Dinner with Himanta Biswa Sarma

Upon arrival in Guwahati, we noticed a barrage of modern ambulances with NRHM (National Rural Health Mission) logos imprinted on their side. A drive through Assam also revealed that NRHM has been well advertised in the state. In Sibsagar, we visited the civil hospital and noticed that the scheme was also being effectively implemented. In addition to being one of the most hygienic and orderly hospitals we have seen, doctors were attending to patients and medicines were being provided free of cost. We learnt that all this was made possible by Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam’s Health, IT (Information Technology) and GMDA (Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority) Minister.

While in Tezpur, our local host thought that it would be a good idea for us to meet Dr. Sarma, who is considered Assam’s most dynamic young leader. We wrote to him, introducing ourselves as a group of students exploring the country. He responded within 48 hours, promising to meet us after returning to Guwahati. Such responsiveness is generally uncharacteristic of a politician.

We were invited to his residence for dinner which was preceded by a long conversation in his work chamber. We began by asking him about his role in implementing NRHM across Assam. He told us that the successful execution was a result of district level planning, an inherent feature of the policy. He talked about India’s heterogeneity and told us that in order for a scheme to be successful, mandates can be national but states must be given entrepreneurial leeway in execution[1]. He also credited his team for looking after the micromanagement of the program. Dr. Sarma stated that he provides the vision[2] but responsibility and accountability are shared by the team.

We proceeded to ask him about his role as the GDD Minister. Dr. Sarma is not in favor of urbanization at the cost of agriculture. He lamented that agriculture is losing its prestige/importance and that in order for India to embark on a path of sustainable economic development, more Green Revolutions are needed. He spoke of Punjab as a showcase state which had benefitted from the introduction of advanced agricultural techniques, and where farmers have social clout. He longs for a day when the agricultural domain is considered prestigious enough for a father to get his daughter married to an agriculturist.

We also asked Dr. Sarma to shed some light on the subject of illegal immigration from Bangladesh into India. He urged us to consider the social impact of such migration (in the form of religious imbalance) in the long run, as opposed to the short term economic impact. According to him, Assam needs labor from outside the state as there are not enough locals available for low-skill jobs. He also thinks that the issue is not limited to Assam anymore as Bangladeshis travel to other parts of the country for work.

Dr. Sarma concerns himself with the attitude of the Assamese people. His mission is to transform the lackadaisical mindset of the local into an energetic and optimistic one. He believes in youthful enthusiasm and sees it as a game-changer in contemporary India. He travels extensively in order to familiarize himself with best practices in other regions. The conversation also revealed that he surfs the internet regularly and is an avid reader, especially of his critics. Watch out for this young leader who lends the political class much needed positivity.

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[1] Here he suggested that policymakers from the southern part of the country are better equipped to design policy due to their preference for a decentralized form of governance as opposed to an overarching federal structure.

[2] According to him, those below 40 are the doers while the 40 plus generation is responsible for leadership and vision.

A Night with the Singphos

After visiting Kaziranga, we left for Enthong- the village of the Singpho tribe in Assam. The Singpho were the first to discover the process of tea cultivation in India. They taught the process to the British, who then grew the Indian tea trade exponentially without giving the Singpho community their due credit. This has left a degree of resentment amongst the community, which until today sustains itself on tea farming (each household within the community maintains a plot of land for this). Today, the Singpho community in India is on the verge of extinction, with only ~25,000 remaining inhabitants. Other major Singpho hubs exist in China and Myanmar.

Manjela and Alok outside the Eco Lodge

In Enthong, we stayed at The Eco Lodge, which is run by a Singpho family. It is situated amidst the tea gardens and is entirely made of bamboo (hence the name)[i]. The manager, Manjela, plans to install solar panels to power the entire lodge over the next year, and is only using conventional electricity until the lodge raises enough funding to switch to green technology. We learned that the lodge is partly funded by the DS Group, which plans to leverage its relationship with the Singphos in its future endeavors within the hospitality space.

Manjela playing the guitar

Our room in the Eco Lodge

Food was most certainly a highlight. We were served an elaborate, yet organic and eco-friendly, Singpho dinner that consisted of delicacies such as rice steamed in bamboo sticks, spicy tomato chutney, fresh eggplant, greens and potato preparations, and yam soup. The next morning, we awoke to the sounds of a howling gibbon (an endangered animal) and Manjela playing the violin.

