Sylheti and India

Author

Topic: Sylheti and India ...

Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/06/05 at 04:01:48 »

Finally people outside India will not be surprised when we say we are Sylhetis from India !!!! "Oh I thought sylhetis are only from Bangladesh !!!" is a common reaction .. atleast from our UK and Bangladeshi friends :)

on google when you search for sylheti, on the top right it says sylheti [definition], on clicking definition you get this data from answers.com

http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?s=sylheti

Sylheti
Spoken in: India, Bangladesh

The language of Sylhet, the North Eastern province of Bangladesh and a few southern districts of Assam. It is similar enough to Bengali for some to consider it a dialect, but is probably better seen as a separate language. Indeed it was formerly written in its own script, Sylheti Nagari, similar in style to Devanagari but significantly simpler. Now it is almost invariably written in Bengali script.

Cheers ;D
admin

freaki
freaki

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/08/05 at 03:59:47 »

i didnt relase that there was a sylhet in india, until somone mentioned it in a topic, i was very suprised seeing as i am a sylheti from bangladesh. and didnt relase that there is different types of sylhet around the world,

t/c

admin
admin

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/08/05 at 04:02:55 »

sylheti my friend ... not sylhets !!

anyway search for assam in google and click on the definition ... and under LANGUAGES we find:

Bengali (Sylheti) has become the dominant language in the Barak valley after the advent of the British and the partition of Bengal in 1947.

:D If someone if getting the info from the web I am sure all our messages in the adda and websites have surely helped !!!

[quote author=freaki link=board=0011&num=1107635508&start=0#1 date=02/08/05 at 03:59:47]
i didnt relase that there was a sylhet in india, and didnt relase that there is different types of sylhet around the world,

t/c
[/quote]

freaki
freaki

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/09/05 at 03:08:46 »

wot evea da only sylheti ppl cum from bangladesh. no were else in da wrld. got it all ya ppl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

dnt gv monkies wot da internet says. dnt believe half da shit dey chat.

and admin ur a bit cheeky correctin me wiv such attiudes.

>:(

Count_Dracula
Count_Dracula

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/09/05 at 11:26:19 »

Honourable Soul.........Freaki

It has been a mind boggling posting of yours.......I had difficult time in unearthing the message behind the syntax of the congregation of alien words and alphabets ....

Before 1947... Sylhet was in Assam, a state of India....... after 1947....Sylhet...gifted by India to Pakistan, your Ancestral Country......on 16th December 1971....Your own country is gifted to you...again by India...wherein Sylhet geographically exists.....

On the other hand.....Sylheti's in India....using INDIAN vocabulary,...are speard across this great country..we express ourselves in Sylheti, a language.....one of the more than 700 languages and dialects that prevail in India....

[B]Oh! Me![/B]

[I]Note: I did not find anything wrong in Admin's comment[/I]

TaarCheera
TaarCheera

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/09/05 at 11:57:23 »

My dear Freaki, I am not comfortable with the language that you have used to express your feeling and after heeding your posting i can confidently say that you are not a syllheti at all.

One more thing if you point your finger to someone then please mind that other four fingers are pointing towards you.

Dr. A P J ABDUL KALAAM'S SPEECH in Hyderabad--A must read for every Indian.

YOU say that our government is inefficient.

YOU say that our laws are too old.

YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the
garbage.

YOU say that the phones don't work; the railways are a
joke,

The airline is the worst in the world, mails never
reach their destination.

YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and
is the absolute pits.

YOU say, say and say.

What do YOU do about it? Take a person on his way to
Singapore.

Give him a name - YOURS. Give him a face - YOURS.

YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your
International best. In Singapore you

don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the
stores.

YOU are as proud of their Underground Links as they
are.

You pay $5 (approx. Rs.60) to drive through Orchard
Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Peddler Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM.

YOU comeback to the parking lot to punch your parking
ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity.

In Singapore you don't say anything,

DO YOU?

YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in
Dubai.

YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered
in Jeddah.

YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone
exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, "see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else."

YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in
Washington and then tell the traffic cop, "Jaanta hai sala main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's
son. Take your two bucks and get lost."

YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere
other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand.

Why don't YOU spit paan on the streets of Tokyo?

Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake
certificates in Boston?

We are still talking of the same YOU.

YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in
other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch
Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India?

Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay, Mr.Tinaikar,had a point to make. "Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent
droppings all over the place," he said. "And then the
same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the
officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their
dog feels the pressure in his bowels?

In America every dog owner has to clean up after his
pet has done the job. Same in Japan.

Will the Indian citizen do that here?" He's right.

We go to the polls to choose a government and after
that forfeit all responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the
government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We
expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms.

We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the
best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity. This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public.
When it comes to burning social issues

Like those related to women, dowry, girl child and
others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? "It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry." So Who's going to change the system?

What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for
us it consists of our neighbors, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not
me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a
positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr. Clean to come
along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away.

Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to
America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England. When
England experiences unemployment, we take the next
flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.
Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive,
calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too....I am echoing J.F.Kennedy's words to his
fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....

"ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE
DONE TO MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY"

Thank you

Dr. A P J Abdul Kalaam

Honorable President of INDIA

Keshto
Guest

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/09/05 at 12:06:55 »

;D[B]Hehek....[/B]

TC saab.....Freaki memsaab ko kya pata appun ka Rashtrapati kaun hein...
Unko to yeh bhi nahi pata....Keshto kaha se ayela....

freaki
freaki

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/11/05 at 00:17:41 »

taar cheera u chat u much.

i dnt gv a monkies bout were my bd was b4, coz i werent abt den, and so an so if u dnt understand wot im sayin dnt try 2 read it.

im a true sylheti peep, a bd sylheti peep

brown_eyes
Guest

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/11/05 at 02:59:56 »

To Count_Dracula,
I really appreciate your sense of humour :D and I simply agree with what you have written.

To Freaki,
'Sylhetis from India' are spread all over the world.Sylhet,which was earlier known as Srihatta was a part of pre-independence undivided India and that is the place we the sylhetis hail from.Our Sylheti friends who are in Kolkata celebrate 'Srihatta Sammelan' every year.What's bugging you if we say that we are 'Sylhetis from India' ???.Justify yourself.

To TaarCheera,
Your posting was really a thought-provoking one and conveys the message effectively.With due respect to our honourable President, I would like to say something.I am not pointing any finger to anyone.I am just trying to write down what I feel.It is very true that most of us are at our best when we are outside India.We abide by all the decorum and rules.But the reason behind this is we are made to obey.In America no one dares to litter,no one dares to speed beyond the limit,because they are afraid of the punishment/penalty.It certainly is the responsibility of both the citizens as well as the government to keep their town/city orderly and clean.The joint effort of both is needed.In India no one bothers about these things because no punitive measures are taken.If someone is there to take the measures ,he also gradually becomes vulnerable to bribes or coaxing etc.The state is like a machine and everyone is like a cog in the machine.if every cog in the machine works well,then the whole machine is bound to run effectively. That is very true.But according to me, the introspection is needed more in the administrative level.This thought-provoking speech will appeal to the conscious ones only.The rest may not be that conscious and have to be compelled only to obey the regulations.There lies the duty of the state.The conscience of everyone cannot be awakened only through appeals.The citizens can be made to do what has to be done,only when the state does the needful.

Didibhai
Guest

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/11/05 at 06:05:54 »

Absolutely correct brown-eyes.

It is not a ? of the citizen's not abiding by the rule.

It is a ? of who is accountable to who?

In India, you have democratic processes which does not work.

Politician's are at war, but they say they support 'war on terror' ;D

The whole administrative machinery are asleep.
They are only woken by fresh 'bank notes'

Redress infrastructure is very poor.

The legal system is for the self-sufficient.

The recruitment procedures are flawed and jobs are for sale.

