In Diversity Flourish Unity. In Unity Flourish War.

ঐক্যতা ভিন্নতাৰ প্ৰতিক। Only in diversity, there is unity.

কথাষাৰ কিবা অকৰা টাইপ। Strange to read and accept the obvious meaning. ঐক্যতা আৰু ভিন্নতা বিপৰীত শব্দ হৈ কেনেকে ইটো সিটোৰ প্ৰতিক হ'ব পাৰে। Unity is supposed to reduce diversity, and how does it flourish in diversity.

How could anyone say, unity survives in diversity? ভিন্নতাই ঐক্যতা আনিছে নেকি? আমি কি ইচ্ছা কৰি ভিন্নতাক আৱিষ্কাৰ কৰিছো নেকি?

Could we have unity if there was no diversity?

ধৰ্ম নথকা হেতেঁন আমি একত্ৰিত নহ'লো হেতেঁন নেকি? Couldn't we have agricultural societies without religion and class systems in ancient Mesopotamia? Could we have them today? সম্প্ৰদায় বা সামূহিকতা ধৰ্মৰ অবিহনে সম্ভৱ নহ'ল হেতেঁন নেকি? খেতি-বাতি সামূহিকতাৰ অবিহনে সম্ভৱ আছিল নে? Could we have communities without imposing diversity, which would engage in a mass labour intensive activity like agriculture? Was nation building possible without religion? গাওঁ, ৰাজ্য আৰু দেশৰ সৃষ্টি হ'ল হেতেঁন নে?

বান্দৰৰ দলএটা বোলে ২০-২৫টা বান্দৰতকে বেছি হ'লে তুমূল কাজিয়া হয় আৰু ভাগ ভাগ হৈ যায়। Monkeys fight and find a different leader if the group becomes larger than 20-25 monkeys. If chimpanzees had religion, they would have perhaps moved around in much larger groups. Probably, even had territories and fought with homo sapiens. বান্দৰ জাতিৰ ধৰ্ম বা ভিন্নতা অনা নিয়ম থকা হেতেঁন, মানৱ জাতিৰ লগত সিহঁতে ঐক্য হৈ যুদ্ধ কৰিল হেতেঁন।

মানৱ জাতিয়েও হেনো ২০-২৫ জনৰ ওপৰত হ'লে একেলগে থাকিব নোৱাৰে। সেইকাৰনে, একত্ৰিত কৰিবলৈ কল্পনাৰ সহায় ল'ব লগা হ'ল। বিভিন্ন ভগৱানৰ আৱিষ্কাৰ কৰিব লগা হ'ল। Humans also couldn't live peacefully beyond a group size of 20-25 people. So, even though all spiritual studies say there is just one Supreme  power, but we had to divide that power into many Gods to bring in an imagined order of diversity to unite large sections of the population. ভগৱানক ভিন্ন কৰি বিভিন্ন নিয়মক ভগৱানৰ আদেশ বুলি নিয়মবোৰেৰে সম্প্ৰদায় গঠন কৰা হ'ল। প্ৰত্যেক সম্প্ৰদায়ে নিজৰ মাজত একতা আনিবলে বিভিন্ন বেলেগ সম্প্ৰদায়তকে ভিন্ন নিয়ম বনাবলৈ ললে।

This unity helped in the ruling of a large population by a few monarch/leaders, and also to create a huge homogeneous work force. একতা থাকিলে এটা বিৰাত জনগনক নিয়ন্ত্ৰণ বা শোষন কৰিবলৈ সহজ, আৰু সামূহিক কৰ্ম দ্বাৰা যঠেষ্ট উৎপাদন কৰিব পৰা যায়। জনসংখ্যা বৃদ্ধিৰ লগতে উৎপাদনৰ বৃদ্ধি অতি দৰকাৰ হৈ পৰিছিল। A coordinated work force was essential for a rapidly growing population since agricultural subsistence living started in place of a life of hunting and gathering.

ঐক্যতা ৰক্ষা কৰিবলৈ সৃষ্টি কৰা ভিন্নতাই বহুতো বিয়াগোম যুদ্ধৰ বাট মুকলি কৰি দিলে। Huge groups of people however posed a dangerous threat to world peace. If a group of 20 people fought with another 20 people earlier, now each fighting group had thousands of soldiers. দ্বিতীয় মহাযুদ্ধৰ কাৰক এই ঐক্যতা আৰু তাৰ কাৰক, এই ভিন্নতা। আমাৰ হিন্দু বা অসমীয়া জাতীয়তাবাদী (মোৰও) সত্তাৰ কাৰকো এই কাল্পনিক ভিন্নতা বোৰ। World wars, the strife in Syria, our nationalism, love for a particular football playing nation, or even our Hindu / Muslim consciousness is based on this unity brought in by these imagined diversities.

লৰা ছোৱালীয়ে জন্মৰ আধাৰত এটা কাল্পনিক চিনাকি পায়। জন্মৰ প্ৰাক-মুহৰ্তত যদি দেউতাকে ধৰ্ম সলায় তেনেহ'লে কেচুৱাটোৰ ধৰ্মও বদলি হৈ যায়। If an Indian couple gives birth to a kid in Nz, he gets an automatic nationalism certificate - the passport. Similarly, if a kid is adapted by Brahmin parents, he gets the lagoon. তুলি লোৱা লৰা এটাকো বামুন পিতৃ-মাতৃয়ে লগূন পিন্ধায় এটা ভিন্ন চিনাকি দিয়ে।

আমি বুজা উচিত যে বৈষম্যতা বা ভিন্নতা মানৱ জাতিয়ে সৃষ্টি কৰা বিধ বিধ ঐক্য চিনাকী। It was essential to create diverse identities. এই চিনাকীক লৈ আমি গৰ্ব কৰিব পাৰো, কিন্তু বেলেগ এটা চিনাকীক বেয়া পাব নোৱাৰো। However, we need to realize that the concept of love cannot be restricted to one identity, or within one identity.

ভিন্নতা, ঐক্যতাৰ কাৰনে সৃষ্টি কৰা হৈছিল। Diversity was not created to increase hatred. Hatred became a collateral damage. কিন্তু, ঘৃণা কৰা হ'লো বেলেগ এবিধ ঐক্যতাক, নিজৰ ঐক্যতা ৰক্ষা কৰিবলৈ। এই ঘৃণায়ে আজি সমাজ খনত শান্তি আৰু প্ৰেমভাৱ নাইকীয়া কৰিছে।

For a created / imagined identity, we spread venom on social media, as if it is a real practical identity, giving rise to enhanced hatred. জাতি বা ধৰ্মক লৈ ফেচবুক - টুইটাৰ আদিত ঘৃণা বিলায় ফুৰাটো মূৰ্খামী নহয় নে?

It's biological for two people to fight. দুজনৰ মাজৰ কাজিয়া স্বাভাৱিক। দুটা জাতি বা দুখন দেশৰ মাজৰ কাজিয়া অস্বাভাৱিক আৰু সাংঘাতিক ক্ষতিকাৰক। It is ignorance that makes two nations fight. Probably it is a fight between two leaders where millions may die in ignorant nationalism.

