[Assam] on a biased report against people of Noth East
Chan Mahanta
cmahanta at charter.net
Wed Feb 6 08:10:46 CST 2008
At 1:45 PM +0000 2/6/08, uttam borthakur wrote:
>Prejudices arising out of factors like regionalism, parochialism
>etc. are one thing.Considering a group of people or a race or a
>creed or caste as sub-humans or pariahs is a step beyond that. Some
>prejudices arise out of competitions or clashes, but prejudices
>arising not out of these but with a view to persecute or to exploit
>is another.
*** Exactly right. Well said!
>
>
>umesh sharma <jaipurschool at yahoo.com> wrote: Indians everywhere are
>regionalists - in Delhi Biharis are cosndiered thieves and cheats,
>Haryanvis are considered uncouth ruffians, Bengalis are intellectual
>snobs , and so on and so forth. Only educated elite are Punjabis and
>somewaht South Indians.
>
>In Rajasthan Sindhis are considered smooth talking modern cheats,
>South Indians are considered educated clerks etc etc.
>
>Madhya Pradesh is more cosmopolitan - being in the center of India -
>having people fro all over and 27% population being tribals.
>Maharasthra is for all to see - with UP guys getting beaten up for
>celebrating their own Hindu rituals and no those of Maharasthra.
>
>In SOuth India even educated people even know and care little of
>north India besides Delhi. At Chennai train station a friend's
>friend asked me where is Jaipur. He was from a top college there.
>
>In my apartment complex I saw a notice where it was scratched out
>"Indians only" - it was an advt for accommodation available. Made me
>proud that we had a Chinese roommate recently, though.
>
>Regionalism is very very high in India - but what is this newspaper Mail
>Today - never heard of it. Even in US I hear people calling Andhra
>guys so many names- though I admire their resourcefulness and
>business acumen.
>
>Umesh
>
>Chan Mahanta wrote: You are right Uttam. It also underscores the
>mentality that is quite
>pervasive among many Indians, of p***ing down on those whom they
>consider racially inferior but suck-up to those whose approval they
>so seek and deem superior.
>
>The other day I riled a bunch of desis complaining about racism in
>America ( which does exist) when I proposed that Indians are some of
>the worst racists on the face of this earth. There were indignant
>denials, but I held my ground .
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>At 3:13 AM +0000 2/6/08, uttam borthakur wrote:
>>It seems the police or whatever authorities have the mindset of
>>blaming race as the root of criminality. If it is not Neo-Nazist
>>attitude, what is? The bias was clearly against Africans and now
>>against North East Indians: all lesser human beings from a nort
>>indian perspective. I tend to think that they will now try to build
>>a genetic theory for drug peddlars.
>>
>>Chan Mahanta wrote: Surprisingly no one
>>seems to be interested in knowing down WHO the
>>CUSTOMERS of these immoral NE folks are.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>At 2:56 PM -0600 2/5/08, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
>>>Hi Ankur,
>>>
>>>This is just terrible (once again the NE being portrayed in bad light).
>>>
>>>It seems that every time something like this happens, we all get upset and
> >>want to set the record straight. While this is a good reaction, I am not
>>>sure how many times and how long we can keep this up.
>>>
>>> IMHO, we would need to tackle (or head off) such misinformation/perception
>>>for the long run.
>>>
>>>A few suggestions, for what they are worth:
>>>1. Assamese in Delhi/Mumbai or other places take active part in letting
>>>others know what the NE is truly made up of, its culture, languages and
>>>lastly of course its people.
>>>
>>>2. Engage in writing positive articles in national newspapers and magazines
>>>about the culture/language/people
>>>
>>>3.Involve the national media every chance we get when celebrating Bihu or
>>>other cultural events/plays in other places.
>>>
>>>When I travel to other places in India, many people are still not very clear
>>>about the NE. What little they read or hear is usually negative. My
> >>suggestion is to make an all out effort in changing that perception.
>>>
>>>The NE has much to offer to the rest of India, the likes of Vikram Kumar et
>>>al should take it upon themselves to at the very least visit the NE and
>>>experience its hospitality.
>>>
>>>--Ram da
>>>
>>>
>>>On 2/5/08, Ankur Bora wrote:
>>>>
>>>> HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE GANENDRA NARAYAN RAY
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>http://mailtoday.in/showstory.aspx?queryed=9&querypage=4&boxid=275671144&parentid=2129&eddate=Jan%2028%202008%2012:00AM
>>>>
>>>> Dear Sir ,
>>>>
>>>> This is regarding the above mentined url published in Mail Today e-paper
>>>> by Vikram Kumar. In this article , Mr. Kumar has spread misinformation on
>>>> the people of a paricular region of India i.e North East. In fact in his
>>>> article Mr. Kumar branded the girls of North easter region residing in and
>>>> around Delhi as drug peddlars. This type of article is non only causing
>>>> misinformation on a region but also endangering the lives of of
>>>>students and
>>>> professionals of North East residing in Delhi. We often come
>>>>across news of
>>>> violence against girls and women of NE region and publication of this type
>>>> of article will cause more harm. I request your action on the newspaper (
>>>> Mail Today) and the reporter Vikram Kumar on this article. I
>>>>would also like
>>>> to let you know there is no contact information on the News paper website
>>>> and as such I am mailing directly for your attenion.
