Since holou's missive appeared in Assam net, a few appropriate rejoinders have also surfaced. As an NRA from the UK, and obviously not belonging either to ASA or AANA, this matter really does not concern me. I, however, do feel that I have a little contribution to make. Abusive correspondences constitute, I believe, a species of the genre of the well-known poison penmanship. Whatever the nomenclature, keeping in mind what happens in politics in India today, the subject is conspicuously significant. Rivalries for political offices, particularly at the time of selecting candidates for the State legislatures and Parliament, generate an avalanche of such poison letters and the selection board is inevitably nonplussed with these. A poison letter may be very effectively used to break a marriage by disclosing a secret love affair or some such relevant information to the parties concerned. About a decade ago, a journalist from Assam visited UK and met several members of the Assamese community. In a short article published inthe Assam Tribune he wrote that some of the people he interviewed were infighting for leading roles in various social organizations. Since our community here is small and there being not many social organisations either, I dismissed the journalist's observations as nonsense. But in course of time my view has changed.
Holou is seemingly not a seeker of social or political office or a marriage-breaker. It appears to me he is just out of step with his fellows and trying to scandalize them. His style of writing betrays the fact that he is an intellectual with a background in science, and is a familiar figure in the c o n t e m p o r a r y a c t i v e Assamese American society. He is just an angry and frustrated person; not happy with the commissions and omissions of his compatriots in their social life. Nobody is perfect. It is easier to find fault in others. Michelangelo was a grumpy, aloof and arrogant person. Scientist now believe that he was actually suffering from Asperger's syndrome, a type of autism. Albert Einstein, Mozart, Charles Darwin, W B Yeats and AndyWarhol were all said to have been victims of Asperger's syndrome. Instead of facing a colleague by calling names, holou has discovered a means to humiliate or attack an individual or a group of people he does not like or even hate. And this is it, if not some other malaise.
As a past president of the Assam Sahitya Sabha, UK Chapter, we had to deal with a poison letter. It was handwritten and posted and its contents were like those of holou's. An informal committee, not part of Sahitya Sabha, had a few sittings and decided to hand over the matter to the police. In no time the culprit was found but the committee decided that as the offence was not likely to be repeated, litigation was dropped. In another instance, a few friends told me that a person wa s actuallyfined. I was told that the matter happened before my time and those members who were conversant with the whole episode were reluctant to reveal the name of the person to me in order to avoid further embarrassment to their aberrant friend.
In another instance a lady wrote an open letter to several friends pointing out many mistakes we were supposed to have committed. I drafted a prosecuted and the culpritletter covering all the points except one which was rather weighty for me to deal with. I sought the advice of Dr Bhupen Hazarika, he being an ex President of Asam Sahitya Sabha , during one of his visits to UK. At first he advised me to obtain from our lady friend the source of her claim. Then after ten minutes or so, he called me back and said: It would be better not to reply to that letter. I took his advice. If netters would like this matter to be pursued, I believe a close scrutiny of holou's written composition is enough to establish his identity. I know of cases where the author was identified just by his persistent spelling mistakes. Give a try if you want.
- Bhuban Baruah, UK
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