Our traditional Singpho meal

Anti-dandruff shampoo for Rishi

The Eco Lodge is in the district of Margarita in Upper Assam. It has 11 rooms, and while we were the only guests at the time, it is frequently visited by foreign tourists who have heard about it through word-of-mouth. However, it maintains strict rules regarding respect towards the Singpho way of life, and manages to retain a tranquil and serene atmosphere. Establishments such as these should be encouraged as they promote a healthy tourist lifestyle and open doors to relatively unexplored parts of the country.

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[i] One of the reasons why eco lodges are prevalent in the northeast is because ~60% of India’s bamboo cultivation takes place here- resulting in cheap inputs.

After visiting Kaziranga, we left for Enthong- the village of the Singpho tribe in Assam. The Singpho were the first to discover the process of tea cultivation in India. They taught the process to the British, who then grew the Indian tea trade exponentially without giving the Singpho community their due credit. This has left a degree of resentment amongst the community, which until today sustains itself on tea farming (each household within the community maintains a plot of land for this). Today, the Singpho community in India is on the verge of extinction, with only ~25,000 remaining inhabitants. Other major Singpho hubs exist in China and Myanmar.

Reliance Netconnect vs. Tata Photon (Guwahati)

Tata Photon wins the Guwahati round.
(Photon also had strong connectivity in Tezpur while Netconnect did not work…just wasn’t able to take the speedtest)

Reliance Netconnect:

No coverage

Tata Photon:

Tezpur Government School

As part of the 2^nd leg of our tour, we have decided to visit educational institutions (public and private), wherever possible. While in Tezpur, we dropped in at the Dulabari lower primary school (Kindergarten – Grade 4) in village teen mile. This Assamese medium school has 456 students and 7 teachers, putting the faculty-to-student ratio at 65:1, a depressing statistic. We learnt that a government school cannot specify its own admission criteria as it must admit every applicant under SSA (Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan) – a central government scheme geared towards free and compulsory education for children upto the age of 14.

Lower Primary School, Teen Mile, Tezpur

The faculty was convivial and responded enthusiastically to all of our queries – often synchronizing complaints with reactions. They were especially critical of the additional responsibilities that have been imposed on them, such as cooking for the mid-day meal scheme, as their resources were already stretched. The provision for a meal per child was just increased from INR2 to INR2.09, but this does not sufficiently cover costs in light of increasing input prices. When asked about the impact of the well-advertised SSA, the headmaster seemed to be pleased with the monetary assistance the school was receiving, with regards to infrastructure and maintenance expenses. However, we were also shown a big, locked steel box with TLMs (Teacher Learning Materials), whose contents seemed to be unused, thereby suggesting that the teachers were not properly trained on their use

The school had no boundary wall or playground and sanitation facilities were rudimentary. There was no electricity till the teachers decided to shell out the requisite amount for obtaining a connection, which took 6 months to get started. They had to charge the students INR10 per annum to cover these electricity costs, since the government did not agree to provide them with it. Most families in the district belong to a minority group and believe that the government is treating them like a “stepchild”. Thus, the government’s inaction is perpetuating an unfortunate confirmation bias in that a minority is feeling discriminated against when schools in many districts, irrespective of demographics, face similar problems.

After the recommendations of the 6^th Pay Commission, public school teachers are among the best paid government employees. Yet attracting, and cultivating, good teachers remains a major problem for government (and private) schools. This, combined with implementation gaps and woefully inadequate infrastructure in most government schools leaves much to be desired and suggests that more work needs to be done.

Nezone Biscuit Factory

On our way to Tawang and the Indo-China border, we passed through the town of Tezpur and paid a visit to the largest biscuit manufacturer in Assam, called Nezone (stands for North East Zone). Owned and operated by a Marwari family[i], Nezone produces more than 35 varieties of biscuits. In addition to producing biscuits under its own brand name, it also does so for major brands such as Britannia (India’s market leader in biscuits).

We were able to observe the entire production process, right from flour milling to mixing of the ingredients to baking. Apart from the two production lines present in this factory, Nezone also has another factory of the same capacity. Margins in the biscuit business have historically been very tight (~7%), and given the current environment of increasing input prices such as sugar, this has been reduced further to 2-3%. To maintain competitiveness in the volumes game, the factory runs 24 hours/day, 6 days/week. The supply of biscuits we were given at the conclusion of the visit served us well for our lengthy road trip ahead to Tawang..

Packing line at Nezone

[i] The prominent businessmen in the region are Marwaris and Biharis

Auctions in Assam — Crony Capitalism

In Assam, business owners and traders have the option to participate in government auctions in order to source raw materials at a relatively low cost. Different government departments (army, railways, power, telecom etc.) hold these auctions to dispose off excess waste/scrap material, and for some, it turns out to be a significant source of revenue. For hazardous materials, the system requires participants to obtain certification from the central government in order to participate; i.e. only a registered lead smelter can bid for waste batteries from the government.