Let's all respect diversity for it has made us the most powerful living being in this earth. ভিন্নতাই আমাক ঐক্য কৰি পৃথিৱীৰ শ্ৰেষ্ঠ জীৱৰ ঠাই দিলে। এই ভিন্নতাক সন্মান জনায় আমি পণ কৰা উচিত যে আমি আন এজন মানুহক বেয়া পাব পাৰো, কিন্তু আন এটা জাতি, ধৰ্ম বা দেশক বেয়া পাব নোৱাৰো। I may hate one particular individual but I must never hate an identity like a religion, caste or a country.

কৃষ্ণ। Amen.

AUCTION OF OIL FIELDS - CORRUPTION, ILLEGALITY AND ASSAM

Assam is witnessing mass protests and effigy burning of the month old Chief Minister Mr. Sonowal over his toothless stand on the privatisation of the 12 oil fields in Assam. Ironically, he once fought with the people of Assam for 'Tez Dim Tel Nidiu' (will give blood, not oil).

The supporters of Privatisation say that the protestors are ignorant and have no concrete reasons to protest. They are just wasting time and hampering development and creation of jobs.

I am however grateful that Assam has taken a stand on behalf of the whole country and has stood strong as an example to protect the country and its natural wealth from corruption and selfish capitalism.

Right from Govt. forcing ONGC to take the 450 billion dollar loan from World Bank in 1991 with the condition that oil fields have to be opened up to global private capital (when they could have easily raised capital instead); the controversial Panna-Mukta oilfields in Bombay High given to the Reliance-Enron consortium for a paltry 12 crores; false declaration of its actual potential, after ONGC had spent 7000 crores in getting that geological data etc (even Petroleum Minister Satish Sharma allegedly took 4 crores, ONGC top boss was involved); ONGC CMD S L Khosla joining Reliance after allegedly disclosing all 'work programme' through the then Director Mr. Ravi Bastia (who too joined Reliance) about ONGC's data about Krishna-Godavari basin. (Read the book - Gas Wars); allegations that one OIL CMD was directly involved in the giving out of Kharshang oil field to private ENI Group / Jubilant Group; to the disqualification of the auctioning of 214 coal blocks from 1993 to 2009 by the top judiciary in 2014 saying that "the entire exercise of allocation through screening committee route thus appears to suffer from the vice of arbitrariness and not following any objective criteria in determining as to who is to be selected or who is not to be selected."; it makes it evidently clear that the natural resources of India is in DANGER from selfish capitalist and corrupt officials/public servants/politicians (perhaps to fund elections). 

The supposedly learned are saying that OIL and ONGC have said that they can't operate these oil fields because of lack of technical expertise and that the fields are too small for big players. The Petroleum Minister said, “Many of the big oil sector companies do not have the technology or managerial skills to exploit small oilfields and so we are allowing firms that have the technology and skill to bid for them”. 

There is no truth in such statements. Can he produce the document certifying the first right of refusal by OIL and ONGC? One must read the editorial by an OIL employee today in Pratidin dated 11th July 2016. He says, 'there is an attempt to belittle the navratna OIL and maharatna ONGC with these false allegations'. He says, 'there is not a single instance that he knows when work has stopped due to lack of funds or technical expertise or infrastructure'. He further adds, 'when OIL has invested in exploration, excavation and even transportation of OIL/Gas from Sorojoni, baruahnagar, Dipling, Merem, Duwarmora and Jeraipathar, there is no question that OIL will now not be willing to do the only remaining work of taking out OIL/Gas' (and leave that to the private companies).

Guwahati-based political commentator and economic analyst Adip Kumar Phukan says, “That argument is wrong. OIL couldn’t work in the Jeraipathar field because of local resistance. The government failed to assure people about the safety of the Rohmoria embankment near the field. However, OIL is still extracting oil from Sorojoni”. 

Also, who says that companies eager to bid are small companies? The second biggest group of Korea, ENI Group etc are not small companies in any parameter. 

IS IT EVEN LEGAL?

With the various acts like the Coal Mines Nationalisation Act of 1973, Oil Field (Regulation and Development) Act of 1948, Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules of 1959, Petroleum and Minerals Pipeline Act of 1962, the citizens of India had given the authority to the central Government to become 'trustee' of the resources so that the resources are not used for commercial purposes, so that the resources are only used for the common welfare of the society without commercial baggages. The Govt. cannot become the AUCTIONEER of the property. They do not have the right to sell or lease the property of the people to a private entity. 

In his petition to the Court regarding the Coal allocation, advocate Sanjay Parikh had referred to the 39th article of the constitution which says the Govt of the people is only responsible for the natural resources and therefore cannot be the auctioneer of the same.

The Supreme Court in its judgement relating to Coal Allocation has pointed out that 'The Coal Mine Nationalisation Act and further amendments in 1976 do not allow PSUs to mine coal for commercial use. The auctioning processes has therefore blatantly defeated the legislative policy in the Act'., and hence giving it to private companies may be termed as illegal.

This worry and the other concerns are evident in the emotions of the wide scale protests in the streets of Assam. Unless there is transparency, white papers being circulated in the public, we the citizens have to protest against such Govt. actions that may be detrimental to the welfare of the common people at large.

Protests are specially required when our minister Mr. Pradhan blatantly brags about Rs. 4000 crores coming to Assam's economy and not explaining how. It is specially required when there is public knowledge of corruption getting into the system of privatisation. It is specially required when there is no concrete reason the state cannot do the same work that a private company can.

When we have made acts that natural resources should not exploited for commercial reasons, the State can therefore exploit the natural resources by undertaking losses if needed be, for the common good of the people in providing electricity and employment. The funny question is why would there be losses, when private companies are so eager about these fields.

Lastly, Assam wont be left behind if these Oil fields are not privatized and in fact India will learn a lesson or two from Assam being a forefront leader in terms of opposing corruption and anti-national exploitation of natural resources. There are hundred other industries where private capital can bring in a change in Assam, namely Food Processing, Fisheries and Muga/Edi Silk.. 

Why are Governments so anti-national? 

Rongali Bihu: A very Happy New Year for me.

I started the first day of this Assamese Year 1424 by touching the feet of my parents, asking for their blessings; and giving them small gifts of love. I am blessed to have got this opportunity for the second time in my aware adult life. But when I look around, there are not many old parents and not many children who are as fortunate. They live far away from each other.

Families in Assam are separated today, separated for economic reasons looking for a better life, for a better livelihood. We separate for a better education, and then for the lack of an employment opportunity in our home towns. I separated from my parents at the small age of 11 years when I got admissions to study in the prestigious Sainik School Goalpara in 1987. From then, till January 2014, I stayed away from my parents and my close family in almost all the festivals. The separation was became starker after I had started working in a full time job from 2001. The separation is temporary when you are away from your family for higher studies. It becomes semi-complete when you start working separately from your family, and then becomes complete when you marry and raise your own family away from your parents.

It is only when I had quit my job in Mumbai, shifted to a small town called Duliajan in Assam, and started staying with my parents, in the house built by my parents, that I started understanding and appreciating the significance of a simple family life with your parents and neighbors. It is surprising that the idea of progress has somehow become an anti-thesis to a happy joint family life.

FAMILY LIFE

Everyone needs a house to live in, but a family of elders and children inside makes it a home. A home is where one learns the softer aspects of life. A school gives us technical education in various subjects. It makes us eligible for a career. A job gives us experience in doing a particular commercial activity, and gives us money in return. A home and a family gives us love, gives us unconditional support and teaches us the values and frailties of human life.

