THE ASSAM TRIBUNE ANALYSIS

DATE – 6 MARCH 2021

For Preliminary and Mains examination

As per new Pattern of APSC

(Also useful for UPSC and other State level government examinations)

Answer of MCQs of 5-03-2021

1. C. 1 & 3only 2. C. 2 and 3 3. C. Both 4. A. 4 only 5. D. None of the given

MCQs of 6-03-2021

Q1. Right to Privacy comes under which Article ?

A. Article 19 B. Article 21 C. Article 20 D. None of the above

Q2. Which amendment of the constitution is related to reorganization of states on a linguistic basis?

A. 1st B. 7th C. 10th D. 15th

Q3. Which among the following state does not have a bicameral legislature?

A. Maharashtra B. Bihar C. West Bengal D. Andhra Pradesh

Q4. The 8th schedule of Constitution of India , originally had how many languages?

A. 12 B. 14 C. 16 D. 22

Q5. Which article protects a person’s right to travel abroad under Indian Constitution?

A. Article 15 B. Article 21 C. Article 19 D. None of the above

CONTENTS

1. EC unveils mascots, releases theme song for Assam polls (GS 5 – Elections ) 2. NRL bio refinery and future of bamboo ( GS 5 – Resources and Energy )

EDITORIALS

1. Fair deal ( GS 2 – Media and privacy ) 2. Taking up the mantle ( GS 5 – History and Political parties ) 3. Assam election and issue of regionalism ( GS 5 – Regionalism )

NEWS ARTICLES

EC unveils mascots, releases theme song for Assam polls  The Election Commission on Friday unveiled its mascots ‘Bohag’ and ‘Bohagi’ and also released the theme song for the Assam Assembly elections.  The Commission said it is undertaking a number of initiatives, under the Voter Education Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation programme, to increase citizens’ participation in the democratic process.  The Commission is hoping that the voter turnout in the elections will touch 85 per cent this time.  “As people of Assam gear up to exercise their right to vote in the Assembly Elections, the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Assam, has set rolling several infotainment initiatives,” said a statement.  It added, “The Assembly Election 2021 will be held during the most loved season of the Assamese calendar, i.e., ‘Bohag’ – the season of Rongali Bihu. With the spring setting in, nature blooms in all its glory with the ubiquitous unfurling of leaves and flower buds; even the soil has a characteristic smell promising a flourishing new year of good harvest, new hopes and aspirations. Bohag-Bohagi motivate the people to come forward, exercise their right to vote and celebrate it with gaiety this Bohag Bihu whilst they participate in building a stronger, free, fair and safe democracy.”  The mascots, Bohag and Bohagi, which have been designed by K Sai Gowthami, an IIM graduate, “are a balanced fusion of Assam’s glorious past, progressive present and a promising future. These representatives of new generation and the new millennial are well-informed and vigilant voters inspiring the people of Assam to cast their precious votes. Both Bohag and Bohagi personify the energy of a young and vibrant Assam. They are dutiful and responsible human beings and empowered citizens who are willing to come out and exercise their right to vote.”  The Commission has also released the theme song for the polls. The theme song is “It’s the time for Election; it’s your time to vote...”  The Commission has also roped in four icons. They are Rakesh Banik, who made a name for himself by becoming the first para-cyclist from Northeast India and also an international solo cyclist, noted actor Kapil Bora, singer Anindita Paul, and cricketer Riyan Parag.

 In order to ensure the conduct of free, fair and safe election, District Election Officers at 50 Legislative Assembly Constituencies (LACs) are holding workshops and awareness camps to educate the voters about ethical voting, the statement said.  Special drives are undertaken on low foot fall/vote count areas to encourage the people to come out and vote.  The activities undertaken include involvement of local youth groups by targeting colleges in the district and choosing youth ambassadors to lead voter awareness events consisting of interactive competitions, quizzes and general information dissemination.  In addition, rallies have been taken out in those polling stations where women voter turnout has been very low.  Besides, activities like display of election tableau along with unity walk with participation of line departments, teachers and students; short videos on electoral participation shared in WhatsApp, Facebook and other social media platforms; door-to-door campaigns by Booth Level Officers (BLOs); publicity through hoardings, posters distribution; awareness through mascot; and various competitions, among other things, are being regularly conducted.

