< Previous 119Chapter 19 psychological reintegration of former cadres of the defunct National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), survivors of violence during the Bodoland Movement, and conflict- induced internally displaced persons. A Bodoland Community Counselling Programme and a Bodoland Happiness Mission have been developed to promote psychological well-being and healing in a post-conflict context. High-value–low-volume ecotourism projects, construction of non-polluting enterprises and business centres, agroforestry, and commercialisation of sericulture products are just a few of the activities aimed at generating revenue for the Council. On December 14, 2021, our Government launched the Bodoland Skill Employment and Entrepreneurship Development (SEED) Mission. Its objective of developing a skilled BTR will bring delight to the people of our region. Partnerships have been formed with the UNDP, UNICEF, Azim Premji University, Transforming Rural India Foundation (TRIF), the North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR), the Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS), the Bharat Rural Livelihoods Foundation (BRLF), and other civil society organisations in order to keep up with the march towards the realisation of the SDGs 2030. Our Government believes that land is a critical factor in the survival, dignity, and self-esteem of individuals and households in our society. People, particularly those from rural and indigenous communities, are unable to establish social, cultural, and economic capital in the absence of land. Being landless means that the household is constantly impoverished, which often leads to the degradation of forests and fauna through encroachment. In this vein, in order to contextualise Mission Basundhara and fulfil our joint vision, the BTR Government will launch Mission Bwiswmuthi on January 27, 2023. Land Certificate Issue Fairs (land melas) are being held in all of our Circle Offices as a prelude 120Chapter 19 to Mission Bwiswmuthi. This is a sure step towards giving land certificates to all eligible individuals and households, bringing us one step closer to addressing the difficulties confronting all landless, impoverished, and marginalised households in the BTR. Thus, our BTR Government is immersed in reshaping the region’s contemporary governance paradigm by integrating best practices, new knowledge, and praxis to bring about overall transformation and growth. The BTR Government’s commitment to ensuring “Peaceful, Green, and Smart Bodoland” is expressed through its various policy and programmatic initiatives promoting peaceful coexistence, good governance, and accelerating overall development and growth. The BTR Government’s varied participation programmes ensured a departure from the then-common norms of conflict, violence, and non-performance. It has created a turnaround by improving the culture of “a common goal, a cohesive team and an engaging work culture”. However, we have only just begun our journey and have not yet arrived at our destination. Our Government is determined to work even harder in the coming days to achieve our united goal. Only when it is BTR 24x7 can a new BTR be realised. Now is the time to reconstruct our lives, revitalise our communities, and revitalise our institutions. While our region is at peace, we must create an environment in which everyone can dream and work to make those goals a reality. The residents of BTR have already taken a brave step in this direction. Our fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters took the correct decision and turned at the crossroads. We are now set to join the rest of Assam and India in reaching new heights of development and growth!The emergence of the United Peoples’ Party Liberal (UPPL) as a political party to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of the people of Bodoland happened at a critical time in the socio-political timeline of the region. The BTC Accord 2003, which gave autonomy to Bodoland under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India, raised expectations of the Bodo people for the socio-economic transformation of the region bringing normalcy, communal harmony and all-round development. However, just after a few years during 2008–2010, the region witnessed violence, killings and unrest created by a mindless section of people causing a huge loss to the socio-cultural fabric of Bodoland. The people were left feeling insecure in the prevalent atmosphere of lawlessness and disorder which created doubts about the common belief that the Constitution of India and the laws of the land were strong enough to protect each and every citizen of the country. This period was characterised by a growing gun culture aggravated by the gross negligence of the political leadership and the bureaucracy towards the sensitivities of the people. Development remained just a word with the ruling dispensation under the Bodoland Peoples’ Front (BPF) making 20 UPPL: Working for a conflict-free Bodoland (Originally published in The Assam Tribune on 12 th November 2022) 122Chapter 20 a hasty U-turn on the promises of development and community aspirations. The authoritarianism of the BPF leadership resulted in the complete alienation of the people from every aspect of governance. This paved the way for misgovernance and rampant corruption which would go on for one and a half decades, also leading to a period of serious communal conflict. This was an alarming situation and the simple and easy-going tribal populace and their sympathisers were shaken by the communal conflict backed by a section of the