Khursheed Wani
There are many similarities between Kashmir and the north-east. Both hilly and border regions have inherited problems, economic as well as political, from the partition. Both regions are facing separatist violence and the central government is doing all-out efforts to neutralize the movements, both with carrot and stick methods. On the face of it, the statistics indicate that huge funds are pumped in to put out the secessionist tendencies through sustainable developmental projects. However, in both the regions, vested interests take the lion’s share and meagre amounts trickle down to achieve the real targets. This is the reason the pace of development is sluggish. So, there is no difference in ill-designed roads prone to severest traffic jams in Srinagar and Guwahati. People of both cities fear downpour, as it inundates the roads due to lack of proper drainage system that throttles their movement. Both cities boast International airports sans international flights. The media is sore over rampant corruption but the bureaucracy and the political class is least bothered.
Nevertheless, the centre wants both regions to be in focus. This is perhaps the reason why the Press Information Bureau convened Editor’s Conference on Social and Infrastructure Issues in Guwahati, nine months after it was held in Srinagar in October 2009. The objective was to sensitize the regional media on trends and tendencies in the social and developmental sectors in these areas, which generally gain attention only on the eruption of violence.
The two-day conference was inaugurated by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in presence of union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni and Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on a pleasant July 12 evening. Ambika Soni in her opening remarks highlighted the efforts initiated in both tenures of the UPA at the center. A whopping amount of Rs 1, 37,000 crore has been earmarked for development of social infrastructure and sectors like power, health and education in the cluster of eight states. The minister obliquely acknowledged that the government schemes are not implemented on the ground level the way they are designed. “Schemes are good, initiatives are plenty but sometimes consciousness and knowledge is not available,” she admitted candidly while emphasizing on the information dissemination. The minister talked in length over ensuring user-friendly public broadcasts, curbing the paid news menace, lessening barrier between the Directorate of Audio Visual Publicity (DAVP) and the regional language newspapers, digitalization of official media outlets and imposition of extra regulations on newspaper publication.
Tarun Gagoi, appeared to be the man who is there with the blessings of the centre. He lamented the partition wreaked havoc on the economy of the north-east dividing its roads, forests and water resources. “Before the partition, our per capita income was the highest in the country. The insurgency and other problems also had the impact,” he said. Gogoi sarcastically complained of media criticism, indicating that the local scribes are gunning for his head on lack of development and accountability.
Salman Khurshid’s eloquent speech delved on creation of separate ministry for the minority affairs in the backdrop of Sacchar Committee Report. His ministry monitors the contribution of every ministry towards the development of religious minorities, especially in the critical areas of education and employment. The minister informed that his ministry has to make some amendments in the modus operandi to accommodate Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir who are simultaneously minority (in India) and majority (in J&K). The J&K state has been offered interventions in Wakf orientation.
MoS Rural Development Pradip Jain Aditya highlighted the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA stating that his ministry has earmarked 10 percent of its Gross Budgetary Receipt for the non-lapsable central pool of resources for northeast states and Sikkim. He dispelled the notion that wage guarantee scheme is enhancing crime rate in the rural areas. Junior Tourism Minister Sultan Ahmad expressed his inability to waive off advisories and prerequisite permits for tourists intending to visit Border States. He also declined to comment on correlation between insurgency, political unrest and the tourism.
Human Resources Development MoS D Purandeshwari appeared to be as informative as her mentor and HRD Minister Kapil Sibal when she narrated the trends, challenges and objectives of her ministry. However, she was ill-informed on the state of affairs of two central universities announced to be set up in Jammu and Kashmir. She had no knowledge on the demarcation of university campuses and controversy hovering over appointment of vice chancellor for the Jammu central university.
A handout of the home ministry indicated that situation in some of the NE states continued to be complex in the backdrop of diverse demands of various militant outfits operating in these sates. Though Mizoram and Sikkim are peaceful, low-intensity violence prevails in parts of Meghalaya. Arunachal Pradesh was largely peaceful, albeit a spurt in violence in some parts in 2009 as compared to the previous year. Tripura and Nagaland have also recorded noticeable decline in violence profile. The ministry boasted arrest of DHD (Joel Group) Chairman and surrender of 416 cadres of his outfit as a major success in counter-insurgency in Assam.
Principal DG PIB Neelam Kapoor conducted the proceedings of the conference while a team of officers headed by Addl DG (headquarters) DN Mohanty oversaw the arrangements. Tariq Ahmad Rather, a senior officer from PIB Srinagar was specially deputed for the conference. A field visit to Women Self Help Groups and demonstration of handloom Jute fabric was an added feature. The National Jute Board under the aegis of Textile Ministry is doing a yeoman’s task to help develop and sustain the jute industry. The women admitted that the intervention has helped in capacity building and income enhancement.
