[Assam] Grumbling GAME-Swapnil Bharali (Horizon, The Assam Tribune, July 05, 2008)

[Chan Mahanta]

Well said Uttam.

But there is more. If RAs have disappointments 
about NRAs, then the first thing they ought to 
ask is WHY did they leave?  Who caused them to 
leave? How could it be stopped?

A country is an imaginary entity.  It does not 
exist when we purge the PEOPLE who make make it 
up from the equation.  But that is exactly what 
the Indian nation has  been doing to its own, far 
more than most.  Indians would not have left, had 
their countrymen--its movers and shakers, used 
their heads to create the opportunities  for 
their children. And there wouldn't have been the 
conflicts that have been plaguing the 
subcontinent. for more than half a century.

Sad thing is that they still aren't doing it.





At 9:29 PM +0530 7/6/08, uttam borthakur wrote:
>I know Swapnil; I did not know that he writes on the side.
>
>The human civilisation from one point of view 
>may also be described as the story of migration 
>-of both individuals or groups. When one is born 
>on this planet, he like anyone else inherits it. 
>He should have the ultimate freedom to go 
>wherever he wants to on this planet.Whether he 
>burns bridges or keeps his options flexible is 
>his choice.
>
>However, the 'real world' situation may demand 
>something in return. As the world is broken up 
>into national boundaries, the value of time 
>and resources spent on that person by a given 
>society may be demanded from that person or the 
>society that has benefitted from his relocation. 
>Is there any such provision?
>
>The rest depends on the person himself : his 
>loyalty. We cannot demand it. It depends on the 
>person's own values. A person, who has migrated 
>to another land, may not have loyalty or 
>attachment to his country of birth, yet he may 
>be a better human being than a person who loots 
>or sells his country of birth and residence.
>
>
>Uttam Kumar Borthakur
>
>--- On Sun, 6/7/08, Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net> wrote:
>
>From: Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net>
>Subject: Re: [Assam] Grumbling GAME-Swapnil 
>Bharali (Horizon, The Assam Tribune, July 05, 
>2008)
>To: assam at assamnet.org
>Cc: swapnilbharali at yahoo.com
>Date: Sunday, 6 July, 2008, 8:55 PM
>
>First off, allow me to introduce  Swapnil
>Bharali: He is my nephew by marriage, son of my
>brother-in-law, a Guahati real-estate developer
>and aspiring writer on the side.
>
>I read the article only because it is by Anup (
>that is how we call him).  I have been passing a
>lot of posts by in recent weeks.
>
>Here is my take on it:
>
>When one writes an article, usually there is a
>purpose. I am not quite clear what the purpose/s
>here is/are.  I discern a premise and an
>unrelated conclusion to the effort :
>
>	The Premise:
>	The writer's despondence over his
>perception that the best of Assam , in every field
>	he considers worthwhile, have left and become NRAs.
>
>	The Conclusion:
>
>	That the NRAs are a self centered and
>self-impressed lot, full of hot air,
>	far removed from the realities that
>bedevil the land of their birth, unable or
>unwilling
>	to help solve Assam's problems.
>
>Anup goes on to conclude his piece with the words
>of Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind.  That
>certainly was a gracious bow that Margaret
>Mitchell would have appreciated from a fellow
>writer, albeit at the cost of the NRAs. But
>really it reads more like a weak comeback to some
>personal affront or slight , real or imagined, he
>might have encountered from some  NRA.
>
>So, what is the main idea here, the PURPOSE of the piece?
>
>Would I be wrong to conclude that it  is to beat
>up on NRAs who have not lived up to the
>unrealistic and unwarranted expectations that he
>sets up? It sounds like another case of setting
>up a straw-man and then going  onto demolish it.
>
>
>There are a number  serious flaws in the article:
>
>	A: The premise of the article is
>baseless. It was a rather poorly devised one,
>obviously
>	as an afterthought, to justify the
>judgements derived from scanty or mythical
>evidence.
>
>	The judgements passed  are NOT derivable
>from the evidence presented or are related
>	to the premise.
>
>	B: This demon, the pound sterling/dollar
>earning -NRAs  is NOT a homogeneous lot
>	by ANY stretch of the imagination. And
>EVEN if it were, the writer's assessment   of
>	its failures to deliver on his
>expectations, based on the few he knows is, at
>best, a
>	venting of  personal disappointments or
>dislikes and has NOTHING to do with
>	being a well researched and analyzed piece  about Assam expatriates.
>
>	C:  A good part of the article's
>justification is based on a decade old Appeal for
>Peace that a
>	number of assamnetters put together,
>which yours truly spearheaded. The author helped
>	with attempts at airing it in Assam.,
>which almost did not get any. We did not even get
>the
>	courtesy of a reply from English Language
>entities like the Assam Tribune or the Sentinel.
>
>	This appeal was signed by barely 60 or so
>out of an estimated 400 members of assamnet
>	at the time. So the conclusions drawn
>from the experience, EVEN if they had any merit,
>	were superficial at best.
>
>	Also, judgements passed by the writer on
>that Appeal, even though beside the point here to
>	this discourse, is based on factual
>inaccuracies.  But most disappointing of all, the
>whole
>	idea behind that effort eluded the author
>entirely.  I will be pleased to explain, if anyone
>	wants to know.
>
>	D: Choice of words and phrases speak
>volumes  of a person's own  sensitivities,
>priorities
>	and pre-dilections. The writer's fixation
>on "terrorism"  tells us a lot about what his own
>	views are about the ULFA-Assam-India
>conflict and is certainly not a thoughtful or even
>	barely-informed  one.
>
>	"Patronizing" means, in this context "To
>treat in a condescending manner". I will be very
>	interested  in learning which part of the
>"Appeal" Anup or his fellow RAs find or found
>	'patronizing' on the part of the
