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VOLUME 35, ISSUE NO. 9 :: JULY 2008<br />
Scenes from Assam 2008 in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, July 3-5. Collage by Dhruba Das
The yearly NRI Assamese get<br />
<strong>to</strong>gether, Assam2008 of North<br />
America, was held again this year<br />
during the 4 th of July weekend. This<br />
yearly event is a part of the on-going<br />
effort <strong>to</strong> bring <strong>to</strong>gether the scattered<br />
Assamese community in North<br />
America for a celebration of<br />
Assamese heritage and culture. As<br />
always, there was good fellowship,<br />
fun filled activities, cultural programs,<br />
special workshops, special<br />
presentations, and of course, lots of<br />
good food catered, and home baked.<br />
Assam2008 was almost a three-day<br />
event. The first day, July 3rd, started<br />
with a reception, registration, and<br />
then a group dinner at a very nice<br />
restaurant where people could chat<br />
and socialize. The evening would<br />
have ended with dance <strong>to</strong> DJ Music,<br />
however, due <strong>to</strong> a tragedy in one of<br />
the families, this event was cancelled for the night.<br />
July 4 th and 5 th were filled with many activities,<br />
including options for families <strong>to</strong> go on site seeing<br />
<strong>to</strong>urs of nearby Valley Forge National His<strong>to</strong>rical<br />
Park and Longwood Botanical Gardens during<br />
morning and early afternoon.<br />
A Scene During a Husori Performance during Assam 2008<br />
Great Entertainment<br />
at Assam 2008<br />
Some of the Assam 2008 attendees at 1:30 AM on July 5th after the cultural program<br />
Our guest artist for the event was well-known Ms.<br />
Tarali Sarma, the only Assamese National Film<br />
Award winner for Best Female Playback Singer, for<br />
the film Akashi Torar Kothare in 2004. She is a<br />
regular performing artist of All India Radio and<br />
Page 2 * POSOOWA, July 2007<br />
Dooradarshan. She is a singer, composer and<br />
direc<strong>to</strong>r, and a philanthropist. Tarali not only<br />
performed on both days, but she also<br />
participated with our local talented artist<br />
Sankumani Sarma in a duet and played the<br />
harmonium in another song. She simply got<br />
everyone involved in singing and dancing on<br />
both days. Everyone had a blast having a good<br />
time; everyone enjoyed her down-<strong>to</strong>earth<br />
personality. We wish the best <strong>to</strong> Ms.<br />
Tarali Sarma and her family. Folks also<br />
bought Tarali’s latest CD like hot cake.<br />
In addition <strong>to</strong> our guest artist, there were<br />
plenty of other very talented artists who<br />
performed in many different cultural<br />
items from flute recital, karate, Satriya<br />
dance, Assamese modern dance, Bihu<br />
dances, Husori, Hindi songs, Gazals, of<br />
course, a lot of Assamese songs, Bihu<br />
songs, Boro dances, <strong>to</strong>o many <strong>to</strong> mention<br />
here. Thanks <strong>to</strong> all the talented local<br />
artists, without whose support and<br />
participation, we could not hold these<br />
events. The cultural show on the 4 th<br />
started with a chorus, specially composed<br />
for the event. Thanks <strong>to</strong> Mrs. Anuja Bala<br />
Devi of Guwahati for the composition.<br />
Music was given by her son, our own very<br />
talented Mr. Sankumani Sarma. Thank
you Sankumani!<br />
Some of the other highlights of the event were a workshop on CPR and<br />
Heimlich maneuver, something everyone should know about. Thanks <strong>to</strong><br />
<strong>Dr</strong>. Nirode Das for this workshop, where many received hands-on training.<br />
FASS, Friends of Assam and Seven Sisters, USA representative Mr. Rajen<br />
Barua gave a very informative presentation on FASS and on the myriads of<br />
much needed projects the group is working on. He also showed the first<br />
ever Assamese audio-video show of a folk tale for children by Ankur Bora.<br />
Last but not the least, he released packets of cards created by the project<br />
Tarali Sarma singing popular “Phule Phulise Bohon<strong>to</strong>..” Bihu<br />
Song:<br />
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qSdNmaowLTM<br />
Mridu dancing <strong>to</strong> Zubeen’s Assamese song “Agoli Bahore<br />
Gogona ..”, from Junaki Mon:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qsgeqC7Ua0<br />
Tarali Sarma singing “Khoj Lahekoi dibi..”:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuSJ5xskXnE<br />
Tarali Sarma singing Al Phulia Kopow Phul, oh dehi..:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRe0-RvSjdY<br />
Bollywood dance <strong>to</strong> “Mauja hi Mauja”(jab we met)” by Mridu<br />
and Mars Brahma:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW1qgbNFSsQ<br />
Boro/Bodo dance:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7RdGl_a2ng<br />
Tarali Sarma with classic song - “Mukoli Mukoli Mon hoi<br />
Bogoli..Notunore ..”:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXPntbkNSOQ<br />
Bihu/Hussori dance <strong>to</strong> Zubeen’s “Boroline Aspoline ..”:<br />
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8blosOajfFU<br />
Chorus composed by Shankumani Sarmah and his mother:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3Xppj99Ngk<br />
Assamese dance <strong>to</strong> Santa Ujir’s “Oh Senai ..” by Pokhi, Nandita<br />
and Deisha:<br />
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y21wk5lWmd4<br />
Biya Nam by Tarali Sarma for Utpal and Malabika Brahma:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32uCp3hFfN0<br />
Tarali Sarma sang for those NRA who are young in spirit:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMG4-uCazc0<br />
Bihu dance by Nandita and Deisha:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlGG2rurLM0<br />
Satriya Dance by Nilakshi and Surabhi:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q2vOiaxJNo<br />
Satriya Dance by Bonmayuri Kalita:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpted_-pkYQ<br />
Duet song by Nilakshi and Jayanta Thakuria:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqCUhkDPV1Y<br />
Assamese modern dance by Niku Bhuyan:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtWEd3mOcHk<br />
Mridu Brahma dancing <strong>to</strong> Dhoom Tana Bollywood Song<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXn7Md8vKcc<br />
Karate Action by Rishi Bhuyan:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5FtUiCKRCg<br />
Ghazal by Sankumani Sarma, Tarali Sarma and Dhruba Das:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o09vGrShn0E<br />
Ghazal by Sankumani and Shavani Sarma:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR6OKKhPKh4<br />
DJing by Utpal and Shyam:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRq7cnwKymc<br />
Assam 2008 Videos<br />
The cultural programs during the two nights of Assam 2008 were of excellent quality. The DJs were entertaining, in particular the team of Utpal<br />
and Shyam. National (India) Award Winner Tarali Sarma engaged and enthralled the crowd on both nights of 4 th and 5 th of July. The food and the<br />
snacks were great. The camaraderie was unparalleled. Many videos were taken during the Assam 2008 celebrations. Here, we provide links <strong>to</strong> a<br />
few of them. The videos were created and uploaded by Niranjan Bahma, Umesh Tahbildar, Ganesh Bora and others.<br />
Page 3 * POSOOWA, July 2007<br />
“Learn Assamese with Flash Card”, which sold very well.<br />
The end results? Everyone had a great time; on one wanted <strong>to</strong> leave the<br />
hotel the day after the event. So, we are looking forward <strong>to</strong> our next years<br />
