Re: [Assam] Off With MODI's head
Thanks for attempting to deal with the questions Ram. But, not s fast :-)! There HAS to be more to it. But what? Let us dig deeper, if you will: 1) Assam has something like 14 MPs. That in itself wouldn't be a problem (as Punjab has 13). Our MPs, regardless of party, are not very vocal. Recent history may be different. There are other states with fewer MPs. So, WHO are these not-so-vocal MPs? How did they get to be what they are? Are the duds in place because the people of Assam prefer to elect/select DUDs over the intelligent, the able, the effective, the vocal? Is it BECAUSE Assam's people either do not care or are unable to judge who is best able to represent them? Or is it because the CHOICES they are given are the result of a DEFECTIVE, broken system? Like being given a slate of dumb and dumber, or a crook and a felon? 2) Investors are not breaking down doors to get into Assam. Given the bad publicity for the last 2 or 3 decades, no Tata Nano will be risking their money. Now, this is the reality, and it does not matter what the real cause is :-) WHY do you have to go for OUTSIDE investors? What about all the public funds that have been getting stolen and squandered over the decades? Should a fraction of it have been effectively used, would that NOT have made a difference? BTW, WHO is/was responsible for giving all the bad publicity to Assam? Was it reasonable, was it deserved ? Or was it hyped beyond all reason in the pursuit of partisan political gains? From Manoj's post, it seems even Modi bhai wants some sort of 'tourism police' to protect Gujarati visitors That should tell us a lot about Modi's own VISION! Does Assam mistreat, swindle, victimize Gujarati tourists? Or the problem is elsewhere? In spite of these glaring negatives, I think Assam needs to concentrate on a few main areas, so that it can move forward with development. Power, roadways, flood control. Without going into the merit of the list, one will have to conclude that the PROBLEM is an absence of FOCUS! But s that what it is, REALLY? All of Assam's leaders, past and present, and future know exactly what the right thing to do is, and posses all the worldly wisdom. But they also know, that voters will always vote them back to power, even if hey don't do anything. Back to the beginning! SO, is it because the people of Assam are STUPID? Or is the problem something else? Quite often, this dysfunctional trait is by choice. Those in charge know exactly how the cards are played, and how to get back to power time and again. IF that is the truth, the reason, then the oNLY explanation would be that the people of Assam are indeed STUPID. And the issue therefore could be put to rest by delivering that ancient piece of wisdom They deserve it. Or could it be? Should it be? And if that is our conclusion, WHAT would that make US look like? While, Modi may also 'knowledgeable' in such qualities, the Gujaratis, he has to get the votes from, will NOT vote him back, unless he performs -- that is the difference. That would lead us to conclude, that since everything else is equal, ( albeit unstated in so many words) people of Gujarat are SMARTER than the people of Assam. THAT explains the difference. If so, Dilip's wishes or yours or mine are doomed. The smart Gujaratis will prosper and the dumb Assam folks are destined to languish. Its their own damn fault. Do you Ram, subscribe to such garbage :-)? Really? c-da On Mar 23, 2011, at 12:54 PM, Ram Sarangapani wrote: Excellent Manoj. The idea of teaming up with Gujarat seems quite promising. There are a few factors that hold back Assam (IMHO). 1) Assam has something like 14 MPs. That in itself wouldn't be a problem (as Punjab has 13). Our MPs, regardless of party, are not very vocal. Recent history may be different. There are other states with fewer MPs. 2) Investors are not breaking down doors to get into Assam. Given the bad publicity for the last 2 or 3 decades, no Tata Nano will be risking their money. Now, this is the reality, and it does not matter what the real cause is :-) From Manoj's post, it seems even Modi bhai wants some sort of 'tourism police' to protect Gujarati visitors. In Assam 'business' almost always means trading. It is only recently that one sees some private investment in the education sector. Once, great, vibrant industries like tea plywood, seem to be languishing. 3) Corruption is rampant in the state. Yes, yes, there is corruption in some other states like Karnataka, but I suspect, many of those other states corrupt on one hand and build with the other. In spite of these glaring negatives, I think Assam needs to concentrate on a few main areas, so that it can move forward with development. Power, roadways, flood control. and for C'da's questions: *** SHOULD is good advice. But what IF the advice is either
Re: [Assam] Off With MODI's head
Dear Manoj, I hope your account of the economic development and industrial progress in Gujarat spurs Assam's somnolent politicians and social activists into meaningful action. But we will be missing the wood for the trees if we do not try to understand what is it that makes Gujarat so vibrant, even though it is endowed with fewer natural resources than many other resource-rich regions of our country. A striking contrast between Assam and Gujarat is the abundance of water in one and scarcity in the other. It is the spirit of enterprise, the spirit of self-help that drive the growth engine in Gujarat. As you rightly say the Gujaratis are a seafaring people. In modern times Indians began migrating on a large scale in the 1830s-1840s, mostly as indentured labourers, to work on farms started by western entrepreneurs in different parts of the world. Sure enough there was no Gujarati among these hired slaves. But around the same time, maybe a little earlier, Gujaratis started fanning out to the African colonies of European powers. They ventured out into the unknown without the security of a fixed salary at the end of the month (as my grandfather did in the 1880s to become a Government High School teacher at Dibrugarh) but with the confidence that their enterprising spirit would serve as a fortune changing tool. These Gujarati migrants became shopkeepers and moneylenders, and engaged in other trades -- they did not look for salaried jobs -- and in due course became the wealthiest people in the countries they lived in. While enterprising Guajratis -- and Sindhis to wit -- moved out abroad, their neighbouring Marwaris opted for remote -- and sometimes inaccessible -- areas within India itself even before the British became de jure rulers. This enterprising spirit of the Gujaratis endures in the United States where patel is a widely known sobriquet for a motel. My feeling is that it is not possible to replicate Gujarat in lands where the attitude towards life contrasts starkly, and the culture of enterprise and initiative is not pervasive. A majority of young people in Assam [as well as in the neighbouring states of eastern India] in my time [that was of course in the good or bad old days six or seven decades ago] were focused on securing a government job -- a magistrate if possible or a lower division clerk at worst. As far as I can recall none of my friends and fellow students [I