[Assam] Sovereignty Muddle - And the Language

kamal deka kjit.deka at gmail.com
Sun May 2 07:17:46 PDT 2010 

I draw a parallel between those armchair critic and idiom that goes--
Left hand does not know what the right hand is doing!!
K

On Sun, May 2, 2010 at 9:00 AM, Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at gmail.com> wrote:
>>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.
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> assam mailing list
>>>>> assam at assamnet.org
>>>>> http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
>>>>>
>>>>
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