Auction Format

The format is that of an on-the-floor 1st-price auction, where a reserve price, R, is set by the hosting department. The highest bidder wins and pays a price, P, which is equal to his bid, given that the bid exceeds R. Officially, departments determine R by looking at market prices of the goods and set R < market price. However, since this can be tiresome for the government bodies when dealing with hundreds of goods, they often just determine R arbitrarily by gauging demand, using the previously held R as a benchmark. For example, if in the previous auction for the same good, R was INR30 and the good sold for INR50, the department is likely to set the next R > INR30 to take advantage of this demand.

Corruption in the System

While this system is designed to supply all business owners with cheap raw materials and to minimize waste amongst government departments, the local mafia groups (syndicates) are corrupting the system. Syndicates are groups of people with substantial influence in various departments of the government, who prevent the auctions from functioning fairly. These groups forcibly prevent local traders and business owners from participating in various auctions, and therefore, have control over the prices. With extensive experience they are able to estimate the reserve price before the auction is held, and then do not compete with each other during the official auction.

After the syndicate buys the goods, they meet privately to hold an unofficial auction. Here, members of the syndicate compete with each other, and then split the profits evenly after all the goods are exchanged. So technically, a syndicate member who does not actively participate in either auction will make money through this system. Finally, after the unofficial auction, the individual winners proceed to sell the goods in the market at a high price or use them in their independent scrap-dealing businesses.

Getting around the System

Our friend and local host, Rishi Todi, has a lead smelting business in Guwahati, Assam and has experienced this system first hand when trying to participate in an auction for waste batteries held by the railways department. Knowing that it was a complicated and risky process, Rishi visited a Railway official in Assam beforehand for advice on how to participate in such an auction. The official gave him a run-down of the system, and explained that the government is fully aware of the fact that syndicates are controlling the prices at departmental auctions. He then advised Rishi to meet privately with a member of the syndicate before the auction to reach an agreement to procure the batteries. The official even provided Rishi with a contact inside the syndicate. In making deal with a syndicate member before the auction, one would tell the member the maximum price at which he would buy the batteries. Then, the syndicate member would try to win the unofficial auction at a price lower than his buyer’s maximum price in order to sell it to him at a profit.

Rishi at his lead smelting factory

Conclusion

Auctions in Assam are a prime example of crony capitalism. They illustrate how intertwined bureaucracy, business and corruption are in India. In this case, both the government and the entrepreneurs are trying to create efficient markets, but independent syndicates are asserting their power over both entities. The tragedy is that either the government officials find themselves helpless in the face of these local gangsters, or that they are enjoying a mutually beneficial relationship with them under the table. In both cases, it is the entrepreneurs who are losing – the only group of people who have the ability to generate the employment and economic activity that the country needs.

Koliabor and Kaziranga

An exploration of the northeast is incomplete without an excursion to a tea estate. After southern China, Assam was only the second location in the world to produce tea on a commercial basis, beginning in the 19^th century. In fact, southern China and Assam are the only two regions in the world with native tea plants. We decided to spend a night at Koliabor Manor, a “resort”, located off National Highway 37A The tea estate – Assam’s longest – belongs to the Williamson Magor Group and was set-up in 1925 near Silghat, Assam’s first declared town. It was a strategically sound decision as Silghat had a port which enabled easy transportation to Calcutta through the Brahmaputra, India’s widest river. Formerly, Koliabor Manor was the Bara Sahab’s (Manager’s) bungalow, which has now been converted into a spacious guesthouse to draw tourists. Positioned on a hilltop, it allows for marvelous views of the Brahmaputra on one side and the tea estate on the other.

Koliabor Manor

We arrived at Koliabor at 10pm and were greeted by the amiable owner/manager of the resort, Mr. Prasanta Borgohain and his efficient service team. The bungalow had a very colonial feel to it, elegantly decorated with minimalist, Victorian interiors (armchairs, chandeliers) and pictures hanging on the wall reminding us of its previous residents. Prior to dinner, members of an indigenous tree tribe who work on the plantation performed a dance for us. The lyrics of the song they danced to aptly capture some of their difficulties – alcoholism and violence (~50% pick up arms to join ULFA, or similar separatist groups). We were then treated to a delicious vegetarian Assamese dinner consisting of pulses, rice (a staple of Assam), aloo pitikka (mashed potatoes garnished with raw onions, mustard oil, green chillies) and aubergine fritters, among others Tomato and onion chutneys (pickles) served as condiments.

