[Assam] From the Sentinel
Chan Mahanta
cmahanta at charter.net
Thu Oct 12 08:18:27 PDT 2006
O' Ram:
> The Sentinel article, also says that she is
>virtually alone in her protest and >it is
>surprising, that there is no one, be it India
>lovers or India baiters.
*** I know, I know--it is always nice to have
company when one is in the dog-house. But
not-sooo-fast on the indictment and
search-for-the-warmth-of them 'India-baiters' in
this cold and dank place where the
democracy-wavers find
themselves in :-).
At least one "India-baiter" took the bait and
wrote in Assamnet " I express my complete support
of Irom and all others who support her mission."
That is a whole lot more than ALL those
democracy-wavers could muster, if you asked me
:-).
>But there has been a lot of lip service -
>specially from the media. But thats >about it.
*** First off, the 'media' is NOT responsible for
DOING something about the problem, other than
reporting it. But we also know that the media is
just a foil for people who own them and run them.
Thus the quality of the media is only as good as
the knowledge and attitude of the people behind
them and who reflect the views of the general
populace.
On that basis, and in light of the news that
Sharmila is fighting this battle all by her
lonely self ( yeah, yeah--I know Rajib, as an
Indian, would like to translate the involvement
of those few Delhiites as the desi-norm -- what
else can he do?) what would your assessment be
of the quality of "desi-demokrasy" and the
attitudes of the Owners and Protectors of them
'North Eastern terrorists, tribals and
ne'er-do-gooders' - the Indians, might be to
their wards and fellow-devotees-of democracy :-)?
*** That however leaves out those who, I am sure
you noticed already and pointed as "---not
absolve the people and intellectuals in the NE
either."
Well, what do you think then of the QUALITY and
understanding of and fealty to democratic values
of these 'intellectuals' of Assam and the NE with
laryngitis, who claim to be and wear the halo of
the TRUE and legitimate representatives of the
people of the region ?
>This goes for all the pro and anti India folks.
>I was not aware of any uproar >in Assam to get
>Delhi's attention in this case.
*** Heh-heh! That ol' 'they-are-all-alike'
defense again huh :-)? But not sooo fast my
friend! Them 'India-baiters' have been waging
their lonely struggles against it for a very long
time. And many of them don't RECOGNIZE the right
of Dilli to hold that open-season on them 'North
Easterners' to go beg and grovel at Indraprastha,
to pleaaase cease and desist. That, one would
have hoped, would be the job of the apologists
for Indian colonial hold over the NE, but who
wear the halo of devotees-of-democracy.
Yours, proud-to-be-an-'India-baiter',
c-da :-)
At 7:08 PM -0500 10/11/06, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
> >Unless I missed it, there was not a voice of
>democracy waving Assam Netters to be heard >in
>support of Sharmila's lonely struggles,
>
>C'da,
>
>You are correct. The Sentinel article, also says
>that she is virtually alone in her protest and
>it is surprising, that there is no one, be it
>India lovers or India baiters.
>
>But there has been a lot of lip service -
>specially from the media. But thats about it.
>
>--Ram
>
>
>On 10/11/06, Chan Mahanta
><<mailto:cmahanta at charter.net>cmahanta at charter.net>
>wrote:
>
>Another surprisingly good editorial from the Sentinel.
>
>
>Unless I missed it, there was not a voice of
>democracy waving Assam Netters to be heard in
>support of Sharmila's lonely struggles, when it
>was aired a few days ago in this forum.
>
>
>Some 'democratic' values, these. Be it Indian, be it Assam Netters'!
>
>
>
>
>cm
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Inbuilt Brutality
>
>
>The hunger strike campaign of Irom Sharmila in
>New Delhi to protest against the continuance of
>two discriminatory Draconian laws in some of the
>northeastern States comes much too late in the
>day. However, that is not the worst of it. What
>is indeed a pity is that this just campaign of
>protest should have been taken up by just one
>woman in the national capital instead of being a
>concerted and ceaseless campaign by the people
>of all the northeastern States . Nay, it should
>have been a national campaign of the people of
>all the States as an act of solidarity with the
>people of the Northeast. But when has anyone
>seen the entire nation rising in protest against
>a gross injustice against the northeastern
>States? However, the voice of protest has been
>strong in Manipur even though Manipuris
>constitute a very tiny part of the Indian
>nation. One recalls the several powerful
>demonstrations against the armed forces in
>Manipur, culminating in the one where a dozen
>Manipuri women protested naked in front of the
>Assam Rifles headquarters after the gang-rape
>and murder of Thangjam Manorama in the custody
>of the Assam Rifles.
> The two Draconian laws against which Sharmila
>is demonstrating in New Delhi are the Armed
>Forces (Special Powers) Act and the Disturbed
>Areas Act. Armed with these two laws for Asom,
>Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura, the armed forces
>have the power (in these four States) to shoot
>down just anybody even on mere suspicion. These
>two laws empower even a noncommissioned officer
>to shoot down any citizen of these four States
>on suspicion of anti-national or terrorist
>activities. There is no provision like a
>magistrate having to be present even somewhere
>in the vicinity. And it is such Draconian and
>inhuman provisions for a democracy that have led
>to countless fake encounters with so-called
>insurgents. The normal protocol for these four
>States is that the armed forces shoot down
>someone on mere suspicion first, and then plant
>the necessary incriminating evidence like an
>AK-47 rifle, a Chinese pistol, hand grenades and
>"incriminating documents" on him thereafter.
>Likewise, the armed forces can gang-rape and
>then murder a woman and later claim that she was
>a terrorist. This is one blatant act of
>injustice involving no less than human life that
>is attracting more and more people towards
>insurgency. These two laws go a long way in
>taking away the responsibility of accountability
>from the armed forces. And even when this is
>done in respect of the armed forces vis-à-vis
>citizens in a democracy, it is like wilfully
>turning that democracy into a banana republic.
> What is amusing about the review of the Armed
>Forces (Special Powers) Act is that the Justice
>Jeevan Reddy Committee constituted to review the
>controversial Act has recommended that the
>legislation be repealed, but only after
>incorporation of certain features into the
>Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. This is
>like having another law with the features of the
>black law to be repealed so that the overweening
>powers given to the armed forces in the four
>States of the Northeast as also in Jammu &
>Kashmir continue to be available to the
>military. This is like passing on to the left
>hand what we do not like to see in the right
>hand. Not surprisingly, this suggestion of the
>Reddy Committee has raised the hackles of all
>the civil rights groups in Manipur, though one
>does not see very much of a reaction in the
>other States where the two black laws are in
>force as well. If it is the duty of the Centre
>to protect citizens of every Indian State from
>external aggression and internal disturbance
>(responsibilities that the Centre has failed to
>discharge), it is equally the responsibility of
>the Centre to put an end to state terrorism and
>needless brutality with an iron hand.There are
>many more disturbed areas in the country. Why
>are such Draconian laws reserved only for some
>States?
>
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