Our home and our family teaches us the values of tradition, of relationships, of money, of happiness and sadness. It lets us experience old age through the eyes of our grand parents and then our own parents. It makes us modest about the inevitability of the disabilities that comes with age. Most importantly, our family helps in binding us to the values. We may dislike the binding that a family builds around you when we are young and rebellious, but my impression is that we will cherish those bindings and strict rules, as we grow older and wiser.

Surely, our families cause a bit of heart-ache as well. For instance, I have come to realise that in every dispute between parent and child, both cannot be right, but they may be, and usually are both wrong. Interestingly, it is this situation that gives family life its peculiar charm.

ECONOMIC LIFE

There is no denying the fact that it is difficult to earn a good living in a society which is not doing well in terms of a healthy business environment. Assam and its economy could not flourish to give its citizens enough jobs and business opportunities. Secondly, our education made us 'un-suitable' for agricultural handwork and income. Agriculture being our primary occupation traditionally lost its charm as a career avenue and that caused a lot of strain on our societies and families. It became one of the major reason for the separation in our family systems. It led to 'un-naturally rapid' work-led migration from villages to urban areas in the state and outside the state.

Economic life in a village, staying with your family, was centred around cooperation and coordination. It was based on sweet (sometime sour) relationships. The whole village was a well-oiled support system for an individual in his economic, social and spiritual journey of life. In contrast, life in an urban area is isolated, individualistic and materialistic. Materialism after a certain threshold becomes competitive and leads an individual away from the cosy comforts of a family.

Also, the economic life of a village could not connect to the markets of the urban economy and the produce of a rural economy couldn't demand its rightful value in the globalised economy of today. As a result, the rural economy didn't get efficient. Adding to that was the land availability for a growing family. This was a concern in the smaller towns and villages closer to towns where land ownership was not enough for a growing family. Children had to move out in search of a career to other regions of the state, and mostly outside the state.

Lastly the manufacturing and the service sector didn't mushroom in our state due to various reasons which could have created many jobs for the youth of our families.

MY STORY

I want to tell my story in a small town with no family land, after living the life of a highly paid MNC employee in the most urban of urban cities, Mumbai; with a hope that perhaps it can be a thinking point to leave the logically obvious lucrative urban individual life.

It is quite obvious that I feel quite strongly that it is more fulfilling to be with your parents and your children growing up with your grand parents, grand uncles and aunties. I would never go back to Mumbai. I have been refusing lucrative job offers that have come my way to take me back to Mumbai.

I am happy. It is surprising even for my wife and so it may surprise you as well. I need to tell you that  that simple reason why I am happy is because I have made my life simpler, easy. My easy life like everybody else's, revolves around a few beliefs. My beliefs are just simpler and basic.

1. Knowing to keep yourself busy is the first step to happiness.
2. Although it is better if you get to do what you love, to earn a living, yet there is nothing worse than not doing anything for the want of doing something you love.
3. Handwork and focus guarantees your objectives in life within a justifiable time frame. No point in getting impatient. 
4. Your life is as good as the good that you do. Being good is about trying to be truthful, not thinking ill about anybody and not doing anything that may harm any third party emotionally or physically.
5. Believe in the dignity of labour irrespective of the kind of labour that you put in. The society loves or hates you because of your character or nature; definitely not because of the kind of labour that you do.
6. You become a better person if you can sacrifice your immediate happiness to take care of your parents and elders.

These are easy beliefs that everyone is aware of and the good news is that they work.

I had my plans when I left Mumbai. They didn't materialise, given that the complicated planning was done in Mumbai without studying ground realities of a small town, and my own abilities to organise a business. When you work for someone, you only acquire skills. You do not become enterprising. I didn't learn to become a businessman.

To keep myself busy, I had my fallback options ready. We had a small shop with a tailor and a few embroidery machine. My parents had established that shop to retail school uniforms and to take orders for embroidery. Since my parents had practically retired from the business, the shop was making losses. I was never involved in the business, but without a second thought, I started attending the shop. With time, the shop had its own ways to keep me busy. It gave me ideas that can be tried. I didn't care about the tag of being a shopkeeper and started investing time and money into the shop. I had the advantage of knowing computers that helped us plan better. I had the advantage of language and experience of living in Mumbai to get supplies directly from manufacturing hubs, in order to offer a competitive price for school uniforms. I could understand the intricacies of the business within no time and the business peaked up after the first 6 months.

It was easy and I was less stressed. More than that I was having breakfast, lunch and dinner at my home with my family: my parents, my wife and my two dogs.

I am happy with my easy life. I even take a nap in the afternoon once in a while. Even when I am busy, I am busy with my own work that matters to me directly. I get time to clip the nails of my parents, shave my dad's beard, visit my relative's place and get to know about my family history. These are small pleasures of life that completes your life.

Embedded below is a video of Jon Jandai who had given me inspiration about leading a simpler life and a happier life.

Bangladeshi Immigration is a non-issue for Assam.

A garment factory in Bangladesh

This Assam Elections will perhaps be the last election that will be fought on the issue of Bangladeshi immigration to Assam. In fact, I would stick my neck out and opine that we should not vote for people whose only agenda is against Bangladeshi immigration.

The reasons why poorest of the poor Bdeshi(s) had been coming to Assam, have ceased to exist. Why do I think so?

1. Assam was a top 5 economic power when India got independence. Partition, high population
   
   density, cyclones, poverty had therefore pushed people to a more prosperous and proximate region, Assam. Today, Assam is in the bottom in terms of economic development.
2. Earlier, land was easily available in Assam. Social resistance to accept them were lesser. Not anymore. Also, micro-agriculture is no longer as profitable. Perception wise, Assam does not offer opportunities anymore. It is not attractive.
3. Other Indian regions like Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad offers better opportunities for Bangladeshi immigrants than Assam in terms of jobs.
4. Bangladesh is now the garment manufacturing hub globally. It is the 5th largest exporters of bicycles to Europe. BRAC has done wonders for employment. Enormous job creation and its percolating benefits have started working in Bangladesh. Assam (and India) is practically nowhere in comparison.

   

   A happy woman worker in Bangladesh

5. Women employment (36%), women literacy (86% of males) is better than India's; fertility rate, most interestingly is lower than Hindu women in India. All social indicators of B'desh is better than India's which will have long term positive effects. (Interesting because lot of us think Muslims have higher fertility rates..haha!)

Hence I think it will be foolish to vote for any party which is claiming to stop B'deshi infiltration. It has stopped already.. To add, if VISA restrictions are lifted, Assamese will go to B'desh to work in those manufacturing factories as labourers.

So Vote Wisely. PS: I am not an anti-national singing paeans for a different country. I love Assam and India. I am just giving out information to prove that Assam needs development and jobs, million times more than a rhetoric of stopping Muslim B’deshi immigration, and accepting Hindu B’Deshi.

Travelogue: Ride to the Mayudia Pass.

Mayudia Pass, Arunachal Pradesh is one of the snow-covered passes in India that connects India and China. It is a treat for the adventure lover, with roads passing through highways, riverbeds, pebbled roads and small idyllic villages. Mayudia / Mayodia got its name from a Nepali girl, Maya, who vanished in the snow and could not be traced.

Mayudia Pass is accessible via Assam. If you are travelling by train, the end train station is Tinsukia. If you are flying, then book your tickets till Dibrugarh. You can come to Tinsukia, stay the night and then rent a car for the journey ahead. I won't elaborate on travel agents and such facilities, as this blog is primarily for riders (motorbikes and cars) who are looking for directions, lodging and other such travel information for their trip to Mayudia.