get <strong>to</strong>gether. Hopefully, somehow, we can combine the two events held<br />
always on the same days, but in different locations! If we can’t combine<br />
them, this group will hold the next Assam2009 in Colorado as announced<br />
in Assam2008!<br />
By Dhruba Das, Pennsylvania, USA<br />
Niku Bhuyan Bihu dance:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqXQg-JI768<br />
Abhi Sarma singing:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDf7oaGZyFU<br />
Siddharth Bhuyan dancing:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPW9Cy9NRr4<br />
Xagor Xangamat by Biraj Bhuyan and Umesh Tahbildar:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-9BGtSJI4M<br />
Tarali Sarma and Umesh Tabhildar, Nodi barhile oi:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-9BGtSJI4M<br />
Dinner time:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjwiWLfMlmA<br />
Dance by Tarali Sarma, Bunoo Tahbildar, Niku Bhuyan,<br />
Shrabani Sarma, Nilakshi Thakuria, Dulari Tahbildar:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-McNi_DF00<br />
Tarali Sarma, Bihu song and dance:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDzGRsa4iHY<br />
Bonmayuri Kalita, Bharat Natyam:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g3CxeC_Cro<br />
Ruprekha Bhuyan singing:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8C4Tb-MlL4<br />
Tarali Sarma and Umesh Tahbildar:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUU8hNBUeQI<br />
Xat xagoror xiparot by Umesh Tahbildar:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmyZN6-Ed_0<br />
Tarali Sarma, Bihuer bo<strong>to</strong>rot he mon kheli meli:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zslxD51tNbU<br />
Goru Bihu, Ajay Hazarika, Ganesh Bora, Mallika Bora, Nomal<br />
Dutta and others:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daFIvLNrJW8<br />
Amerikar Rick and Nick, Nabou O’ by Zubin Garg:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4mI7gSPu98<br />
Amerikar Rick and Nick, Shake Shake Shake:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl_SSYEOX8Y<br />
Husori by Utpal Bora, Binoy Bordoloi and others:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGRYFJ-mUPU<br />
Group Dance <strong>to</strong> Tarali Sarma’s Bihu song:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5f74czAfRY<br />
Amerikar Rick and Nick, Ahe ba nahe ghumoti:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUXRI4fUXe8<br />
Amerikar Rick and Nick, At the Hop:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFvhH-gY3Cg<br />
Amerikar Rick and Nick Husori:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4JnyhF0AMk<br />
Tarali Sarma message for Assam 2009:<br />
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKaND0XRfcI<br />
Compiled by Jugal Kalita
Assam 2009 gratefully<br />
acknowledges commitment<br />
by Biraj Bhuyan<br />
Assam 2009 will be held in Colorado during the July 4th weekend of 2009. An Organizing<br />
Committee has been formed with Mr. Ganesh Bhuyan of Westminster, Colorado as the<br />
Advisor. The site for Assam 2009 will be selected shortly; preliminary work has already<br />
begun in this regard. The Organizing Committee takes this opportunity <strong>to</strong> extend an early<br />
welcome <strong>to</strong> all Assamese individuals and families in North America and beyond.<br />
The Organizing Committee gratefully acknowledges a generous commitment by Mr. Biraj<br />
Bhuyan of Norris<strong>to</strong>wn, Pennsylvania, <strong>to</strong> pay for the travel of the invited artist from Assam<br />
<strong>to</strong> Colorado. The invited artist is National (India) Award winning singer Mrs. Tarali Sarma,<br />
who graced Assam 2008 in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Here is a link <strong>to</strong> an invitation by<br />
Mrs. Tarali Sarma <strong>to</strong> Assam 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKaND0XRfcI.<br />
Biraj Bhuyan, originally of Jamuguri, is a very successful businessman, primarily involved<br />
in diamond wholesale and real estate. He is well-known in the political circles in Assam,<br />
India and Pennsylvania. Here are two pho<strong>to</strong>graphs of Biraj Bhuyan, one with Mr. Deve<br />
Gowda, ex-Prime Minister of India, and the other with Mr. L.K. Advani, Ex-Deputy Prime<br />
Minister of India.<br />
Continued from page 5..<br />
The joy of seeing and<br />
doing ordinary things<br />
Anyway, the task is humongous from start<br />
<strong>to</strong> finish. Way <strong>to</strong>o humongous and complex!<br />
If you work for an intelligence agency in<br />
Assam, you just reflexively go in a show of<br />
force <strong>to</strong> Fancy Bazar or Bhangagar (most of<br />
the crimes are reportedly committed there)<br />
in Guwahati <strong>to</strong> catch terrorists, killers and<br />
mayhem seekers red-handed after they<br />
committed those crime and gone away from<br />
the scene of crime. No, you penetrate their<br />
cells, identify who they are, find their<br />
financing, who they communicate with. In<br />
other words, like a duck, you take a bill-full<br />
of them, churn them over and over <strong>to</strong> get<br />
the nugget or nuggets (not in a celebra<strong>to</strong>ry<br />
sense) in that bill-full. It’s a lot of intelligent,<br />
painstaking work. But, who has the time and<br />
the intelligence? They are in short supply<br />
Now, we come <strong>to</strong> the discuss what intelligent<br />
agencies all over the developed world do <strong>to</strong><br />
pick up nuggets of information and piece<br />
them <strong>to</strong>gether <strong>to</strong> stay ahead of evil designs<br />
of adversaries. It’s called data mining. The US<br />
National Security Agency can intercept,<br />
moni<strong>to</strong>r and survey all outgoing and<br />
incoming communications from and <strong>to</strong> the<br />
country. It basically boils down <strong>to</strong> looking at<br />
the patterns of ‘1’s and ‘0’s in all<br />
communications, and interpret them for<br />
immediate action.<br />
I will end this lazy form of stupidity of mine<br />
by citing another example of knowing small<br />
tiny bits of things. NASA has sent a probe<br />
named Phoenix in<strong>to</strong> Mars. It <strong>to</strong>ok 10 months<br />
of travel at 12,000 miles an hour since the<br />
launch, traveled 422 million miles, and the<br />
cost of the project was 420 million dollars.<br />
The Phoenix probe decelerated in the last 7<br />
minutes before landing and made a pillow-<br />
Page 4 * POSOOWA, July 2007<br />
soft landing <strong>to</strong> protect all the vital gear.<br />
The mission was not <strong>to</strong> find out if there ever<br />
existed giant elephants, dinosaurs, large<br />
headed humans and other giant creatures<br />
on it. But, its mission is <strong>to</strong> dig in<strong>to</strong> the soil,<br />
about 12 - 20 inches deep, <strong>to</strong> find if there<br />
exists water or ever existed water in that<br />
barren red planet. Water could’ve hosted<br />
primitive but fundamental forms of life -<br />
microorganisms, the amino acids, etc. There<br />
are fine instruments on board. The data will<br />
be transmitted <strong>to</strong> earth stations for detailed<br />
analysis by scientists.<br />
‘What crazy ideas, what a waste of time,<br />
talent and money’, you might think aloud.<br />
Scientists survive on borderline craziness<br />
until one day they die leaving fruits of their<br />
labor and craziness for us <strong>to</strong> enjoy. Science<br />
marches boldly on. Religions tentatively<br />
follow way behind<br />
espousing irrelevant,<br />
rejected ideas from the<br />
past - long ways past...<br />
Kalyan Dutta-Choudhury<br />
Berkeley
The joy of seeing and<br />
doing ordinary things<br />
