Rajen
We even donot have the courage to ask an MLA a question "Why we
don't have electricity why the roads are bad. This confidence will come
only when enough people will get out our Kharkhowa state and work outside like
a guy of Kerela, UP, Rajasthan, Gujrat or Punjab. We the
Kharkhowas even donot know how much export we can made of Bamboo products to
Delhi and Mumbai and USA which will help the villagers. Not that we donot need
a Gas Cracker but a Gas Cracker does not necessarily help our
villagers
While
I agree with your views, I have reservation in regard to the later part of
your rejoinder. The constituents
do have the courage to ask their MLAs why there is no electricity, why a
particular road is in bad condition, and so on. They are aware of the conditions very
well. Obviously electricity and roads are not their priority; what they want
badly could be money for the children’s
education, bulls and cows
needed for the farm and family,
jobs for the unemployed sons and daughters, etc. etc.
I
do not think people have to go out of their State in order to boost their
confidence. We know very well why a Rajasthani (Marwari, to be precise) or a
Bengali moves out of the State.
There is no reason why a Kharkhowa would not be able to survive at his
own home in the first place.
I
suppose that kind of outlook is at the root of ULFA coming into existence. Not
lack of confidence in their ability but an orientation that they are or were
the victims of a colonial power. Do not get me wrong, I do not deny the
benefits of travel and work wherever it is available.
To
the point, I have come across boys in search of jobs outside the
State. It appears the Army and,
in particular, the Police Battalions and Border Security Forces have also
provided employment to many North-East boys. I would not however know their
numbers. One young man told me that now-a-days people do get
out.
Now
the marketing of local products.
It is not for the kharkhowa manual worker to work out the marketing
aspects of the problem. At the
time when a paper mill was set up in Nagaland some forty years ago, an expert told me that the mill was
set up not as either as a
utilitarian or economic
(feasible) project. People demand
industrialisation and so a Nagaland Minister fulfilled a political need. A ceramics expert who worked in a
newly established ceramics factory in Orissa told me that the factory would
never make money (he explained).
Now you have stated that a Gas Cracker does not necessarily help our
villagers. As an intellectual you
would know the logisti cs but the
young boy or girl waving placards at George Field, would not know. Mukul Mahanta’s relevant queries can
be found in today’s batch of e-mails.
After the agitation for a Refinery in Assam was cooled down, it was
discovered that a refinery was not a large recruiter and then the main
refinery was set up at Barauni, as a result of the lobbying by the MPs of
Bihar. In affect the recruitment was done at Baruani for the Guwahati refinery
except for the handful of Fourth grade staff.
Did
not want to prolong; I was carried away.
Regards
Bhuban 