The last major town before Mayudia (Mayodia) is Roing. There are two routes to reach Roing in Arunachal Pradesh from Tinsukia which bifurcates at Rupai Siding which is around 35 kms of straight highway via Doomdooma. Rupai Siding is around 2 kms before the Rupai town.

Sadiya Route (NH-37):
Rupai Siding -- Sadiya -- Dholla Ghat -- Sadiya -- Shantipur -- Roing -- Mayudia

Tengapani Route (NH-52):
Rupai Siding -- Kakopothar -- Dirak Gate -- Mahadevpur -- Tengapani (Golden Pagoda) -- Alubari Ghat -- 27th Mile (NH-52) -- Straight 4 lane road through river beds up to a T-junction where you have to turn right to Roing -- Mayudia.

I would recommend the Tengapani route because of the river beds and the Golden Pagoda in Tengapani. The route is more scenic as well. One can stay for a night or two at the Golden Pagoda Resort which surely would be a beautiful experience. There are ample number of rooms and one can get accommodation quite easily.

Address:
Golden Pagoda Eco-Resort
Noi-Chenam, Tengapani, PO: Namsai, Dist: Namsai AP
9863399623, 9863316708

It is around 75 kilometres to Roing from the Golden Pagoda at Tengapani. The ride to Roing is fun and adventurous with a ferry ride at Alubari Ghat, multiple river beds with bridges being built on the highway and a sleek wide empty highway to speed up a little.

Mayudia is 50 kilometres from Roing and it takes 2 hours and 30 minutes for a first time driver. The common practice is to book a hotel room in Roing and leave for Mayudia in the early morning to be back by the same day. Most tourist guides would advise a one night stay in Roing. There are three hotels in Roing and the one that offers the cleanest stay is D.S. Hotel and Resort. You may call 08416088898 (M) or 03803-222678 (L) and book your room well in advance. It is a wit bit difficult to get rooms during the winters.

Mayudia is located in the Dibang Valley and is quite interior. The closest village is Tewari Gaon. It doesn't have any shops to buy any items of convenience. Fortunately, it has two lodging facilities without much amenities. One is the Mayudia Guest cum Coffee House, which was originally a restaurant but has been converted to have seven small rooms. Above the coffee house, there is a IB of the Forest Department.

We had met a young guy named Pasong (08670843198) who manages the coffee house and can help you find accommodation. The IB is haunted according to folklore, but we stayed in that IB without any issue. Yes it was a bit scary. It is managed by a Nepali old man by the name, Daju. He didn't carry a phone.

Mayudia Pass, Arunachal Pradesh

You find snow in the Pass, which is 3 kms from the Mayudia Coffee House. The road to Mayudia is less traveled, narrow and dangerous with twists and turns. There is a village by the name of Tewari Gaon which is 22 kms ahead of Mayudia. One has to be quite careful crossing the snow laden highway. The road is covered with ice sheets and it is very slippery. There is no way brakes would work. Cars have to maintain a momentum at first gear to cross the ice laden roads. Bikers must be prepared to fall a few times crossing the pass. That is inevitable.

When you are travelling on your own, it may so happen that you have to stay the night in Mayudia because of bad roads or any other bad luck. So it is advisable that you carry enough food for a night or two. The coffee house and the IB offers basic food like Maggi. You may carry fresh chicken or meat. You can request for firewoods to cook your own meal.

The last fuel station is in Roing, but it is better to tank up in Namsai which is a few kilometres behind Tengapani Golden Pagoda. While going to Tengapani from Mahadevpur, there is a T junction which, on its left takes you to the Namsai Village. In the entrance of that road, there is this fuel station where there is a guarantee of getting fuel. Fuel is cheaper in Arunachal Pradesh as compared to Assam.

The last ATM is in Roing, but it is likely that they will be out of cash. So it is advisable to carry enough cash before entering Arunachal Pradesh. I travelled in December 2015 and surely things will improve with time.

The best time to come to Mayudia is from latter part of December to the end of March. It witnesses heavy snowfall in January and February, and it sometimes continues till April.

Happy Journey!

Few clicks to complete the t-blog.

Golden Pagoda Resort at night.

Golden Pagoda at Tengapani, Arunachal Pradesh.

On the way to Mayudia after Tewari Goan

Riding along the river beds of Luit..

The icy road at Mayudia Pass, Dibang Valley

The icy road at Mayudia Pass, Roing, Arunachal Pradesh

Mayodia Guest cum Coffee House and the IB above

Alubari Ghat, Arunachal Pradesh

On the way to Alubari Ghat, Arunachal Pradesh

Northeast - the epicentre of the second Green Revolution !

Here is another interesting article on Agriculture. http://www.hindustantimes.com/…/story-jzP7Hsb9n5Swhzdb6jvt9…

Mr. Mukesh Aghi, President of the US-India Business Council (USIBC) will host a meeting with US Department of Agriculture under-secretary for farm and foreign agricultural service Michael Scuse, to discuss about ushering the sequel of the GREEN REVOLUTION to ensure long term food security for India.

Sadly the article has no mention of the Northeast. Northeast, despite its enormous potential for agricultural growth, has sadly remained absent from the green revolution of the sixties as well — largely due to sustained apathy from the Centre and lack of enterprise on the part of its state governments. 

This mindset has to change.

Northeast is liberally endowed with deep fertile topsoil, copious water and plentiful sunlight. The eastern zone of the country for instance, possesses nearly 46% of the country’s entire water resources but uses only 3% of that for crop irrigation. We have seen positive changes in recent years. As per some news reports, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh seem to have turned to food surplus regions. 

Can the Centre make Northeast the epic-centre of the second Green Revolution especially for high-volume low-value commodities such as rice, and high value citrus commodities. The north-western zone (Punjab, Haryana etc) and parts of the South are facing dwindling water reserves and are not ideal for high-volume low-value commodities like rice and wheat. They can instead focus on low-volume high-value crops. The sooner this policy shift takes place, the better it will be for balanced agricultural growth in India.

We, in Assam, should therefore raise our voices, write articles and form lobbies to bring in the second Green Revolution to Assam and the Northeast.

Are Bangladeshi Muslims in particular and Islam in general, significant problems in Assam?

Assam is being gripped by a fear of existentialism.

It is being widely perceived and discussed that the Assamese identity is in question, and in a few decades Assam will not belong to the Assamese. The biggest perceived threat being the immigration of Bangladeshi Muslims and their reproduction rates. One learned Assamese gentleman told me yesterday that "he knows a Muslim family with 22 children". He further adds that "'their' grandfathers and grandchildren become fathers at the same time, in the same hospital. We are getting outnumbered and at this rate, we won't survive another 15 years".

This is becoming a significant public belief and explains why the BJP is gaining traction in the traditional Assamese bastion. With a record 7 out of 14 MP seats in the states, BJP is busy making it the most significant political problem. Leaders from the largest and the most respected student organisation, AASU - that had given birth to the regional political party AGP, are now joining the BJP. RSS and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad are gaining popularity in the grassroots creating Hindu awareness along with fundamentalism and 'Muslim hysteria'.

The fear of existentialism and of the diminishing Assamese identity is leading our societies into a socio-political paranoia, where societies are getting polarised and religion is playing the role of a colonial power dividing the mostly ignorant masses; where propaganda rules the minds and rationalism is booted out of the door. It goes without saying that it benefits the power centres and the 'rich' that powers the power centres.

