[Assam] Prisoners of the Past - Sentinel Letter

[Ram Sarangapani]

C'da,

 >But I did not get it. Bhongai dibo paaribaane' baaru :-)?

Kisumanor karorne 'notun' kotha geliboloi digdar :)

Of course, you will not get it, but you choose not to:) All he is asking is
for people to look toward the future and to stop day-dreaming about 'sonor
oxom holeheten'. He is suggesting such dreaming stop - be it in the Ozarks
or in Palasbari :)

--Ram

On 10/10/06, Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net> wrote:
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>  Wow! What a brilliant piece !! Thanks for sharing Ram.
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> But I did not get it. Bhongai dibo paaribaane' baaru :-)?
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> At 8:43 AM -0500 10/10/06, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
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> This is interesting. Highlights mine.
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> Being 'Prisoners of the Past' is a favorite pasttime for many Indians (and
> obviously Assamese). Though remembering our history is great and often
> necessary, just gloating over the past does nothing to ensure our future, if
> we don't put efforts into it.
>
> --Ram
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> Prisoners of the Past
> Like every other ethnic community, the Asomiyas too have a glorious past
> and are proud of it. Ever since Laxminath Bezbarua wrote the famous poem
> extolling the obvious that we Asomiyas were never poor and had a great
> heritage, generations of our people have been harping on the same theme.
> Three decades ago, Dr Bhupen Hazarika had warned through one of his famous
> songs of the imminent dangers of resting on our oars out of such
> complacency, but without much success in changing the Asomiya mindset.
> *And due to the complacency born out of such a bloated ego, outsiders,
> both legal and illegal, have cornered almost every lucrative aspect of trade
> and commerce in Asom.* Except for some corrupt officials, fleecing
> professionals and some goons masquerading as first-generation businessmen,
> * the average Asomiya has become poorer by the day*. While a large number
> of Asomiya youths have migrated outside the State to face the tough
> competition for earning a living,* a sizable section of them continues to
> be motivated to go underground and involve itself in extortion and
> fratricidal killings in order to liberate and take back their motherland to
> its glorious past!
> *At a time when the* world is termed ''flat'', in the bargain for peace in
> Asom, we are being asked to go back to a period beyond 1828 when it was a
> sovereign monarchy*, which incidentally had much larger territorial limits
> than what it is today, and which the British had annexed taking advantage of
> the events following an act of treachery by a member of the then royal
> family.
> *Asomiya think tanks, barring a few, are maintaining safe distance by
> being ambiguous* on this controversial issue involving the future of the
> Asomiya community, and seem to be waiting for another proverbial sentiment
> wave to surge. It is high time they made their stand clear: whether they are
> for or against the call for sovereignty in exchange of durable peace in
> Asom. Remember, we must move with the changing times.
> HK Borah,
> Guwahati-6.
>
>
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