was no exception] gave a thought to setting up a business enterprise. Except for Kalicharan Booksellers (notwithstanding the name, the firm was engaged in the 1950s, if not earlier, in businesses other than selling books), I do not recall any prominent Assamese businessman in the state's trading hub, Guwahati's Fancybazar. Of course there were a few prominent tea planters and timber merchants but it was infra dig for an uppercaste Assamese family to start a shop or set up a business. It was extremely rare for upper middle or middle class Assamese/Bengali families to accept a businessman [planter families were exceptions] as a son-in-law. On the other hand the banias of Gujarat [we all know Mahatma Gandhi was a bania, and started life as a lawyer in South Africa mainly to serve the expatriate Gujarati community] enjoyed a high status in their society. To my mind instead of shoving responsbility to politicians alone, we have to devise ways to change the mindset and the value system of the younger and coming generations in our part of the country. Nitish Chakravarty On Wed, 23/3/11, Manoj Das dasm...@gmail.com wrote: From: Manoj Das dasm...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [Assam] Off With MODI's head To: A Mailing list for people interested in Assam from around the world assam@assamnet.org Date: Wednesday, 23 March, 2011, 21:59 I was an attendee at Vibrant Gujarat show at Gandhinagar this January. Modi built two huge convention halls of gigantic proportions. One was almost ready and the other was under construction. Temporary flex print was pasted to look it complete. We could not make out the difference. The place was aptly named 'Mahanta Mandir', and a huge statue of Mahatma stood in between, with his signature 'danda'. A 'dandi kutir', shaped like a salt mound was Modi's 'darbaar'. He met all the delegations there and MoUs were signed in his presence. This year MoUs worth Rs. 30 lakh crores (US$ 672 Bn approx) were signed. We (NEDFi) organised a concurrent Invest NE Show there. When Modi came to know about our presence, he called our CMD. He had to wait, in queue, no doubt. Once his turn came, Modi received him with apology and asked if there was any MoU to be signed. We had none; so Modi immediately changed track and showered praise on NER states like Sikkim which has done marvelously well in the tourism sector. Modi was BJP's i/c of NER during Bajpayee's time. He offered to train 300 policemen from NER at his cost to become tourist police. Idea
Re: [Assam] Off With MODI's head
hand the banias of Gujarat [we all know Mahatma Gandhi was a bania, and started life as a lawyer in South Africa mainly to serve the expatriate Gujarati community] enjoyed a high status in their society. To my mind instead of shoving responsbility to politicians alone, we have to devise ways to change the mindset and the value system of the younger and coming generations in our part of the country. Nitish Chakravarty On Wed, 23/3/11, Manoj Das dasm...@gmail.com wrote: From: Manoj Das dasm...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [Assam] Off With MODI's head To: A Mailing list for people interested in Assam from around the world assam@assamnet.org Date: Wednesday, 23 March, 2011, 21:59 I was an attendee at Vibrant Gujarat show at Gandhinagar this January. Modi built two huge convention halls of gigantic proportions. One was almost ready and the other was under construction. Temporary flex print was pasted to look it complete. We could not make out the difference. The place was aptly named 'Mahanta Mandir', and a huge statue of Mahatma stood in between, with his signature 'danda'. A 'dandi kutir', shaped like a salt mound was Modi's 'darbaar'. He met all the delegations there and MoUs were signed in his presence. This year MoUs worth Rs. 30 lakh crores (US$ 672 Bn approx) were signed. We (NEDFi) organised a concurrent Invest NE Show there. When Modi came to know about our presence, he called our CMD. He had to wait, in queue, no doubt. Once his turn came, Modi received him with apology and asked if there was any MoU to be signed. We had none; so Modi immediately changed track and showered praise on NER states like Sikkim which has done marvelously well in the tourism sector. Modi was BJP's i/c of NER during Bajpayee's time. He offered to train 300 policemen from NER at his cost to become tourist police. Idea is, Gujaratis are compulsive travellers, and they need some comfort like that of security, vegetarian food, some guidance in Guajarati language to start moving to unchartered territories. These NER police personnel will be trained in these aspects and once they are back to their respective states, they will be able to receive, escort the Gujarati tourists. Brilliant! Gujaratis were a seafaring people. They had the Indus valley legacy. Even during Mughal times, Surat was the leading port of India. It used to be transit point for Haj pilgrims. It was a very lucrative business. Mughal emperors' wives used to invest heavily on ships and it was their side business to invest the huge allowances emperors used to grant to his wives. Noor Jehan owned the biggest vessel 'Al Rahimi'- a ship that could carry 1500 people. It was captured by the Portuguese and that led to the seizure of Surat by Emperor Jehangir. I was fortunate to study engineering in Morvi. By the way, I survived a Dam Burst that killed 55000 people in one day. The reconstruction work the Gujus did was fantastic, even Bhuj rehabilitation is remarkable. This year in connection with my daughter's admission in NID, I travelled 4-5 times and went as far as Dwarka by car to see the development. Roads are all weather and four-lane. The state is progressing at break-neck speed. Jamnagar has World's biggest single refinery of 50 Mn MT, adjacent to that Essar has another big one. Essar is also building a huge Petrochemical complex. Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation is now as big as Oil India Ltd. It has exploration blocks, trans-state Pipelines, CNG stations in the state. Narmada water has changed the rural economy. Agriculture has grown 10% per annum in last 10 years. It is the largest FDI destination in India. Sabarmati river front project is Rs. 23000 cr project, that will propel Ahmedabad into the big city league. We could not see any beggar there. Modi is building a 300 km perimeter ring road to take urban development to a higher trajectory. The US$ 90 Bn Delhi-Mumbai Industrial corridor is going to benefit Gujarat Max. What Assam can learn? Our leaders should learn to think big. We must plan following big ones:- 1. Dredge river Brahmaputra, reclaim 1.5 million hectres of fertile land, build irrigation systems, river front projects, water export 2. Build a mega city to house at least 10 million people by 2030, this will act as a centre of consumption, trade, commerce, education, healthcare, tourism 3. Build two express ways on both banks of the river, build a bullet train system like China, which will travel at 350 kmph. Sadiya to Dhubri will be 2 hour journey. 4. Build an Industrial Corridor from Dhubri to Sadiya or Kokrajhar to Jonai, so that when India opens up the land route to China-ASEAN, we are ready. 5. Convert Assam Gas Company to something like GSPC, we have enough oil experts like Mr B C Bora, NN Gogogi, Ajit Hazarika to guide us. This company will explore oil-gas, refine, transport and add wealth to the state. Gujarat is our 'damaad's state. We must take
