, the prompt decision to "crush
> ulfa" adds to the belief that some lives are more important. The
> reaction to the migrants' killing has added to the doubt that
> differences in language and culture are responsible for the lack of
> interest in the loss of non-migrants' lives. How else can one explain
> the current clamour for retribution when victims of ethnic conflict
> have been demanding justice for the past decade?
>
> Public discourse in Assam is caught between two poles: on one end is
> the rhetoric of ethnic plurality and on the other, paranoia about
> others. Local organisations often speak of a loss of culture because
> of unchecked migration. It is a fact that Assam's population has
> increased according to the 2001 Census. However, this is nothing new
> and ever since a certain Mr. Mullan recorded his apocalyptic vision
> of the invasion of Assam by "land hungry Mymensighias" in 1931,
> generations of commentators have used the same line. Such simplistic
> re-hashing of an old note is evident in the outpouring of concern
> about Bangladeshis rushing in to fill the place of the Hindi-speaking
> migrants.
>
> Further, the governments have not been able to address the land
> alienation of smaller groups as land remains the favoured gift to
> those who embrace the Constitution. Be it in Karbi Anglong, or in
> Tinsukia, communities pushed out by ill-served laws are being forced
> to compete against one another. Under these conditions, the wisdom of
> sending more troops seems flawed.
>
> The military disposition and lack of will to evolve an alternate
> vocabulary of justice and reconciliation has led to the rise of
> ethnic militias, accountable only to their people. The Central and
> state governments would have gained legitimacy had genuine engagement
> for peace continued between armed groups and civilian intermediaries.
> But by choosing to disengage after offering rhetoric, the political
> classes have managed to fuel fears that smaller communities are going
> to be at the receiving end of India's claims to being a superpower.
> Ethnic conflicts are perhaps the result of a misplaced sense of fear
> among communities. Surely, the best way to engage with this is to
> allay fears than seek to discipline them. Renewing the peace
> processes with different groups would be a more sustainable process
> to ensure reconciliation between the different peoples of Assam.
>
>   Barbora is the Guwahati-based programme manager of Panos Institute South
> Asia.
>
> Feb 03, 2007
>
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>



-- 
Manoj Kumar Das
C 172 Gr Floor
Sarvodaya Enclave
New Delhi 110017
Tel: 91 11 26533824
Telefax: 91 11 26533829
Hand Phone: 91 9312650558



Be so unselfish that when God writes your destiny; he can be free to ask:
What do you want?
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