The tragedy is that religion is so intrinsic to us that it overwhelms reason and analytical thinking.

• It does not matter that it will take 200 years for Muslims to catch up with Hindu population with the current Hindu - Muslim growth rate in India, by when India's population will be 5 times the current global population!
• It is not discussed that the Muslim growth rate has declined in the last decade and that the total fertility rate (no. of births per woman) of Muslims is lower than the illiterate and the poorest fifth of the Indian population (National Family Health Survey). Or that the annual growth rate of Muslim population is slower than the growth rate of Bihar as a state.
• We do not get to read that Bangladesh with more than 90% Muslim population has a total fertility rate (TFR), which is not only lower than India, but also lower than India's Hindu population.
• The year on year growth rate of Muslims in Assam is similar to India, and shows no sign of the supposedly humongous Bangladeshi infiltration that is becoming the most significant issue in Assam overwhelming all other concerns that the state is crippled with.

The tragedy is that Assam is becoming blind to its real problems. Assam today represents a unique juxtaposition of backwardness amidst plenty. The per capita income in Assam in 1950 was higher than that in India. It became 40% lower than that in India by the year 2000-2001. We the Assamese people are not bothered that the growth rate of the economy of Assam has always been lower than the national average. During the 6th Plan period, Assam experienced a negative growth rate of -3.78% against a national growth rate of 6%.

There is a complete lack of a manufacturing sector. There is no private sector, or an environment that promotes the private sector creating jobs for the youth. There is severe power shortage in the state and that puts businesses at a disadvantage. Out of the requirement of around 1400 MW, Assam produces around 260 MW only.

Youths are dropping out from their studies after completing class XII to either join ITIs or to just despair over uselessness of a graduation degree. Almost every other family has lost money giving bribe to secure jobs for their wards. There is a large scale urban migration where Assamese graduates are taking up unskilled jobs like security guards, waiters and factory labour outside of Assam. Needless to say that the best and the brightest minds are also moving out in search of suitable jobs, probably faster than the others. Parents are encouraging this mass exodus with a belief that their children will have a better life outside Assam.

This is creating a knowledge vacuum in the state, which is therefore unable to leverage economic opportunities presented by the globalised world economy in terms of easier trade and information exchanges. None of the new business booms - outsourcing, IT, pharma, FMCG, could even start in Assam. All this is leading to a complete collapse of work culture and a lack of faith that it is possible to achieve a good life in Assam among the Assamese.

Unfortunately, Assam is primarily worried about Bangladeshis, Muslims and their apparent threat to Assamese identity. For argument sake, let us assume that Lord Mountbatten had not agreed to Mohd. Ali Jinnah's two nation theory, and Bangladesh stayed as East Bengal and an integral part of India. Then the Bengali Muslim of East Bengal could have freely come to Assam for better livelihood, or for whatever other reasons. What would have happened to Assamese identity then? Going by the present day Hindu logic, Assam would have become a Muslim majority state by now. It seems that Assamese culture and identity is so fragile that we are surviving only because of what Lord Mountbatten, PM Clement Attlee and the then British Government did 68 years back in 1947! The reality is that Assamese culture and identity has developed and survived over centuries and would have survived the last 68 years as well, if Bangladesh remained as East Bengal. The creation of Bangladesh is largely immaterial to the fate of Assamese identity. In fact, it may only prove to be beneficial.

Bangladesh as a country is doing phenomenally well in terms of economic growth and human development. The real growth rate adjusted for inflation of Bangladesh is 6.1% against 3.2% of India. It is now known as a textile capital of the world. In terms of purchasing power parity as a % of GDP, Bangladesh (9th) ranks higher than India (16%). (A nation's GDP at purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates is the sum value of all goods and services produced in the country valued at prices prevailing in the United States. This is the measure most economists prefer when looking at per-capita welfare and when comparing living conditions or use of resources across countries.)

If we look at measures of human development such as life expectancy, child survival, proportion of girls to boys in secondary education, Bangladesh comes out ahead of India. As Christine Hunter, UN representative says, “Gender equality is good for economic growth and good for human development. That is really part of what explains the quite remarkable achievements in Bangladesh”. 88% of women are literate in Bangladesh, compared to 68% of women in India, even though the overall adult literacy is lower in Bangladesh (59%) as compared to India (63%). Around 36% of women were in paid jobs in Bangladesh in 2010, up from just 14% in 1990. By comparison, female employment in India has gone backwards from 37% in 2004-5 to 29% in 2009. (ILO data)

I wonder what the Hindu juggernaut in India has to say about such improvement in women development and gender equality in a Muslim country!

If VISA rules are relaxed in Bangladesh for Indians (VISA on arrival for instance), I won't be surprised if Assamese flock to the textile factories in Bangladesh for daily wages. Going by the current statistics of development, it may not be so unrealistic to assume that there will be reverse migration to Bangladesh from Assam.

Even if we assume that the Muslim population is a threat to the majority mainstream Assamese population, however absurd it sounds; then we have to discuss the solution to the threat by understanding the cause of the shift in population trends. We will find that the root cause is again a lack of a work culture (problem of plenty), Assamese leadership (brain drain) and the empty paddy fields lying un-used by the mainstream Assamese population. What we need is socio - economic leadership along with political leadership mandated by the election process. Socio-economic leadership in the field of economics, trade, manufacturing, culture, language et al will keep alive the mainstream Assamese identity and bring in automatic conversions among the masses from the other identities.

In my world view, therefore, Bangladeshi Muslims in particular and Islam in general are not the most significant problems facing the state of Assam. The most significant problem in Assam is the complete and continuing lack of economic progress. A stronger economy increases disposable income, and which in turn patronises culture, language and religion. Unless we create a agricultural cum manufacturing revolution in Assam creating jobs for the youth, improving per capita income and bringing in a positive outlook towards life, Assam will surely face tough times ahead.

A poor economy always faces increasing pressure in terms of supply and demand of essential products and services. Religion, caste and tribal differences brew in such a poorer economy. Fragmentation and feudal behaviour are imminent dangers in a poor economy. Businesses and trade gets controlled by richer societies from across the borders.

Unity is the casualty. Peace becomes the martyr. Culture is long dead by then.

All of us residing in Assam should immediately pledge to have a single focus - to revive the economy. Even a small retail shop contributes to the economy. We have to become entrepreneurs, leverage Assam's advantages and natural resources to start businesses and kickstart the private sector. We must forget the Bangladeshi problem for a while to take Assam into the xonali (golden) path of development, progress and peace.

Why aren't there many women in Positions of Power in Assam?

It is perceived, and perhaps correctly so, that women in the Northeast have more freedom as compared to some of the other states in India. However, there aren’t many women holding positions of power in the Assam of today. Why is it so? This question was asked while addressing a successful women entrepreneur in one of the meetings I attended today. She regretted that she had no answer and the quorum had no justifiable answer as well. I tried answering but I was terribly bad at expressing myself today. I was intervened. And I ended up being misunderstood.

Let me try and answer this question in writing, while alone and in a more relaxed environment. I am thinking of dividing my analysis into a few constructs. I have neither studied history, nor sociology to give a theoretical analysis. So my analysis would be based on my observations and experiences.

Parenting

Parenting is a media that brings in traditional thoughts and actions into the future. It is also a process that builds attitudes and behavior traits into the mindset of the children. Traditionally, at least from the past few hundred years, the society sees the women performing a certain role in the family, and that can be broadly called ‘the housewife’. The family is the smallest unit of our society and that unit appreciates a woman if she nurtures the family, cooks, cleans and rears the children. 

