[Assam] : "Group clash in the city: 12 killed, curfew in city"

Sun Nov 25 08:44:55 CST 2007

Whodunit?
  Who gains?
  Why is NE TV owned by Matang Singh involved in spreading the canard? (Death toll has been stated at a high figure though it did not tally with the body count, that is what has been told to me by some friends in the media, but I cannot vouch for its veracity)
  Is Himanta Biswa Sharma launching his TV channel by 14 December?
  Was there a split among the protestors in a meeting held just before the march?
  How is Ajmal involved?

  I only make a wild guess. It is a result of the infighting within the ruling party. But the victim is always the same. Be it the innocent protesters or the people of that locality. As for 'Adivasi', we understand what it conveys. But if the use of the word involves conspiracy, then why is there no discussion on this point till now? May be I am not aware. 

  All said and done, the incident does not augur well for an already decimated Assamese people.  

Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net> wrote:
        Hello Hazarika:

  While I appreciate your clarifying what actually took place and how a SECTION of the media presented it, I must come to Umesh's defense here. He merely forwarded what  others already posted, namely Assamtimes .org. Umesh and other Assam lovers merely attempt to spread word of trouble, not so much to malign Assam, but to make sure good people get involved to stem the tide of bad happenings. Verifying the facts before spreading the word is not Umesh's responsibility, just like it is not of other netters who love to forward all kinds of stuff that fit their personal political needs. In that Umesh is just another innocent bystander doing what he does best.  I know I give him a hard time over many things, but on this count I won't gang up on him.

  I have a request here.  What can you tell us about what the term includes? Is this an euphemism used by the Indian press ( from outside Assam) for Santhals , Tea Garden Laborers and other groups from Central/ north India etc. who have lived long in Assam  and are called that historically? Or does it mean indigenous people of Assam like Karbis, Bodos, Misings and the like?

  At any event why did the Adivasi's have to take to the streets ? Obviously the government has not responded to their demands, would be my conclusion. Are their demands for getting special treatment  devised by democratic India for other groups  unreasonable and/or unfair? Do the caste-Hindu immigrants who rule the state, people like yourself or myself, oppose it? And if so, why? Is it fair or reasonable, in view of the prevailing Indian system of sharing the spoils?

  Also, why do you think the police not take appropriate and timely action to allow an orderly protest march, and by their delay and inaction allowed it to degenerate into a riot resulting in loss of lives ? Is it a typical ineptitude of the police  in general or a failure of its leadership ? Or was the inaction and/or inappropriate response a result of political interference, typical or otherwise?

  Finally, to your knowledge, what exactly happened that turned the march into a riot? Did the protesters get unruly by themselves and started to damage public property angering the victims as the assamtimes report indicated?  Or were their acts of incitement from the public or the storekeepers that caused it?  I am sure there will be demands for a judicial enquiry, the results of which will be either inconclusive or secret and nothing will come out of the effort as countless other such efforts historically have. But we, people like yourselves, myself and others interested would benefit from learning what the truths might have been, even though not officially sanctioned.

  Thanks in advance for sharing what you may know to be the truths.

  Best.

  m

  At 1:03 PM +0530 11/25/07, Shantikam Hazarika wrote:
  Umesh:
do you not have any other work?
The term Adivasi is a north Indian term, not prevalent in Assam and
the fact that the Association is called Adivasi Association indicates
who are the people fomenting trouble in Assam. And, sitting out there
you ought to have waited for the facts to filter before taking the
easy way out of posting a dubious news item on the net to misled
others.

One of the problem was that the police took a long time to get into
action and the statement in the news that "city police sprung into
action and dispersed the Adivasi people from the
protest rally site" is not true. In fact the frequent use of the term
Adivasi in the news item itself is mischievous, with the intent of
creating a divide.
Sitting in the comforts of the US, please at least try to do something
constructive, instead of spreading canards. I never expected you to
indulge in such things.
Shantikam Hazarika

On Nov 25, 2007 5:02 AM, umesh sharma <jaipurschool at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>  > Newsletter Editor <newsletter at assamtimes.org> wrote:
>
> http://www.assamtimes.org/index.php?news=680
>
> Group clash in the city: 12 killed, curfew in city
>
> A string of group clash that leaves twelve people dead, as many as one
> hundred people injured has forced the authority to clamp curfew in the city
> on Saturday. The condition of thirty is reported to be critical.
>
> The violence began as soon as the Advasi people in large numbers were
> holding a rally demanding Scheduled Tribe status for the community.
>
> The Adivasi protesters damaged as many as 150 vehicles while these were
> plying in the Beltola areas. Moreover, some of them vandalized some shops
> and markets in the area.
>
> The angry people in general retaliated by attack and the clash left 5 people
> to death.
>
> The city police sprung into action and dispersed the Adivasi people from the
> protest rally site. But another group further proceeded to the Khanapara
> areas and then to Ganeshguri areas to stop the city buses.
>
> The public in general got angry with these Adivasi students leaders and
> retaliated with attack. As many as ten Adivasi students have fallen injured.
> The injured people have been rushed to the hospital.
>
> The entire Beltola area has come under curfew from 12 noon. The over all
> situation has yet to be quelled.
>

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