Re: [Assam] Fwd: Study on Assam -Centre for Policy Alternatives

[Rajen Barua]

Title: Re: [Assam] Fwd: Study on Assam -Centre for Policy Alterna

Then we can really declare that the people of Assam are the worst in the entire North East region, worst then Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh etc.  In fact then we can really declare the people of Assam are just a flock of sheep without any shepherd. They even donot know where the green grass is.   Now the basic question is: Are the people of Assam complaining of their lot or not. Or are they in fact enjoying the lot.  The answer will determine basically what types are the people of Assam.   I have one explanation for the case. Walt Whitman the American poet said (or wrote a poem which says basically) that he prefers living with the animals compared to men because according to him the animals have one great quality: they donot complain and make their life more miserable by complaining.   I think Walt Whitman was trying to show that 'not to complain' is rather a quality.  I like poetry because you learn many new things. Anyhow, I rather will call it the difference between man and animal, and leave it at that.     The idea of distributing the report freely amongst the general public of Assam is to test, a real test, if they get angry or not by reading the report. If they get angry, we have good news, we will know that they are living like human beings, and now that they know the problem, 50% of the problem is solved. We will figure out how to fix the balance 50% of the problem.   We are trying jump start the democracy (by-the-people part). Let the people say, if they want to live like that or if they want to change.   You may ask, if they don't get angry, then what? Then brother we will have to find out if they are drugged etc etc. In worst case, I may decide to read more of Walt Whitman. You have nothing to loose, have you?   Whatever we do, We believe that both the goal and the process are sacred to us, and both must be transparent to all the people all the time. We also follow certain basic rules such as never put the cart before the horse etc. RB ----- Original Message ----- From: Chan Mahanta To: Rajen Barua ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; assam@assamnet.org Sent: Wednesday, November 02, 2005 3:13 PM Subject: Re: [Assam] Fwd: Study on Assam -Centre for Policy Alternatives >It is unfortunate tha neither the political leaders in power nor the opposition have raised the issue >with any vigour. It is the responsibility of Assam’s political leadership to represent the State’s >case for better funding. (Highlight is mine) **** What if they don't, or can't? And EVEN if they did but nothing happens, then what? What is the people's recourse here? At 2:19 PM -0600 11/2/05, Rajen Barua wrote: This is an official verson of Executive Summary of the Report received from the CPA the publisher. They have also given permission to translate the Report in Assamese. We are planning to publish and distribute report in English and Assamese amongst the general public in Assam. Trying to test if this axiom is true: "If you know the problem, 50% of the problem is solved." RB   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------    Executive Summary:"Left Behind, A Case Study for Assam"   All economic and social indicators highlight the fact that Assam is falling behind other states in the Northeast. It has the highest incidence of poverty, infant mortality, illiteracy in Northeast India. The infant mortality rate in Assam is 78 per 1000. Even Bihar has a lower infant mortality of 67 and the all-India average is 71. Assam’s HDI ranking is the second lowest in the Northeast.   Assam’s per capita income of Rs. 6221 is the lowest in the Northeast. Most states of the Northeast in fact have a per capita income of over Rs. 9000. Assam also has the highest incidence of poverty in the Northeast at 36%, as opposed to the national level of 26%. The rate of decline of poverty is also very low in Assam and is well behind the national average, indicating the government’s failure in fighting the ills of poverty.   The growth of per capita electricity consumption in Assam is also one of the lowest in the Northeast. While 246 of every 1000 Assamese households are electrified, the corresponding figure for the rest of the Northeast is over 500 per 1000. Some states like Nagaland and Manipur, in fact, have 946 and 848 electrified households for every 1000.   The three main industries of Assam – tea, timber and petroleum – are also facing serious problems. Profitability is low and production is hampered due to several reasons.   Clearly Assam is falling behind and needs help. However, our study shows that the very state that requires help is the one being largely ignored by the Centre. While all the small states of the Northeast receive generous Central assistance, Assam gets a much smaller per capita allocation. The annual per capita disbursement of grants to Assam was only Rs. 476, while the rest of the Northeast received Rs. 2167 per capita. In terms of per capita development expenditure, Assam receives Rs. 3615 while the Northeast average excluding Assam is almost double that at Rs. 6786 per capita. Assam is also ignored in the Five Year plans. The per capita amount budgeted in the Tenth Five Year Plan is Rs. 3126, whereas the rest of the states in Northeast India received over four times that amount at Rs. 13305 per capita.   Thus the conclusion is clear. Assam has been a victim of neglect by the various Central Governments. It gets lesser funds and subsequently underperforms in all indicators. Central assistance towards Assam needs to increase manifold. In fact, the focus of development in the Northeast should be Assam oriented as over two-thirds of the population resides there. It is unfortunate tha neither the political leaders in power nor the opposition have raised the issue with any vigour. It is the responsibility of Assam’s political leadership to represent the State’s case for better funding. (Highlight is mine) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------       ---- ----- Original Message ----- From: umesh sharma To: assam@assamnet.org Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2005 11:56 AM Subject: [Assam] Fwd: Study on Assam -Centre for Policy Alternatives shall we read and discuss?   Umesh Centre for Policy Alternatives <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2005 06:57:06 +0100 (BST) From: Centre for Policy Alternatives <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Study on Assam To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], Rajen Barua <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> CC: m c mahant <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Dear Sirs I am attaching with this mail a study on Assam conducted by the Centre for Policy Alternatives. Mr. Guruswamy and myself are the authors of the report.   