Assamese dinner at Koliabor

To fully appreciate the topography, we woke up at 4.30am for a walk in the estate. Sunrise in the northeast induces sublime scenery as the region is cloud infested and hillocked. The frontage is a slope of well-combed tea plants and to the left of the mansion are an upcoming chalet area (to be fully equipped with swimming pool, spa and cottages) and a view point overlooking the Brahmaputra. The complex still has a functional sundial and an extra-grassy tennis court. This setup to draw tourists is part of an effort to increase “tea tourism”, which, when combined with a visit to the nearby Kaziranga National Park make for an even more attractive package. Our stay at Koliabor was topped off by a 6.3 earthquake that affected a large part of the northeast region.

Kaziranga is generally closed to tourists during this time of the year owing to the monsoon, opening only on November 1. However, we managed to convince a park ranger to take us for a short safari. After boarding an open jeep at the Rhino Gate of the park, we proceeded to pick up an armed guard at the security check-post. Kaziranga is famous for having the highest population of rhinos in the world (~2000). In fact, it has 2/3^rds of the world’s one-horned rhinos. The park also has the highest number of tigers in a protected area. Naturally, we were excited to spot these endangered animals.

A few minutes into the safari, quarreling cows obliged us with their presence. Grazing wild elephants were next in line. Soon after, we jostled to stay onboard as the driver braked and pointed to deer right in front of our vehicle. Finally, we approached a vast clearing where rhinos were feeding or enjoying their afternoon naps. Although they were roughly 500 meters away, our guide provided binoculars that allowed us to see them very clearly. We were told that during peak-season, tourists can ride elephants into the park and get as close as a meter away from the rhinos. While we were on our way out, animated villagers told us that a tiger has been spotted half a kilometer away from where we were. As we approached the spot, bystanders confirmed that a tiger, albeit dead, was found earlier in the day. Upon inquiry, we learnt that the tiger had died a natural death, reducing the number of tigers in the reserve to 85. Two security guards had been deployed near the corpse till officials arrived to take the body for a post-mortem. Wild boars bid us farewell as we exited the park, quite satisfied with our off-season safari. We paid INR500 for the safari and during the peak season, the rates go up to INR1,200, still very reasonable by international standards.

Wild elephants grazing

Dead tiger in Kaziranga

Another interesting observation during our safari was the presence of a large number of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh (~5% of the population). They have occupied the land bordering and sometimes encroaching on the reserve, by cutting down forest cover in favor of cultivable land. Now constituting a sizeable vote bank for the local government and claiming ownership of the land not previously their own, they have taken advantage of our porous border and put a further strain on resources.

Vishvakarma Festival and Kamakhya Devi Temple

Upon arrival in Guwahati, I noticed that all vehicles were sporting colorful ribbons on their bumpers and windscreens. Before I could request my friend, and host, to explain the significance of the paraphernalia, he told me that the city was celebrating the Vishvakarma festival. That also meant that Guwahati was observing an unofficial holiday. Informal local holidays and bandhs (quiet curfews) are regular features in this part of the country. Alacrity is not a virtue widely possessed  in Assam and the state prides itself on a lahe-lahe (slowly-slowly) culture, indicative of going about business in a sluggish manner.

Decorated rickshaw during Vishvakarma pooja

Lord Vishvakarma is considered the divine engineer of the world. Every year, on September 17^th, industrial houses, mechanics, artists, craftsmen, weavers and other professionals (workers) pray to the Lord, thanking him for all his creations. Demographics of a region seem to play an important role in determining religious practices, as is evident in Assam, Bihar and Jharkhand – eastern states which have a large number of industrial workers and, as a result, a vibrant Vishvakarma pooja (prayer). It is an occasion when industrial workers take over the streets, representing a coming out party of the poor.

Pooja stall during Vishvakarma festival

Later in the day, I visited the Kamakhya Devi temple, an ancient reservoir perched on a hill with splendid views of Guwahati. It is believed that a piece of Goddess Sita’s abdomen was found at the site, rendering it to be one of 18 holy Maha-Shakti Peethas in India. Priests at the temple claim that everyone can find her/his origins at this temple and that by “touching the water in the reservoir, one will feel his/her roots.”

Kamakhya temple in Guwahati

Different  beliefs can, and do, exist simultaneously and in close proximity in India. This very concurrence is often viewed as the secret behind India’s survival in spite of the rampant heterogeneity that is reflective of our society. Certain priests on a hill proclaimed that their Goddess is the creator of all, whereas down below workers chanted vociferously to thank their God for all that he has created. The creations are tangible; the creator is one’s own version.