Re: [Assam] Off With MODI's head
The prescription is there right in the original article. Money talks. Gujarat quietly built up its economic might and now the state is a power to recognize. Gujarat's is known as a business friendly government. Everyone has heard the Tata Nano factory story. Everyone knows whose gain and whose loss it was. When the government, the business and the workers all row in the same direction, in unison, the boat moves faster. Dilip == --- On Mon, 3/21/11, Chan Mahanta cmaha...@gmail.com wrote: I wish Assam could face upto Delhi the same way. *** Any thoughts on WHY it is NOt so now, or HOW it could be accomplished? On Mar 20, 2011, at 10:27 PM, Dilip Deka wrote: Gujarat is too powerful for Delhi to mess with. Gujarati people, the state government and the NRIs investing in Gujarat sing the same tune - Help the economy prosper and everyone gets benefit from it. I can bet Delhi will have to retract. Delhi and the Congress bigwigs tried to remove Modi before but didn't succeed. I wish Assam could face upto Delhi the same way. Dilip Deka From: mc mahant mikemah...@hotmail.com Off with his head Tavleen Singh Posted: Mar 20, 2011 Last week, when it was announced that there were plans afoot to set income tax sleuths on to those who invest in Gujarat, my first reaction was disbelief. Surely not, I thought, not when foreign investors are fleeing India in droves, not when the Reserve Bank has itself pointed out ominously that foreign direct investment in India has dropped by nearly 40 per cent in recent months. Why would a prime minister whose expertise lies in the field of economics allow such insanity to go ahead? The reasons could most certainly not be economic, so I started searching for political reasons and realisation quickly dawned. Narendra Modi has long been seen by political pundits in Delhi, especially those of Congress persuasion, as the only man who could in 2014 challenge their glamorous young prince and so he must be destroyed. Besides he has been flying too high for his own good, has he not? Always holding those conventions to boast about ‘vibrant’ Gujarat and always making jokes about the Congress Party that the silly old ‘aam aadmi’ laughs his head off at without noticing that they are laughing on the same side as a merchant of death, a ‘maut ka saudagar’. Remember when the financial scandals started falling out of the central government’s cupboard at so alarming a rate and how he made that speech in which he said ‘munni badnaam hui’. How dare he? Who did he mean? The Congress Party or she who leads it? So off with his head. Not easily done politically because somehow he has managed, wretched man, to keep winning elections (with even Muslims voting for him), so someone in Delhi came up with the cunning plan to destroy him economically. Ordering income tax raids on political opponents is an old Congress practice that was used recklessly and with powerful effect by first Mrs Gandhi during the Emergency and then again by V P Singh when he was Rajiv’s finance minister. He went too far, though, because he started to raid Rajiv’s friends and so he had to go. But to get back to Gujarat. Under that ‘maut ka saudagar’, its economy has climbed to dizzying heights. Even a casual visitor can see the speed at which roads get built, the availability of electricity in remote villages, the check dams that help irrigate areas that have never seen irrigation, the primary health centres that actually work. Investors see much more. They see an administration that is less corrupt than most and a chief minister who fulfills his promises. If he tells you that he will make land available to you in a week, he ensures that this happens, and if he promises a single window to clear your projects, he delivers. These are not things that Congress chief ministers can do because their primary concern is to ensure that the ‘high command’ is kept happy by regular and large infusions into the coffers of the party. They can get away with no governance at all as long as they do this. Then they have to ensure that they pay regular obeisance to the party’s ruling Dynasty and by the time all this is over, there is little time for doing anything else. So the best governed states in India are those that are not run by Congress chief ministers and the only way to keep them in check is to curb them in every possible way. If it is income tax raids in Gujarat, it is unwieldy schemes like the NREGA in Bihar. You see when the central government puts in place a scheme like this then the state government loses some of its own control over funds and welfare policies. They regularly complain about this but their complaints fall on deaf ears because this is an area in which Sonia Gandhi and her cabinet, the National Advisory Council, are
Re: [Assam] Off With MODI's head
*** But you are speaking of the enlightened, Gujaratis and their Gujarat. They have apparently been able to do what the rest can't, stand up-to Dilli. That was your lament about Assam. My curiosity too is about Assam. What is it about Assam that cannot get the money to attract the Nanos of India or the NRI investors to replicate the Gujarati boom? And create those Kharkhowa Naren Modis to stand up to Dilli, that you wish for as I do ? :-) On Mar 23, 2011, at 8:24 AM, Dilip Deka wrote: The prescription is there right in the original article. Money talks. Gujarat quietly built up its economic might and now the state is a power to recognize. Gujarat's is known as a business friendly government. Everyone has heard the Tata Nano factory story. Everyone knows whose gain and whose loss it was. When the government, the business and the workers all row in the same direction, in unison, the boat moves faster. Dilip == --- On Mon, 3/21/11, Chan Mahanta cmaha...@gmail.com wrote: I wish Assam could face upto Delhi the same way. *** Any thoughts on WHY it is NOt so now, or HOW it could be accomplished? On Mar 20, 2011, at 10:27 PM, Dilip Deka wrote: Gujarat is too powerful for Delhi to mess with. Gujarati people, the state government and the NRIs investing in Gujarat sing the same tune - Help the economy prosper and everyone gets benefit from it. I can bet Delhi will have to retract. Delhi and the Congress bigwigs tried to remove Modi before but didn't succeed. I wish Assam could face upto Delhi the same way. Dilip Deka From: mc mahant mikemah...