>> >>
>>>> I also request K. Sachidananda Murthy of Malayala Manorama , Geetartha
>>>> Pathak of AssamBani , Abhay Chhajlani of Nai Dunia Parisar and Sanjoh
>>>> Hazarika to raise this issue at the appropriate forum.
>>>>
>>>> Yours Sincerely
>>>>
>>>> Ankur Bora
>>>> Austin , Texas
>>>>
>>>> The content of the newpaper article is attached below.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Monday, January 28,
>> >> 2008 Druglords prey on N-E girls to act as
>>>> peddlers
>>>> By Kumar Vikram in New Delhi
>>>> The next time a cocaine addict in Delhi orders for a fix,
>>>> its unlikely that an African man will be standing at the door.
>>>>Instead, itll
>>>> probably be a young, trendy Northeast Indian girl. And for a few extra
>>>> thousands, shell put sex on offer as well.
>>>> This revelation about the illegal drug trade came to light last year,
>>>> during the court hearing of a Nigerian peddler. A police officer
>>>>said, "Our
>>>> investigating officers were surprised to find that many Northeastern girls
>>>> would attend the hearing at the Patiala Court House. We decided to probe
>>>> further." And the skeletons came tumbling out.
>>> > Where the girls score over the men is that they can offer customers a
>>>> combo-pack - sex and drugs. The nexus works like this: the
>>>>client calls the
>>>> peddler (usually African) for cocaine; the peddler gives the stuff to the
>>>> girl; she delivers it to the designated place, which is usually
>>>>a farmhouse
>>>> or five-star hotel; and if the customer is willing and has the money, the
>>>> girl throws in sex as an added offer.
>>>> "The clients are high-end and as a result, the girls earn much more than
>>>> they would earlier," the officer said. Rates can vary from
>>>>anything between
>>>> Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 for a few hours of intoxication and intercourse.
>>>> The genesis of the trend, say sources, lies in the Rahul Mahajan case. The
> >>> arrest of two Nigerian nationals put the spotlight on their counterparts
>>>> and, suddenly, African nationals roaming around in, say, a
>>>>shopping complex
>>>> were viewed with suspicion by even common people, let alone the police.
>>>> There were several raids conducted across the city, at the end of which
>>>> eight Nigerians ended up in prison. Customs officials at the Indira Gandhi
>>>> International Airport pulled up their socks too and at the end
>>>>of 2007, the
>>>> total toll of picked-up Africans numbered 70.
>>>> Enter the Northeastern girl, her age between 22 and 30.
>>>> This entry, though, was quite a logical fallout of things. Most of the
>>>> Nigerians peddlers were centred around the Munirka area in
>>>>southwest Delhi,
>>>> which has a large population of northeastern girls too. As an
>>>>officer said,
> >>> "Most of these girls are call centre employees open to the idea
>of earning
>>>> extra money. And the suspected peddlers were ready to lend a
>>>>help-ing hand."
>>>> But the trend is still very new. "The association between the peddlers and
>>>> the girls acting as middlemen is a recent one, something that we came to
>>>> know during investigations," said DCP (narcotics) A.S. Cheema.
>>>> Something else that has come to light is that there is an increasing
>>>> interest in heroin among the customers. Afghanistan is home to heroine of
>>>> superior quality, which initially reaches Pakistan. The next stop on the
>>>> trail is usually Punjab or Rajasthan. Thereafter, its a snatch for the
>>>> peddler to smuggle the drug into Delhi and to the addicts place of choice.
>>>> This would earlier be pubs or lower-end hotels in the city. But post-Rahul
>>>> Mahajan, such places have become dicey for the peddlers. So now,
>>>>its usually
>>>> a five-star hotel or a nondescript farmhouse.
>>>> And the person ringing the bell, in all probability, will be a
>>>> Northeastern girl.
>>>> kumar.vikram at mailtoday.in
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> __,_._,___
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ---------------------------------
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>>
>>
>>Uttam Kumar Borthakur
>>
>>
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>
>Umesh Sharma
>
>Washington D.C.
>
>1-202-215-4328 [Cell]
>
>Ed.M. - International Education Policy
>Harvard Graduate School of Education,
>Harvard University,
>Class of 2005
>
>http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)
>
>http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)
>
>
>
>
>www.gse.harvard.edu/iep (where the above 2 are used )
>http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/
>
>
>
>http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
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>Uttam Kumar Borthakur
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