Language lessons, Published in Times of India, edit page, Jan 23, 2007

Link

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2007-01-23/edit-page/27877310_1_ulfa-assamese-passengers-biharis

Language lessons

Kakoli Thakur,  Jan 23, 2007

I always felt pride when I mentioned that I was born and brought up in Assam. Whenever I heard people running down my home state, saying that there was lot of violence in Assam, I protested, asserting that my state was a peaceful place and the people there were very warm and friendly.
I always invited people to visit Assam to enjoy the beauty that nature has bestowed upon it. Till now, that is. After the recent killings of Bihari people in Assam by the ULFA, I feel speechless and defenceless. It is all because of a few mindless people.
In his song Maha Bahu Brahmaputra Moha Milonor Tirtha, the Assamese music legend Bhupen Hazarika described how, for ages, Assam has been a place of assimilation and communal harmony. But, today, by one shameless and gruesome act, some senseless people have left no stone unturned in proving Bhupenda wrong and changing the feeling this song gave rise to.
The ULFA seems to have forgotten that, just like the Biharis have settled in Assam, hundreds of people from Assam are spread all over the country. And why not? Our Constitution has given us that right. People from every state can move around all over the country and settle anywhere.
What will the ULFA do if thereareretaliatory attacks on Assamese people outside our state? In the ongoing army operations as well, many innocent young boys and their families will be either tortured or victimised. The real culprits will go scot-free.
The same thing happened a few years ago: trains from Assam and their Assamese passengers were attacked in and around Bihar. But these aimless people have not learnt their lesson. Living in Mumbai, I have come in contact with cosmopolitan culture, where people are hardly bothered about what language their neighbours speak. Here, language is just a means of communication.
Believe me, Assam will become Heaven on earth if language will no longer be a barrier. Maybe the ULFA should take a lesson or two from Mumbaikars on how to live and let live.