@hotmail.com Off with his head Tavleen Singh Posted: Mar 20, 2011 Last week, when it was announced that there were plans afoot to set income tax sleuths on to those who invest in Gujarat, my first reaction was disbelief. Surely not, I thought, not when foreign investors are fleeing India in droves, not when the Reserve Bank has itself pointed out ominously that foreign direct investment in India has dropped by nearly 40 per cent in recent months. Why would a prime minister whose expertise lies in the field of economics allow such insanity to go ahead? The reasons could most certainly not be economic, so I started searching for political reasons and realisation quickly dawned. Narendra Modi has long been seen by political pundits in Delhi, especially those of Congress persuasion, as the only man who could in 2014 challenge their glamorous young prince and so he must be destroyed. Besides he has been flying too high for his own good, has he not? Always holding those conventions to boast about ‘vibrant’ Gujarat and always making jokes about the Congress Party that the silly old ‘aam aadmi’ laughs his head off at without noticing that they are laughing on the same side as a merchant of death, a ‘maut ka saudagar’. Remember when the financial scandals started falling out of the central government’s cupboard at so alarming a rate and how he made that speech in which he said ‘munni badnaam hui’. How dare he? Who did he mean? The Congress Party or she who leads it? So off with his head. Not easily done politically because somehow he has managed, wretched man, to keep winning elections (with even Muslims voting for him), so someone in Delhi came up with the cunning plan to destroy him economically. Ordering income tax raids on political opponents is an old Congress practice that was used recklessly and with powerful effect by first Mrs Gandhi during the Emergency and then again by V P Singh when he was Rajiv’s finance minister. He went too far, though, because he started to raid Rajiv’s friends and so he had to go. But to get back to Gujarat. Under that ‘maut ka saudagar’, its economy has climbed to dizzying heights. Even a casual visitor can see the speed at which roads get built, the availability of electricity in remote villages, the check dams that help irrigate areas that have never seen irrigation, the primary health centres that actually work. Investors see much more. They see an administration that is less corrupt than most and a chief minister who fulfills his promises. If he tells you that he will make land available to you in a week, he ensures that this happens, and if he promises a single window to clear your projects, he delivers. These are not things that Congress chief ministers can do because their primary concern is to ensure that the ‘high command’ is kept happy by regular and large infusions into the coffers of the party. They can get away with no governance at all as long as they do this. Then they have to ensure that they pay regular obeisance to the party’s ruling Dynasty and by the time all this is over, there is little time for doing anything else. So the
Re: [Assam] Off With MODI's head
I was an attendee at Vibrant Gujarat show at Gandhinagar this January. Modi built two huge convention halls of gigantic proportions. One was almost ready and the other was under construction. Temporary flex print was pasted to look it complete. We could not make out the difference. The place was aptly named 'Mahanta Mandir', and a huge statue of Mahatma stood in between, with his signature 'danda'. A 'dandi kutir', shaped like a salt mound was Modi's 'darbaar'. He met all the delegations there and MoUs were signed in his presence. This year MoUs worth Rs. 30 lakh crores (US$ 672 Bn approx) were signed. We (NEDFi) organised a concurrent Invest NE Show there. When Modi came to know about our presence, he called our CMD. He had to wait, in queue, no doubt. Once his turn came, Modi received him with apology and asked if there was any MoU to be signed. We had none; so Modi immediately changed track and showered praise on NER states like Sikkim which has done marvelously well in the tourism sector. Modi was BJP's i/c of NER during Bajpayee's time. He offered to train 300 policemen from NER at his cost to become tourist police. Idea is, Gujaratis are compulsive travellers, and they need some comfort like that of security, vegetarian food, some guidance in Guajarati language to start moving to unchartered territories. These NER police personnel will be trained in these aspects and once they are back to their respective states, they will be able to receive, escort the Gujarati tourists. Brilliant! Gujaratis were a seafaring people. They had the Indus valley legacy. Even during Mughal times, Surat was the leading port of India. It used to be transit point for Haj pilgrims. It was a very lucrative business. Mughal emperors' wives used to invest heavily on ships and it was their side business to invest the huge allowances emperors used to grant to his wives. Noor Jehan owned the biggest vessel 'Al Rahimi'- a ship that could carry 1500 people. It was captured by the Portuguese and that led to the seizure of Surat by Emperor Jehangir. I was fortunate to study engineering in Morvi. By the way, I survived a Dam Burst that killed 55000 people in one day. The reconstruction work the Gujus did was fantastic, even Bhuj rehabilitation is remarkable. This year in connection with my daughter's admission in NID, I travelled 4-5 times and went as far as Dwarka by car to see the development. Roads are all weather and four-lane. The state is progressing at break-neck speed. Jamnagar has World's biggest single refinery of 50 Mn MT, adjacent to that Essar has another big one. Essar is also building a huge Petrochemical complex. Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation is now as big as Oil India Ltd. It has exploration blocks, trans-state Pipelines, CNG stations in the state. Narmada water has changed the rural economy. Agriculture has grown 10% per annum in last 10 years. It is the largest FDI destination in India. Sabarmati river front project is Rs. 23000 cr project, that will propel Ahmedabad into the big city league. We could not see any beggar there. Modi is building a 300 km perimeter ring road to take urban development to a higher trajectory. The US$ 90 Bn Delhi-Mumbai Industrial corridor is going to benefit Gujarat Max. What Assam can learn? Our leaders should learn to think big. We must plan following big ones:- 1. Dredge river Brahmaputra, reclaim 1.5 million hectres of fertile land, build irrigation systems, river front projects, water export 2. Build a mega city to house at least 10 million people by 2030, this will act as a centre of consumption, trade, commerce, education, healthcare, tourism 3. Build two express ways on both banks of the river, build a bullet train system like China, which will travel at 350 kmph. Sadiya to Dhubri will be 2 hour journey. 4. Build an Industrial Corridor from Dhubri to Sadiya or Kokrajhar to Jonai, so that when India opens up the land route to China-ASEAN, we are ready. 5. Convert Assam Gas Company to something like GSPC, we have enough oil experts like Mr B C Bora, NN Gogogi, Ajit Hazarika to guide us. This company will explore oil-gas, refine, transport and add wealth to the state. Gujarat is our 'damaad's state. We must take advantage of the old linkages and build new relationships. I volunteer my services for this august task. May be we can brand our state as 'GOD's OWN SOSURAL.:) Manoj On Wed, Mar 23, 2011 at 7:08 PM, Chan Mahanta cmaha...@gmail.com wrote: *** But you are speaking of the enlightened, Gujaratis and their Gujarat. They have apparently been able to do what the rest can't, stand up-to Dilli. That was your lament about Assam. My curiosity too is about Assam. What is it about Assam that cannot get the money to attract the Nanos of India or the NRI investors to replicate the Gujarati boom? And create those Kharkhowa Naren Modis to stand up to Dilli, that you wish for as I do ? :-) On Mar 23, 2011, at 8:24 AM, Dilip Deka wrote:
