[Assam] Answers for Chitta-I

Thu Feb 8 11:02:41 EST 2007

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 da’s
>anguished declaration that you are always the “fair
>and balanced” by saying that your partisanship lies
>with “my people’s” 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 da’s
>anguished declaration that you are always the “fair
>and balanced” by saying that your partisanship lies
>with “my people’s” 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 ULFA’s 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-don’t you agree?
>
>Best regards
>
>Chittaranjan Pathak
>
>
>
>
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