Life keeps you unhappy in search of ... hmmm... something. Anything it can be. Almost anything. Even death.
If you get death, you will still perhaps search for something else.
Is being incomplete, life?
Thursday, November 06, 2014
Life
Life keeps you unhappy in search of ... hmmm... something. Anything it can be. Almost anything. Even death.
If you get death, you will still perhaps search for something else.
Is being incomplete, life?
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
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.
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.
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.
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.
Monday, August 04, 2014
Too many sexual incidents in India... A quick analysis.
Too many sex related crimes.. even a judge heading Visakha Committee could not save herself.
It cannot be that men's libido or virility has suddenly increased because of an alien attack or a deadly virus that has come through the broken ozone layer. It has to be something else that is affecting our conscience, our perceptions, our fantasy and our psyche, that education seems to be having no effect.
My hypothesis is that accessibility and availability of new media - TV, Mobile and Internet is creating an unreal world of fantasy. A fantasy that seems achievable. A fantasy that is guiding our lifestyle, our behaviour, our aspirations, our dressing styles, our ego and our wants. A fantasy that is reducing our conscientious inhibitions in the same time.
Sex is a hunger or a need of a different kind especially in the context of India having lived in a society of repressed sexuality for ages (Khajuraho was perhaps a different age). Content and information in the Internet, mobile and TV is feeding this hunger with continuous fantasy inducing style, visuals, dialogues, and behaviour. It is making sex seem easy for the whole world, but NOT for ME (the viewer). All those ME are slowly acting up like the burning match stick in front of a long line of Diwali crackers.
This ME is not gender specific. It is applicable to both males and females. Males are influenced in certain ways. Females are influenced in other certain ways.
Although I am not in favour of banning content, yet there is a need to understand the consequences of content and be responsible for the same. Or, we have to be prepared to live through a period of transition until things settle down into this new dimension where fantasy of today becomes comfortable reality of the present, where sex is not controlled and contained like the content of Internet, Mobile and television.
It cannot be that men's libido or virility has suddenly increased because of an alien attack or a deadly virus that has come through the broken ozone layer. It has to be something else that is affecting our conscience, our perceptions, our fantasy and our psyche, that education seems to be having no effect.
My hypothesis is that accessibility and availability of new media - TV, Mobile and Internet is creating an unreal world of fantasy. A fantasy that seems achievable. A fantasy that is guiding our lifestyle, our behaviour, our aspirations, our dressing styles, our ego and our wants. A fantasy that is reducing our conscientious inhibitions in the same time.
Sex is a hunger or a need of a different kind especially in the context of India having lived in a society of repressed sexuality for ages (Khajuraho was perhaps a different age). Content and information in the Internet, mobile and TV is feeding this hunger with continuous fantasy inducing style, visuals, dialogues, and behaviour. It is making sex seem easy for the whole world, but NOT for ME (the viewer). All those ME are slowly acting up like the burning match stick in front of a long line of Diwali crackers.
This ME is not gender specific. It is applicable to both males and females. Males are influenced in certain ways. Females are influenced in other certain ways.
Although I am not in favour of banning content, yet there is a need to understand the consequences of content and be responsible for the same. Or, we have to be prepared to live through a period of transition until things settle down into this new dimension where fantasy of today becomes comfortable reality of the present, where sex is not controlled and contained like the content of Internet, Mobile and television.
Monday, June 30, 2014
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.
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.
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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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