The British may have left India but their salutations have stayed behined, 'Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir'

In Hinduism we preach 'krodh, ahankar and abhimaan' are 3 main negative vibes one should overcome. But the whole society rides on these negative vibes. 'Humse bada kaun hai' philosophy.

Social development of a country can only be achieved through, education, employment, unity and universal commoness. India is a multi-faceted country, with age old customs & traditions, often difficult to break. Under these difficult circumstances, law & order and good honest governance are absolute. Without this, India will never create partnership with its citizen's. But, perhaps the larger ? is 'does India want to create partnership with its citizen's?

freaki
freaki

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/12/05 at 01:40:18 »

brown eyes u want me 2 justify maself 2 u, must b mad. i dnt explain maself 2 any1.

u all must think im a rude person, da only reason i turned rude was coz i didnt lyk da way admin corrected me, if he were to correct me then he should of done that politely, not in such a rude manner.

if u noticed at 1st i was intersted about the sylhet in india, but no1 decide to look back and just started to judge me on the comment about how only sylhet exsits in bd.

ive noticed how people can be igonrant by just over a few words.

to all u who r reading this, never judge a book by its cover, or by to words.

i would of loved to known about how sylhet is a part of india, and i do know that my hertiage comes from india.

peace out, may allah protect all of u and im guessing that many of u r hindus, so may ur devas protect u.

peace out

:P

admin
admin

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/12/05 at 02:53:04 »

Hi Freaki,
This time ur message was more readable ;D
U were surprised by the existence of "sylhet" in India .. so I pointed to u that india has sylhetis not sylhets .. There was nothing abt attitude there !!

Peace to All !!

freaki
freaki

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/12/05 at 03:18:30 »

well i guess it was my mistake then, i took it the wrong way.

if i have said anything offensive to anyone then im sorry for it. i have been going through hard times thats all.

sorry once again.

p/o

brown_eyes
Guest

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/12/05 at 04:17:51 »

Hi Freaki,
I must say you have changed radically and that was a change for the better :D.I really appreciate the last posting of yours.It is our attitude only that causes peaceful co-existence. So,let God/Allah rest in His heavenly abode.Why should we trouble him when we can do it ourselves,right?
Cheers!

Shankar_Chakravarti
Shankar_Chakravart

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/12/05 at 10:36:27 »

Dear Freaki,

You touch our heart with your lovely post, May God / Allah bless you and give you courage during your hard times. I know you are a fun loving beautiful girl who wants to share her thoughts / ideas with others. Please do that with a open mind, we would love to know more about Sylhet, Bangladesh, origin and migration of Sylheti people to other places, etc. If it is of any interest to you, you may please visit the following sites to know about Cachar, Assam;

http://assamgovt.nic.in/history.asp

http://cachar.nic.in/history.html

What I could make out from your earlier posting is that you are trying to tell that all Sylheti people has originated from Sylhet district of present Bangladesh . This is a very general statement . If you have any specific information about the migration of Sylheti people, please give us more details.

A last appeal to your Good Soul. I understand your upbringing at Birmingham has taught you little different English, but kindly write simple English considering our poor English background.
With no offence meant to you , when I saw your earlier posting (the one which stirred the net), I thought you let your cat walk all over your computer keyboard !.

Once again, your last posting shows your good heart.

Dracu- bhai, Tumi dekhi bakka vala English sikilaiso. Aijkail, Shakespeare burar loge boia whisky khairai ni.

Dear Taar Cheera,
Thanks for sharing President sahab’s speech. TBFWY, I haven’t seen it earlier.

Dear brown_eyes,

I appreciate your feed back.

aami-S
aami-S

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/12/05 at 23:54:54 »

TO FREAKY… :) U R ONE FORM THE OIPAAR BAANGLA….
.DEAR…FREND...HERE R FEW LINES FOR U

"whoever u be, just knew from the post…
u are of the same kind….like all of us most :o

We are the sylhetis may not be by birth
Check it out dear, the harmony in our heart

May be u r from a different land…
a different religion
but here are .in the same shed
colored by SILCHORI-crayon
Just find the type of Sylheti we are
may not know the SYLHET in proper
But hold this name on our chest
Just like a CROSS in a Church’s crest

Invite you, I heartily to our land,
at least once in the little life span
True ,not a place of magic-material
but find some hearts BIG in real..