Re: [Assam] Off With MODI's head
I am very impressed Manoj, as I always have been :-). Our leaders should learn to think big. *** SHOULD is good advice. But what IF the advice is either ignored, or unable to be followed? Has no-one given such advice to your leaders before? Or did your leaders never knew how to think big and did not possess all the other wisdoms to make Assam as successful as Modi's paradise? And IF so, how is anything going to change, with the dysfunctional duds in charge ? That is what I would like to know. What IS IT that holds Assam back? Or for that matter other non-Gujaratis back? What do the Gujarati's possess and Modi knows, that the rest don't ? I am not being facetious here. Seriously, it is one thing to opine for something, like Dilip did, or you do, but quite another to KNOW where the problem lies that prevents those hopes from being met or fulfilled. c-da On Mar 23, 2011, at 11:29 AM, Manoj Das wrote: I was an attendee at Vibrant Gujarat show at Gandhinagar this January. Modi built two huge convention halls of gigantic proportions. One was almost ready and the other was under construction. Temporary flex print was pasted to look it complete. We could not make out the difference. The place was aptly named 'Mahanta Mandir', and a huge statue of Mahatma stood in between, with his signature 'danda'. A 'dandi kutir', shaped like a salt mound was Modi's 'darbaar'. He met all the delegations there and MoUs were signed in his presence. This year MoUs worth Rs. 30 lakh crores (US$ 672 Bn approx) were signed. We (NEDFi) organised a concurrent Invest NE Show there. When Modi came to know about our presence, he called our CMD. He had to wait, in queue, no doubt. Once his turn came, Modi received him with apology and asked if there was any MoU to be signed. We had none; so Modi immediately changed track and showered praise on NER states like Sikkim which has done marvelously well in the tourism sector. Modi was BJP's i/c of NER during Bajpayee's time. He offered to train 300 policemen from NER at his cost to become tourist police. Idea is, Gujaratis are compulsive travellers, and they need some comfort like that of security, vegetarian food, some guidance in Guajarati language to start moving to unchartered territories. These NER police personnel will be trained in these aspects and once they are back to their respective states, they will be able to receive, escort the Gujarati tourists. Brilliant! Gujaratis were a seafaring people. They had the Indus valley legacy. Even during Mughal times, Surat was the leading port of India. It used to be transit point for Haj pilgrims. It was a very lucrative business. Mughal emperors' wives used to invest heavily on ships and it was their side business to invest the huge allowances emperors used to grant to his wives. Noor Jehan owned the biggest vessel 'Al Rahimi'- a ship that could carry 1500 people. It was captured by the Portuguese and that led to the seizure of Surat by Emperor Jehangir. I was fortunate to study engineering in Morvi. By the way, I survived a Dam Burst that killed 55000 people in one day. The reconstruction work the Gujus did was fantastic, even Bhuj rehabilitation is remarkable. This year in connection with my daughter's admission in NID, I travelled 4-5 times and went as far as Dwarka by car to see the development. Roads are all weather and four-lane. The state is progressing at break-neck speed. Jamnagar has World's biggest single refinery of 50 Mn MT, adjacent to that Essar has another big one. Essar is also building a huge Petrochemical complex. Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation is now as big as Oil India Ltd. It has exploration blocks, trans-state Pipelines, CNG stations in the state. Narmada water has changed the rural economy. Agriculture has grown 10% per annum in last 10 years. It is the largest FDI destination in India. Sabarmati river front project is Rs. 23000 cr project, that will propel Ahmedabad into the big city league. We could not see any beggar there. Modi is building a 300 km perimeter ring road to take urban development to a higher trajectory. The US$ 90 Bn Delhi-Mumbai Industrial corridor is going to benefit Gujarat Max. What Assam can learn? Our leaders should learn to think big. We must plan following big ones:- 1. Dredge river Brahmaputra, reclaim 1.5 million hectres of fertile land, build irrigation systems, river front projects, water export 2. Build a mega city to house at least 10 million people by 2030, this will act as a centre of consumption, trade, commerce, education, healthcare, tourism 3. Build two express ways on both banks of the river, build a bullet train system like China, which will travel at 350 kmph. Sadiya to Dhubri will be 2 hour journey. 4. Build an Industrial Corridor from Dhubri to Sadiya or Kokrajhar to Jonai, so that when India opens up the land route to
Re: [Assam] Off With MODI's head
Excellent Manoj. The idea of teaming up with Gujarat seems quite promising. There are a few factors that hold back Assam (IMHO). 1) Assam has something like 14 MPs. That in itself wouldn't be a problem (as Punjab has 13). Our MPs, regardless of party, are not very vocal. Recent history may be different. There are other states with fewer MPs. 2) Investors are not breaking down doors to get into Assam. Given the bad publicity for the last 2 or 3 decades, no Tata Nano will be risking their money. Now, this is the reality, and it does not matter what the real cause is :-) From Manoj's post, it seems even Modi bhai wants some sort of 'tourism police' to protect Gujarati visitors. In Assam 'business' almost always means trading. It is only recently that one sees some private investment in the education sector. Once, great, vibrant industries like tea plywood, seem to be languishing. 3) Corruption is rampant in the state. Yes, yes, there is corruption in some other states like Karnataka, but I suspect, many of those other states corrupt on one hand and build with the other. In spite of these glaring negatives, I think Assam needs to concentrate on a few main areas, so that it can move forward with development. Power, roadways, flood control. and for C'da's questions: *** SHOULD is good advice. But what IF the advice is either ignored, or unable to be followed? Has no-one given such advice to your leaders before? Or did your leaders never knew how to think big and did not possess all the other wisdoms to make Assam as successful as Modi's paradise? All of Assam's leaders, past and present, and future know exactly what the right thing to do is, and posses all the worldly wisdom. But they also know, that voters will always vote them back to power, even if hey don't do anything. And IF so, how is anything going to change, with the dysfunctional duds in charge ? Quite often, this dysfunctional trait is by choice. Those in charge know exactly how the cards are played, and how to get back to power time and again. While, Modi may also 'knowledgeable' in such qualities, the Gujaratis, he has to get the votes from, will NOT vote him back, unless he performs -- that is the difference. What IS IT that holds Assam back? Or for that matter other non-Gujaratis back? What do the Gujarati's possess and Modi knows, that the rest don't ? The above are some of the reasons. --Ram On Wed, Mar 23, 2011 at 11:42 AM, Chan Mahanta cmaha...