Parents, being the head of a family unit brings in these values into a girl child. She is supposed to bring a glass of water to the guest of the house, while the boy child gets to sit with the guest. She is supposed to cook, clean the utensils, and know the culture and traditions of rituals such as marriage and other festivals. She is not allowed to mingle with people outside the immediate family, and as a result she becomes shy and becomes comfortable about the works inside the comfortable confines of the family. She may even become the Lion - the power center of the family, but she is meek when it comes to the outside world.

She neither gets the opportunity, nor gets the time outside of her household responsibilities to think of a career outside of the family that may have got her into a decision making socio-political or economic role.

Nuvo-Parenting

In the last decade or so, liberalization, access to media that brings the world into our drawing rooms and access to education have managed to change mindsets of the parents and therefore the girl child to a significant level. Parents, especially the mother of the house, realized that their daughter is as capable, perhaps more capable than any boy of the neighborhood, and that she should become independent unlike her, by being financially independent. The girl child growing in the environment of nuvo-parenting is not encouraged to do any cooking, cleaning and such traditional ‘women duties’ in a family. She is now getting educated to get financially independent, to get a job. 

This trend had somehow left no choice to the girl children of such nuvo-parenting families, about the kind of life she had really wanted. They started feeling inferior if they weren’t earning like her many friends, or like her mother expected out of her to. Housewife became a skeptical; derogatory term for this set of nuvo-women.

Worse was the way the boy child was being raised in the same families. He was not brought up in the similar culture of accepting an earning life partner, where he had to share the household task of cooking, cleaning and rearing the child. He was ironically brought up to marry a ‘housewife’.

This gave rise to two new trends that had the potential of going against women becoming leaders having decision-making powers. Firstly, the women had started having dual roles. She started managing the house and work for a livelihood as well. The husband continued to be the primary earning member of the family. Secondly, the average marriage age of working women started increasing; leading to late pregnancies and longer child rearing cycles.

This, I feel, severely affected the probability of a woman become a leader with decision-making capabilities. She simply had too much to do in her prime years. Although, this started as a metro phenomenon, it percolated down to other cities, towns and villages faster than it should ideally needed to. 

Feminism

If the majority of the feminists in a society are women, it acts against the purpose of the movement of feminism. It only increases gender-divide. It tends to polarize the society. Gender equality is about equal respect and dignity. We as a society are confusing it with Gender Role Equality. The feminists are yet to take the men along with them in their fight for equal rights.

The fight for equal rights for women is not a fight against men. It is actually a fight against customs and a deep-rooted mindset within both the genders. The woman of the family is perhaps more subjudiced in her acceptance of her role as a housewife, or as a caretaker of the husband and her children. She perhaps takes pride in her role as a nurturer. Feminism is not about saying women are better. But it is about showing the relevance and benefit of women being in the role of leaders in decision-making capacity to both the genders and to the whole world without any age or other biases.

Feminism is also about paving a researched strategy for the women to do what they would really want to do. For instance, it is the universal truth that only women of the species can bear a child to take the species forward. If we accept that and encourage women to perhaps have children earlier in the lives to get free from maternal responsibilities, to do what she really wants to do, then it is possible that we may get more women leaders to guide the society into a better standard of living. 

Conclusion

There are a whole lot of other reasons that I can think of. But I believe these three thought constructs are critical to understand why we don’t have enough women leaders in Assam and the country today.

BJP - A lifestyle and culture of lies and deceit.

A senior BJP politician had told me that politics is about winning constituencies. The strategies that you adapt to win elections may have no relation to what you actually do after you win the elections. He of course, said it in the spirit that the elected Government will do what is best for the country, even if election speeches and strategies may have had what is 'not good' for the country.

Even then, isn't it promoting deceit?

Our Prime Minister Mr. Modi is proving to be a genius in winning elections. He exactly knows what needs to be done or said to win elections, be it collecting funds from rich business houses, be it media management (Gujarat Tourism Ad with Amitabh Bachchan), or be it making seemingly straight forward sentiment inciting statements that the public would love to hear their leader say. Sadly, it is not necessary that Mr. Modi has to do what he had said after he gets electoral majority mandate. It is quite clear and widely discussed in media that Mr. Modi has been making U-turns in lot of his election promises and statements, very much like what a senior BJP leader told me about politics.

Yesterday, 30th November 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his first visit to Assam after becoming the Prime Minister announced (quite shamelessly) that his government would not compromise on national security and utilize the land transfer agreement with Bangladesh in a manner that it serves the long-term security interests of the state. Using his oratory charm, he said that it might seem to be an immediate loss to Assam, but the state would benefit in the long run. He said that he would utilize the India-Bangla land transfer agreement to seal all routes across the international border through which illegal Bangladeshi migrants have been entering Assam and creating havoc in the state.

Wasn't that a convenient and a correct way to deceive the people of Assam? Isn't it deceit?

There is a reason why I qualified his statements with 'quite shamelessly'. The reason is that Modi was vociferous against the deal before the general elections. Assam and its various socio cultural and student organizations have been equivocal against the UPA Govt.'s proposed land swap deal with Bangladesh from the beginning. The deal is to give certain parts of Assam to Bangladesh as per the latter's demands. It is like giving some parts of Kashmir to Pakistan. Almost like creating a 'Pakistan Occupied Kashmir'.

BJP during the campaigning for Lok Sabha elections supported the view of the common people and vehemently opposed the UPA Govt.'s stand on giving away land to Bangladesh. BJP had created massive public awareness and outburst against this land swap deal by declaring a 12 hour Assam Bandh, and by hoisting the Indian National Flag at the debated land by the International border with Bangladesh. BJP even supported the biggest student body of the country - AASU and sat with them in various protest sittings and marches.

Why is Mr. Modi silent on how this land swap deal is better for Assam in the long run? Logic and sharing of facts will surely make us understand why is he going back on his words, and agreeing to his bitter enemy - the Congress. 

Now, it is clear that BJP was doing electoral politics before the Lok Sabha elections, by playing to the sentiments of the people of Assam. BJP is not any different from the Congress. In fact, perhaps it is worse by being communal, casteist and pro-capitalist profiteering.

Interestingly, BJP ally of the previous elections - AGP President Mr. Atul Bora told the media yesterday that Congress and BJP are the two sides of the same coin, and that Mr. Modi is an agent of the big business houses. Finally, political parties are realizing what Aam Aadmi Party has always maintained.

AAP Assam had maintained in the Lok Sabha elections that BJP cannot be the alternative to Congress misrule. We have to change the system, not the rulers.

I am not opining whether the land swap deal is good or bad for Assam and the country. I am bringing forth the lifestyle and culture of lies and deceit that BJP is promoting. We have to question ourselves deeply if honesty and being truthful are essential to lead a life of happiness and contentment. If we believe that 'honesty is the best policy', politicians like Modi has to be curbed at any cost. Else we will kill the very concept of 'being good and honest' and transform ourselves into a society of wolves.

Regionalism is about being conscious, responsible and taking ownership.

If I exclaim, "I love Assam", it may sound jingoistic, but it is actually about being conscious, responsible and taking ownership of Assam in my personal and social capacity.

