[Assam] Sovereignty Muddle - And the Language
Chan Mahanta
cmahanta at gmail.com
Sun May 2 07:00:30 PDT 2010
>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.
I see now! It is just a good-neighborly advice to the worldly-unwise
from someone who knows better.
How generous!
:-)
On May 1, 2010, at 11:20 AM, kamal deka wrote:
>>>> 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.
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>
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>>
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