If you’re a ‘wide-eyed and bushy-tailed’<br />
individual who is apt <strong>to</strong> marvel at engaging<br />
in most ordinary things in this world - like<br />
watching bull frogs croaking by the side of<br />
a pond or a lizard walking on a bare wall or<br />
ants moving in neat formations in search of<br />
food or dogs and cows (shamelessly, for us)<br />
blissfully copulating in the wide open, and,<br />
further, you enjoy doing fun things like<br />
playing carom or ‘dung guti’ or holding a<br />
mug of tea in a winter morning and then<br />
watching the steam curling up and rising<br />
from the mug - then you can count me in<br />
your group. I am absolutely that type. I often<br />
wondered and still do wonder what the ants<br />
coming from opposite directions in search<br />
of food or carrying food tell each other<br />
when they meet for tête-à-têtes only, and<br />
then move on<br />
Our English teacher confirmed my belief<br />
when he declared deadpan <strong>to</strong> a roomful of<br />
eager students while teaching simple<br />
pleasures of life that defecating in the sands<br />
of the banks of the Brahmaputra on a<br />
moonlit night was absolutely divine. ‘You<br />
can’t get any pleasure higher than that.<br />
Even, the s<strong>to</strong>ry of fabled ‘Gopal Bhar’ will fall<br />
short in comparison’, he said and went on<br />
teaching the subject. We ourselves couldn’t<br />
do that in the sands. But, we did the next<br />
best thing - we did that as a group of wild<br />
friends under the shrubs in the back of our<br />
house while smoking long beedies and<br />
discussing the emerging beauty of so and<br />
so girls in our <strong>to</strong>wn.<br />
The association with the likes of me - there<br />
are many more in closet than out in the<br />
open - wouldn’t bring you any fame or<br />
wealth other than bringing absolute<br />
ridicule from your peers. But, it should bring<br />
you a lot of simple pleasures like watching<br />
ducks, for example. You said, ‘Watching<br />
ducks languidly seemingly floating in a<br />
pond like Brownian particles, or foraging in<br />
a house-side dump of rubbish. You don’t<br />
mean it? Do you? Explain it’, you would<br />
say… ‘I mean it absolutely, irreversively’, I<br />
would say.<br />
Take for example household ducks - the<br />
variety, which survives very simply by<br />
endless foraging. You let them loose in a pile<br />
of freshly pounded rice-husk - actually, you<br />
don’t have <strong>to</strong> let them loose. They will come<br />
<strong>to</strong> forage on their own. The pile will be sifted<br />
and sifted again, turned over <strong>to</strong> gather an<br />
elusive kernel of broken rice in the pile.<br />
When the last grain is exhaustively mined,<br />
the ducks will find something else <strong>to</strong> forage<br />
on. It’s like panning for gold nuggets in a<br />
river. But, it’s much more in complexity<br />
While panning for gold nuggets requires<br />
sharp eyes, patience and hardiness, the<br />
ducks don’t use their eyes. Of that, I’m sure.<br />
If you blind-fold them, they will still do what<br />
they do. They dig their colorful bills in<strong>to</strong> a<br />
pile of fresh husk, take in<strong>to</strong> in a bill-full, shift<br />
through that in less than a second (nobody<br />
ever <strong>to</strong>ok a s<strong>to</strong>p-watch <strong>to</strong> count the time<br />
because nobody knows the complexity of<br />
the process), turn them over the again and<br />
again in the mouth. If a morsel is found - a<br />
tiny bit of a morsel, that’s all right. Then<br />
eating that, it spits out of the bill-full what<br />
is useless rubbish. Then the duck goes in for<br />
another fresh bill-full, performs another<br />
systematic search operation with the billfull<br />
for that morsel.<br />
Before long, the entire pile of husk will be<br />
shifted though, and whatever is salvageable<br />
will be salvaged. The ducks won’t waste<br />
their time digging in<strong>to</strong> the old<br />
unproductive pile. They will wait for another<br />
time when they see a woman in the<br />
household come <strong>to</strong> the dumpsite with a<br />
fresh pile of freshly-pound virgin husks in a<br />
‘dola’ or ‘kula’. She does that with a flourish<br />
<strong>to</strong> watch, with a flick of her waist and hands.<br />
Now, let’s consider a honey-bee-hive that<br />
forms and hangs from a branch of a large<br />
tree. There are millions and millions of<br />
swarming and seething bees in a fully<br />
formed hive. Most of the bees are worker<br />
bees that bring pollen from flowering plants<br />
and trees. There are also queen bees that<br />
survive on the free labor of worker bees.<br />
This is nothing new. Just look around. How<br />
is the pollen turned in<strong>to</strong> honey? Don’t ask<br />
me! I almost failed in chemistry. I wasn’t at<br />
Page 5 * POSOOWA, July 2007<br />
all interested in chemistry.<br />
When my home<strong>to</strong>wn Gauripur was rural,<br />
there were two or three beehives formed<br />
annually in the huge mango garden in the<br />
back of our house. When the hives were<br />
saturated with honey, the honey-experts<br />
would descend on the mango garden <strong>to</strong><br />
harvest. One or two experts would light a<br />
smoky long ‘mashal’ and approach the hive<br />
very carefully. Then, he would carefully<br />
swipe the hive of bees by his bare hand. One<br />
or two stings wouldn’t deter the expert. He<br />
was in business. He would cut the hive in<strong>to</strong><br />
pieces and put them in buckets. For the next<br />
days, there would be honey for everything<br />
from tea <strong>to</strong> luchi in the house. The bees<br />
would make it <strong>to</strong> a next hive in a<br />
neighboring tree or go away for the whole<br />
year only <strong>to</strong> reappear again.<br />
Why waste you time watching ducks? Watch<br />
a bunch of chicken. They don’t have long<br />
bills. Instead, they have very sharp skinpiercing<br />
beaks. They don’t care much about<br />
some half-broken rice in a pile of husk. They<br />
will eat them if they are seen on the surface<br />
of a pile. The sight of things is important for<br />
them. Their first choice is wiggly<br />
earthworms. And the second choice is, get<br />
ready <strong>to</strong> read this nasty habit, human<br />
phlegm and what comes out of your<br />
nostrils, notably from old-folks’. But, unlike<br />
ducks, chickens use their legs <strong>to</strong> scratch the<br />
surface of a dump <strong>to</strong> get the worms.<br />
How about hogs? Their favorite food is soft<br />
roots of what grows underground like<br />
‘kochu’ (taro). With single-minded devotion,<br />
they forage ahead and dig their spouts in<strong>to</strong><br />
the ground, tear up the ground like a like a<br />
tiller, get the roots out and they are done<br />
with that patch of land. Now they are ready<br />
for another patch. Not an ordinary patch of<br />
land but a patch of land where ‘kochu’<br />
grows in abundance!...<br />
Let’s go back <strong>to</strong> the problem of ducks<br />
foraging for a few rice-nuggets in pile of<br />
husk. We want <strong>to</strong> have a grip on the<br />
problem. Now, consider that you’re a<br />
‘namjala’ computer scientist, or a<br />
computational physicist, or a<br />
developmental biologist, or a neuroscientist,<br />
or a robotic scientist and you’re<br />
given the task of writing an algorithm on<br />
what is happening from the moment the<br />
duck-bill goes in<strong>to</strong> pile, sifts through the<br />
bill-full, does find a morsel of rice, eats it,<br />
ejects what was in the bill, and digs again<br />
for another bill-full. There may be more<br />
steps than what we have discussed.<br />
Continued on page 4..
