[Reader-list] Kashmir’s Fruits of Discord (or a discordant arundhati roy?)

Thu Nov 11 11:43:05 IST 2010

Samvit,

I frankly do not care what Arundhati Roy has to say about the Bodo cause or
kashmir. She is not a government functionary or party to the conflict in
Assam or where ever. However, her participation is a problem for several
people on this list including you because she could have been the mascot of
the "shining" India but instead she is seen siding with dissident forces. It
is not a problem for me.

I am questioning you Samvit for raking up an issue which could have been
addressed in seperate head altogether in this forum itself. Such
conjunctions distort if not dilute the Bodo issue. And yes you have no idea
what happened exactly in Rowta, Baksa and Karbi Anglong over the last few
days. You have no idea as to why there is an anti talks faction within
National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). You have no idea why there are
designated camps for the extremists in the jungles of Arunachal. Your
sentiments for your fellow indians who have been killed in this incident is
evidently very plastic as you expect that such arguments would go a long way
in branding Roy and others.

However, let me congratulate for understanding this one basic fact that
writers are also human and need funds to write and survive. All this while,
I thought that you assumed them to be this all powerful, omniscient beings,
which is why seeing them in a gymnasium with a certain kind of clothing was
such a problem for you. Unfortunately, when it comes to the "funding" bit
about the steel or large hydro electric concerns, you and several others
quietly assume the position of that ideal "lay" person. You know it very
well when to hound people about funds and when to keep mum, so even if i
question about your ideas on Bodo issue, it is bound to be some lopsided
police-security version of this issue. How about educating you on the Bodo
issue? I dont think you deserve that kind of education in this or any other
issue, it is bound to be distorted by you and your likes.

And wait, as far as I can recall you seem to know the charitable activities
of RSS. A press note by RSS circulated among the cross section of media says
that RSS cadres laid down their lives fighting militants in north east.
Which cadres? Where? Is RSS counting innocent traders from north india
caught in the cross fire?

Anupam

On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 8:46 AM, Samvit <samvitr at gmail.com> wrote:

> Anupam,
> You have pronounced the judgment. It seems Arundhati will be
> hip-hopping to Bodo cause now. The point I was trying to draw home was
> that while Mata Arundhati is whining about her tragedy to a capitalist
> newspaper about 25 people got killed in a single day in Assam. If the
> same thing would have happened in Kashmir she would have wailed her
> heart out. Is it that she is not getting funded for talking about the
> Bodos or the Assamese/other settlers. Perhaps the Geelanies and
> Masarat Alams of  Bodoland have not outsourced their issue to her, not
> yet.
> -SR
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 10, 2010 at 6:54 PM, anupam chakravartty <c.anupam at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > Samvit,
> >
> > Raking up an issue about Bodos in this public fora without knowing that
> > Bodos are the indigenous people in Assam suffering neglect and
> exploitation
> > in hands of Assamese as well as other settlers is tragic. Do you know
> > security forces have killed thousands over the years for those demanded
> > Bodoland for themselves? What do you know about the Bodoland issue? How
> come
> > Bodos also killed the so called Bangladeshis encroaching their lands?
> This
> > issue was raised in forum a year back about Muslim camps hosting a
> Pakistani
> > flag when riots broke out between Bodos and Muslims near Barpeta.
> >
> > Please stop using identatitarian issues for your narrow gains in debate
> at a
> > public forum. your comparitive analysis doesnt dilute the topic that is
> > being discussed here.
> >
> > anupam
> >
> > On Wed, Nov 10, 2010 at 6:43 PM, Samvit <samvitr at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> Pretty surprising I didn't find her taking on the Bodo's after they
> >> killed about 20-25 people in Assam yesterday. Or were the Bodos also
> >> part of that Conclave where we had the rookies from India's underbelly
> >> trying to gang up?
> >> Or maybe Arundhati and her cronies feel that they would NOT make much
> >> news if they talk about the Bodos or the people who were murdered.
> >> Perhaps Arundhati and co are yet to decide which side to butter!!!
> >>
> >> On Tue, Nov 9, 2010 at 5:41 PM, Aalok Aima <aalok.aima at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > that arundhati roy has lost a sense of reality was being suspected for
> >> > quite some time and became evident in her statement after the protest
> by the
> >> > bjp mahila wing at her house on 31/10/10
> >> >
> >> > her latest article  in nyt only confirms it
> >> >
> >> > she writes "I wasn’t arrested that night. Instead, in what is becoming
> a
> >> > common political strategy, officials outsourced their displeasure to
> the
> >> > mob. A few days after I returned home, the women’s wing of the
> Bharatiya
> >> > Janata Party (the right-wing Hindu nationalist opposition) staged a
> >> > demonstration outside my house, calling for my arrest."
> >> >
> >> > so, according to arundhati the officials (in delhi) 'outsourced their
> >> > displeasure' to (of all the people) " the women’s wing of the
> Bharatiya
> >> > Janata Party" ........ quite a collusion between the ...congress govt
> and
> >> > the bjp ..... all because of arundhati ...... somewhat self-delusional
> of
> >> > her
> >> >
> >> > the self-delusion is also reflected in her (kind of suggesting) that
> no
> >> > one should file court cases against her
> >> >
> >> > she writes "The murderous Bajrang Dal, a militant Hindu group that, in
> >> > 2002, spearheaded attacks against Muslims in Gujarat in which more
> than a
> >> > thousand people were killed, have announced that they are going to
> “fix” me
> >> > with all the means at their disposal, including by filing criminal
> charges
> >> > against me in different courts across the country."
> >> >
> >> > (much as i detest them) what is wrong with bajrang dal or any other
> >> > organisation or individual "filing criminal charges" against arundhati
> "in
> >> > different courts across the country"? for sure it would be harassment
> but
> >> > arundhati should expect that as a counter for her version of the truth
> >> > ...... nothing illegal about it ......... no human rights abuse in it
> ....
> >> > it is the 'aazadi' of approaching a court of law (or many) with a
> complaint
> >> >
> >> > tale piece : there has to be a tale to be found in arundhati's rancour
> >> > against and dissatisfaction with obama (in his india visit)
> being discordant
> >> > with arundhati's separatist brothers of kashmir's stone age being
> "jubilant"
> >> > over obama
> >> >
> >> >
> http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/Nov/9/separatists-jubilant-37.asp
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > .............. aalok aima
> >> >
> >> >
> http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/opinion/09roy.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all
> >> > arundhati has earlier written screenplays
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
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