U loved us ..its ‘dil se’ ..yours post proved
WE TOO LOVE…you whatever--- CALM or RUDE..”

BYE ..ALL… :)
ZIDABBAD ZINDABBAD… ;D.SYLHETI ZINDABBAD
ZINDABBAD ZINDABBAD … >:(SILCHORI ZINDABBAD
MURDABBAD MURDABBAD SOB JHOGHRA MURDABBAD :D
…………………………..AAMI RE…..aami-S ;) :D ;D

freaki
freaki

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/13/05 at 05:59:13 »

;D hey all thanks, for replies, much appriecated, and i will try to write in the proper english and not in my slang. i am a good person who only wants to do good, if you do ask any of my friends they will tell you that i am a fun, loving, caring, chilled out friend and dont want to do any harm to anyone and just carry on with y life in peace.

i hope you accept my words of sorry that i had posted a few days back.

to be honest i dont know much about sylhet in bangladesh apart from its beautiful scenary, and my loving anuts and uncles and brothers and sisters. the last time i hd gone i was a very young girl at the age of 9.

well all please do take care

:P :D

brown_eyes
brown_eyes

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/13/05 at 06:31:48 »

A very nice post indeed :D!!!

ravi
ravi

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/13/05 at 16:22:25 »

Welcome freaki
I am really moved by your recent posts :)
Keep it up :D

freaki
freaki

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/13/05 at 18:06:07 »

8) thanks.

so people we have gone off the topic. tells talk about sylheti in india and maybe the sylheti in bangladesh.

take care.

;D

aami-S
aami-S

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/13/05 at 21:39:38 »

keu koilo naa aamaar post taa kila oilo? freaky also didn't tell how'z that welcome/invitation poem 4 u? :-/ :-[
ddokkhey aammmar poraan ta faaittya jaay :'( :'(
aami-S :) ;) :D

freaki
freaki

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/15/05 at 04:37:38 »

hey ammi s.

im sorry, yeah um your peom was nice. n true now that ive looked at with a cool head.

if u dont mind me asking but r u a bengali? coz what u write sounded as if u were writting in bengali.

well p/o
;D

brown_eyes
brown_eyes

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/15/05 at 07:06:46 »

To Shankarda,
Thank you for those links!They were really informative.

To Freaki,
Thanks for reminding that we are digressing from the topic.
Today I would like to write something about the topic.In your first post you were wondering how can a Sylheti be from India?I am trying to answer the question.If anyone adds anything more,I'll be really happy.
I am writing about the pre-independence India which comprised of present India Pakistan and Bangladesh
Let me start with the partition of Bengal in 1905,which was effected under the viceroyalty of Lord Curzon to facilitate administration. One part consisted of west Bengal,Orissaand Bihar and the other consisted of East Bengal and Assam(a province which was constituted in 1874 and included Bengali speaking districts like Sylhet.)It was widely opposed and in April1912,Bengal was reunited.
"Within 36 years from the annulment of the first partition of Bengal,in 1947,the province again came to be divided and the carving up of India in line with Jinnah's 'Two Nation theory' effected the second partition of Bengal."It may be mentioned that in Lahore in 1940,Jinnah called for the establishment of a separate Muslim land 'Pakistan.'He opined that areas in which Muslims are numerically in majority as in the North-western part and Bengal province of India should be grouped to constitute independent states.
The district of Sylhet was Muslim inhabited but it was a part of the Assam province (which was not a Muslim majority one) and Lord Mountbatten announced on June3,1947,that a referendum would be held in the Sylhet district of Assam to decide whether it would continue as a part of Assam or be merged with Pakistan.
The subdivisions in the Sylhet district were (1)Sylhet(North)
(2)Karimganj (3)Habiganj (4)Sylhet(South) (5)Sunamganj.
On the basis of clear majority,Sylhet was incorporated in Pakistan and four thanas of erstwhile Karimganj sub-division of Sylhet district were transferred to Cachar,Assam.
Thus,( Hindu majority )West Bengal became a part of Indian Union and (Muslim majority)East Bengal became a part of Pakistan.Pakistan was geographically divided into East Pakistan and West Pakistan and separated by Indian territory.