NRL bio refinery and future of bamboo

 Assam Bio Refinery Private Limited (ABRPL), a joint venture of Numaligarh Refinery Limited with Finnish collaborators, is likely to commission its second generation (2G) bio refinery ethanol plant by the third quarter of next year and will become the largest consumer of raw bamboo in Assam. The plant will require approximately two crore bamboo poles annually. The ideal bamboo species would be ‘Jati’, ‘Makal’ and ‘Bhaluka’ bamboos.  With such assured demand, bamboo farming will be a gainful proposition for the farmers in the State as well as for farmers in Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. As per a rough estimate on considering 40% as harvestable yield, a farmer is likely to have a net income of around Rs 20,000 to Rs 25, 000 per season per bigha from bamboo farming once it reaches maturity level after 3-4 years.  Besides commercial consideration, bamboo also contributes to the soil and environment. It plays an important role in balancing oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Its unique root and rhizome structures act as binders, controlling erosion and rejuvenating soil. Additionally, bamboo plantations act as windbreaks and noise and climate buffers.

 The main bamboo growing areas in Assam are Cachar, Karbi Anglong, North Cachar Hills, Nagaon and Lakhimpur. While forest bamboo is abundantly available, homegrown bamboo cultivations are common across the State.  ABRPL is coming out with a well-planned strategy to streamline its supply chain management process which will ensure that the entire logistics remains flawless. The local level entrepreneurs (LLE) will collect bamboos directly from farmers. Bamboos will also be sourced from community farmers, joint forest management committees, etc.  The LLE will be equipped with a bamboo chipping machine as these bamboos will have to be chipped before being transported to the plant.  The entire process of sourcing, chipping and transportation will be interlinked and the online payments will be made directly to each of the stakeholders in the chain by using blockchain technology which will facilitate faster and secure payment to all the stakeholders.  ABPRL will produce 6.0 crore litre of ethanol annually which in turn will be blended with the motor spirit (petrol) before being marketed by oil marketing companies.  Blending ethanol with petrol will reduce our dependency on fossil fuels to that extent. The ABPRL plant will also produce acetic acid, furfural and bio-coal. The plant will utilise the 20- megawatt power to be generated from bio-coal, which can be considered as ‘green power’.  Growing bamboo as an energy plantation is a lucrative business in terms of low input and high return.  One hectare of bamboo plantation in a scientific manner with high yield saplings/rhizomes at the expense of Rs 1 lakh is likely to provide 30-40 metric tonnes of biomass/year from the 4th year onwards until its 50th year.  Suitable agroforestry practices with inter-cropping of cash-crops like ginger, turmeric, etc. in the bamboo plantation area for the initial 3-4 years further increases profitability by maximizing land utilisation. Once planted, bamboo clumps will go on producing culms and shoot for about 50 years. In other words, the bamboo plantation will act like banks where people deposit money on fixed-term and enjoy the returns in the form of interest.

EDITORIALS

Fair deal  The global traditional media has been dealt a crippling economic blow because today the internet makes possible universal access to news, which has induced a bulk of the new generation to acquire it online. The Covid-19 pandemic has made a bad situation worse, and newspapers have experienced decreasing circulation and readership, resulting in decreased revenue, especially from advertisements. But traditional media has not shirked from doing its duty, gathering news from the frontline, often at great personal risk to journalists.  This is what makes so blatantly unfair the practice adopted by social media platforms like Google and Facebook to reproduce news and information garnered by journalists of the traditional media, without sharing revenue with the media houses and occasionally not even acknowledging the source! While countries in Europe had attempted to try and make the social media giants pay traditional media organizations for contents that had been taken from them, their success had been not very tangible.  However, it is only after the Australian Government, prompted by media moguls like Rupert Murdoch, decided to take the bull by the horn, some sort of resolution to a blatantly unfair practice seems to be looming on the horizon. It may be noted that sometime back the Australian Government had put up a draft revenue sharing legislation and Facebook had retaliated by imposing a ban on that country, causing enormous inconvenience to users of social media platforms.  With the Australian Government sticking to its guns and Facebook realizing that it would irrevocably lose out to competitors if they persisted with the ban, the social media giant has been coerced into striking a deal with the Government on the proposed legislations that would make the digital platforms pay for reproduced journalistic pieces.  Facebook has announced that it was lifting the ban even as it entered into negotiations with the contending parties on a revenue sharing code that would include even small and local news publishers. Facebook’s turnaround has been hailed across the world as a major victory in Australia’s efforts to make two major gateways to the internet, Google and Facebook, pay for the journalism that they use, and has positive ramifications for the global traditional media, including developing countries. Google also had threatened to remove its search functions from Australia because of the proposed law, but like Facebook has been forced into a climbdown.  Whatever code on revenue sharing evolves through the negotiations, it will provide a benchmark to the rest of the world to evolve their own and get the social media giants to make amends for their unfair practices. It may be noted that the Indian Newspaper Society (INS), which represents media houses in the

