Sometimes when I get a little contemplative, I often feel really glad to have been born an Assamese. I mean, to be born in the heart of Northeast India, a land of beauty and serenity and of course a most secular region of the country. Assam for that matter really has a bounty of natural wealth and splendour. With the Brahmaputra cutting through its green landscape the region is also the most fertile area of the country, with tremendous potential for both agriculture and industry. But what saddens me is that in spite of having so much potential and resources the region still lags horribly behind in comparison to its other national counterparts.
Well, I do not know who should exactly be blamed for this: Whether the system or the people working in the system. If you come to think of it, we have sufficient manpower and enough availability of all required things and resources for development, then, where does the fault lie?
Sadly, the people of our land are not the most devoted lot of the country. It will surprise many to know that according to records every “zila” in the state gets about 800 to 1000 crores per year for development but the crux of the matter is where does all this money disappear to?
Other regions of India like Chennai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad etc. have recently developed into technical hubs. They have all the features of a well-developed modern city and hence have acquired the metropolitan status.
But Assam in spite of having so much potential still is in the ranks of the least developed states of India. What is more is that in a recently conducted national survey, Assam was also ranked as the most corrupt state of the country. This kind of statistics is really saddening.
We live in a state, which can be turned into a tourist hub of the northeastern region. The riverside can be beautified, the city streets can be better designed, the transport system can and should be improved and so much more can be done. One more important aspect that demands the government attention is the problem of flash floods. The city is practically turned into a river during the rainy season with people making use of boats to transport themselves and their belongings. Every year this problem keeps on recurring and it is high time that somebody did something about it.
Then of course we have the problem of insurgency. The ULFA is always there to disrupt the image of Assam and the entire Northeast in general. What I often ponder upon is that though they have been demanding a sovereign and independent Assam, do they even have a blueprint of the new state that they so eagerly want to establish? I guess not…well besides this do you think Assam has the kind of infrastructure that is required for an independent state? Of course not…
Examining the condition of the state at present I often feel very depressed and I so wish that we had an efficient cadre of men who would earnestly work for the development of the state. We are producing hundreds of engineers annually but again very sadly within a few months of their recruitment their own houses are started and completed but the projects that they undertake are in their initial stages for at least three to four years – the reason of course is – crunch of funds. Funny Nah.!
We need to realize that our system is run by the people and for the system to work properly the people should work properly. The centre that is the Union Government of India often releases generous funds for the development of the region and our state, but the accounts of the expenditure are never given and even if they are given they are largely manipulated. The programmes and schemes of the government that have been newly initiated are also in the same state. Corruption is prevalent from the grass root level up to the bureaucratic level and if we the common people do not raise our voices against it then who will?
I so agree with Bimal Jalan who had stated in one of his works that – what is repugnant is not that corruption is prevalent in India but what is repugnant is that corruption has come to be morally accepted by the people of India.
We have become so habituated to the fact of corruption that we have given up all hopes and efforts for eradicating it.
Even for the smallest of works we have to bribe the lowest of all officials. This menace has eaten so deeply into the system that until and unless it is fully done away with, we cannot expect our system to change and our state to progress.
I am not trying to sound idealistic but making an effort to raise my and other peoples’ conscience so that we can do our own small part in this fight against the most perilous evils of our state and the country.
With widespread unemployment, poverty and corruption Assam is going down the national and international scale. And being an Assamese there could be nothing that saddens me more.
I only hope and pray that this disillusionment of mine will soon disappear and that the authorities will really awaken to their responsibilities and take up the development of the state in a more serious manner.
Another fact that I would like to mention here is that the civil society can also play a pivotal role in pressurizing the government to perform its duties. An active mass of people can do a lot in eradicating social injustices and malpractices. So if we take up the responsibility as active Assamese citizens may be we can make a difference…
Sabrina Iqbal Sircar
Guwahati
The writer is a freelancer, doing her Masters degree in Political Science. She writes for both national and local English dailies and magazines.
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