In one of my FB post which said, "Oil India Limited is a Navratna PSU with its operational headquarters in Duliajan, Assam. It pumps out crude oil of Assam. In 2013-14, it paid Rs. 1786 crs to Assam state exchequer whereas it paid more than double, Rs 4154 crs to the Central Govt. Is that acceptable?", I had received two comments which prompted me to write this blog piece.

One comment read, "Yes it is. Did the state govt. provide any logistical or administrative support to the organization when required? apart from staging protests and halting the functionality of the organization for week thereby contributing to the loss of the company and nation at large, what is the role of the state? the company is only sought when the state requires money for any event or institution. what about all other CSR activities? Resources are always a property of the nation, not state. This regional approach is never justified. I have a single question, what is the state contribution for upliftment of the company till date?"

The other comment read, "Lets put it in a different region. Mumbai pays more income tax than any other region in India. Does it make sense that it has dirtiest streets, narrowest roads?"

Let me take this discussion in points to create a context for the debate and for easy understanding of what I would like to convey. 

1st Point

History is written; and policies are made or influenced by the powerful and the rich. To be powerful and rich, there are external and internal factors. Let me define external factors as location, resources, climate etc and luck. Let internal factors be the people, its culture, its traditions and traits. 

It is pure luck that Gujarat, West Bengal, Maharashtra etc had external factors like ports (sea face) which led to intense social and business interactions that normally leads to development. It is pure luck for Bengal that British decided to make Calcutta the Capital of India for 150 years and developed a small fishing village into a bustling city. In a letter to the Earl of Crewe, Secretary of State for India, Hardinge pointed out that it has "long been recognized to be a serious anomaly that the British governed India from Calcutta, located on the eastern extremity of its Indian possessions." Similarly, it was fate that they shifted the capital to Delhi and which made North India the political power centre after the Independence of India. 

In contrast, it was bad luck that Burmese army plundered, looted, killed and raped Assamese women at a time when the 600 year old Ahom Kingdom was at its weakest point. According to Hindu mythology, 12 years is a 'Yug'. Assam had the most tragic and destructive yug between 1814-1826. It was a period of complete mayhem and destruction of not only properties but the confidence of the Assamese people. Assam had become a land of corpse - a massive funeral ground. The population in 1826 was less than one-third of the population in 1766. The confidence was further shattered by the Britishers bringing in large population of Bengali officers. The official language of Assam became Bengali for around 4 to 5 decades. To make matters worse, Assam and the NE became part of Indian Union after independence, and it effectively made Assam a remote part of India in one far corner next to China. Geographically it became challenged in terms of the power centre being in Delhi. The confidence that broke during the dark 'yug' was further trampled during the British rule. It never got the chance to rebuild in the Independent India.

Lot of us blame the internal factors like lack of leaders, lazy character, 'kekura mentality' etc. for the current state of Assam, and we don't bother to look at the external factors and history. 

To cut it short, Assam has gone through tremendous tough times, and it will take at least a few more decades to come back to track. Effectively and obviously therefore, history and policies are not written in favour of the people of Assam. There are umpteen instances of exploitative decisions and non-decisions that have continuously pushed Assam backwards. Be it the tea industry which had the auction centre in Calcutta, the Oil industry which supplied sweet crude to Barauni refinery, the non-existing petrochemical industry inspite of being the first region to discover crude oil, the education sector which could establish only 25 institutes when Andhra Pradesh could establish over 800 institutes, the fisheries industry which imports fish when we are ourselves rich in water bodies and the agriculture sector which has failed to leverage the tropical climate of Assam that produces joha rice, different citrus fruits and many other export friendly crops.

2nd Point

Depression is a vicious cycle, as we have seen in the Great Depression of 1930s. Lack of growth leads to lack of opportunities which leads to lack of growth. Lack of opportunities lead to a lot of socio-political and economic evils. Extremism and 'chanda' culture are two of those evils. If Assam had a petro-chemical economy, or an industry in every small town, we wont have had those two evils. 

Even popular media acts as a stimulant to depression. It thrives on negative news. Instead of analyzing the reason behind the closure of the BigBazaar store in Tinsukia, it will declare that the reason is excessive ransom and 'chanda'. I wonder if Assam knows that Big Bazaar stores were shut at Bangalore, Kharghar, Sangli, Ujjain, Pune, Kolkata, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Indore and Ludhiana, along with the Tinsukia store in the same year. Kolkata is a small high volume trading hub and everything under the sun is already available in near whole-sale prices in walkable distances. It is like one mega Big Bazaar. Big Bazaar therefore couldn't offer any solid reason - USP for its existence.

Corruption is another bi-product of depression. Any region with signs of depression has debilitating corruption. There are lot of factors in a depressed economy which leads to corrupt ways to benefit for livelihood. 

So, it is crucial that we understand that Assam is going through depressionary forces and we all have lot of responsibility while loving Assam.

3rd Point

The development and livelihood of a village or a set of villages with common traits (or Assam) depends on the natural resources in the region, the skills required to utilize the same natural resources. Trading of those goods and services with other regions and villages comes later. Secondly, the environmental and social impact of utilizing natural resources directly falls on the community around the natural resource. Therefore, it has been debated and agreed in various forums that the ownership of natural resources is with the community and the people living in the region where the natural resource is present, and not with the state. 

Although there is no comprehensive legislation in the Indian constitution defining natural resources and its protection, the Supreme Court on its 2G spectrum case said, "Natural resources belong to the people but the state legally owns them on behalf of its people".

Legality is nothing but some rules made by the people with decision making powers and hence can be changed. Across the globe, a similar stand is maintained that natural resources belong to the community, and decision making should be decentralized. So the first right of use and of benefit of natural resources should lie with the community. The taxes and revenues should primarily go to the state government. We may in fact think about community level administrative units and budgeting conditions where the primary benefit goes back to the bank accounts of the communities which have natural resources.

Let me give an exploitative instance to prove how important it is to have ownership and knowledge about our own natural resources. In 1948, the centre sold a metric tonne of Assam's crude oil at Rs. 1382/-, of which Assam received Rs. 61/- only as royalty. As taxes, the central government received Rs. 532 and gave Assam Rs. 131 out of it !!

4th Point

Oil India Ltd. is a Navratna PSU and the Government of India owns 68% of the shared capital. Owning it constitutionally is the only contribution of the central Government. It is a Navratna because of its employees and the location of its operations. Nano plant could not survive in West Bengal, but Oil India has flourished in Duliajan, Assam. The state Government has no role to play, or to contribute apart from giving land and have a favored policy environment. Both these functions are being done by the state without hassle. OIL is not a charity organization for whom Assam state government should have a budget allocation. Also, there is no logic in saying that the state stages protests! The protests, if any are staged by various labour unions and other socio-political organizations which the state machinery helps control and mitigate. It is not a unique phenomenon in Assam, as is evident from the Nano example.

In terms of community work, every company has a budget for community work. Even private companies like TATA and Mahindra have a budget for CSR work. So OIL providing for its community is a mandated budgetary provision applicable to all companies. It is irrespective of where the company is located. So the standard of living in and around Duliajan, Bongaigaon, Numaligarh etc. are better than the other parts in Assam. Imagine if Assam had more such industries... if Assam had at least, enough refineries to refine its own crude oil production?

5th Point

I am too tiny to really worry about Mumbai whether it has development spends commensurate with its tax contributions to the central government. The small fact is that the Bombay Municipality budget is around 28000 crores and perhaps the highest in the country for any municipality.