country, has written to technology giant Google to increase publisher share of its advertisement revenue to 85% and is awaiting a response.

Taking up the mantle

 The people of Assam had discovered after independence that the benevolence of the all-India political leadership was a myth and that apathy and neglect were the lot of the Northeast. The reality that the leaders whom they had chosen to represent them in the pan-Indian set up had failed to do their job was a shot in the arm for Assamese nationalism.  It is sad indeed that a vast segment of our urban middle-class today is ignoring the reality that the Assamese are a small socio-cultural group, in fact, one of the tiniest in the nation, forever vulnerable to being swallowed up by bigger socio-cultural groups. This segment, which should have known better, is instead conniving with elements which are attempting to adulterate the authentic Assamese ethos and pollute Assamese culture, thereby bringing about an end to Assamese society as we know it.  I am more than certain that in the coming decadal census such a reality will reveal itself even more starkly. Today, Assam is at a crossroads. At this critical juncture Assamese nationalism itself is under threat. That the indigenous people of Assam have a sword of Damocles, in the shape of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, hanging over their heads, has enhanced the danger manifold! To comprehend this threat one has to briefly retrace the path of Assamese nationalism since the medieval era of our history.  It had been during the Ahom dynasty that the pre-colonial Assamese nation was born. The 600-year-long reign of the Ahoms witnessed the synthesis of the disparate ethnic entities inhabiting the Brahmaputra Valley and the evolution of a distinct Assamese nationalist identity. Periodic Muhameddan assaults from the west which had to be repulsed reinforced this Assamese nationalism, the different tribes being also bonded together by the religious and cultural renaissance ushered in by Mahapurush Sankaradeva.  Two significant developments occurred due to the annexation of Assam by the British in the 19th century. Though influenced by religions and cultures prevalent in mainland India, Assam till then had retained her sovereign and independent political identity. By tagging her onto Britain’s Indian Empire and placing her under a common administration and uniform civil code, the British deprived the region of its sovereignty, and Assam became an outpost of that Empire.  In the process Assamese nationalism was reduced to a sub-nationalistic status within the macrocosm that was pan-Indian nationalism. Meanwhile, the Raj period witnessed the destruction of the medieval order

