[Assam] Sovereignty Muddle - And the Language

[kamal deka]

>>>Now, what exactly IS a "--so-called  armchair 'intellectual' couch brigade?
Did you make it up under the influence of something that you should
not have been
drinking or smoking?<<<

Those, who cling to the belief that desultory talks are good enough to
end an impasse and sound optimistic note on the taboo topic.And
those,who fail to understand that talks must be focused and
result-oriented.We have seen that the attempt to initiate peace talks
previously,Mamoni Goswami being the flag-bearer,failed to kick off and
has been in the cold storage since then.They would be better off if
they return to their domain of writing novels and reading books from a
comfortable position(read armchair/couch) in which they are
undoubtedly proficient.
BTW--I am a total abstainer--:)
Kamal
On Sat, May 1, 2010 at 9:26 AM, Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at gmail.com> wrote:
> O'Kamal:
>
> Buisa, eije'    "---the so-called armchair 'intellectual' couch brigade" -or
> kothatw likhila,
> porhi moy bor anondo palw kintu ( I was quite amused by it) :-).
>
> Here is why:
>
> The  descriptions, discussions and commentary on this and related subjects
> both by our fellow men in these 'phoren' shores and the English language
> ( or so it seems ) media, both in Assam and in India, has been distinguished
> by that damned English language or its abominations.
>
>
> Now, what exactly IS a "--so-called  armchair 'intellectual' couch brigade?
> Did you make it up under the influence of something that you should not have
> been
> drinking or smoking?
>
>        So-called by whom?
>
>        Are there different castes of intellectuals : Those that actually
> work and
>        those that are merely wanna-bes, the armchair kind?  Truly
> work-with-their-hands types
>        vs. the couch-bound types?
>
> Never-mind about an explanation. I won't badger you. But regardless, the
> underlying
> sentiments telegraph thru, loud and clear.
>
> It is fair and balanced like only FOX News can be.
>
>
> Iti Twmar
> so-kai   :-).
>
>
>
>
>
> On Apr 30, 2010, at 1:08 PM, kamal deka wrote:
>
>> RS,
>> I'm convinced that any amount of rhetorical belligerence on either
>> side - the so-called armchair 'intellectual' couch brigade or the ULFA
>> - cannot erase the blood that has been shed. The problem with both -
>> the fancifully artful but toothless motley assembly that has adopted
>> the title of 'civil society' and the ULFA - is that they are quibbling
>> about something that is now beyond the realms of realization, i.e.
>> peace. Except giving Hiren Gohain and his ilk media space and
>> pronounced visibility, this exercise is at best an illusion designed
>> to give the emotionally-driven Assamese some new-fangled rope to
>> dabble with till another more exciting one comes up.
>> KJD
>> On Fri, Apr 30, 2010 at 11:55 AM, Ram Sarangapani <assamrs at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Well said!
>>>
>>>
>>> http://www.sentinelassam.com/editorial/story.php?sec=3&subsec=0&id=34778&dtP=2010-04-30&ppr=1#34778
>>>
>>> Sovereignty Muddle
>>>
>>> It is interesting that ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh Baruah should
>>> still
>>> insist on sovereignty for Assam as a key precondition for peace talks
>>> despite the knowledge that the Government of India will not discuss
>>> sovereignty with the outfit because no self-respecting sovereign
>>> government
>>> ever responds to the demand for a separate sovereignty raised by an
>>> insurgent-turned-terrorist organization operating at its own whims and
>>> fancies and without the mandate of the people whose cause it ostensibly
>>> champions. This apart, most of the top ULFA leaders are in jail and have
>>> sent feelers as to a pragmatic peace process sans the sovereignty issue.
>>> Perhaps they have realized the futility of such a preposterous demand as
>>> sovereignty for Assam outside the purview of the Indian Constitution.
>>> Perhaps they are no longer interested in perpetuating the absurd thesis
>>> that
>>> Assam is still under colonial occupation. Perhaps they have seen the
>>> writing
>>> on the wall, especially the aspiration of the youth who wants to a part
>>> and
>>> parcel of the happening of an India emerging from the shackles of the
>>> past
>>> and making rapid strides in all fields. Perhaps, and most importantly,
>>> the
>>> ULFA political leadership is willing to accept that the youth of Assam
>>> would
>>> still go militant not because he is wedded to any ideology, but because
>>> both
>>> unemployment and unemployability propel him towards the jungle for
>>> livelihood and because ‘insurgency’ is such a flourishing industry of
>>> terrorism. Perhaps there is some reality check.
>>> On the other hand, there is a distinguished school of thought that is
>>> advocating the cause of peace talks by suggesting that both the parties
>>> come
>>> to the negotiating table with an open mind. They are saying that at this
>>> stage the sovereignty issue should not be an impediment to the peace
>>> hope.
>>> In other words, the government should not be intransigent about its
>>> stated
>>> position on sovereignty and should rather discuss the issue and try to
>>> know
>>> as to why the ULFA is demanding sovereignty for Assam. The school of
>>> thought
>>> has opined that a discussion on sovereignty does not mean acceptance of
>>> the
>>> demand. But there lies the problem. The crux of the matter is that a mere
>>> impression that the government is prepared to hear the sovereignty
>>> ‘logic’
>>> from the other side cannot serve any peace purpose when it is known to
>>> all
>>> and sundry that the government is not going to reward the ULFA with
>>> sovereignty as an expedient compromise for peace. In other words, when
>>> the
>>> government has made it clear in no uncertain terms that there can be
>>> discussion on anything except sovereignty, it is puerile to expect of it
>>> to
>>> reach out to a terrorist outfit and share a few warm sovereignty words as
>>> part of a ritual that the Government of India is not at all obliged to
>>> perform. A democratic government, however plagued with aberrations, would
>>> rather have the rebels join the mainstream, contest elections, win them,
>>> and
>>> then serve the masses according to their brilliant ideas if any. But that
>>> will be too difficult for those used to the luxury of loot.
>>> That said, we welcome any peace initiative aimed at bringing the ULFA to
>>> the
>>> negotiating table. And it is time the ULFA rose to the occasion by taking
>>> part in a meaningful dialogue with the government without bothering about
>>> that destined-to-fail objective called sovereignty for Assam. For, Assam
>>> is
>>> already sovereign. We are a sovereign people. And it is for this
>>> sovereignty
>>> that a whole gamut of Assamese people had sacrificed their lives to free
>>> their motherland — Bhaarat Varsh — from the yoke of British imperialism.
>>> Let
>>> the ULFA no more pretend that it is not introduced to that fact of life,
>>> and
>>> let it then contribute to durable peace. And yes, one is justified in
>>> demanding an Assam-specific development and security package. One is
>>> justified in demanding a package that can save us — and the rest of the
>>> Northeast — from the onslaught of a swelling illegal Bangladeshi crowd.
>>> But
>>> let not sovereignty be a pretext to further the cause of criminal
>>> terrorism.
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> assam mailing list
>>> assam at assamnet.org
>>> http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
>>>
>>
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