intelligentsia with vested interests trying to draw an imaginary ‘Lakshman Rekha’ between the Bodos and non-Bodos. It became the need of the hour to delve deep into the sensitivities of the people in this difficult and complex situation. It was within this paradigm of realisation and sensitivity that the UPPL was formed in the year 2015 by uniting the two different entities BPPF and UPDF, with the objective of working unitedly within a liberal set of values covering the interests and aspirations of all sections of society in Bodoland. Since its very inception, the UPPL had always advocated a peaceful and conflict-free Bodoland. The agenda was to reunite the communities, different linguistic groups, the damaged psyche and hearts of the people of Bodoland. The UPPL started connecting all sections of people with mutual love and respect, moving for reconciliation among the various tribes while also assessing the development indices and re-strategising community and regional development. The UPPL-led alliance with the BJP and GSP, after assuming charge of BTC in December 2020, started addressing the development issues with a comprehensive audit of the various development programmes, schemes and expenditures undertaken by the previous regime which was in power for seventeen years. Within a month, our government came up with a white paper which revealed an alarming picture. We inherited liabilities of 123Chapter 20 Rs 2,900 crore with most major infrastructure works remaining incomplete, the condition of educational institutions at its worst, malfunctioning of the Secretariat marked by many irregularities, among a host of other issues. Governance was divorced from the realities on the ground marked by huge gaps and absence of any meaningful developmental data with any department. However, we shouldered this burden and started moving strategically towards revamping the entire system. In our one and a half years in office, we have been able to build a framework for holistic development in BTR with the motto of a safe, smart and green Bodoland integrating our governance with the national developmental process and agenda. We are moving from ‘zero work culture’ towards ‘work culture’, from ‘zero policy’ to ‘policy making’ as part of an effective governance mechanism. Our primary focus is to ensure peaceful coexistence of all, taking care of each other, education, health care, livelihoods, effective governance and time-bound implementation of the BTR Accord 2020. The secondary focus is to fill the gap in all development sectors to make the BTC districts at par with the developed ones in the State and the country. We are strengthening the livelihoods and social security mechanism to address multiple issues like reversing the negative impacts of long-term conflict and integrating programmes on psychological healing and well-being into the education curriculum. In collaboration with the UNDP, we have made a BTR Vision 2030 Report outlining the short, medium and long-term development goals of BTR by mapping them to the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDGs) agenda of the United Nations. Peace and stability are gradually resulting in the success of many endeavours of our government already with the huge turnout and success of programmes like the ISPL Football League 2022, Kokrajhar Literary Festival, mission mode programmes, and many 124Chapter 20 aspirational programmes like the BTR Super 50 for civil services and IIT/NIT entrances, etc. The school adoption programme is an innovative mechanism introduced to attract people from different walks of life to adopt schools in the region. It is a matter of pride that this year sixty students from BTR have qualified in the entrance for MBBS and BDS, fourteen candidates from BTR have cleared the Assam Civil Services (ACS) examinations and also many candidates have qualified in the police recruitment/drive for third and fourth grade posts of the Government of Assam. We have also facilitated recruitment from BTR for positions related to ground staff of Air India. My vision is not to confine the UPPL to winning and losing elections but to go for a constructive social revolution through which the people of BTR can live peacefully in safety and security and make progress in the future. We acknowledge the love and affection of the Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister and the Chief Minister of Assam towards BTR and their constant support and guidance in taking the region forward. It is due to their vision for sustainable peace and unstinted development that a small regional party like UPPL has been empowered to bring transformational change in BTR by its inclusion within the NDA umbrella. On the 7th foundation day of UPPL, we pledge to work with sincerity, a sense of purpose, direction and dedication in the days ahead.The completion of two years of the Government of Assam under the leadership of Himanta Biswa Sarma is an occasion to reflect on the changing contours of the socio-economic, cultural and overall scenario of the State. As Indians, we take pride in the rich civilisational history and ethos of our country. Similarly, with the dawn of a new leadership in Assam since May 2021, we have a reason to take pride in the dynamism and vibrancy of a Chief Minister who is steering Assam ahead in the third decade of the 21st century at the regional, national and global levels. In being richly mindful of our State’s heritage including Maa Kamakhya, Kaziranga, Manas, and the diversity of our people, we are proud of the leadership of a Chief Minister who has been able to elevate the developmental dimension to an altogether different level giving all the courage to dream for a better future, ensuring the security of life and property, identity and culture, and raising the dignity of every citizen of the State. The State government’s comprehensive approach in addressing long-pending issues is not only praiseworthy but a matter of great joy for the common people of the State. Some initiatives have been taken which transcend the boundaries of common political thought. 