[Assam] Demands for Separate states in India

[Chan Mahanta]

O' Rajib:

Buisa, re-allocation of resources is only one of many aspects of 
re-engineering governance.

But any event, it has NOTHING to do with the magnitude of resources a 
sate has. Therefore your contention that India , if with its  much 
larger ( MAGNITUDE) resources cannot re-engineer its governance, then 
an independent Assam with much lesser ( MAGNITUDE) resources cannot 
possibly effect governmental reforms is
a highly untenable argument. One has nothing to do with the other.


>  >The fractured polity you talk about is really today a
>work in progress towards a re-engineering.


*** Perhaps so, just like it has been for the last quarter century 
since Assam's sovereignty aspirations germinated. But what have we 
seen so far? Anything to take note of, anything to bank our hopes on? 
Nothing, zip, zero, nada--if you asked me.


>  >The behemoth elephant called India is dancing pretty
>well for many people within India


*** Perhaps so, but MANY needs defining.  How much is MANY? What 
percentage of the whole would constitute MANY? Try defining it and 
then take stock of the situation and report to us, would ya? I am 
sure it will be an interesting read :-).

>  >Like I mentioned earlier, in as much as small nations
>can survive, so can big nations.

*** Survival is NOT the issue. India has survived, tottering at the 
edge, for a very long time. And it can be expected to do so for yet 
another very long period. But why should Assam be held hostage to 
such a tottering existence?


>  >Unfortunately for the advocates of
>independent Assam, the ideas of the agitation
>floundered and was not followed up with a really
>better allocation of resources. Instead what it
>wrought, followed up with a decade and more of
>destruction of resources.


*** It had NOTHING to do with allocation of resources. Assam could 
not possibly have had a say on resource allocation, because it is 
controlled by Dilli. Not that the crew in charge could have done a 
better job,had it been in control over resources; but the fact 
remains that resources are controlled by that remote, imperial , 
colonial Center.

The critical element here are:

A: The SYSTEM of governance, of resource allocation and utilization, 
of accountability.
B: Control over resources.


>  >Fortunately for India, its ability to re-engineer
>itself in the early nineties meant availability of
>more resources to be allocated across larger cross
>sections of people.

*** If that were to be true, Naxal movements spreading to 1/3 of the 
districts could not possibly have happened.


>It is no suprise which idea is winning today.


*** That has NOTHING to do with Assam however.









At 12:43 PM -0700 8/26/06, Rajib Das wrote:
>Actually I would say this is indeed.
>
>The intent, will and ability to re-engineer anything -
>including governments, companies, communities and
>families - is ALL about the reallocation of resources.
>
>>  *** Is this some kind of an irrefutable or
>>  unchangeable natural law
>>  :-)? What does RESOURCE have to do with the ability
>>  to re-engineer a
>>  state's governance?
>
>The fractured polity you talk about is really today a
>work in progress towards a re-engineering. It just
>isn't quite happening with priorities, speed and
>directions many of us would want for different
>reasons.
>
>The behemoth elephant called India is dancing pretty
>well for many people within India (including many in
>the NE) to align themselves to the idea of India. At
>least - relatively speaking vis a vis the idea of an
>idependent Assam, it is more attractive primarily
>because it offers glimpses of a better availability of
>resources for more sections of the people. This
>behemoth, once moving, moves at more speed and
>attracts more resources to fuel that movement.
>
>>  India is incapable because of its deeply fractured
>>  polity, and its
>>  behemoth-like size.
>
>Like I mentioned earlier, in as much as small nations
>can survive, so can big nations. In fact, bigger ones
>such as India can rally more people and more resources
>behind an elightened agenda.
>
>It is ALL about what that enlightened agenda does to
>the availability and the reallocation of resources :-)
>
>>  But Assam, in spite of its diversity, is a far more
>>  manageable
>>  entity, that can and will close ranks behind an
>>  enlightened  agenda.
>
>No doubt, the Assam Agitation was a great example it
>could be done. Unfortunately for the advocates of
>independent Assam, the ideas of the agitation
>floundered and was not followed up with a really
>better allocation of resources. Instead what it
>wrought, followed up with a decade and more of
>destruction of resources.
>
>Fortunately for India, its ability to re-engineer
>itself in the early nineties meant availability of
>more resources to be allocated across larger cross
>sections of people.
>
>It is no suprise which idea is winning today.
>
>>  The 'andwlon' was a good example that it could be
>>  done. Unfortunately
>>  the 'andwlon' leadership had a divisive agenda, was
>>  uneducated about
>>  how to form a government and reform it to move
>>  forward. They young
>>  folks thought that changing of the guard was enough
>>  to take them to
>>  the promised land. It was a profoundly  faulty
>>  perception as it
>>  proved to be in very short order.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>  At 7:11 AM -0700 8/26/06, Rajib Das wrote:
>>  >This is where it turns to the realm of the
>>  >non-existent.
>>  >
>>  >>  *** An Assam that is free to re-engineer its
>>  >>  governance with tools to
>>  >>  exact accountability and set up deterrence
>>  against
>>  >>  non-performance,
>>  >>  can immediately turn things around on this
>>  front.
>>  >
>>  >An Assam will never be free to re-engineer from the
>>  >ground up in as much as GOI is not. Everything
>>  >extracts a price. The revolution that will
>>  supposedly
>>  >foster in a free Assam will extract a price. Those
>>  >that support the revolution (and I don't mean what
>>  I
>>  >think are the non-existent toiling masses) will
>>  >extract a price. Those who will need to switch over
>>  >from their current political cocoons to help the
>>  >revolution foster the "freeness" will extract a
>>  price.
>>  >There would be too much of the extraction going by
>>  the
>>  >track record of the "extractors".
>>  >
>>  >>
>>  >>  A governmental bureaucracy that is not sustained
>>  by
>>  >>  a treasury that
>>  >>  steals from those who PRODUCE and re-distributes
>>  to
>>  >>  the
>>  >>  non-performers  in the form of life time
>>  employment
>>  >>  regardless of
>>  >>  productivity would immediately react to the fact
>>  >>  their "xaandoh-khwa
>>  >>  baali tol-jowa" ( the demise of the golden
>>  goose)
>>  >>  situation.
>>  >>  All of a sudden the bloated and un-productive
>>  >>  bureaucracy will be a
>>  >>  thing of the past.
>>  >
>>  >Is that a mission statement of free Assam or
>>  >Chandanda's free wish? If all that is there in free
>>  >Assam, I doubt it will ever happen. If GOI cannot
>>  >re-engineer thusly with its bigger resource base, I
>>  >doubt it will ever come to such a pass in a free
>>  Assam
>>  >with a proportionately much lower resource base and
>>  a
>>  >long line of "extractors" of very doubtful track
>>  >records already waiting to appropriate resources.
>>  >
>>  >>  Ensuing social turmoil?
>>  >>
>>  >>  Some of it is bound to happen. Everything has a
>>  >price.
>>  >
>>  >I am sure Manmohan Singh must also be sitting in
>>  his
>>  >high chair, wishing he could re-engineer the
>>  >government and throw out government employees and
>>  >wishing away the "ensuing social turmoil" with the
>>  >flick of a hand. Unfortunately I am sure he
>>  >understands that social turmoil would devour him.
>>  >
>>  >And no, the case would not be any different in a
>>  free
>>  >Assam.
>>  >
>>  >
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