Where have all the people gone?
When will the son of the soil be self-dependent? Can he
ever?
By our Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, Sept 9: The vacuum of menial workers like daily
wage-earners, autorickshaw drivers, thelawalas, carpenters, masons,
vegetable vendors and others becomes quite visible ahead of the Idd
festival. This vacuum that lasts for a week or so is a common phenomenon
that reflects on the dependence of the indigenous people of Assam on
other communities in so far as menial works are concerned. It will be
recalled that in order to make the people of Assam self-dependent, the
All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) had started a movement during the early
part of the Assam Agitation. AASU activists did all sorts of menial
works like hairdressing, selling vegetables, pulling rickshaws, carrying
luggage etc themselves. However, that tempo was only for a few days.
In Assam as of now, labourers from North India are being rapidly
replaced by an industrious religious minority community. No one knows
how many of them are indeed Indian minority citizens and how many are
illegal Bangladeshis. The current vacuum of workers has been created
because most of the people belonging to this community have left the
city for their villages to celebrate Idd.
At present, Assam has about ten lakh registered under-matriculate
unemployed youths. What percentage of these unemployed youths belonging
to the indigenous community would come forward for menial works to earn a
livelihood? These youths hanker after government jobs at any cost.
Menial works are a ‘‘prestige issue’’ for them.
Only in Guwahati, over Rs 200 crore is doled out annually as daily
wages for construction works, in both private and government sectors. In
such works, the presence of indigenous people as workers, carpenters
and masons is almost nil. This sector is filled by people belonging to
the so-called minority community.
The AASU is vocal on all issues, including politics. Would the
present set of AASU leaders tell us as to why they have failed to
encourage the unskilled, unemployed, indigenous youths of the State to
fill the vast vacuum of menial workers? Do not they feel that this is
the best way to fight illegal immigration from Bangladesh?
(The Sentinel,Guwahati,Friday,September 10, 2010)
http://www.sentinelassam.com/mainnews/story.php?sec=1&subsec=0&id=47194&dtP=2010-09-11&ppr=1#47194
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