I am very impressed by the message of Mrs. Deka. Extremely well thought out and
written. Lets do what we can, each one of us and I have no doubt things will
change.
I have seen the result of honest hard work in my father's life Late Sarada
Charan Sarma and mine. He lived what he preached which was the oft repeated
statement from him--"There is no short cut to knowledge accept through
assiduous toil"-- All his life he worked hard. From scratch he built up the
Department of Statistics after he returned from the US in 1949 following grad
studies at Columbia and work experience in DC at the Bureau of Census, Labor
Dept and Agricultural Statistics.(Gave up teaching physics in Cotton College
out of frustration due to lack of opportunity for research)
Second point made Ms. Deka is 'charity begins at home'. So true. Help the
less fortunate in the family and then the larger community. I have followed
that principle all through.
I have offered my services to GOA in my area of expertise-water resources
engg., planning and development specialist. I am somewhat frustrated with the
decision making process in the bureaucracy in Assam. I strongly belief that our
work culture and thinking have to change drastically. For that we need a strong
political party that can look long term. Only such a political party will be
able to make the tough decisions for changes. We were betrayed by the AGP when
Mahanta and Co did not take advantage of the great mandate that the Assamese
people gave them with great hope and aspiration. If Mahanta took a long term
view to growth and development of the state and its people like Jyoti Basu did
when he came to power in Bengal, we would not be iin the shape we are now. Basu
and his cohorts have changed the looks of drought-stricken Bengal villages and
now they have started to bring big change to Kolkata.
I also believe, brooding over past misdeeds and subsequent failures are no
solution for the future. Let us look ahead and work hard, each one of us, to
contribute to change in our thinking and establish a culture of hard work,
transparency and accountability in every aspect of our government and public
and private institutions. Then, and only then will we make a positive impact
for our future. This is what I believe and am trying to make my little
contribution.
Barada Sarma
Austin
Bijan Jyoti Borah <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Dear Concerned Friends,
It is indeed a pleasure to be connected to home through this listserv
and have a reality check on the development of the region. It is also
good to hear the perspectives of various individuals on a variety of
topics. Like any other forum there are constructive and not so
constructive discussions and comments, there are times when the issue
is handled in a way that it loses its prior relevance. Nevertheless,
it is the first time we have connected this way to discuss about our
region and that is a great step ahead.
Finding the solutions to the mammoth problems of the state is not an
easy task, mere rhetoric of grassroots empowerment and capacity
building or skill building is not enough. I have spent formidable and
important years of my life contributing to that cause. I was trained
in the field of social development from one of the top class
institutes in the world and yet I know the solutions are not easy. We
have to keep trying and keep working one person at a time, one
community, a village and region at a time. This will take longer than
all of us like to assume. But eventually things will change, as they
have been. All of us bear collective responsibility in the affairs of
the state, and not one individual or agency can be singled out.
Rampant political corruption, non-functioning government and civic
agencies, power hungry politicians and individuals have all
contributed to the despair. In this, off course historical
marginalization of the region has played a big part. But its about
time we moved on, to me the fact that most of us are openly talking
about it is a big promise. Growing up, I have experienced the utter
frustration in the decay of the system, my father who was a high
ranking government official paid dearly for his honesty. While my
father's colleagues owned everything money could buy, we had to
struggle to meet our ends. My dad was an exemplary who did not use
forums or words to pursue his convictions, he proved it through deeds.
He helped build a school in his village, contributed to the
establishment of a college, helped needy students and also encouraged
people with entrepreneurial tendencies. In his lifetime he has deeply
touched the lives of many people. To me the seeds of hope were sown at
home, by an extraordinary father who led an ordinary life to convey
his message.
Some of us have immigrated to the United States not because we are
escapists. In spite of outstanding academic results it was difficult
to find a job, and a fellowship from a foreign university seemed like
a blessing. But, we have not given up as some would like to believe.
It is hard to understand why people would hold such antipathy toward
the people living outside, because contrary to beliefs the Diaspora
thinks and works for the region in their own ways. In our own way my
husband Dr. Bijan Borah and I have started out by contributing to
knowledge development in the region through our research. Every piece
is important, just as much as we would like to give money, some of us
have to design other ways to intervene. That does not indicate any
less concern on our part toward the state. We have to first send money
to our struggling homes, charity indeed begins at home.
Sure, there are people who would care less, snuggled in their cozy
cocoons of comfort in the dreamland. But there are such people back
home too, who have created degeneration in the system. They are
mercilessly corrupt and oppressive and all they care is about hoarding
their money for posterity. The point is let's not pass the buck, if we
have noble ideas lets pursue them with constructive debates. Despair
and resentment are not methods in achieving any change. Best regards,
Ankita Deka
Ph.D Student, Indiana University, USA.
Re:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/assamonline/message/2804
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moderator created new thread, assamonline