@gmail.com wrote: I am very impressed Manoj, as I always have been :-). Our leaders should learn to think big. *** SHOULD is good advice. But what IF the advice is either ignored, or unable to be followed? Has no-one given such advice to your leaders before? Or did your leaders never knew how to think big and did not possess all the other wisdoms to make Assam as successful as Modi's paradise? And IF so, how is anything going to change, with the dysfunctional duds in charge ? That is what I would like to know. What IS IT that holds Assam back? Or for that matter other non-Gujaratis back? What do the Gujarati's possess and Modi knows, that the rest don't ? I am not being facetious here. Seriously, it is one thing to opine for something, like Dilip did, or you do, but quite another to KNOW where the problem lies that prevents those hopes from being met or fulfilled. c-da On Mar 23, 2011, at 11:29 AM, Manoj Das wrote: I was an attendee at Vibrant Gujarat show at Gandhinagar this January. Modi built two huge convention halls of gigantic proportions. One was almost ready and the other was under construction. Temporary flex print was pasted to look it complete. We could not make out the difference. The place was aptly named 'Mahanta Mandir', and a huge statue of Mahatma stood in between, with his signature 'danda'. A 'dandi kutir', shaped like a salt mound was Modi's 'darbaar'. He met all the delegations there and MoUs were signed in his presence. This year MoUs worth Rs. 30 lakh crores (US$ 672 Bn approx) were signed. We (NEDFi) organised a concurrent Invest NE Show there. When Modi came to know about our presence, he called our CMD. He had to wait, in queue, no doubt. Once his turn came, Modi received him with apology and asked if there was any MoU to be signed. We had none; so Modi immediately changed track and showered praise on NER states like Sikkim which has done marvelously well in the tourism sector. Modi was BJP's i/c of NER during Bajpayee's time. He offered to train 300 policemen from NER at his cost to become tourist police. Idea is, Gujaratis are compulsive travellers, and they need some comfort like that of security, vegetarian food, some guidance in Guajarati language to start moving to unchartered territories. These NER police personnel will be trained in these aspects and once they are back to their respective states, they will be able to receive, escort the Gujarati tourists. Brilliant!
Re: [Assam] Off With MODI's head
Thanks Ramda! On 3/23/11, Ram Sarangapani assa...@gmail.com wrote: Excellent Manoj. The idea of teaming up with Gujarat seems quite promising. There are a few factors that hold back Assam (IMHO). 1) Assam has something like 14 MPs. That in itself wouldn't be a problem (as Punjab has 13). Our MPs, regardless of party, are not very vocal. Recent history may be different. There are other states with fewer MPs. 2) Investors are not breaking down doors to get into Assam. Given the bad publicity for the last 2 or 3 decades, no Tata Nano will be risking their money. Now, this is the reality, and it does not matter what the real cause is :-) From Manoj's post, it seems even Modi bhai wants some sort of 'tourism police' to protect Gujarati visitors. In Assam 'business' almost always means trading. It is only recently that one sees some private investment in the education sector. Once, great, vibrant industries like tea plywood, seem to be languishing. 3) Corruption is rampant in the state. Yes, yes, there is corruption in some other states like Karnataka, but I suspect, many of those other states corrupt on one hand and build with the other. In spite of these glaring negatives, I think Assam needs to concentrate on a few main areas, so that it can move forward with development. Power, roadways, flood control. and for C'da's questions: *** SHOULD is good advice. But what IF the advice is either ignored, or unable to be followed? Has no-one given such advice to your leaders before? Or did your leaders never knew how to think big and did not possess all the other wisdoms to make Assam as successful as Modi's paradise? All of Assam's leaders, past and present, and future know exactly what the right thing to do is, and posses all the worldly wisdom. But they also know, that voters will always vote them back to power, even if hey don't do anything. And IF so, how is anything going to change, with the dysfunctional duds in charge ? Quite often, this dysfunctional trait is by choice. Those in charge know exactly how the cards are played, and how to get back to power time and again. While, Modi may also 'knowledgeable' in such qualities, the Gujaratis, he has to get the votes from, will NOT vote him back, unless he performs -- that is the difference. What IS IT that holds Assam back? Or for that matter other non-Gujaratis back? What do the Gujarati's possess and Modi knows, that the rest don't ? The above are some of the reasons. --Ram On Wed, Mar 23, 2011 at 11:42 AM, Chan Mahanta cmaha...@gmail.com wrote: I am very impressed Manoj, as I always have been :-). Our leaders should learn to think big. *** SHOULD is good advice. But what IF the advice is either ignored, or unable to be followed? Has no-one given such advice to your leaders before? Or did your leaders never knew how to think big and did not possess all the other wisdoms to make Assam as successful as Modi's paradise? And IF so, how is anything going to change, with the dysfunctional duds in charge ? That is what I would like to know. What IS IT that holds Assam back? Or for that matter other non-Gujaratis back? What do the Gujarati's possess and Modi knows, that the rest don't ? I am not being facetious here. Seriously, it is one thing to opine for something, like Dilip did, or you do, but quite another to KNOW where the problem lies that prevents those hopes from being met or fulfilled. c-da On Mar 23, 2011, at 11:29 AM, Manoj Das wrote: I was an attendee at Vibrant Gujarat show at Gandhinagar this January. Modi built two huge convention halls of gigantic proportions. One was almost ready and the other was under construction. Temporary flex print was pasted to look it complete. We could not make out the difference. The place was aptly named 'Mahanta Mandir', and a huge statue of Mahatma stood in between, with his signature 'danda'. A 'dandi kutir', shaped like a salt mound was Modi's 'darbaar'. He met all the delegations there and MoUs were signed in his presence. This year MoUs worth Rs. 30 lakh crores (US$ 672 Bn approx) were signed. We (NEDFi) organised a concurrent Invest NE Show there. When Modi came to know about our presence, he called our CMD. He had to wait, in queue, no doubt. Once his turn came, Modi received him with apology and asked if there was any MoU to be signed. We had none; so Modi immediately changed track and showered praise on NER states like Sikkim which has done marvelously well in the tourism sector. Modi was BJP's i/c of NER during Bajpayee's time. He offered to train 300 policemen from NER at his cost to become tourist police. Idea is, Gujaratis are compulsive travellers, and they need some comfort like that of security, vegetarian food, some guidance in Guajarati language to start moving to unchartered territories. These NER police personnel will be trained in these aspects and once they are
