[Assam] ULFA no longer a force to be reckoned with, IB tells Centre - Sentinel

[Ram Sarangapani]

Dear Uttam,

>My problem is I cannot see anything in isolation. For me the events are all
connected; we can see the past; but cannot forecast the future: that >sort
of: -).

I agree there is value in viewing issues in this manner. However, some
issues (like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or similar ones) there is
absolutely no end. The time line can be shifted at will, and how one wishes.

That is why, it is often a good idea to compartmentalize issues. One has to
start at some base line.

>1. I have not yet personally met a confirmed illegal Bangladeshi
migrant ascertained to be one till date. Have you?

Hmmm! I haven't met any either. Next time we visit Assam, I will have to
make it point to meet one :-).

But, there is the other possibility, since you have met one, and I haven't
either, then we can both be sure there aren't any illegal B'deshis in Assam.
:-)

>2. The recent killings near Dr. Dhaniram Baruah's Heart City have been
attributed to land grabbing. Some business people from the >cowbelt want a
huge contiguous plot of land on south bank near Guwahati to build up a
township.

I remember this. We were at Guwahati around that time. The Dr. was in
B'lore, and some miscreants destroyed a big portion of his hospital.
So, you claim some Hindiwalls or the like were behind this. And this proves
what, Uttam? That these Hindiwallas are out to get us?

>There is no point in merely condemning the armed activity by a small
section of the Assamese. Being irrational, these activities would surely
>give you the opportunity to sneer at them. But that will rather stoke the
fire than to douse it: do not you suggest we adhere to >'non->violence'? You
got to feel the fragile Assamese psyche in relation to its foundation in
hinterland ( some people say colony within a >colony!) economics.( you call
it 'victim mentality' which is not very empathic...)

Whether I empathize or not hardly matters, the 'Victim mentality' exists &
quite well for that matter. In fact, this is a favorite tool used by armed
rebellions all over the world, and maybe even countries.

--Ram da






On Tue, Jun 8, 2010 at 9:42 PM, uttam borthakur
<uttamborthakur at yahoo.co.in>wrote:

> Dear Ram Da,
>
> My problem is I cannot see anything in isolation. For me the events are all
> connected; we can see the past; but cannot forecast the future: that sort
> of: -).
>
> Since I have to run this time, I just point out a few things for you to
> just ponder: -
>
> 1. I have not yet personally met a confirmed illegal Bangladeshi
> migrant ascertained to be one till date. Have you?
>
> 2. The recent killings near Dr. Dhaniram Baruah's Heart City have been
> attributed to land grabbing. Some business people from the cowbelt want a
> huge contiguous plot of land on south bank near Guwahati to build up a
> township. In Chandrapur area, the Oxomiya henchmen of the cowbelt business
> houses are intimidating, killing, demolishing fences, etc. etc. in order to
> devour the land. Local resistance of villagers, who are getting organised in
> the fear of losing homestead, are somewhat delaying the process. Political
> bigwigs , Ministersrunning Assam are in cahoots. Policemen are involved. All
> these are daily news. Recently, I went on a survey. I was aghast to learn
> that annual periodic pattas are given to the settlers; they are now given
> the marching orders after giving them some money and a back dated agreement;
> on the basis of such agreement petty revenue for last fiver years are paid
> in the name of these political bigwigs, ministers, northerners,
>  journalists etc. who have occupied huge chunks of beautiful forest, hill
> lands with tremendous sight of the mighty Brahmaputra. If you pay 20 times
> or so of the revenue you get a Myadi Patta. For the poor settlers it is a
> huge amount; for the carpetbaggers it is pittance. ( My take on this is :
> all colonial masters need local henchmen / dalals. The rich from the cowbelt
> will always need their paid goons to carry out their dirty works. But 'root
> cause' is the money and greed of the masters: the principal aspect of the
> contradiction:-))
>
> 3. For various historical reasons, the processs of Assamese Nation
> formation (in the modern sense; I do not begin with Narakasura:-)) has not
> been very sturdy and this inherent weakness has led to knee-jerk reactions
> weakening the process rather than bolstering it. There is no point in
> merely condemning the armed activity by a small section of the Assamese.
> Being irrational, these activities would surely give you the opportunity to
> sneer at them. But that will rather stoke the fire than to douse it: do not
> you suggest we adhere to 'non-violence'? You got to feel the
> fragile Assamese psyche in relation to its foundation in hinterland ( some
> people say colony within a colony!) economics.( you call it 'victim
> mentality' which is not very empathic...)
>
> That's about it for now.
>
>
> Uttam Kumar Borthakur
>
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