As for the Sylhetis in india,Prof Sanjib Baruah says,"The British colonial tendency was to treat Assam as an extension of Bengal.In 1920s and 1930s,they settled East Bengali peasants in Assam as a matter of policy and then the process acquired life of its own."
THOSE PERSONS OF UNDIVIDED INDIA WHO MIGRATED TO ASSAM OR TO ANY OTHER PART OF INDIA BEFORE JULY19,1948 WERE DEEMED TO BE INDIAN CITIZENS.FROM JULY19,1948 UPTO THE ENACTMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA ON NOV 26,1949 ,ALL MIGRANTS WERE GRANTED INDIAN CITIZENSHIP ON APPLICATION AFTER SIX MONTHS RESIDENCE IN INDIA.

(2)In the period of 1956-60 ,Bengali-speaking Hindu refugees fled from Muslim dominated East Pakistan and settled in Assam.
In 1971,civil war broke between East Pakistan and West Pakistan and at that point of time also people infiltrated from East Pakistan to India.
These are the factors which largely account for the reason the Indian citizens /refugees trace their origin to Sylhet.
so.we the Sylhetis hail from the same place but because of communalism and political conspiracy,we are apart.It is a pity that we have to delve into History to find out that we belong to the same soil.

ravi
ravi

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/15/05 at 14:18:53 »

Thanks brown_eyes for the nice historical account. However I would like to mention some factual errors.

1. The no. of thanas retained to India are three and half and not four as mentioned by you. The thanas are Ratabari, Patharkandi, Badarpur and half of Karimganj. All belonged to Karimganj subdivision.

2. Shylhet was a hindu majority district. In the referendum, there was a clear verdict for Pakistan because hindi speaking tea tribes were not allowed to vote as per the conspiracy hatched by Gupinath Bordalai and his clan. After vigorous struggle, the Sylheti congress leaders succeed in getting back to India these three and half thanas, where tea leaborers population was significant, after remaining as a part of Pakistan for two days. However, even without tea tribes also hindus were in majority, but all sheduled caste votes went in favor of Pakistan courtesy Mr. Mondal. I have forgotten his name and have no regret for that.

I have only presented the historical account, no offence intended.

Rupam
Rupam

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/15/05 at 14:55:32 »

Hi All,
This thread seems to have a life of its own...till now it has been extremely informative, and the directions the discussion has taken, is extremely impressive.
Read all the postings at once, and heppy to see the digression has been checked. APJKalam's speech had come as a supplement with the ET the very next day after he delivered it in hyderabad. He really said it well. Thanks TCda for posting a part of it here.

Sankar da and Brown Eyes, kudos to both for taking us baclk to history...I hope people will keep on adding more information on the way, whether available in books and the web, or knowledge they acquired on the matter, down family trees.

Thanks again for this superb thred.

Regards
Rupam.

freaki
freaki

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/16/05 at 00:49:37 »

nice 1 guys ;D

i knew the basic facts about the war between east n west pakistan, and that the war had ended in 1971, im sure it was that year coz my 1st brother was born on the day that it all ended.

but thanks again.

p/o ;D

aami-S
aami-S

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/16/05 at 01:37:13 »

baadaami chhokh
ooodaaaaaaaammmmm iformatiion dilaay bondhu
thanx 4 that....u r really ;)
aami-S :) ;) :D

Shankar_Chakravarti
Shankar_Chakravart

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/17/05 at 10:20:45 »

asiti
asiti

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/17/05 at 10:54:09 »

Shankar da' r post ta poriya koto guli naam shuna lager.

Sunam Ganj......amar baba'r jaiga...amrar duita bari acchil...ekta Chhatok ar arekta in Sylhet Town.