Re: [Assam] Off With MODI's head
I wish Assam could face upto Delhi the same way. *** Any thoughts on WHY it is NOt so now, or HOW it could be accomplished? On Mar 20, 2011, at 10:27 PM, Dilip Deka wrote: Gujarat is too powerful for Delhi to mess with. Gujarati people, the state government and the NRIs investing in Gujarat sing the same tune - Help the economy prosper and everyone gets benefit from it. I can bet Delhi will have to retract. Delhi and the Congress bigwigs tried to remove Modi before but didn't succeed. I wish Assam could face upto Delhi the same way. Dilip Deka From: mc mahant mikemah...@hotmail.com To: assam assamnet assam@assamnet.org Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2011 9:38 PM Subject: Re: [Assam] Off With MODI's head Off with his head Tavleen Singh Posted: Mar 20, 2011 Last week, when it was announced that there were plans afoot to set income tax sleuths on to those who invest in Gujarat, my first reaction was disbelief. Surely not, I thought, not when foreign investors are fleeing India in droves, not when the Reserve Bank has itself pointed out ominously that foreign direct investment in India has dropped by nearly 40 per cent in recent months. Why would a prime minister whose expertise lies in the field of economics allow such insanity to go ahead? The reasons could most certainly not be economic, so I started searching for political reasons and realisation quickly dawned. Narendra Modi has long been seen by political pundits in Delhi, especially those of Congress persuasion, as the only man who could in 2014 challenge their glamorous young prince and so he must be destroyed. Besides he has been flying too high for his own good, has he not? Always holding those conventions to boast about ‘vibrant’ Gujarat and always making jokes about the Congress Party that the silly old ‘aam aadmi’ laughs his head off at without noticing that they are laughing on the same side as a merchant of death, a ‘maut ka saudagar’. Remember when the financial scandals started falling out of the central government’s cupboard at so alarming a rate and how he made that speech in which he said ‘munni badnaam hui’. How dare he? Who did he mean? The Congress Party or she who leads it? So off with his head. Not easily done politically because somehow he has managed, wretched man, to keep winning elections (with even Muslims voting for him), so someone in Delhi came up with the cunning plan to destroy him economically. Ordering income tax raids on political opponents is an old Congress practice that was used recklessly and with powerful effect by first Mrs Gandhi during the Emergency and then again by V P Singh when he was Rajiv’s finance minister. He went too far, though, because he started to raid Rajiv’s friends and so he had to go. But to get back to Gujarat. Under that ‘maut ka saudagar’, its economy has climbed to dizzying heights. Even a casual visitor can see the speed at which roads get built, the availability of electricity in remote villages, the check dams that help irrigate areas that have never seen irrigation, the primary health centres that actually work. Investors see much more. They see an administration that is less corrupt than most and a chief minister who fulfills his promises. If he tells you that he will make land available to you in a week, he ensures that this happens, and if he promises a single window to clear your projects, he delivers. These are not things that Congress chief ministers can do because their primary concern is to ensure that the ‘high command’ is kept happy by regular and large infusions into the coffers of the party. They can get away with no governance at all as long as they do this. Then they have to ensure that they pay regular obeisance to the party’s ruling Dynasty and by the time all this is over, there is little time for doing anything else. So the best governed states in India are those that are not run by Congress chief ministers and the only way to keep them in check is to curb them in every possible way. If it is income tax raids in Gujarat, it is unwieldy schemes like the NREGA in Bihar. You see when the central government puts in place a scheme like this then the state government loses some of its own control over funds and welfare policies. They regularly complain about this but their complaints fall on deaf ears because this is an area in which Sonia Gandhi and her cabinet, the National Advisory Council, are personally interested. The end result is that India, so glittering, so full of allure only six months ago, is now beginning to look like it did before economic liberalisation. It is beginning to look like a dangerous country to invest in and in this bleak scenario there is Gujarat that has so far continued to shine like
[Assam] Off With MODI's head
Off with his head Tavleen Singh Posted: Mar 20, 2011 Last week, when it was announced that there were plans afoot to set income tax sleuths on to those who invest in Gujarat, my first reaction was disbelief. Surely not, I thought, not when foreign investors are fleeing India in droves, not when the Reserve Bank has itself pointed out ominously that foreign direct investment in India has dropped by nearly 40 per cent in recent months. Why would a prime minister whose expertise lies in the field of economics allow such insanity to go ahead? The reasons could most certainly not be economic, so I started searching for political reasons and realisation quickly dawned. Narendra Modi has long been seen by political pundits in Delhi, especially those of Congress persuasion, as the only man who could in 2014 challenge their glamorous young prince and so he must be destroyed. Besides he has been flying too high for his own good, has he not? Always holding those conventions to boast about ‘vibrant’ Gujarat and always making jokes about the Congress Party that the silly old ‘aam aadmi’ laughs his head off at without noticing that they are laughing on the same side as a merchant of death, a ‘maut ka saudagar’. Remember when the financial scandals started falling out of the central government’s cupboard at so alarming a rate and how he made that speech in which he said ‘munni badnaam hui’. How dare he? Who did he mean? The Congress Party or she who leads it? So off with his head. Not easily done politically because somehow he has managed, wretched man, to keep winning elections (with even Muslims voting for him), so someone in Delhi came up with the cunning plan to destroy him economically. Ordering income tax raids on political opponents is an old Congress practice that was used recklessly and with powerful effect by first Mrs Gandhi during the Emergency and then again by V P Singh when he was Rajiv’s finance minister. He went too far, though, because he started to raid Rajiv’s friends and so he had to go. But to get back to Gujarat. Under that ‘maut ka saudagar’, its economy has climbed to dizzying heights. Even a casual visitor can see the speed at which roads get built, the availability of electricity in remote villages, the