One Minute Outcry of Anguish<br />
s<strong>to</strong>p the floods<br />
‘The water came in and within 30<br />
minutes engulfed the whole area<br />
giving us just enough time <strong>to</strong> save our<br />
lives. Just like in an awful nightmare,<br />
our houses and whatever we had were<br />
under water. And <strong>to</strong>day, I am living like<br />
a refugee in my own <strong>to</strong>wn,’ narrated<br />
one of the flood stricken victims of<br />
Lakhimpur.<br />
‘It happens every year. The water<br />
comes and ruins our lives. Every year<br />
we move away, but every year the<br />
water comes <strong>to</strong> us, as if it has made up<br />
its mind never <strong>to</strong> let us live in peace.’<br />
‘The hydel project that is going on was<br />
supposed <strong>to</strong> be a boon for us, but it<br />
has turned in<strong>to</strong> a curse. Every year,<br />
whenever the water increases on their<br />
side---they release water in<strong>to</strong> the<br />
already raging rivers and it causes<br />
massive floods. Even before the<br />
project started, they were warned that<br />
their efforts might lead <strong>to</strong> an increase<br />
in floods down the river. But all those<br />
advice and protestations fell in<strong>to</strong> deaf<br />
ears. Now although some of their own<br />
people admit their dreadful mistake,<br />
publicly they maintain a strong stance<br />
of modernization. This time though<br />
they have claimed that they had<br />
informed the district administration,<br />
but it seems the district administration<br />
simply ignored it. But even if they had<br />
heeded, what could they have done?<br />
Is it possible <strong>to</strong> remove such a huge<br />
populace and their belongings in short<br />
notice? What’s the use of progress if it<br />
harms people instead of benefiting<br />
them?’<br />
‘Nature itself never causes all these<br />
problems; it’s all human follies. So<br />
many trees have been cut down, and<br />
it has led <strong>to</strong> massive soil erosion; and<br />
deposition of this soil in the river has<br />
made the river bed rise; and hence,<br />
when it rains a little-- the river<br />
overflows and floods.’<br />
‘Simple things can change the<br />
scenario—the hydel project should be<br />
s<strong>to</strong>pped for the time being and its<br />
environmental impacts should be<br />
studied. They should investigate<br />
measures <strong>to</strong> ensure that they do not<br />
release water <strong>to</strong> the rivers and hence<br />
cause floods. They should develop a<br />
plan and release the water where it<br />
won’t impact the populace and at least<br />
work with the government and local<br />
administration <strong>to</strong> s<strong>to</strong>p this kind of<br />
destruction.’<br />
Page 6 * POSOOWA, July 2007<br />
‘Can’t we do something <strong>to</strong> clean up the<br />
riverbed, thus ensure that the river<br />
does not overflow after a mere rainfall?<br />
It is not an impossible task, most of<br />
these rivers almost dry up during the<br />
winters and the soil can be removed<br />
from the riverbed. This soil can be used<br />
for agricultural purposes as it is very<br />
fertile.’<br />
‘Why don’t we build dams at the right<br />
locations? These can provide us with<br />
electricity and also ensure that the<br />
surrounding areas are not flooded.’<br />
‘These ideas are ripe and are floating<br />
around, but nobody seems <strong>to</strong> care.<br />
After all, floods also mean money for<br />
the politicians who control all the<br />
purse strings. Half of the relief money<br />
that comes for the people disappears.<br />
But we don’t care about that. What we<br />
need is <strong>to</strong> work out something that<br />
can prevent the river from coming <strong>to</strong><br />
us every summer. Why can’t anybody<br />
do anything <strong>to</strong> s<strong>to</strong>p these floods from<br />
killing us and destroying us all over--every<br />
year?’<br />
Author’s Note: The idea of bringing up<br />
this lamentation of anguish by a flood<br />
victim is <strong>to</strong> highlight the need for a<br />
symposium or a discussion forum <strong>to</strong><br />
find ways <strong>to</strong> defeat the floods that<br />
cripple the lives of our people back<br />
home—without fail every year. Even a<br />
small step can bring miracles <strong>to</strong> the<br />
lives of many.<br />
By Kaushik Phukan<br />
Seattle<br />
Online newspaper from Assam with breaking news, features, pho<strong>to</strong>s ...<br />
Please visit : www.assamtimes.org<br />
or write <strong>to</strong> edi<strong>to</strong>r@assamtimes.org
The Indo-US Civilian<br />
Nuclear Cooperation<br />
(The 123 Agreement)<br />
The controversy over the Indo-US Civilian Nuclear<br />
Cooperation Agreement has in recent weeks caused<br />
much political turmoil in India. The fate of India's<br />
coalition Government and its his<strong>to</strong>ric nuclear deal with<br />
the United States is hanging in the balance <strong>to</strong>day as<br />
voting is going on for a confidence motion in the<br />
Indian parliament at the time of writing this article.<br />
Considering the fact that not much has happened in<br />
terms of debates and discussion in the entire country<br />
on a matter of vast national interest, it is worthwhile<br />
for all <strong>to</strong> understand various implications of<br />
operationalizing the Agreement. Towards that end this<br />
article presents some information extracted primarily<br />
from the public domain.<br />
The Agreement of Cooperation between the<br />
Government of the United States of America and<br />
the Government of India concerning peaceful uses<br />
of nuclear energy, commonly known as the 123<br />
Agreement, refers <strong>to</strong> Section 123 of the U.S. A<strong>to</strong>mic<br />
Energy Act (AEA) of 1954 which governs all civilian<br />
nuclear cooperation agreement with the US. This<br />
Act, as amended, requires U.S. reac<strong>to</strong>r and reac<strong>to</strong>r<br />
fuel exports <strong>to</strong> be subject <strong>to</strong> the terms of a Section<br />
123 Agreement. Section 129 of the same act states<br />
that<br />
“No nuclear materials and equipment or sensitive<br />
nuclear technology shall be exported <strong>to</strong><br />
(1) any non-nuclear-weapon state that is found by<br />
the President <strong>to</strong> have, at any time after the effective<br />
date of this section, de<strong>to</strong>nated a nuclear explosive<br />
device;” etc.<br />
The above stipulation regarding a non-nuclearweapon<br />
state has created a hurdle for India since<br />
India is a non-nuclear-weapon state according <strong>to</strong><br />
the provisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation<br />
Treaty (NPT) - a landmark international treaty<br />
whose objective is <strong>to</strong> prevent the spread of<br />
nuclear weapons and weapons technology, <strong>to</strong><br />
promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of<br />
nuclear energy and <strong>to</strong> further the goal of<br />
achieving nuclear disarmament and general and<br />
complete disarmament. According <strong>to</strong> this Treaty<br />
that became effective in 1970, a nuclear-weapon<br />
state is one that has manufactured and exploded<br />
a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive<br />
device prior <strong>to</strong> January 1, 1967. Since India<br />
exploded its first nuclear device in 1974 after the<br />
cut-off date, it was not included in the select<br />
group of five nuclear weapon states - USA, UK,<br />
France, Russia and China. India is not a signa<strong>to</strong>ry<br />
of the NPT because India considers it <strong>to</strong> be<br />
discrimina<strong>to</strong>ry. India has an indigenous strategic<br />
nuclear program and it is a de fac<strong>to</strong> nuclearweapon-<br />
state. India also has an impeccable record<br />
of non-proliferation of nuclear materials and<br />
technology. Soon after India exploded its “peaceful<br />
nuclear device” in 1974, the US led a nuclear ban<br />
on India and all foreign assistance immediately<br />
s<strong>to</strong>pped, crippling its indigenous nuclear program,<br />
most visibly at Tarapur nuclear plant.<br />
India, a “rising Asian giant” and an emerging<br />
economic power, is in dire need for energy <strong>to</strong> run<br />
its economic growth machine much like China.<br />