[B]Today I am Homeless...my father died homeless...from 1938 my father served Indian Railways in Assam....we were never refugees...yet lost everything[/B]

Maulvi bazar, Behani Bazar....amar Ma'r mukho sunchhi..tarar chhuto belar golpo..

Rupam
Rupam

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/17/05 at 11:02:38 »

Brilliant, Shankar- Sir, brilliant.

regards
Rupam.

arindambose
arindambose

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/17/05 at 11:30:50 »

Shankar - da,

It was interesting and Informative. Keep putting this type of information. At least we the younger generation will be able to know about our forefathers homeland.

brown_eyes
brown_eyes

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/17/05 at 22:41:58 »

Shankar da,
Hats off to you!!!By the way,let me know in which area of Silchar you stayed when you were there.Thanks for those informations.

Ravi,
Thanks for pointing out the errors.I didn't know the names of those three and half thanas.Thanks once again.

Shankar_Chakravarti
Shankar_Chakravart

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/18/05 at 18:28:56 »

Dear Dr. AKS,

Your posting is very touching. I am now tempted to share my side of the “ story “. Kindly note that I am telling it purely as a “history”, neither to blame anybody, nor to undermine any body’s deep pain due to multiple uprooting / loosing ancestral home or identity.

•I don’t own any immovable property like land / house / flat anywhere in this small village called “ world".

•My father started introducing the idea of co-operative housing society, then unheard of, first time in Silchar and probably first time in Assam. Unfortunately he or his posterity could not enjoy the pleasure of staying in that land and ultimately before death he sold the plot with a broken heart.

•My grandfather had tried to build house in Silchar. After failing 3 times he gave up. Reasons are :

•1) the law prevailing at that time had a provision of fixed
period permanent ownership, so after the “lease period “
he had to vacate his “OWN” house.
•2) My Pishima, an 8 years old curious girl, wanted to know
how it looks when a house is on fire. So, as per routine
house hold chore, she lighted the Sandhya Pradeep at
the Tulsi tree in the courtyard, and then,with all
innocence, she simply put the flame in the thatched
house ! There was hardly any furniture /Jinish-patra in the
house, as the tradition of simple living was prevailing, no
casualties, but two important things were lost.
•A)Lots of cash happened to be there on that night in
the Sinduk, since bank was uncommon, and
•B) My grand mother used to buy golden GINI from post
office. Whenever her secret savings from “sansar”
reached Rs. 14/-,she used to give it to her post master
brother to buy a GINI (solid gold, weighing probably 10
vori). 12 such GINIs were there in total, kept at secret
places in the house. A staunch believer of superstition,
my grandpa consider the house as “Apayaa” and never
visited the ruin again to retrieve any lost treasure.
•3) This house was slowly “eaten away “ by a beautiful and
hungry river named Barak, long before the Malugram Dam
and stone reinfocement was built.

Dear Rupam,

I am very glad to notice that in spite of your busy schedule, you make it a point to visit Silchar.com. All the best in your new assignment. May God Bless You.

Dear Arimdam,

Except this post, whatever I am telling is mostly from net. However, it will be nice if you can share the experiences your father had while at Karimganj during 50’s. Any way, thanks for your feedback.

Dear brown_eyes,

I like your appreciation, but beg to differ from you to claim it as a genuine deserving candidate. For that matter, even you can also type “Sylhet Bangladesh “ in google search and the rest is only copy / paste. No “original” work by me ! You appears to have done much more sincere home work in this area. Please continue to share information if you hit some interesting item. All the best. BTW, I was staying at Malugram, Tikarbasti, Shillong patty, and two places in Itkhola. Any particular reason for this curiosity ?

TaarCheera
TaarCheera

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/18/05 at 18:39:40 »

Shankar da na jigaia parram na...etobaar bari keno badlaicho Silchar...ishhhh !!!! ratre bela kita Count dae disturb korto ni..