My major worry is the polarized development centered around Mumbai and the metros creating a devastating brain drain from the other states of the country. The present day brain drain from Assam to these metros is perhaps more devastating the Burmese plunder and British rule. The Brits created industries, jobs and an economy in Assam that brought in migrant labours to Assam, primarily the Bengali and the Maruwari population. For sure, the qualified local Assamese also got benefitted then. Today, the trend is reversed. There is no job creation that is happening in Assam anymore. Many public sector undertakings have closed down, and private enterprises are too few and far between.

6th Point

If British rulers could see opportunities in Assam, why can't we? They created a cash crop (tea) and two mineral industries (coal and oil). It is been almost 7 decades that we have not created another cash crop, another industry, another trade opportunity. For instance, Assam is considered the home of citrus fruits and especially robab tenga (pomello) and can easily become an export hub. Assam can be a bamboo hub, a rice hub, a food processing hub, a tourism hub and many more such hubs. But we are a far away state in one remote corner invisible to the central government for development. So it is obvious that we are being exploited of whatever industries British had shown the potential for. Over two-thirds of the Assam's oil production was refined outside of the state, depriving the state of crores of rupees as revenues and taxes. Natural gas is one of the bi-product of oil exploration and Britishers had not developed any industry to use this natural gas. Quite obviously the central government has also not cared to develop any use of the same. As per 1992-93 data, 56% of the natural gas was flared off. We wasted over Rs. 30 lakhs worth of natural gas everyday.

Conclusion

Enough has been written about exploitation of inconsequential states like Assam by the Central Govt. and there is no guarantee that exploitation wont continue in the Modi regime. There is a huge task for every Assamese and for everyone who love Assam. The first responsibility is to read Assam's history and Assam's wealth to understand the current state of affairs without really referring to popular media. The second responsibility is to share the knowledge and help Assam know the real problems. The third responsibility is to try to find solutions in our individual capacities.

Regionalism is not about secessionist agenda. Regionalism is about being aware of our region, its people, its natural resources, its skills, its culture and is about a passion and dedication to help develop the region.

Let us all love Assam and bring back its glory days in the world map. One day, Assam will be a developed state known in the world politics and economy.

Education is taking Assam backwards !!

'Education is taking Assam backwards' sounds like a paradox, but I shall prove the same true in this discussion today, albiet unfortunately.

Although Assam is the largest tea producing region in the world, yet it does not have a subject on tea education till the 12th standard. There are a few diploma courses for graduate and post graduate students, which hardly get students because of lack of awareness and interest in businesses related to tea. This is obvious because less than 5% of the population in Assam have education above class XII, and our education curriculum till then does not introduce our students to a career in tea, to raise any interest levels. Tea gardens are for the rich, they say. Sigh!

Similarly, Assam (Government, bureaucracy and its intellectuals) has not shown any strategic focus in educating our young generation in matters of petroleum related businesses, coal related businesses, bamboo related businesses, weaving related businesses, fishery related businesses, tourism related businesses and agri-based businesses. None of these topics get its due attention in the primary and secondary school syllabus, so as to generate interests in the minds of the ever inquisitive youth.

Here is one funny yet sad anecdote to support the discussion. Dibrugarh University had proposed to set up a “Centre for Tea and Agro Studies” in its campus with effect from early 2007. On 20th june 2014, I was aghast to see the website of that initiative. This is what I gathered from the website of Dibrugarh University.

1. There were only three names on the faculty page: Prof. P. K. Borua (Director), Assistant Professor; Ms. Monalisha Sangma and Guest Faculty Mr. Siddhartha Sharma. The page didnt carry any details of their credentials and their functions.
2. In the 'Departmental Publication' page, it was casually written "The Centre regularly publishes the Information Brochure for admission into the course" !! Thank you, but I was expecting some kind of a journal publication.
3. In the Collaborations and Projects page, it had said, "The Centre is having collaboration with the Tea industry, Tea Research Association and Tea Board particularly in teaching and training". !! Is it possible to get more vague than this?

It is tragic because we all know that the region of Assam and the North East is rich in various kinds of natural resources. We also know that the economy of a region is dependent on its natural resources and the core competencies that we develop around these natural resources. The inhabitants of the region have to be experts in harnessing the potential of the natural resources available in the region. Only then, the region won't have problems of un-employment, poverty and other socio-political disturbances like terrorism.

Contrary to the above understanding, Assam has negligible intent and infrastructure to educate its young citizens about the natural economic opportunities available in Assam. The obvious after-effect of such absence of vision is responsible for what we see today in Assam. Gamucha (traditional towel) are imported from outside the state. Significant amount of fish comes from the south of India, when Assam has enough water bodies, rainfall and shallow water table. Above all, we have the huge Brahmaputra. India had the first oil well in Digboi but still Assam does not have local entrepreneurs doing business in the petro-chemical industry producing plastic and other petroleum bi-products.

Tea was made a cash crop by the British and I don't think that we are even thinking about creating the second cash crop after 60 long years of our independence. There have been some efforts in exporting agricultural produce from Assam, but the efforts are not comprehensive and well planned.

Assam Lemon, Assam Papaya, Bora Saul (glutinous rice), Joha Saul (aromatic rice) are few of the agricultural produce that has the potential to become the second cash crop next to tea.

India leads the world in terms of Papaya production, but Assam has one of the lowest productivity in spite of the preferable tropical weather conditions. Some research work says Assam may be the home of lemon. Lemons of various kinds are found even today growing in a wild state in the tropical forests of Assam. Pomelo (robab tenga) is one such example, which is known worldwide for its vitamin C content.

If OIL market Duliajan can sell apples sourced from America, there is no reason why we can not sell Assam Papaya and Assam Lemon in the shopping malls of the United States of America.

All that is not possible if the education curriculum does not support these knowledge domains required for the Assamese citizens to take advantage of the natural potential of the region. Many argue that Assam is a land of 'laahe laahe', which literally means that Assamese people are lazy and therefore they don't take initiatives and work hard. I have a completely different explanation. I blame the strategists, their strategies or the lack of it in education. Or perhaps, I sometime imagine that it is a well thought design by the ruling rich capitalists to keep the locals out of understanding the potential of our state and its natural resources. But that is just my imagination talking, perhaps.

Lets compare the state education facilities in Assam and in Andhra Pradesh. The data is from the websites of 'Directorate of Technical Education'.

Andhra Pradesh has 120 polytechnics with an intake of 21,210 students every year, 225 engineering colleges with an intake of 65960 students every year, 270 MCA colleges with an intake of 13,495 students every year, 205 MBA/PGDBA colleges with an intake of 11,230 students every year and 31 B-pharmacology colleges with 1770 students every year. Assam has only 25 institutes. Assam has 10 polytechnic institutes and 15 other institutes including the engineering colleges with a total intake of only 2520 students every year.

Karnataka has 566 institutes under DTE. Gujarat has 620 institutes under DTE.


Annual Student Intake in Assam

Assam lags not only in terms of number of institutes and but also lags in the type and variety of courses offered in these institutes. None of the institutes really focus on the natural resources, ecology and culture of the state of Assam.

Am I then not right in saying, 'education (of Assam) is taking Assam backwards'? Education is intrinsically progressive, but the direction and velocity of progress has to be worked on strategically. If the direction is not correct, it would obviously take a region backwards. The local population, its economy, its art and culture, its people, its languages - everything will be history if education is not in the right direction of progress.