>signatories.  More than likely, however, it is a
>case of that
>	'damned English language' that plague us
>ESLs( English as a Second Language) so.
>
>Finally, I won't  dispute the fact that the
>writer  or other RAs ( resident Assamese that is
>) may have had real life experiences with NRAs
>who fit the image he portrays here. But that is a
>different issue.  To paint ALL NRAs , as a group,
>based on such anecdotal or isolated examples
>does not do anything to make the article
>informative or thought provoking expected from a
>mature writer.
>
>cm
>
>**************************************************************************************************************
>A Personal Note to Anup:
>
>I feel distraught at having led into your effort
>so mercilessly here.  I could have kept quiet.
>But that would be unfair to all those others in
>this forum who have born the brunt of my
>sometimes scathing, sometimes arrogant and
>sometimes condescending and as our Harvard
>trained friend Umesh points out often- sarcastic
>- (but always justifiable :-)) criticisms ; just
>because you are close relation or because you are
>the all round nice guy I know you to be. So,
>Anup, I promise to make up for my
>uncharitableness today when I see you in three
>weeks.
>
>That is a promise :-)!
>
>np
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>At 11:31 PM +0530 7/5/08, Buljit Buragohain wrote:
>>   regret ending an article of mine titled 'Caring
>>NRAs' (Horizon, February 9, 2008) on a
>>pessimistic note. A subject that I always want
>>to give due credence purely because I am
>>beginning to slowly realize that the best of
>>Assam today resides outside Assam and that the
>>present populace of Assam, including its current
>>political leaders, students, bureaucrats,
>>sportsmen, artists, terrorists, you and me,
>>borders on a quality that hardly makes an impact
>>on the national scene. The article ended thus:
>>
>>"If NRAs (non-resident Assamese) have to be
>>contributive to Assam, they have to do so with
>>deeds and not words. They have to burn their
>>bridges on their way back and try and work
>>things from the soil of Assam, against the
>>seemingly insurmountable odds" (instead of just
>>giving front-page interviews while on their
>  >brief holidays here, else) "they may please
>>remain in their comfort zones and not be
>>bothered about Assam..." (and in which case)
>>"all I can do is quote Clark Gable from Gone
>>with the Wind: 'Frankly my dear, I don't give a
>>damn.'"
>>
>>Well (sigh!)·Actually I do give a damn. And I
>>cannot help it that I do. This feeling of mine
>>stems from my past experiences and my various
>>interactions with a number of NRAs on an
>>internet discussion forum called Assam Net
>>(1998-2000, if I remember right). I had watched,
>>observed and sympathized with the large number
>>of expatriate Assamese people, the sole topic of
>>concern being Assam. Often, it had appeared to
>>me that these people had indeed missed out on
>>the love for their soil by becoming so
>>career-centric that their desire to earn in
>>dollars/pounds rather than rupees after
>>acquiring their impressive education and skills
>>led them to become expatriates. It had also
>>often crossed my mind, especially seeing the
>>huge amount of time these people spent
>>discussing Assam, that in the process of earning
>>all those dollars/pounds, they had sorely missed
>>being in Assam and were indeed truly concerned
>>that Assam, except for its tea, terrorism and
>>corruption, did
>>   not find any worthwhile place on the world's
>>physical, political or commercial map.
>>
>>Factually speaking, the NRAs were, at that stage
>>in time, very concerned about the terrorism
>>problem of Assam. Not that they aren't now, but
>>I haven't had the good fortune to visit 'Assam
>>Net' in long years and so commenting on this
>>might just be a mistake. At that stage though,
>>they were so troubled that a few of them, torn
>>as they were between their love for their
>>motherland and their thriving careers in the
>>western world, took an extremely laborious
>>initiative to draft out a lengthy
>>'Appeal-for-Peace' and direct it to all who they
>>thought were part and parcel of the terrorism
>>business in Assam. It was a noble gesture no
>>doubt but to all obvious appearances, a futile
>>wish for peace. I couldn't blame the NRAs. They
>>were far too removed from the ground realities
>>of Assam to realize the intricacy of its
>>problems and that their appeal would get Assam
>>nowhere on the peace front. Nonetheless, while
>>the appeal was being given shape, there were
>>   enquiries galore and e-mails flew - the NRAs
>>wanted the newspapers of Assam to publish the
>>appeal so that the ULFA would read it and stop
>>their drivel, New Delhi, Dhaka, Islamabad, Kabul
>>and Rangoon would do the needful in cooperating
>>for peace, Dispur would respond suitably and so
>>finally peace would be ushered into Assam.
>>Everything was fine except for the utterly
>>patronizing tone that the NRAs seemed to adopt
>>(for what they thought was one helluva
>>contribution by them towards their motherland).
>>
>>One thing though, stands clear to me: the NRAs
>>for sure, have uninhibited love for their
>>motherland, Assam. It is a pity that they find
>>themselves desperately trying to make a foreign
>>soil their home while their hearts remain
>>forever attached to Assam, their homeland which,
>>eternally, beckons them. And it is pathetic and
>>frustrating that these grumbling, debating,
>>quarreling and yet very concerned NRAs cannot do
>>something substantially more tangible and
>>contributive than what they are doing now
>>because this inadequacy on their part only means
>>a terrible loss for Assam. For me personally
>>though, I can only quote Clark Gable once
>>again!!!
>>
>>swapnilbharali at yahoo.com
>>
>>Swapnil Bharali
>>
>>(Horizon,The Assam Tribune,July 05, 2008)
>>
>>
>>        Bring your gang together. Do your thing.
>>Find your favourite Yahoo! group at
>>http://in.promos.yahoo.com/groups/
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