Nuclear energy offers a very attractive option <strong>to</strong><br />
meet part of the country’s energy needs. It is<br />
renewable, does not produce carbon and cost<br />
effective and, therefore, it is a desirable component<br />
of the country’s overall energy program. But <strong>to</strong><br />
generate nuclear energy, India needs nuclear fuel<br />
that is uranium based. India has only limited supply<br />
of uranium and it has <strong>to</strong> depend on foreign supply<br />
of this nuclear fuel, which it is barred from getting<br />
in the international market because of the<br />
sanctions imposed after the first nuclear test in<br />
1974. India’s civilian nuclear energy development<br />
is embodied in a three-stage strategy of which the<br />
final stage is based on thorium fuel cycle, which is<br />
in the process of development and finalization.<br />
India has the second largest reserve of thorium and<br />
about a fourth of the world’s supply. But it has very<br />
limited supply of uranium. Until thorium based fuel<br />
cycle is rolled out completely, India has <strong>to</strong> depend<br />
Tarapur Nuclear Poer Plant, Maharashtra<br />
Page 7 * POSOOWA, July 2007<br />
on supply of uranium based nuclear fuel.<br />
During the last three decades or so, realities of<br />
geopolitics have changed. The rise of China and<br />
India as two Asian economic giants has given rise<br />
<strong>to</strong> new imperatives on the part of the US - the only<br />
superpower in a multi-polar world. India being the<br />
biggest democracy has close affinity politically with<br />
the US and US fear for China’s rise requires it <strong>to</strong> have<br />
an Asian counterweight for balance of power.<br />
Additionally, nuclear trade of material and<br />
technology has a lot <strong>to</strong> gain from for both the US<br />
and India. India’s strength can well be perceived <strong>to</strong><br />
be in the best interests of the USA. The confluence<br />
of varied interests in different circles eventually led<br />
<strong>to</strong> the overture by the US <strong>to</strong> lift India out of the post-<br />
Pokhran nuclear isolation. This was expressed by<br />
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President<br />
Bush in their joint statement on July 18, 2005. In<br />
March 2006, President Bush and Prime minister<br />
Manmohan Singh inked the his<strong>to</strong>ric 123<br />
Agreement draft that has been negotiated back<br />
and forth and finally released on August 03, 2007.<br />
Towards operationalizing this agreement a Nuclear<br />
Safeguards Agreement has been ironed out with<br />
the IAEA-Nuclear watchdog of the United Nations<br />
and released on August 10, 2008. Following this,<br />
India will have <strong>to</strong> work out a deal with the 45<br />
member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and<br />
eventually the agreement will have <strong>to</strong> be approved<br />
by the US Congress.<br />
In its attempt <strong>to</strong> overcome the obstacles presented<br />
by the existing laws of the land barring India from<br />
receiving civil nuclear cooperation, the US congress<br />
passed the Hyde Act clearing the way <strong>to</strong> do nuclear<br />
business with India. This essentially facilitates a<br />
special status <strong>to</strong> India <strong>to</strong> avail certain benefits,<br />
which it would not be able, get as a non-nuclearweapon<br />
state. However, certain stipulations of the<br />
Hyde Act have been a source of controversy on their<br />
implications especially on the sovereignty of India<br />
with respect <strong>to</strong> conduct of India’s independent<br />
foreign policy.<br />
Continued on page 11..
“GLORY OF INDIA AWARD”<br />
<strong>to</strong> <strong>Dr</strong>. <strong>Dinesh</strong> <strong>Chandra</strong> <strong>Kakati</strong><br />
On 28 th June 2008, <strong>Dr</strong>. <strong>Dinesh</strong> <strong>Chandra</strong><br />
<strong>Kakati</strong> was presented with the<br />
prestigious global NRI award from the<br />
India International Friendship Society.<br />
The “Glory of India Award” ceremony<br />
was held at the Radison SAS Portman<br />
Hotel in the heart of the West End of<br />
Central London.<br />
The award recognizes those members<br />
of the Indian Diaspora from all around<br />
the world, who have etched their own<br />
distinct identity - socially,<br />
professionally and economically by<br />
the virtue of their own excellence.<br />
These individuals have been proactive<br />
and instrumental in strengthening<br />
Indo-British ties and encouraging<br />
foreign investment in Indian projects<br />
and thus contributing <strong>to</strong> the economic<br />
growth of India.<br />
<strong>Dr</strong>. <strong>Kakati</strong> was recognised for his<br />
outstanding career, spanning 42 years<br />
thus far, in medical science in both<br />
India and the UK. His brilliant<br />
academic career including research<br />
and teaching at the University of<br />
Cambridge and the University of<br />
London, was cited by the award<br />
committee. In addition, <strong>Dr</strong>. <strong>Kakati</strong>’s<br />
many community and philanthropic<br />
works were recognised. These include<br />
his highly respected and<br />
distinguished work in establishing the<br />
St. George’s Day Hospital, a renowned<br />
rehabilitation centre for the local<br />
elderly community in London.<br />
<strong>Dr</strong>. <strong>Kakati</strong> was also acclaimed for his<br />
tireless work in recognizing and<br />
preserving the memory of Shrimanta<br />
Sankardev in the UK over the last 25<br />
years. These celebrations are now a<br />
fully established annual fixture on the<br />
Assamese cultural calendar in the UK,<br />
helping <strong>to</strong> educate young and old<br />
alike in the life and times of the great<br />
Indian Saint. <strong>Dr</strong>. <strong>Kakati</strong>’s current<br />
activities include taking an active role<br />
within a Hindu cultural society,<br />
leading <strong>to</strong> the<br />
construction of the<br />
first Hindu Temple in<br />
his region.<br />
The awards at this 28th<br />
Friendship Banquet<br />
held in London, were<br />
attended by distinguished dignitaries<br />
from around the world, including the<br />
award presenters invited as guests of<br />
honour. <strong>Dr</strong>. <strong>Kakati</strong> was bes<strong>to</strong>wed his<br />
award by <strong>Dr</strong>. Bhisham Narain Singh<br />
(Honourable Former Governor of<br />
Assam and Tamil Nadu), Mr. Churchill<br />
Alemao (Honourable Minister for PWD,<br />
Science & Technology & RDA,<br />
Page 8 * POSOOWA, July 2007<br />
Government of Goa), the Right<br />
Honourable Lord Sheikh (Conservative<br />
member of the House of Lords and<br />
chief guest), and the Right Honourable<br />
Virendra Sharma, M.P. (House of<br />
Commons).<br />
Rita <strong>Kakati</strong>, London<br />
With Compliments from<br />
Dhruba Das<br />
and<br />
Family
Response <strong>to</strong> appeal for<br />
Parijat Academy Library<br />
The response <strong>to</strong> the article published in the<br />
June 2008 issue of <strong>Posoowa</strong> for support <strong>to</strong> the<br />
Nitin Bezbaruah Sarangapani Library is<br />
encouraging.<br />
Manoj Das of Assam Association of Delhi is<br />
coordinating the collection process in Delhi<br />
Manoj Das dasmk2k@gmail.com writes<br />
I’ll be dispatching first batch of books from<br />
Delhi before 15th July through my colleagues<br />
of NEDFi who has kindly agreed <strong>to</strong> carry up <strong>to</strong><br />
15kgs. Kindly let me know who will receive in<br />
Guwahati and the contact point there. I spoke<br />
<strong>to</strong> other people who might donate books and<br />
money for the purpose. As mentioned earlier I<br />
should be able <strong>to</strong> handle collection and<br />
dispatch from Delhi.<br />
I know how young kids crave for books. As a<br />
child, I was fed with books by my dad, who used<br />
<strong>to</strong> bring loads from Guwahati during his<br />
frequent visits <strong>to</strong> the city. I’ll also motivate my<br />
son <strong>to</strong> campaign among his friends for more<br />
books.<br />
Ramesh Kacholia of Mumbai Group of Friends<br />
has committed <strong>to</strong> the library and responded<br />
with the following email<br />
July 17, 2008<br />
To<br />
Ms Alpana B. Sarangapani / Mr.Ram<br />