check dams that help irrigate areas that have never seen irrigation, the primary health centres that actually work. Investors see much more. They see an administration that is less corrupt than most and a chief minister who fulfills his promises. If he tells you that he will make land available to you in a week, he ensures that this happens, and if he promises a single window to clear your projects, he delivers. These are not things that Congress chief ministers can do because their primary concern is to ensure that the ‘high command’ is kept happy by regular and large infusions into the coffers of the party. They can get away with no governance at all as long as they do this. Then they have to ensure that they pay regular obeisance to the party’s ruling Dynasty and by the time all this is over, there is little time for doing anything else. So the best governed states in India are those that are not run by Congress chief ministers and the only way to keep them in check is to curb them in every possible way. If it is income tax raids in Gujarat, it is unwieldy schemes like the NREGA in Bihar. You see when the central government puts in place a scheme like this then the state government loses some of its own control over funds and welfare policies. They regularly complain about this but their complaints fall on deaf ears because this is an area in which Sonia Gandhi and her cabinet, the National Advisory Council, are personally interested. The end result is that India, so glittering, so full of allure only six months ago, is now beginning to look like it did before economic liberalisation. It is beginning to look like a dangerous country to invest in and in this bleak scenario there is Gujarat that has so far continued to shine like a beacon where foreign and Indian investors are concerned. This cannot be allowed to happen because it makes the rest of India look even worse than it already does. Besides, we all know that Narendra Modi is an evil man, a merchant of death, so who cares if all his efforts to make Gujarat rich and prosperous are endangered by famously corrupt income tax inspectors. Of course, there is the small problem that the people of Gujarat may suffer as well but since they have been regularly rejecting Congress at election time who cares about them. Off with their heads as well. ___ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
Re: [Assam] Off With MODI's head
Gujarat is too powerful for Delhi to mess with. Gujarati people, the state government and the NRIs investing in Gujarat sing the same tune - Help the economy prosper and everyone gets benefit from it. I can bet Delhi will have to retract. Delhi and the Congress bigwigs tried to remove Modi before but didn't succeed. I wish Assam could face upto Delhi the same way. Dilip Deka From: mc mahant mikemah...@hotmail.com To: assam assamnet assam@assamnet.org Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2011 9:38 PM Subject: Re: [Assam] Off With MODI's head Off with his head Tavleen Singh Posted: Mar 20, 2011 Last week, when it was announced that there were plans afoot to set income tax sleuths on to those who invest in Gujarat, my first reaction was disbelief. Surely not, I thought, not when foreign investors are fleeing India in droves, not when the Reserve Bank has itself pointed out ominously that foreign direct investment in India has dropped by nearly 40 per cent in recent months. Why would a prime minister whose expertise lies in the field of economics allow such insanity to go ahead? The reasons could most certainly not be economic, so I started searching for political reasons and realisation quickly dawned. Narendra Modi has long been seen by political pundits in Delhi, especially those of Congress persuasion, as the only man who could in 2014 challenge their glamorous young prince and so he must be destroyed. Besides he has been flying too high for his own good, has he not? Always holding those conventions to boast about ‘vibrant’ Gujarat and always making jokes about the Congress Party that the silly old ‘aam aadmi’ laughs his head off at without noticing that they are laughing on the same side as a merchant of death, a ‘maut ka saudagar’. Remember when the financial scandals started falling out of the central government’s cupboard at so alarming a rate and how he made that speech in which he said ‘munni badnaam hui’. How dare he? Who did he mean? The Congress Party or she who leads it? So off with his head. Not easily done politically because somehow he has managed, wretched man, to keep winning elections (with even Muslims voting for him), so someone in Delhi came up with the cunning plan to destroy him economically. Ordering income tax raids on political opponents is an old Congress practice that was used recklessly and with powerful effect by first Mrs Gandhi during the Emergency and then again by V P Singh when he was Rajiv’s finance minister. He went too far, though, because he started to raid Rajiv’s friends and so he had to go. But to get back to Gujarat. Under that ‘maut ka saudagar’, its economy has climbed to dizzying heights. Even a casual visitor can see the speed at which roads get built, the availability of electricity in remote villages, the check dams that help irrigate areas that have never seen irrigation, the primary health centres that actually work. Investors see much more. They see an administration that is less corrupt than most and a chief minister who fulfills his promises. If he tells you that he will make land available to you in a week, he ensures that this happens, and if he promises a single window to clear your projects, he delivers. These are not things that Congress chief ministers can do because their primary concern is to ensure that the ‘high command’ is kept happy by regular and large infusions into the coffers of the party. They can get away with no governance at all as long as they do this. Then they have to ensure that they pay regular obeisance to the party’s ruling Dynasty and by the time all this is over, there is little time for doing anything else. So the best governed states in India are those that are not run by Congress chief ministers and the only way to keep them in check is to curb them in every possible way. If it is income tax raids in Gujarat, it is unwieldy schemes like the NREGA in Bihar. You see when the central government puts in place a scheme like this then the state government loses some of its own control over funds and welfare policies. They regularly complain about this but their complaints fall on deaf ears because this is an area in which Sonia Gandhi and her cabinet, the National Advisory Council, are personally interested. The end result is that India, so glittering, so full of allure only six months ago, is now beginning to look like it did before economic liberalisation. It is beginning to look like a dangerous country to invest in and in this bleak scenario there is Gujarat that has so far continued to shine like a beacon where foreign and Indian investors are concerned. This cannot be allowed to happen because it makes the rest of India look even worse than it already does. Besides, we all know that Narendra Modi is an evil man, a merchant of death, so who cares if all his efforts to make Gujarat
