[Assam] IRRESPONSIBLE "SON OF THE SOIL"

[Nava Thakuria]

IRRESPONSIBLE "SON OF THE SOIL" 
by Subir Bhaumik 
The recent article in Mail Today about Majuli written by travel writer Nishiraj Baruae has upset Assamese sentiments -- and quite understandably so. To look for traces of homosexual activity and child abuse in the sattras without any real evidence is an act of criminal journalism -- this is when journalism can be justifiably seen as a crime. Criminals murder people and get punished if caught. Nishiraj deserves punishment because he raised serious allegations about Assam's most revered institution, Sattras, and without even the slightest evidence whatsoever.
What is more upsetting is the apology that Nishiraj Barua put out in the northeastjournos , a site for journalists from northeast. He admits he is not an investigative journalist but says he raised the issue so that someone else could follow it up. By his own admission , he had no evidence , not even an allegation or a charge from an informed source, to level such serious charges like homosexuality and child abuse against the Sattras. He just felt that this could be happening after talking to some children in the sattras ! He is not a journalist -- he knows telepathy.  And on the basis of this supernatural powers that he possesses, he used the pages of his paper to defame and undermine his own state's most respected institution, the Sattras.
This is new age journalism where allegations can be made just on the basis of feeling. No evidence is needed , not even an allegation from an informed source to raise such a charge. And then Nishiraj has the audacity to say he was just raising the issue , expecting it to be followed by some other journalist. And Nishiraj is another son of the soil, a great Assamese like Arnab Goswami who has no qualms about saying or writing anything about his state, just because they FEEL so. 
So while Arnab can just run down the ULFA as a bunch of terrorists and cross all limits of arrogance when he tells fellow journalists not to intellectualise terrorism, Nishiraj can suggest existence of homosexuality and child abuse in the Sattras. Their only asset in Assam is their surname , but I know these new age Goswamis and Baruas are basically as insensitive as Delhiwallahs and Bombaywallahs and they merely use their surname when it comes to seeking some benefit from Assam -- a Rajya Sabha seat or a special quota for something or some funds for an NGO from the ministry for Northeast called DONER. We have seen this breed of journalists in our generation as well who will use their Northeast connections for personal ends , who will try to project themselves as experts of Assam or Northeast just on the strength of their surname . But I am sorry to say their numbers are growing in the new generation of journalists. 
On the other end of the spectrum , you have journalists like M S Prabhakara who have dedicated their life to understanding Assam and projecting it to a wider audience in the best possible way. But he will never be honoured as the Assamese of the Year because he is Prabhakara and not a Barua or a Goswami. That honour will always go to someone like Arnab Goswami who feels every ULFA cadre is a terrorist who deserve only a bullet. Something even an army general will think twice before saying in Assam.
After this unsavoury controversy, I hope people in Assam will get over the "Amar Lora" complex . They will recognise the real friends of Assam who may not necessarily be their own ethnic kinsmen. People like M S Prabhakara or myself fell in love with Assam because after several years of our professional life in this state, we came to love the lifestyle, the culture and the people here. So we bought houses here , out of love and a desire to stay in Assam in old age, not because we did not have a choice or resources . And the Sattras are one institution which makes Assam what it is -- so I advise journalists like Nishiraj to read up on the Sattras. If they dont know what to read, I can suggest Bhaskar Mahanta's recent book on the Sattras , an institution which is at once religious and secular and makes Assam an unique meeting ground of cultures. I personally feel very upset at Nishiraj Barua's article and I think he deserves to be taught a lesson. A lesson
 he will never forget. If this piece had been written by a non-Assamese journalist, would he or she have gone unchallenged ? 
I have respect for Bharat Bhushan who edits the Mail Today. He is one national editor who has a good understanding of the Northeast. But Bharat does not check the travel pages -- or else I am sure he would not have run this stupid story. But Mail Today must face the consequences for not having a system to check for possible defamation in their pieces without a shred of evidence. Having carefully read Nishiraj's apology in northeastjournos site, I get the feeling he is more upset with the lack of facilities at Majuli. I agree that the place should not promoted for mass tourism unless it has better facility -- but Majuli , as the caption of the article says, is for the mind and will continue to attract Indian and foreign tourists who are seeking a different experience and not exactly the comfort of five star hotels. I wish institutions like the  Sattra Mahasabha and  the Majuli Island Protection and Development Council (MIPADC) sue the Mail Today and
 Nishiraj Barua for defamation for writing and publishing this piece without any evidence whatsoever. 
I was aware of the Assam Tour Operators Association plan to bring in some travel writers to give exposure to the state for promoting tourism here. There was nothing wrong with the plan. Tridib Sarma, who heads the Association and is owner of the Brahmaputra Resort at Sonapur has been a friend for years and I have no doubt about his sincerity to promote Assam. He is one Assamese who will not sleep over ideas -- he believes in implementing them. So those who are blaming Tridib Sarma for the whole controversy must realise that how on earth could Sarma have known that an Assamese originally from Dibrugarh would defame the Sattras so shamelessly -- and without any evidence. Just to sensationalise . Does he realise that his article will only attract perverts and genuine tourists to Assam who pursue child sex and such other fantasies. So he has done a great disservice to the state .
I have taken to court by politicians who thought I had defamed them. I have won every single case that were filed against my reports. Many politicians like Santosh Mohan Dev threatened cases but backed out at the last moment.Because all my controversial reports were filed with impeccable evidence. My report in the now closed-down SUNDAY magazine brought down Manipur's longest serving chief minister Rishang Keishing -- my contemporaries surely remember that. Another Sunday report destroyed the career of a major general who would have become army chief because I exposed his illegal logging racket from Mizoram. The list is long. So I am not against exposure of wrongdoings in the highest places -- but there must be adequate evidence. Insinuation and slur without any substance is a criminal act and deserve punishment . Punish Nishiraj, not Tridib Sarma, because this man was trying to get good publicity for Assam . And those who know his past will realise
 Tridib Sarma can take great personal risks for his convictions -- so I am sure he will stand up to this challenge. Only next time, he will get more professional writers to come to Assam .  
Actually this piece reminds me of a piece done by my contemporary S N M Abdi in the Illustrated Weekly that was edited by the great Khuswant Singh , where he accussed former Orissa chief minister (and now Assam governor) J B Patnaik on much the same grounds like Nishiraj has now done with the bhokots. Patnaik sued the Weekly and taught Abdi and his editor Pritish Nandy , all sensation seekers , a great lesson . Now, Abdi is facing trial in a Calcutta court for raping his maid servant , having ruined the life of his wife, Sreela Majumder , who is Bengal's one of the best contemporary actress Sreela Majumder ands famous for her great roles in films like Chokh .