Sarangapani<br />
USA.<br />
Sub: Introducing Mumbai Group of Friends<br />
(MGoF)<br />
Dear Alpana and Ram,<br />
I am associated with Shri Uttam Teron of Parijat<br />
Academy, Guwahati, from the beginning of<br />
Parijat. He informed me about the Nitin<br />
Bezbaruah Sarangapani Library at Parijat<br />
Academy which you helped <strong>to</strong> establish. I<br />
understand that you supported the<br />
construction of the library room and also<br />
funded bookshelves, a marble sign, and books<br />
and materials. Sure this will be very useful not<br />
only <strong>to</strong> students, but also <strong>to</strong> the public at large<br />
in due course.<br />
I feel that a couple comfortably settled in the<br />
USA will worry about a remote area of India only<br />
if they have a very compassionate<br />
temperament and are deeply interested in<br />
supporting outstanding humanitarian work.<br />
We, i.e., a group of like-minded friends from<br />
Mumbai, have been making our best efforts <strong>to</strong><br />
support various outstanding humanitarian<br />
institutions working in different parts of India.<br />
We are always trying <strong>to</strong> expand both, the<br />
number of such institutions as well as the<br />
number of friends supporting such institutions.<br />
Best wishes and warm regards,<br />
Ramesh Kacholia.<br />
Nitin Malhotra is appealing <strong>to</strong> the Indian<br />
community in Germany<br />
Hi Ankur,<br />
I have been reading your articles on Parijat<br />
Academy and glad <strong>to</strong> know how you are<br />
contributing <strong>to</strong> this progressive cause. I wrote<br />
an email (attached)<br />
<strong>to</strong> other Indians<br />
living in Germany,<br />
telling them about<br />
Parijat and trying <strong>to</strong><br />
encourage them <strong>to</strong><br />
contribute in any way<br />
they can. I am sure<br />
you are doing the<br />
same in the U.S.,<br />
telling more and<br />
more people about<br />
Parijat and<br />
Page 9 * POSOOWA, July 2007<br />
encouraging them <strong>to</strong> give back <strong>to</strong> the society.<br />
BR, Nitin<br />
Appeal <strong>to</strong> the Indians living in Germany<br />
Hello Everyone,<br />
In March 2006, I read an interesting article in<br />
Outlook magazine (also online at -<br />
w w w . o u t l o o k i n d i a . c o m /<br />
mad.asp?fodname=20060213&fname=Making&sid=1)<br />
about a man (Uttam Teron) who was trying <strong>to</strong><br />
bring about a change in the hinterlands of<br />
Assam by starting a school for tribal children,<br />
in an area where there were no roads or any<br />
other basic civic infrastructure. In a very short<br />
time, he managed <strong>to</strong> grow Parijat Academy<br />
from nothing <strong>to</strong> a school with 400<br />
underprivileged students and 16 teachers. I got<br />
in <strong>to</strong>uch with Uttam then and started <strong>to</strong> find<br />
out the kind of work he was doing, his<br />
motivation behind all of this and the kind of<br />
support he needed <strong>to</strong> be successful in this social<br />
cause.<br />
This academy has turned out <strong>to</strong> be a life<br />
changer for those tribal areas, where tribal<br />
people are getting more and more keen on<br />
sending their children <strong>to</strong> Parijat Academy,<br />
hoping that one day their children would be<br />
able <strong>to</strong> lead a respectable and educated life and<br />
not end up being like them (i.e. brewing local<br />
rice beer for the rich and educated living in the<br />
cities).<br />
The reason why I am sharing this with all of you<br />
is that if you <strong>to</strong>o have been looking for<br />
opportunities <strong>to</strong> give back <strong>to</strong> the society, then<br />
getting involved with Parijat Academy might<br />
just be the right chance for you. I personally<br />
think that the only way India can move forward<br />
is thru this public-private partnership knowing<br />
that Government is currently not capable of<br />
taking care of all social problems in India by<br />
themselves. It will require participation from<br />
people like u and me <strong>to</strong> bring about any<br />
change.<br />
Dear readers, if you are planning <strong>to</strong> send<br />
books and other materials, please contact at<br />
Parijat Academy, Pomahi P.O. Garchuk,<br />
Guwahati—781 035, Assam, India.<br />
E-mail: parijatacademy03@ yahoo.com<br />
Ankur Bora, Texas
A Non-Grumbling game<br />
Non Resident Assamese (NRI) have been trying <strong>to</strong><br />
contribute <strong>to</strong> their state in whatever capacity they<br />
can; in the fields of basic education, technology,<br />
medicine, and business. It is expected that these<br />
ideas and practices would bring tangible result in<br />
coming days. This is an ongoing process and may<br />
even take decades <strong>to</strong> attain, however we often<br />
come across news or articles from Assamese<br />
media often showing cynicism. The following is<br />
part of a discussion thread starting with an article<br />
by Swapnil Bharali , corresponding response by<br />
Ankur Bora and follow up comments from Mofid<br />
Rahman.<br />
Excerpt from the article titled<br />
Grumbling GAME-Swapnil Bharali (Horizon, The<br />
Assam Tribune, July 05, 2008)<br />
“If NRAs (non-resident Assamese) have <strong>to</strong> be<br />
contributive <strong>to</strong> Assam, they have <strong>to</strong> do so with<br />
deeds and not words. They have <strong>to</strong> burn their<br />
bridges on their way back and try and work things<br />
from the soil of Assam, against the seemingly<br />
insurmountable odds” (instead of just giving frontpage<br />
interviews while on their brief holidays here,<br />
else) “they may please remain in their comfort<br />
zones and not be bothered about Assam...” (and in<br />
which case) “all I can do is quote Clark Gable from<br />
Gone with the Wind: ‘Frankly my dear, I don’t give<br />
a damn.’”<br />
Well (sigh!)…Actually I do give a damn. And I<br />
cannot help it that I do. This feeling of mine stems<br />
from my past experiences and my various<br />
interactions with a number of NRAs on an internet<br />
discussion forum called Assam Net (1998-2000, if I<br />
remember right). I had watched, observed and<br />
sympathized with the large number of expatriate<br />
Assamese people, the sole <strong>to</strong>pic of concern being<br />
Assam. Often, it had appeared <strong>to</strong> me that these<br />
people had indeed missed out on the love for<br />
their soil by becoming so career-centric that their<br />
desire <strong>to</strong> earn in dollars/pounds rather than<br />
rupees after acquiring their impressive education<br />
and skills led them <strong>to</strong> become expatriates. It had<br />
also often crossed my mind, especially seeing the<br />
huge amount of time these people spent<br />
discussing Assam, that in the process of earning<br />
all those dollars/pounds, they had sorely missed<br />
being in Assam and were indeed truly concerned<br />
that Assam, except for its tea, terrorism and<br />
corruption, did not find any worthwhile place on<br />
the world’s physical, political or commercial map.<br />
Reply <strong>to</strong> Swapnil Bharali by Ankur Bora<br />
Dear Bharali,<br />
This is in reference <strong>to</strong> your article published in the<br />
Assam tribune related <strong>to</strong> the Non Resident<br />
Assamese (NRA).<br />
I am a NRA and found a number of serious flaws in<br />
the article. In your article, you are depicting the<br />
NRA as self centered lot; a group of pound<br />
sterling/dollar earning people who while showing<br />
their concern for the motherland, only indulge in<br />
debating, quarreling and grumbling. To buttress<br />
your views you are referring <strong>to</strong> the internet<br />
discussion forum called Assam Net and your<br />
interaction with a few NRI in the late nineties. It<br />
seems that you are making a conclusion based<br />
solely on this vague and sketchy informative.<br />
While portraying the Assamese expatriates as<br />
empty, exaggerated talker, you are concluding<br />
your piece with a quote of Clark Gable from Gone<br />
with the Wind!!.<br />
Let me also take the liberty of quoting the headmaster<br />
of my primary school. This was actually a<br />
favorite s<strong>to</strong>ry of our respected sir and titled “The<br />
Emperor Has No Clothes”.<br />