and the birth of the Assamese middle-class and, while earlier the Ahom rulers had been the custodians of Assamese nationalism, the onus of preserving it as well as the Assamese identity was transferred to this enlarging Assamese middle-class.  Initially this class was a staunch champion of Assamese nationalism. For instance, when the colonialists first imposed British administration in the region, they had brought with them natives from outside who had the benefit of western education. Prompted by their machination, Bengali replaced Assamese as the official language of Assam. It had been the middle-class which successfully fought to have Assamese reinstated as the official language.  Despite the region being politically united with the rest of India, Assamese nationalism continued to remain dominant till the beginning of the 20th century. But by then changes in attitudes were occurring throughout the Indian subcontinent and the Assamese middle-class could not remain untouched. In the pan-Indian scenario the middle-class, which initially had been pro-colonial in essence, gradually grew less enamoured of the British and the national freedom movement began.  The gale of the freedom movement swept over Assam too. This was another momentous development which changed the perspective of a section of the Assamese middle-class which now joined the movement for Indian independence under the banner of the Indian National Congress.  Proponents of Indian nationalism, who conceived of India as one whole and indivisible entity, could not harp upon dangers that threatened small socio-cultural groups like the Assamese without having the appellation of being chauvinists thrust upon them. The people too were overwhelmed by nationalistic fervour and ignored the threats against the Assamese identity.  Throughout the decades just preceding Indian independence, there was a continued tussle between proponents of Indian nationalism and Assamese nationalism, with the latter mocking the former for having abjured regional interests for the sake of political gains. Individuals like Ambikagiri Ray Chaudhury and his Asamiya Samrakhshini Sabha through the magazine Deka Asom continuously warned the people of Assam that their identity was in dire danger.  The Congress camp opined that the Assamese nationalists were concerned with petty regional issues. The Assamese nationalists on the other hand came down heavily upon the Congress, calling it a party of ‘Badan Barphukans’ who betrayed the interests of Assam.  In the tussle between the pro-Indian and pro-Assamese nationalists, political power was won by the former, led by the Indian National Congress. But Assamese nationalism, though much emasculated, was not quite dead, coming to the fore every now and then during the early post-independence decades in the form of agitations such as the ones in 1960 and 1971 demanding that Asamiya be made the official language or that refineries must be set up in Assam and not in faraway places like Barauni in Bihar.

Organizations such as the All Assam Students’ Union and Asam Sahitya Sabha were at the forefront of such movements.  Meanwhile, the people of Assam had discovered after independence that the benevolence of the all-India political leadership was a myth and that apathy and neglect were the lot of the Northeast. The reality that the leaders whom they had chosen to represent them in the pan-Indian set up had failed to do their job was a shot in the arm for Assamese nationalism.  It manifested itself explosively in the anti-foreign migrant Assam Movement initiated by the AASU towards the fag end of the 1970s. The objective of the movement was not only expulsion of illegal foreign infiltrators, but also to wrest political power back into the hands of the indigenous people. Apart from the signing of the historic Assam Accord on August 15, 1985, the most optimistic outcome of the movement was the formation of a regional party, the Asom Gana Parishad, to articulate the aspirations of the Assamese people and stand as a pillar of Assamese nationalism.  If today Assamese nationalism is struggling to survive, the failure of the AGP to fulfil the objectives and ideals upon which it was founded is largely to blame. But, even then, the AGP would have remained the standard bearer of Assamese nationalism had not some leaders of this party, forgetting the sacrifices made by the Assamese people during the mass movement and the hundreds who were rendered martyrs, chose to ally the party with all-India entities which were inimical to Assamese nationalism.  This they had done so that they could enjoy the privilege of ministership by clinging on to the coat-tails of the ruling party! The nadir has been reached when these AGP leaders betrayed Assam by going along with the CAA which portends to be last nail in the coffin for the Assamese people.  This, then, is the reality. Because of its advocacy of CAA, the AGP can no longer claim to be the articulator of the aspirations of Assamese people and a pillar of Assamese nationalism! However, it is equally true that pan-Indian parties are anti-regionalism in nature, thus the future of Assamese nationalism is tied to the strength of a regional party!  Fortunately, like the proverbial phoenix, two other entities have emerged to fill up the vacuum caused by the abjuration by the AGP of its historical role. These are the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) and the Raijor Dal. The AJP has been backed by organizations which have traditionally fought for the cause of the Assamese people, such as the AASU and AJYCP. The Raijor Dal is backed by another nationalistic entity, the KMSS.  People who love Assam will certainly hope that these two entities would gain in strength and stature in the coming days and succeed in taking up the mantle of Assamese nationalism, so direly required for the survival of this small socio-cultural group!

