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.

Bhagat Singh's 'Long Live the Revolution' and its relevance today.

Bhagat Singh - Long Live the Revolution

Shaheed Bhagat Singh always argued for the phrase 'Long Live the Revolution' (Inquilab Zindabad).

Once, a distinguished editor, Ramanand Chatterji ridiculed the slogan asking Bhagat Singh its exact meaning. He wrote, "when a desire is expressed for revolutions to live long, is it desired that the revolutionary process should be at work every hour, day, week, month and year of our lives? In other words, are we to have a revolution as often as possible?"

Bhagat Singh gave a brilliant response to this article which one must read, for it is relevant even today. He said, "Revolution is the spirit, the longing for a change for the better. People generally get accustomed to the established order of things and begin to tremble at the very idea of a change. It is this lethargic spirit that needs to be replaced by the revolutionary spirit. Otherwise degeneration gains the upper hand and the whole humanity is led astray by the reactionary forces. Such a state of affairs leads to stagnation and paralysis in human progress. The spirit of revolution should always permeate the soul of humanity.. old order should change, always and ever, yielding place to new, so that one good order may not corrupt the world. It is in this sense that we raise the shout: Long Live the Revolution. By long usage this cry achieves a significance which may not be quite justifiable from the grammatical or etymological point of view, but nevertheless we cannot abstract from that the association of idea connected with that."

In the age of the Internet, I see that we are moving away from revolutionary ideas to binary ideas: one or zero. Even though we know life is a shade of grey, we assume our beliefs in either black of white. Anti-capitalism is pro-communism. Pro-state enterprises is anti-capitalism. Anti-BJP is Pro-Congress. Pro-bangladeshi stand is pro-Muslim / a religious stand. Pro-kashmir plebiscite is anti-India. Not liking 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai" is Pro-Muslim or Pro Pakistan. Similarly, a short skirt means 'being available', and anti-short skirt means conservative. Having a boyfriend is not having a good ‘character’. Pro-housewife is against women independence. Pro-customs is against modernisation... and so on and so forth. These are kinds of binary justifications, Bhagat Singh believed, that make the society reactionary.

Bhagat Singh believed that Revolution can only survive in the shades of grey. Revolution survives in constant questioning of status quo. Revolution survives in finding those answers by reading books, debates and discussions. If we won't ask the questions then we won't find the answers.

Why a section of the students of one of the top universities find nothing wrong in the Azaadi of Kashmir?

What has led to the birth of ULFA, and why is it still alive after the Army (and political leaders) have used all its might, causing thousands of deaths, to annihilate its very existence?

Why is a private refinery, the biggest refinery in the Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic (Preamble) - India, when the top 5 profitable companies of the world are state run companies?

Why Muslims are considered a minority in the Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic, when religion should not have been a factor and when there are thousands of tribes and clans which are not only ‘minorities’ but also getting extinct by poverty?

What has made a nationalist Ahom (a royal tribe in Assam) not bothered about his long lost religious practices, but concerned about being a Hindu, which is not his original religion?

Why a general Digbol youth have not heard of ‘Raw Petroleum Coke’ when Digbol was the first plant in Asia to produce PetCoke?

Why is the Sericulture department of Lakhimpur College shut down, when Lakhimpur district used to produce the maximum silk (Muga) yarns for centuries?

Why is the FCI not buying a single kg of rice produced in Assam, citing higher moisture content, when distribution advantage within Assam of Assam produce far outweighs the storage disadvantage of high moisture rice?

What has made Bangladesh a garments powerhouse when its next door neighbour, (and a much less populated) Assam is languishing in its tears of poverty and unemployment?

With a broad objective held as sacrosanct, we have to keep questioning the status quo to arrive at revolutionary ideas to change the society for better. Bhagat Singh had equality of rights, opportunities, gender as his broad sacrosanct objective and dedicated his life to reading, questioning and sacrifice. A 23 year old Bhagat Singh once said, “Ma, I have no doubt that my country will be one day free. But I am afraid that the brown sahibs are going to sit in the chairs the white sahibs will vacate”. This I believe is the best example of an outcome that a 23 year old can achieve through ‘constant questioning’, ‘constant reading’ and with a ‘revolutionary spirit’.

Change is the only constant. Bhagat Singh said, “No change is possible without the destruction of the antiquated system. That was what stood like a wall in the way of progress. Philosophers had interpreted the world in different ways. But the real point was to change it. Revolution alone could do so”.

Long Live the Revolution.

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.