This is a s<strong>to</strong>ry about a king who had the habit of<br />
seeing things as he wanted <strong>to</strong> see. Two scoundrels<br />
<strong>to</strong>ok advantage of it and they made the king<br />
believe that they had prepared the most fabulous<br />
cloth for him. The king parades before his cowed<br />
subjects in his imaginary finery, until an astute<br />
child calls out: “But the emperor has no clothes!”<br />
In your piece of writing, you are apparently seeing<br />
only what you wanted <strong>to</strong> see. It seems your<br />
fixation <strong>to</strong> the decade old nineties is <strong>to</strong>tally<br />
masking the current, the living present. If you do<br />
even a little research, you will find out if the<br />
concerned NRA are only empty talkers. For your<br />
reference, you may read a few current issues of<br />
“<strong>Posoowa</strong>” (www.posoowa.org ), a popular NRI<br />
magazine also published by Assam Net. Non<br />
resident of Assamese origin from all over glove<br />
have been sharing their unique experience of<br />
contributing <strong>to</strong> their dearest state and “<strong>Posoowa</strong>”<br />
is a dossier of NRI sincerity and genuine love <strong>to</strong><br />
their motherland.<br />
Your attempt <strong>to</strong> portray all NRA as a grumbling<br />
group is highly objectionable, unethical and<br />
unfortunate. I wish that you will do research, verify<br />
the facts and amend with the right perspective.<br />
Sincerely,<br />
Ankur Bora<br />
Dallas , Texas<br />
Response from Mofid Rahman , Hyderabad<br />
Ushering Positivism <strong>to</strong> a pessimistic world<br />
A community is called a progressive one when<br />
there is continuous activity of its constituent<br />
individuals on an individual basis or through the<br />
formation of groups <strong>to</strong>wards works which are<br />
beneficial for the communities’ advancement. To<br />
make it a continuous process and sustain it,<br />
individuals as well as groups need all possible<br />
support and cooperation from the other members<br />
of the community.<br />
Page 10 * POSOOWA, July 2007<br />
In this globalized world, the community specific<br />
feelings are slowly on the downward trend as<br />
people are getting busier day by day with their<br />
work and family and children specific<br />
responsibilities. To keep the spirit of community<br />
welfare aspects in mind so that individual or<br />
group level activities for the betterment of the<br />
community is also on a progressive trend, all<br />
possible support (moral or financial),help and<br />
cooperation is a very necessary pre-requisite from<br />
all included in the community.<br />
With access <strong>to</strong> higher education and subsequent<br />
availability of opportunities, the Assamese<br />
community along with it’s other Northeastern<br />
brotherhood is making a global presence. The<br />
good part has been the gesture of the people <strong>to</strong><br />
form some group on their ethnicity <strong>to</strong> keep their<br />
cus<strong>to</strong>ms, festivals, literary and cultural creativity<br />
alive even in foreign shores. Another resulting<br />
good avenue has been the willingness <strong>to</strong> work<br />
<strong>to</strong>wards the betterment of their brotherhood in<br />
Assam or on a broader scale, the North East India<br />
so that the Old unique “Assamese” lineage<br />
continues.<br />
The whole Assamese community had faced some<br />
turbulent days in the decades of 1970’s, 1980’s<br />
and 1990’s. Lots of youth had given and lost their<br />
lives during that phase. The subsequent effect of<br />
those days can be felt if we analyze the<br />
psychology of anger, shock, hatred that could be<br />
found in the generations that suffered during that<br />
period. Even the younger generations of the<br />
whole world <strong>to</strong>ok some time <strong>to</strong> come out of the<br />
depression due <strong>to</strong> the two World Wars, specially<br />
the Holocaust during second World War.<br />
The sooner we try <strong>to</strong> come out of it, the better it<br />
will be for the society and the whole community.<br />
To do so, we need <strong>to</strong> analyze what exactly are the<br />
symp<strong>to</strong>ms of that bitterness and how <strong>to</strong> come out<br />
of it with remedial actions.<br />
Some pointers <strong>to</strong> the symp<strong>to</strong>ms are:<br />
1) Media specially Newspapers full of<br />
reports with details of murder, crime,<br />
corruption etc and providing negative<br />
twists and headers <strong>to</strong> any news item.<br />
2) People happy blaming the central or<br />
state governments for all the mess.<br />
3) People happy blaming some individual<br />
or groups of the community on any<br />
pretext.<br />
4) Low youth morale <strong>to</strong> initiate constructive<br />
activities forward.<br />
5) Low youth morale <strong>to</strong> start<br />
entrepreneurship due <strong>to</strong> fear of failure.<br />
6) Lower self esteem among youth due <strong>to</strong><br />
the gap between the poor and the<br />
prosperous one, which should have<br />
been a motivating fac<strong>to</strong>r <strong>to</strong> work<br />
harder and become prosperous,<br />
instead crime rate among youth on an<br />
ever rising trend.
7) Trying <strong>to</strong> locate faults in success s<strong>to</strong>ries<br />
and discussions on other’s failures<br />
with a sarcastic <strong>to</strong>ne<br />
8) People becoming lazy <strong>to</strong> start work or go<br />
through normal procedures which in<br />
turn have given rise <strong>to</strong> corruption<br />
spreading its tentacles through all<br />
walks of life in the society.<br />
9) Bandh culture as a mean <strong>to</strong> avoid work.<br />
This list can drag on and on.<br />
If we carefully look at all these symp<strong>to</strong>ms, the one<br />
aspect that will come <strong>to</strong> the fore is, absolute<br />
pessimism. If not taken care of, it can affect the<br />
advancement of the community by the seeds of<br />
this pessimism being passed from one generation<br />
<strong>to</strong> the other.<br />
So what could be the antidote <strong>to</strong> these: and how<br />
could we start positivism among the constituents<br />
of the community and pass this on <strong>to</strong> the next<br />
generations?<br />
Positivism can be associated with the matter of<br />
mind where we think and talk of success. How<br />
could we share positivism then <strong>to</strong> the whole<br />
community? Is it possible <strong>to</strong> infect people’s mind<br />
with positivism?<br />
Continued from page 7..<br />
The Indo-US Civilian<br />
Nuclear Cooperation<br />
A major apprehension with respect <strong>to</strong> the<br />
provisions of the Nuclear Safeguards Agreement<br />
with the IAEA concerns India’s strategic nuclear<br />
program and nuclear testing should there be a<br />
need for it in the future. However, under the<br />
embedded separation plan, the agreement<br />
pertains only <strong>to</strong> civilian nuclear reac<strong>to</strong>rs leaving<br />
aside military reac<strong>to</strong>rs completely out of the<br />
safeguards agreement. India also is free <strong>to</strong> do<br />
nuclear testing as it wishes. Hyde Act requires the<br />
US president <strong>to</strong> provide annual certification. But the<br />
prerogative remains with the President of the USA.<br />
Moreover, Hyde Act is a domestic act and not<br />
binding on India. Article 16.4 of the agreement<br />
states that the agreement shall be implemented in<br />
good faith and in accordance with the “principles<br />
of international law” which is a clear reference <strong>to</strong><br />
the Vienna Convention on the Laws of Treaties.<br />
Article 27 of the Convention states that a party may<br />
not invoke the provisions of internal law as<br />
justification for its failure <strong>to</strong> perform a treaty.<br />
Regarding the continuity of fuel supply over the<br />
period of the 40 year life span of a safeguarded<br />
nuclear reac<strong>to</strong>r, <strong>Dr</strong>. Anil Kakodkar, Secretary,<br />
Department of A<strong>to</strong>mic Energy said “the<br />
permanence of safeguards is coupled with the<br />
perpetuity of supply of fuel. So in case there is a<br />
disruption of fuel, the safeguards agreement will<br />
cease <strong>to</strong> hold”. The preamble <strong>to</strong> the draft<br />
