[Assam] "Oxom"-"Asom" controversy is a "tilika" (little) topic

[Ram Sarangapani]

Dear Himen da,

My postings on the net are my own opinions. I usually say what is on my mind
(most of the time, I suspect I am wrong or offbase).
I have all the respect for you, Chandan da, Mukul da, Barua and others.  I
respect what opinions you all express and have learned a lot over the years
in Assamnet.

>By saying that these are "Just my thoughts", you have exposed, like many
other >netters,  your hidden fear of speaking up against the Mahanta
Brothers in clear terms, >because you are probably afraid that Mr. Chandan
Mahanta will attack you with strong
.....

I beg to differ with you here. The one thing I don't have is some 'hidden
fear'. I have gone thru a lot in life, and that is the last thing on my
mind.

But, being from the old school, even if I were to disagree (which I most
often do) with Chandan da or Mukul da or Barua, I try to maintain a great
degree of respect specially for those elder to me and at the same time most
people on this net (including you ) are friends. I would never try to
put such friendship on the line just because we disagree on such issues on
the net. Over the years, I have developed an uncanny way of being able to
deftly separate these discussions over the net and personal friendships. I
sincerely hope, I can keep it that way.

When I write 'just my thoughts' that is exactly what they are. That is
because, I don't believe I (or anyone else) is right all the time.

I have enough confidence in Chandan da, you or others that there will never
be a day when I would have to hear 'unparliamentary' language used on me. I
am careful, though, not to give others that chance.
I would be embarrased, to say the least if it were to happen.

As for the issue at hand - the discussions amongst you, Mukul da, Chandan da
and Barua, there are a frankly a few reasons I did not want to get into it:

The issue is an engineering issue. I have little or no knowledge of the
same. I would not have been able to contribute anything to the discussion.
The 'discussions' you all were having changed into verbal battles.
It is very difficult for the rest of us to take sides - specially when all
of us have so much respect for each one of you.
That I suspect, is the primary reason, why others did not want to get in,
and not because they are afraid of you, or Chandan da or others.

>I do not agree with your phrase "pipe dream" --- Secession of Assam >from
India is much more serious than a "pipe-dream" --- it is murder of >millions
of innocent victims.

I will take that critisism in the right spirit. Here, I was NOT talking
about the 'struggle', but the 'idea of secession'. I feel (and I could be
wrong) that secession is a near impossibility and impractical. Yes, many
people have died for the cause. But, does that make it more possible because
so many died? I don't know. The future will undoubtedly tell us.

The fact that someone was killed is obviously sad. I think all netters would
feel that way. No one rejoices at such unfortunate incidents.

Lastly, the way I like the Assamnet, and I hope you will agree with me, is
to have free and fair discussions, and a deep mutual respect for each other.


With warm regards,

--Ram

On 8/29/06, Himendra Thakur <hthakur at comcast.net> wrote:

>   Dear Ram,
>
>
>
> The word *"litikai"* was popularized so heavily in the Assamese literature
> by Lakshminath Bezbarua in his *"Gosain-Litikai"* serials  that every time
> you mention the word *"litikai",* you remember the word *"gosain"* -----
> just like the Guru-Chela stories in North Indian literature, or the "knight
> & his squire" stories of Europe, which inspired classics such as "Don
> Quixote and Sancho Panza" . In fact, there is a statue of Sancho Panza in
> Madrid!
>
>
>
> Mr. Rajen Barua insults all Assamese people by writing: "Poor, pathetic
> 'litikai' Assamese with their *'tilika'* minds."
>
>
>
> The Assamese, therefore, has a right to scrutinize how the "mind" of Mr.
> Rajen Barua was working as he rushed to declare Mr. Mukul Chandra Mahanta as
> "Learned MM" who wrote a very irresponsible piece of advice about storing
> rainwater underground in Guwahati without any reference to the sewage
> pollution from the soak pits.
>
>
>
> To clarify the example, here are the two telltale postings:
>
>
>
> Mr. Mukul Chandra Mahanta wrote on August 21, 2006:
>
> "A little arithmetic is called for. Say you have a roof area= 100 sq mtr.
> and annual normal rainfall =2m.You catch every drop and store. So to store
> 200 cu.mtr water in a 2.5 mtr deep underground tank  below your house,
>  you need Rs 5 Lakhs etra over just the house cost. You have a 10 member
> family -need 2 cu mtr water daily. So your annual Harvest of Stale rainwater
> goes for 100 days! And for 265 days you buy-because you did not dig your
> ring-well for Rs 10,000/-. At Gau today,Bhar water costs @Rs <costs at Rs>20/-. Bhar= 30 litres. Hence you buy water--costing dailyRs 1200/-"
>
>
>
> Mr. Rajen Barua replied immediately:
>
> "Interesting. If this is delivered drinking water to your flat, it is
> rather cheap, I would say. Less than a rupee per litre.
>
>  Here is a business tip to the local youth in Guwahati.
>
> If you have a plot of land in Guwahati, all you need to do is dig a deep
> well and produce free drinking water.  You may need little or no
> filtration at all.  Sell the produced water to the buildings in the city
> by a water tanker by pumping the water to the roof top tanks.  (You will be
> called whenever the city water supply will fail or there is extra demand of
> water in parties). You have unlimited supply of free water. You may not even
> need a license. You do the math how much profit you will make.
>
>
>
> I would like to hear comments from learned MM if I am doing it wrong."
>
>
>
>
>
> The Assamese people has a right to note that the *"Gosain-Litikai"*relationship between Mr.
> Mukul Chandra Mahanta and Mr. Rajen Barua is so strong that Mr. Rajen Barua
> forgot  all about the possibility of sewage pollution from the underground
> soak pits and went forward to entice the local youth in Guwahati  with the
> prospect of "how much profit you will make" by selling drinking water
> stored in underground deep well with no filtration at all and without any
> license from the Public Health Officials.
>
>
>
> This is verily an advice to young entrepreneurs to avoid *responsibility
> and accountability*.
>
>
>
> The last line "I would like to hear comments from learned MM if I am doing
> it wrong" sounds like a dialogue of Sancho Panza in the classic Don
> Quixote.
>
>
>
> The example cited above shows how irresponsible these advisers can be.
>
>
>
> Right now, his "Learned MM" is preaching "Secession of Assam from India"
> [sometimes camouflaging the word "secession" behind the word
> "independence"] and no wonder Mr. Rajen Barua rushes to blame the Assamese
> people
>
> "Even now hardly any Assamese are raising their voice for independence.  They
> are suffering so much in inferiority complex, they even shy away to
> pronounce Oxom and are trying to say Asom so that their big brothers would
> not laugh."
>
>
>
> Compared to the horrific  foreign infiltration which is a civilian
> invasion into  Assam, the *"Oxom"-"Asom" controversy is a "tilika"(little) topic
> *.
>
>
>
> By using this as a litmus test for the "inferiority complex" of Assamese
> people, Mr. Rajen Barua has exposed his own *"tilika"* mind.  Mr. Mukul
> Chandra Mahanta and his brother Mr. Chandan Mahanta support the horrific
> foreign infiltration by citing the economic benefits. When Mr. Rajen Barua
> supports the Mahanta brothers, he makes a great display of the "inferiority
> complex" of those Assamese who will sell their Mother for economic
> benefit.
>
>
>
> I do not agree with your phrase "pipe dream" --- Secession of Assam from
> India is much more serious than a "pipe-dream" --- it is murder of millions
> of innocent victims. Just like Partition of India was murder of millions 60
> years ago.
>
>
>
> Symbolically encouraged by the fact that nobody expressed any sorrow or
> any condolence for the innocent victim who died under the irresponsible
> Mahanta Building, the Mahanta Brothers are now bolstering  their utterly
> irresponsible crusade of "Secession of Assam from India".
>
>
>
> By saying that these are "Just my thoughts", you have exposed, like many
> other netters,  your hidden fear of speaking up against the Mahanta
> Brothers in clear terms, because you are probably afraid that Mr. Chandan
> Mahanta will attack you with strong unparliamentary words like "(1)
> 'seraa-paagol'  (2) 'bhondo toposyi' (3) adha-khunda bidya (4)
> 'kando-gyan' (5) 'adha-khunda' (half-baked) nit-wit -------- in fact, Mr.
> Chandan Mahanta threatens that he "could have" used "a whole lot worse."
>
>
>
> No matter how much he threatens, I must repeat that "Secession of Assam
> from India is much more serious than a "pipe-dream" --- it is murder of
> millions of innocent victims."
>
>
>
> I urge the Assamese to "stand up and voice in confidence" against the
> irresponsible leadership of the Mahanta Brothers. Symbolically --- and as a
> token --- they may start their protest to Mahanta Brothers by expressing
> their sorrow and condolence for the innocent victim who died under the
> Mahanta Building.
>
>
>
> With the best wishes,
>
> Himendra
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Ram Sarangapani <assamrs at gmail.com>
> *To:* Barua25 <barua25 at hotmail.com>
> *Cc:* assam at assamnet.org
> *Sent:* Tuesday, August 29, 2006 1:20 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [Assam] MC Mahanta's bamboo-reinforcement
>
>
> Dear Barua,
>
> >Even now hardly any Assamese are raising their voice for >independence.
>
> Very few actually raised the voice of independence, and fewer still do so
> today. I think, in case for independence, most Assamese are actually being
> savvy and and realize what a pipe dream this venture really is. They very
> well know that their lot is in much better state staying with India than
> being independent. That is why, you will find very few voices for
> independence.
>
> I doubt they are being  'litikai' at all.
>
> Just my thoughts.
>
> --Ram
>
>
> On 8/28/06, Barua25 <barua25 at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >  I thought I never had to respond.
> >
> > Assamese are suffereing from an acute inferiority complex.
> > That is why they want to stay with India and are staying with India and
> > will stay with India forever.
> > That is why they never raised their voice to stay as an independent
> > country at the time of India's independence.
> > Even now hardly any Assamese are raising their voice for independence.
> >
> > Today Assamese are not even complaining against the GOI. They are simply
> > saying that GOI is treating Assam like a step child. All Assam wants, is GOI
> > to treat them as a 'legitimate child.' They dream of the day when Mai Bap
> > GOI would treat them as their own child. That is all they want. That is
> > the highest dream of an Assamese. As a result they wait for GOI's command to
> > say what Assam would do so that they follow GOI like a 'litikai' and can
> > please GOI.
> >
> > Assamese could solve lot of their problems if simply they would stand up
> > and voice in confidence.
> > They are suffering so much in inferiority complex, they even shy away to
> > pronounce Oxom and are trying to say Asom so that their big brothers would
> > not laugh. There is hardly any Assamese intellectual left in Assam. They
> > even donot know their own history and culture.
> >
> > Poor, pathetic 'litikai' Assamese with their 'tilika' minds.
> >
> > RB
> >
>
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