[Assam] The NRA conundrum and other wayward thoughts

[Ram Sarangapani]

There seems to be some perception, specially in Assam, regarding the issue
of NRAs "contributions" to Assam vis-a-vis what kind of "say" these NRAs
ought to have (or not have) in whats going on in Assam. The perceptions
often come in the form of numerous queries that we frequently encounter.

One often comes across questions/comments like: "What have the NRAs
contributed so far?" or that "NRAs have forfeited their rights (in-born?) to
make any comments - since they left Assam on their own volition". Other
comments, of course, are not very generous to the NRAs.

The writing of this piece was triggered, in good measure, because of a blog
(I came across) whether "Indians" ought to feel proud of an Astronaut of
Indian Descent. This astronaut, Sunita Williams, is scheduled for the next
space launch, is an American by birth, but happens to have Indian parents.
The blog was entertaining, to say the least. There were some who were really
enthusiastic (that she was of Indian descent), while others were upset,
since she really wasn't "Indian", and whether "Gen. Mushraraf" could, by
extension, be also considered Indian - as he was born in India. The blog,
went on and on.

So, coming back to our NRA situation, what kind of role should NRAs
(expected or otherwise) play? Do NRAs just "lecture" but are not doing
anything tangible to help Assam?  There are also other questions, such as,
"What are the people in Assam doing? Why do they need to depend on NRAs to
do anything?" and so on. Some of these are legitimate questions, while
others, just seem plainly mean.

Being a member of the NRA community, I thought if I could shed some light,
it might be helpful to both NRAs and to those living in Assam in clearing up
some of the misconceptions.

*Do NRAs contribute (financially)?:* Yes, they do. The contributions often
are not well publicized. Modesty forbids many NRAs from making a big deal of
these contributions. They are often gun-shy of such publicity. As such,
individual contributions are done rather quietly and without much fanfare.
There are a number of NRA organizations, which also make contributions when
possible.

However, the total amounts of NRA contributions are anywhere close to those
contributed by other NRIs like the Gujaratis or others.
Our number are small. In addition, most NRAs have chosen professional
careers and are not in business. As such, NRAs have little leeway to make
contributions to the many important causes in Assam, and in sizeable
amounts.

There are, of course, other reasons. There have been times, when NRAs do not
get any feedback or accountability from back home, whether the funds they
have contributed have been spent for the right reasons and whether the funds
have been given to the affected people. The result is that a number of NRAs
have become more comfortable in going to Assam, and donating funds to those
affected, directly. Some have made such direct donations to schools, or some
welfare organization, or even families.

NRAs often (also) get disillusioned when their meagre contributions are
overlooked or ignored, and instead they are questioned of their links to
Assam (or lack of involvement), and if at all, they should have a say in
anything Assam. Question is, whether NRAs retain the rights to have a say in
matters concerning Assam only when they make contributions?

*NRA non-financial contributions*: Is it then alright for NRAs to contribute
ideas, thoughts, criticisms, or even complain without them having to
contribute financially or be "physically present in Assam"? My humble
thoughts would be that NRAs should contribute in any and all these areas,
when possible. After all,  many of them are individuals who have been very
successful in their relative fields, and their thoughts and ideas would have
net positive effects for Assam.

Yes, some of their thoughts or ideas may seem abrasive, over the top,
simplistic, or even seem to translate to "we know whats best for Assam" at
times, but all Assamese whether living in Assam or elsewhere may want to
look a little deeper. Most NRAs are eager to give back what they can, to
Assam. They want to see a prosperous Assam, they want to see Assamese
children and young people as trail-blazers in this ever-shrinking world, and
they want to see other Assamese succeed, and succeed well, in whatever
avenues they choose to.

*Project Involvement*: There are many in Assam, who have, over the years
been very active in projects. They have worked tirelessly alongside NRAs for
these projects.

That makes a lot of sense. The involvement of local Assamese is not only
important, but also necessary for the success of any project. It is natural,
that many NRAs have lost touch with the ground realities, and though they
may be able to help out in projects with ideas or finance, they would be
lost without the active investment of interested Assamese living in Assam.
This investment by people close to the action can come in a variety of ways.
They are the ones that can identify projects that can be tackled. They can
help out with legal or other formalities, or the scope of such projects, and
whether such ventures would have some degree of success. More importantly,
their active investment in time, and participation, gives others a source of
strength and encouragement. That strength is vital for the development and
implementation of projects. Essentially, the ideas would have to come from
Assam, NRAs can only aide in peripheral areas.

*NGOs in Assam*: There are many NGOs operating in Assam. Many are
either national (or international) in character, and have little or no
Assamese flavor. These NGOs may not really be in a position to understand
what Assam actually needs. An NGO from Delhi or even overseas, can only get
a bird's eye view, and may well assume 'poverty in Assam' as having a
similar impact as 'poverty in Bihar or Bangladesh' or that the floods in
Assam are similar to those of some other place. From a lay-man's point of
view, I would assume there are intricate differences, and it is important to
understand these, even when aide is being rendered.

National or overseas based NGOs do have the financial strength or the
ability to collect funds on larger scales. And some of these have done some
great work in Assam, but in the final analyses, it is the Assamese that
must necessarily be involved in such projects - from start to
finish. Assamese need to have their own 'home-grown' NGOs that will produce
results that we can all be proud of, and those that we would all like to be
members of.

Rgds,
(please feel free to add your suggestions/comments/criticisms. This was
basically written, as I went along, with no deep study or thought)
Ram
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.assamnet.org/pipermail/assam-assamnet.org/attachments/20061203/7b150aab/attachment.htm>