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

[Ram Sarangapani]

Just like to butt in and make a few observations if I could.

Swapnil seems to have a good command over the language, and his writing
seems to be interpersed with a dash of Gable here and dash of Americanism
("helluva") there. I am, of course, assuming he is a young man (Thanks C'da
for the intro), and as such, I would encourage him to write often and grow
stronger as he writes more.

But thats about it for the good stuff. The whole article is based on
superficial and run-of-the-mill baseless assumptions often held by many of
NRAs or even RAs  (resident Assamese) for that matter.

"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..."

SB is assuming that NRAs are all talk  - (yes, we do have some of those too,
and yes, some of us do love that damn lime light). Well, SB, other than that
exception, NRAs are much like their RA cousins. I know many NRAs (like RAs)
who are doing things quietly for Assam and very possibly not advertised as
much either.
I tend to believe that when successes occur, be it in small business, in
academia, agriculture or some village or group effort ought to be
highlighted by the media. It may, just may, be taken seriously by the big
people who matter in places like Guwahati and given some encouragement. It
is NOT enough that something good that has been accomplished go away
quietly.

Your advice to burn bridiges....  Why? That is one of the most illogical
ways of getting things accomplished.

NRAs have an advantage. Many of us having lived here for many years do
notice the small (and big) things that we see here and think it is possible
to replicate in Assam.

Add to that the ability for many of us of being able afford to spend for
good causes in Assam (which we otherwise would not have been able if we
returned back).
(A case in point - one of my colleagues used to get by doing "tuition" while
we were studying at Guwahati .. and now he is a leading educator at a major
US university. His opinions and advice is very sought of, worldwide. If he
were to return to Assam (burn his bridges), I am not sure how much of a help
he would be there. Today, I understand, he makes periodic visits and is a
big encouragement to educators in Assam.) And there are many like him here
and not just in academia.

And if we returned back, wouldn't we, in all likelyhood become the RAs,
whose "quality" you so readily suspect - well, in atleast after a couple of
years.:)

NRAs can possibly help (in most cases) only if they live outside by bringing
in ideas of technology, medicine, and business.

Even thoughts on the "quality" of democracy, intergrity, fair-play, thinking
of the plight of the poor can also be brought in. Whenever I try to bring
these up to my friends in India, the responses are usually like this:

I am cited some glaring inequities in the US or elsewhere.
They defend the practices in Assam or elsewhere as impossible to solve and
in essence NOT wanting to look the problems in the face. They DO NOT see
themselves as a part of the problem.

When I say these things, I am NOT comparing with the US or elsewhere, I am
not trying to assume that just because I live in West, I know everything,
nor am I more intelligent (or any less), and lastly I am not trying to be
the least bit condescending.

My thoughts hover on: I have seen these work very well in the US.... what
if this could encourage our people in Assam to also ask things they should
get as a human birthright and not just give up. What if they could also take
steps to create employment, ideas, and practices that we could all be proud
of? What if this could encourage our people to care for our forests, our
agriculture, our animals? What if our people could cast away the shackles of
religious dogmas and irrelevant practices, of blind faith? What if they
could be encouraged to ask questions of politicians and bureaucrats and of
improprieties in daily life? What if they started to care about the
importance of thinking and practicing common civic responsibilities?

Regarding Assamnet. Having been a long-time member and contributor, the
"net" has been invaluable to me. The "net" does not prretend to be a
problem-solver, or advisor to Assam. It is just a platform for people from
Assam to exchange ideas on various Assam related topics. More importantly,
for many of us, and hopefully for many in Assam too, it helps connect to
Assamese families almost anywhere in the world. It is entirely because of
this, that we have made many good friends across the globe (we have not even
met many of them). Isn't that by itself a great thing?

Well, thats about it for the time being.

--Ram








On 7/5/08, Buljit Buragohain <buluassam at yahoo.co.in> 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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