Assam election and issue of regionalism

 With the election to the 126-member Assam Assembly knocking at the door, the political activities have started gaining momentum. The mass electioneering and sloganeering have already gripped everyone alike with many national political faces, both from the Congress and the BJP, descending on the State to woo the voters.  In fact Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have personally visited the State on a few occasions till now to canvass for their leaders and have kept a close watch on the political developments in the State. If on the one hand the BJP is blowing its own trumpet of securing the much- touted ‘100 plus’ seats, the Congress too have equally taken the bull by the horns.  However, the sporadic tussles for power and the lack of a strong leading face in the Congress still remains a matter for concern for the party. The grand alliance, more correctly a non-BJP alliance under the Congress and the AIUDF, has recently faced a debacle in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) elections with many top faces of both the parties unsure about the fate of the alliance itself.  But nothing much could be predicted in the field of politics! The BJP-led Government in the State, of late, has been at the centre of severe wrath and anger for some of its pro-capitalists and anti-people agenda. Though the schemes like SWAYAM (under which the government grants financial support to the youths fulfilling certain criteria), Orunudoi (under this the government grants a monthly stipend of Rs 830 to certain category of women), etc., have been greeted with a red carpet welcome, people at large remain dejected, cheated and worried.  The education sector has been in a shambles. Regularization of posts, provincialization of schools, all part of the BJP’s poll manifesto back in 2014, have not caught the party’s attention well in these five years. However, as a rule, certain political gimmicks to lure the already downtrodden and agitating teachers will be surely on the cards just like any other ruling party trying to woo voters before an election. The most disputed decision pertaining to the education sector came very recently when the Government decided to close down all the Madrassas citing the reason that the Government cannot sponsor education which preaches a particular religion.  But who will tell these ‘omniscient’ political leaders that besides teaching a particular religion, madrassas, since their inception, have been nourishing students just like any other educational institute with basic

subjects like English, Maths, Science, etc., being part of the curriculum? And does shutting down of these institutes not tantamount to depriving these students of their fundamental right?  The health sector, led by a powerful minister, also has been left under a dilapidated situation. In its five years of rule, the BJP could kick-start the functioning of only one medical college at Diphu, and that too the foundation of which was laid way back in 2010 during the previous Congress regime. Though the Government has announced launching of a number of medical colleges in a phased manner, whether these will be able to cater to the increasing medical needs of the people of Assam remains a million dollar question.  The pandemic like the one mankind is battling now in the form of Covid-19 has exposed the sheer apathy of our government towards the healthcare delivery system. Ayurveda, the oldest medical science in the world, finds its importance here. Covid-19 has coerced the entire globe to look up to Ayurveda as the safest and fastest mode of recuperation. The necessity of research in Ayurveda and also the paucity of Ayurvedic experts are something which should be seriously addressed in this regard.  The BJP-led Government, which almost stormed into the electoral scenario in the State with its hallowed promise of preserving Jati, Mati, Bheti has been well exposed. The Government’s clandestine and surreptitious way of granting citizenship to the persecuted Hindus coming from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan through the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was the first-of-its-kind decision which was met with great public ire and outcry.  The anti-CAA movement also saw five innocent souls making the supreme sacrifice fighting for their identity and indigeneity. If the CAA was not sufficient to put the cat among the pigeons, it was followed by other controversial laws, the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Act enforced by the Centre, the MSME Act, to mention a few, which totally downplayed the people’s sentiments. Needless to say that the BJP has dashed the people’s hopes and aspirations out and out, with sheer attempt to flatter the capitalists at the sake of common people’s emotion.  The issue of regionalism, like in every election, has been the most extensively debated topic this time as well. The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), led by three egoistic and power-hungry leaders, have almost brought the core concept of regionalism, the basis on which the party was formed after the martyrdom of 855 lives, to its lowest level. It is no exaggeration to say that these cunning leaders who have betrayed the gullible voters every now and then with their ‘never to be fulfilled tall claims’ today stand exposed.  The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU)-backed Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS)-led Raijor Dal and the Anchalik Gana Morcha, all owing their birth to the anti-CAA crusade, have pulled up their socks and are moving heaven and earth to reach the doorsteps of the people, with the sole purpose to weed out ‘non-secular’ forces from the throne of power. However, the biggest hindrance in

this regard has been the dissimilarity or ideological differences amongst these regional outfits, which might lead to polarization of votes, and in turn roll out the red carpet to some other forces to gain power at Dispur.  The greatest need of the hour is to make these regional forces converge under one sky and contest the ensuing elections under the umbrella of one outfit, a practical idea which would gain more reliability and credibility from common masses, for a sound alternative. It is crystal clear that after years of both the Congress and BJP rules in the State, only a regional outfit, soaked with non-partisan and secular principles, can look after the sentiments of the indigenous Assamese people. Only then Assam will tread on the path of progress and development.