:) TC

brown_eyes
brown_eyes

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 02/24/05 at 03:53:00 »

Shankar da,
I was trying to find out, if I happen to know you by any chance and there is no other reason for the curiosity.I am sorry, if I asked a personal question.

Hi all,
Today, I would like to write on something else.Last year,I happened to do a project on the 'educational status of the people(of a certain area)living below poverty line.'Sounds quite paradoxical,doesn't it?Education is equivalent to luxury to those, who find it difficult to make both ends meet.
My aim was to conduct a survey on 25 families,on the basis of which I was supposed to write the conclusion part.
The place I chose was the Rehabilitation camp for the refugees. Most of the families were compelled to flee from the then East-Pakistan in the 60s and almost all of them were quite rich and possessed real estate there.Some of them lost their near and dear ones in the riot and managed to save their lives.The inhabitants were staying in the camp for the last 40 years but those 40 years have not seen any improvement in their condition.Their grievances are innumerable...they are not given the dole regularly....,the fuel allotted for them are sold by the unscrupulous men in charge of them.....their dwellings (barracks )are not repaired in time.....the quantity of rice given to their children by the Govt.is stolen by the teachers/employees of Anganbari.......the doctor of the health center doesn't visit regularly.......and the list goes on and on.I was very heart broken,when I saw their condition.Members of 50% of the families were doing menial jobs to sustain themselves.I met 12/13 families by then.

With a heavy heart,I proceeded to the Superintendent's office for collecting some data.And to my astonishment, I came to know the other side of the coin.
The superintendent seated in a dilapidated office, seemed to be a gentleman and was quite sympathetic towards the dwellers.Since the doctor's visit was infrequent(because govt.failed to pay the money),he undertook a course in homoeopathy and tried to alleviate the physical pains of the inhabitants.On being asked about the inhabitants, he exclaimed,"Yes,the Govt.is not sending money now.Forty years is a long time to stand on one's own feet.When they were helpless,Govt. did the needful.That doesnot mean that they should look for help from Govt.generation after generation.They are a given a fair sum of money when they move out of the camp permanently ,so that they can settle themselves.But most of them will not accept it because then they can't depend on anyone...,they can't hold anyone responsible.They lead a carefree life as the Government is there to take care of them.."I could not decide who was right(the inhabitants or the superintendent).
The next day, I visited the camp with the intention of finishing my survey.
Usually,after getting myself introduced and explaining the reason for my visit,the first question,I used to ask was "if you don't mind,may I know your monthly income,please?"That day also I did the same.The lady whom I asked the question,she replied humbly,"it is 1000 Rs a month."Her elder brother who was standing nearby gave her an angry look and told me ,"She doesnot know anything."It is less than that"Then he dragged her inside and said ,"Aarul,janos na eintain Gorment tone aain.Tui kene oto kowat gele?".The lady then replied,"Aami to komaiyyaau koisi,te aar kita?"The brother said again,"ereu koy meye lukor buddhi.Joto komaiya koibe toto aaro paoar chance thakbo." That was none of my business then.So,I conducted my survey and came back.
Now,when I think over it at leisure,one question always crops up in my mind.Who is at fault?Is it the Government,which fails to provide the basic amenities to the inhabitants of the camp?Or is it the parasitic nature of the people which stands in their way of leading a free,independent life?

Will be waiting to know the opinion of Sankar da,Taarcheera,Rupam and every one else who writes here.

i_am_amnesiac
i_am_amnesiac

Re: Sylheti and India ...
«on: 03/01/05 at 20:42:22 »

I fully agree with the super's statement that 40 years is a very long period to stand on one's own feet. The govt. had provided the facilities to the displaced populace when it was needed most, i.e. when they were shelterless, prob. pennyless also. If you look at the condition of the people who had shifted to west bengal as refugees then only you can see the difference. The people who had migrated during the partition and post partition till the 1971 war to the west bengal, most of them are independently settled today. They had also got the same kind of help from the govt. but they had utilised it to stand on their feet, not to live the life of a parasite. Obviously, the govt. cannot be blamed for not providing the facilities up to eternity.

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