We hope you find the report both interesting and useful and invite your comments/criticism on the same.   Best Wishes Ronald Abraham   PS: This report is also available online at: http://www.cpasind.com/reports/13-Left-Behind-Case-Study-Assam.pdf   Other studies by our Center are also available at www.cpasind.com.     umesh sharma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Mukul-da,   I am glad that you have taken the initiative in introducing me to Mr Guruswamy. I am currently in Washington and can stay here till June 2006. I am planning to work with poor kids -in school education -across the globe.   I am no expert on economic development issue - but  I do agree that Assam's economy has gone down - after independence -as per eco. data - most likely due to carving out of separate nations from British India - such as Burma, Bangladesh etc -which closed trade routes an markets. It is likely that Assamese businessment - then as now - were not skilled in identifying other markets -- they can (and could) try to follow Japan's shinig example - which has no resources of its own -except the human resource. Japan is an inspiration for any nation which need to adapt to changing circumstances. Japan rose from the ashes in 30 years, Assam sank during the same period.   Negotiations can provide some room for movement but can Assam based individuals reinvent their working - Japan style. Negotiations cannot replace the footwork needed to establish a strong economy in Assam. I wonder how barren Rajasthan or Japan are managing.   Regards.   Umesh mc mahant <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Umesh Dear, You need to get close to a powerful (literally and figuratively)ex-Harvard man -Mohan Guruswamy- who heads a top Central Govt organisation -"Centre for Policy Alternatives".Tell him if you want to work with him. His E-mail Id is above. He was here 2 weeks back and spoke on  one thing only --"Assam had been cheated all these years-why don't you go and negotiate?" Look who is talking! mm     From:  umesh sharma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To:  [EMAIL PROTECTED] To:  assam@assamnet.org Subject:  [Assam] Harvard MBA Newsletter: Redefining Economic Downturns -ofAssam since 1947?? Date:  Mon, 24 Oct 2005 02:26:00 +0100 (BST) At India's independence Assam's per capita income was 40% above All India Average -- now it is 30% below. Is it any kind of economic downturn - due to - break up of British empire in India - separate Burma, Bangladesh etc. - and is it due to lack of access -to Bangladesh & SE Asia trade routes, ports and industries etc? Any remedy?   Situation has been addressed at length -  by Sanjib-da Baruah earlier in a paper I read once on the net by him. Any comments on possible - political and entrepreneurial solutions?   Umesh   HBS Working Knowledge <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2005 13:54:03 -0400 (EDT) From: HBS Working Knowledge <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Newsletter: Redefining Economic Downturns UNKNOWN {       FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif } UNKNOWN {   FONT-SIZE: 12px } UNKNOWN {     FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: #ff0000 } HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK Redefining Economic Downturns HBS Alumni Achievement Awards 2005 Turning on the Tap: Is Water the Next Oil? Readers Respond: What's the Future of Globally Organized Labor? Stever Robbins: Making it Right with Wronged Employees Plus: Book and Web reports ======================== NEW ON THE SITE Redefining Economic Downturns http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=5047&t=finance Not all economic events are unpredictable, says former Goldman Sachs partner Joseph H. Ellis in a new book, Ahead of the Curve: A Commonsense Guide to Forecasting Business and Market Cycles. Read an excerpt. HBS Alumni Achievement Awards 2005 http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=5048&t=leadership&iss=y Harvard Business School announced its 2005 Awards for Alumni Achievement. The five award recipients were Rahul Bajaj, Nancy M. Barry, Louis V. Gerstner Jr., Judith R. Haberkorn, and Joseph J. O'Donnell. Turning on the Tap: Is Water the Next Oil? http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=5049&t=globalization&iss=y Water, not petroleum, may emerge as this century's most essential—and contested—product. Here's how new, private enterprises are exploring the complexities of water delivery and treatment globally. From HBS Alumni Bulletin. 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Startups that Work: Surprising Research on What Makes or Breaks a New Company by Joel Kurtzman with Glenn Rifkin Penguin Group, 2005 http://hbswk.hbs.edu/book-review.jhtml?t=entrepreneurship&id=5043 The secret is value, according to a former Harvard Business Review editor and his coauthor. How We Got Here: A Slightly Irreverent History of Technology and Markets by Andy Kessler HarperCollins, 2005 http://hbswk.hbs.edu/book-review.jhtml?t=technology&id=5046 Tech history from cannons to computers. ON THE WEB Technology Pundits: Apple's iPod Video and new Consumer UI http://hbswk.hbs.edu/web-review.jhtml?id=5051&t=innovation Apple's latest iPod announcement was about much more than video. MOST POPULAR STORIES Homers: Secrets on the Factory Floor http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=5035&t=bizhistory Corporate Responsibility and the Environment: What is the Right Thing To Do? http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=5036&t=nonprofit The Essence of Leadership http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=4983&t=dispatch How Emerson Rebounded from a Bad Loss http://hbswk.hbs.edu/pubitem.jhtml?id=5037&t=strategy Why Budget Games Don't Add Up http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=5027&t=finance NEW RESEARCH AT HBS http://hbswk.hbs.edu/new-research.jhtml A listing of the latest research papers, publications, and cases written by Harvard Business School faculty. BEST OF FACULTY Q&As The Role of Government When All Else Fails http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item.jhtml?id=3080&t=bizhistory A new book by Harvard Business School professor Da vid A. Moss explores government's under-appreciated role as risk manager in everything from disaster relief to Social Security. 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