21 two Years of Assam Govt: My thoughts (Originally published in The Assam Tribune on 11 th May 2023) 126Chapter 21 Being a citizen, my understanding of political leadership is that we need to analyse every initiative and decision carefully at various times to finally make a correct policy for the next generation. This has been a principal characteristic underlining the decisions taken by the State government under the leadership of Chief Minister Sarma. After his completion of two years, it is felt that he should have been in this position long back and his competency to handle national issues has also captured the imagination of the nation. A state or a nation progresses only on the vision and mission of a leader. In many Indian states, we can count some names who have transformed their states into developed ones in terms of economic and other parameters. And at the global level, we have witnessed visionary leadership changing the course of many countries. “Nation first” was the slogan of many leaders in the world but that slogan has been translated into reality by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who envisions a trillion-dollar economy for India. We see this change in every nook and corner and it is being felt by each sensitive citizen of the country to the last mile. As a citizen I believe that when a leader understands a nation not only within the visible scenarios of its geography, population and resources but also in the essence and core values, only then he or she can make a vision, mission and master plan for the overall development of the country. These leaders work not only for posterity but also to create a history where all sections of people can be benefited from their ideas, knowledge and guidance. A comprehensive leader can understand every problem and issue faced by the citizens of that state or country. It is the leader who takes the risk to face any consequences for the betterment of his citizens. If we talk about the political leadership of Assam, there were lots of dedicated and committed leaders who led the State at different times. But among them, the present leadership stands out as full of energy, vibrancy and dynamism. A few years back we had felt the need for a leadership to bridge the gap within a short period of time. And today we are seeing visible efforts in this direction. 127Chapter 21 The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Assam for 2023-24 (at current prices) is projected to be Rs 5.67 lakh crore, amounting to a growth of 15 per cent over 2022-23. The infrastructure gap is going to be filled within the next couple of years. The present government’s focus on alleviating many societal problems is manifest in the sustained campaigns against drugs, drinking, gambling, corruption, black magic and other social evils. This has brought about a sense of stability in the society. Age-old land issues have been resolved after digitisation of land documents and huge corruption in government appointments has been curbed. The big nagging issue of encroachment has been resolved. A new dawn has started for the poorest section of society after the effective and speedy implementation of the two most humanitarian schemes of microfinance loan waiver to various categories of borrowers and the Arunodoi scheme envisaging benefits to 24 lakh poor households. The establishment of new medical and nursing colleges in every district has given an unprecedented boost to the health care delivery system in the State. Many other citizen- centric schemes have encompassed every section of society. The establishment of model schools in Adivasi and tea garden areas is another innovative initiative that has been able to bridge the gap in education in these areas. The new paddy procurement policy, new model colleges and one lakh appointments drive are noteworthy initiatives being personally monitored by the Chief Minister. In the early morning of September 6, 2022, Chief Minister Sarma along with all his Cabinet colleagues visited the memorial and residence of Bodofa Upendranath Brahma at Dotma, Kokrajhar. After paying solemn tributes to the father of the Bodos and talking to the family of Bodofa, he announced that March 31, the date of birth of Bodofa would henceforth be celebrated as Chatra Divas by the State government. With this singular announcement — giving long due recognition to an icon of Bodo nationalism — he broke all barriers that had been erected in the chequered timeline of Bodo history of long-felt alienation from the mainstream. The 128Chapter 21 announcement found resonance amongst the people of BTR as it found across the two valleys of the Barak and Brahmaputra, bringing a silver lining to the dream of a stronger united Assam. For his humanity, and courage to set history right, Chief Minister Sarma displayed an innate humanism that makes him the embodiment of leadership which is not only inspirational but one with the capacity to bring emancipation, redemption and hope to the future of Assam. I wish the Chief Minister, all his Cabinet colleagues, leaders of the AGP-BJP-UPPL alliance and officers of the Government of Assam all the best on this occasion.Next >