In a way, it could be possible. Possible by the use<br />
of the following:<br />
1) More focus on spreading good news,<br />
achievements, awards, accolades won<br />
by the members <strong>to</strong> the whole<br />
community. Newspapers being fourth<br />
estate have their responsibilities, but it<br />
should not be at the cost of infecting a<br />
whole generation with anger, shock,<br />
hatred and enmity.<br />
2) Sharing those good news among the<br />
members in groups through oral or emails,<br />
3) Encouraging the achievers so that they<br />
do feel a belonging <strong>to</strong> the community<br />
and wants <strong>to</strong> help in promoting the<br />
others <strong>to</strong> attain some position.<br />
4) Providing support, help and cooperation<br />
<strong>to</strong> the youth of the community who is<br />
trying hard <strong>to</strong> start entrepreneurship<br />
or higher studies.<br />
Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA made public<br />
on July 10, 2008 notes that the Safeguards<br />
Agreement is an “essential basis” for India <strong>to</strong> gain<br />
“uninterrupted” access <strong>to</strong> the International nuclear<br />
fuel, including uninterrupted access, and support<br />
of its effort <strong>to</strong> develop a strategic fuel reserve <strong>to</strong><br />
guard against any disruption of supply. The<br />
preamble recognizes India’s right <strong>to</strong> take corrective<br />
measures <strong>to</strong> ensure uninterrupted operation of its<br />
civilian nuclear reac<strong>to</strong>rs if foreign supplies are<br />
disrupted. It also takes note of separation of civilian<br />
and military nuclear facilities.<br />
It is worthwhile <strong>to</strong> look at the 123 Agreement<br />
against the backdrop of India’s energy scenario. In<br />
2007, India had only 3.7 GWe from nuclear energy<br />
out of a <strong>to</strong>tal of 110 GWe from all sources and<br />
generated 2.5% of the <strong>to</strong>tal energy. The plan is <strong>to</strong><br />
have 20 Gwen of nuclear energy capacity by 2020.<br />
It is not expected <strong>to</strong> generate more than 25% of<br />
India’s electricity requirement even by 2050. In the<br />
short run, it does not seem that nuclear energy will<br />
make a big dent in the country’s overall energy<br />
situation. However, looking further in<strong>to</strong> the middle<br />
of the current century, a significant contribution will<br />
be made by nuclear energy. Long before 2050, the<br />
indigenous fuel cycle based on abundant supply<br />
of indigenous thorium should be rolled out giving<br />
India independence on nuclear fuel. The question<br />
then is why is the country rushing so much for<br />
uranium fuel with so much controversy. The answer<br />
perhaps lies in the fact that a whole gamut of new<br />
technologies will be made available <strong>to</strong> India as a<br />
result of lifting of ban on dual use technology. From<br />
Avionics <strong>to</strong> Agriculture, the country will benefit<br />
from the latest technology with which Indian<br />
science and Technology will take a quantum leap.<br />
Legal ramifications of the transfer of such<br />
technologies if indeed that occurs need expert<br />
Page 11 * POSOOWA, July 2007<br />
5) Promoting good work ethics in<br />
community by the way of saying no <strong>to</strong><br />
bandh culture.<br />
6) Spreading mass awareness about<br />
consumer and legal rights specially<br />
the right <strong>to</strong> information laws so that<br />
corruption is lessened.<br />
As with pessimism, this list can also go on and<br />
on…..<br />
We all have this in us – <strong>to</strong> make some change.<br />
Change from pessimism <strong>to</strong> positivism.<br />
Change for our own communities’ sake.<br />
Celebrating the Bihu’s on a single platform on two<br />
days make us feel united. Add <strong>to</strong> it, our eagerness<br />
<strong>to</strong> provide help, support and cooperation <strong>to</strong> our<br />
fellow community members will surely help us<br />
National actually become Institute a united of Technology progressive Assamese Silchar<br />
community. As the community progresses, we<br />
also become proud constituents of that<br />
progressing community and we all stand <strong>to</strong> gain<br />
from it in the long run.<br />
Reader’s comments are welcome.<br />
Compiled by Ankur Bora, Texas<br />
analysis and should be debated fully.<br />
Amidst all the discussions and debates, one aspect<br />
of development of nuclear energy at a massive<br />
scale has eluded the media and political circles.<br />
Although the latest nuclear reac<strong>to</strong>r designs are<br />
unders<strong>to</strong>od <strong>to</strong> be lot safer than the last generation<br />
reac<strong>to</strong>rs, there is still a question regarding safety<br />
of reac<strong>to</strong>rs that has <strong>to</strong> be considered in power plant<br />
setting. The memory of the core meltdown<br />
accident at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant<br />
in Pennsylvania, USA and at Chernobyl Nuclear<br />
Power Plant, Russia is still alive. There is a limit <strong>to</strong><br />
how far you can go in developing and taking the<br />
risk of nuclear power plants. Of course there will<br />
always be a tradeoff between risk and benefit in<br />
the country’s onward journey <strong>to</strong> growth and<br />
prosperity.<br />
The controversy over the passage of the 123<br />
Agreement can perhaps be attributed <strong>to</strong> the<br />
political process and complacence of the civil<br />
society in India. The government should have<br />
encouraged a transparent approach for<br />
countrywide debate. It is doubtful whether the 542<br />
MPs who determine the future of country<br />
themselves fully understand the issues and their<br />
ramification. Once again an issue of immense<br />
interest for the country’s future will be determined<br />
by political horse-trading within the Indian<br />
Parliament. This is a sad<br />
commentary on the sate of<br />
Indian democracy.<br />
<strong>Dr</strong>. Umesh C. Tahbildar, Ph.D.<br />
P.E. , New York
Congratulations <strong>to</strong><br />
the <strong>Posoowa</strong> Edi<strong>to</strong>rial<br />
Team<br />
Entering 5th Year of<br />
Monthly Publication<br />
in Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 2008<br />
In 34th Year of<br />
Publication<br />
- JB, LB and Family
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Visit www.Assam.org and its sister sites: www.Guwahati.com, and www.Shillong.com. Blog<br />
in Assamese at www.Bihu.in, find your classmates from Assam in www.ClassAmigo.com,<br />
find your Assamese social network at www.Melahi.com<br />
<strong>Posoowa</strong> is published monthly. Ganesh Bora, on behalf of Assam Society of America, has published this issue of <strong>Posoowa</strong>. The<br />
edi<strong>to</strong>rs are Babul Gogoi (New Delhi, India), Ganesh Bora (Lake Alfred, Florida), Jugal Kalita (Colorado Springs, Colorado,<br />
Edi<strong>to</strong>r-in-Chief), Kaushik Phukan (Seattle, Washing<strong>to</strong>n), Sanchayita Sharma (London, UK), Satyam Bhuyan (Ames, Iowa),<br />
Umesh Sharma (College Park, Washing<strong>to</strong>n D.C) and Umesh Tahbildar (Prince<strong>to</strong>n, New Jersey). Design and Layout: Babul<br />
Gogoi.<br />
The ASA Executive Committee is composed of Dhruba Das, President (Coatesville, Pennsylvania), Kabita Sharma (Hillsborough,<br />
New Jersey), Vice President, Mukul Chowdhary (Edison, New Jersey), Treasurer, and Ganesh Bora (Lake Alfred, Florida),<br />
General Secretary.<br />
We invite contribu<strong>to</strong>rs from all over the world. We appreciate your valuable feedback, comments & suggestions, and of course,<br />
news from your part of the world for inclusion in the coming editions. Please send your written contributions <strong>to</strong><br />
asanewsletter@yahoo.com. If you prefer, you can send your contributions directly <strong>to</strong> any of the edi<strong>to</strong>rs listed above as well. Any<br />
contribution must be 750 words or shorter in length. Please include a scanned image of the author. We also request you <strong>to</strong> submit<br />
other pertinent pho<strong>to</strong>graphs if possible.<br />
Assam Society of America<br />
PO Box 254<br />
Mays Landing<br />
NJ 08330<br />
USA
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