[Assam] Self-help groups in Assam transform rural economy - IANS
Chan Mahanta
cmahanta at charter.net
Tue Jun 3 14:30:18 PDT 2008
At 3:53 PM -0500 6/3/08, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
>Hi C'da,
>
>>*** 'Any more'? Come now Ram, WHEN was it reliable ?
>
>Well, let me put it this way, we often consider it reliable when we chose to
>do so.
**** I see it differently Ram.
NOT all things we cite from news reports, are equal and thus equally
unreliable. Some things don't need verification while others do. Some
are widely known truths. Others may be shades of grey.
Therefore your view that everything is a function of personal
predilections is an untenable one.
> >Could be, could be. But I suspect it is a far milder one than that vitriolic
>urge to bash India at every opportunity :)
**** No one can bash India, or anything else in front of a crowd as
intelligent as this forum , unless there are good, plausible REASONS
. Can one Ram? Can one get-away with a bashing that is clearly
unwarranted? Can you cite an instance where someone attempted to do
that and Indianistas took it lying down, without mounting a challenge?
So the comparison is not a valid one.
> >Look at this Ripun Bora case. Many of us, are more than willing to bury the
>montri because of the arrest.
>Are we jumping to conclusions?
*** Yes, you could very well be right!
>
>Even Uttam, who so wisely cautioned me 'not to get euphoric or depressed' at
>the drop of a hat, has, I suspect, already convicted Ripun (before the
trial). :).
*** There is a very good reason for that, something I have attempted
to impress on our fellow men for over a decade here in Assamnet and
occasionally in other desi internet sites, with only spotty success,
if at all:
Generations of Indians grew up having NEVER seen DUE PROCESS
played out in a
functioning and just system. They are so used to seeing the
most glaring examples of
wrongdoing with impunity, that they get excited
just to see that someone got 'arrested',
as if that is the final word on justice being served.
Under the circumstances, can you expect any different?
> >And so they arrested the montri?
>I am surprised that a claim by a 3rd person can bring down a montri.
*** Heh-heh, surprising is it? But isn't that how desi-justice
always worked? Remember how Lachit Bordoloi was taken away on the
word of some kid who claimed LB instigated him to hijack an aircraft
for ULFA, and still being held, and how the police spokesman
suggested they will find evidence against him. Aren't evidence
manufacturing and bribery two of the most reliable facets of
desi-justice? Remeber Gheelani who got death with that, but still
lives only because people like Arundhati Roy brought the world's
attention to it along with shame to Indian justice?
*** I won't be the one to speculate on Ripun Borah's guilt or
innocence. I also know that no one will ever find out. Would you
hold YOUR breath on it?
>We have all seen (on this net) many of us have over the years sent
>links from the news media from Assam as well as the rest of India whenever
>it seems to echo their own views.
>
>>*** I think the bigger urge is the need to feel good about India
>>doing good by Assam and thus the attempt at groping at every straw
>>that floats by :-).
>
>Could be, could be. But I suspect it is a far milder one than that vitriolic
>urge to bash India at every opportunity :)
>
>Look at this Ripun Bora case. Many of us, are more than willing to bury the
>montri because of the arrest. Are we jumping to conclusions?
>
>Even Uttam, who so wisely cautioned me 'not to get euphoric or depressed' at
>the drop of a hat, has, I suspect, already convicted Ripun (before the
>trial). :).
>
>After reading some of the news reports (I am hoping that these are
>reliable), and I am sure now that many have deemed them reliable, that must
>be the case....
>
>One guy was arrested at Guwahati, taken back to Delhi, and claims he as
>bribing on behalf of Ripun Bora. And so they arrested the montri?
>I am surprised that a claim by a 3rd person can bring down a montri.
>
>This morning I called some of my own 'reliable sources' at Guwahati. They
>ALL felt that this was a setup and the CBI thing stinks to high heaven, and
>that Bora has many political foes (even within the Congress), and lastly
>that he has been doing good as an Education minister.
>(not my opinions - I know very little of the ground situation).
>
>Maybe it is all true, and maybe it isn't - but I would like to wait and see
>how all this ends up, but more importantly, I would like to be fair and give
>the minister a chance to defend himself.
>
>But this much I am fairly sure of - almost all politicians thrive on bribes
>and corruption, and it is only a question of degrees.
>
>--Ram
>
>
>
>
>On 6/3/08, Chan Mahanta <cmahanta at charter.net> wrote:
>>
>> > >It is quite difficult to decipher from here what is
>> >"behind" any news item anymore.
>>
>>
>> *** 'Any more'? Come now Ram, WHEN was it reliable ?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *** I think the bigger urge is the need to feel good about India
>> doing good by Assam and thus the attempt at groping at every straw
>> that floats by :-).
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> At 11:08 PM -0500 6/2/08, Ram Sarangapani wrote:
>> >Hi Uttam,
>> >
>> >You are correct. It is quite difficult to decipher from here what is
>> >"behind" any news item anymore.
>> >But, we take them as they come and there aren't too many ways to
>> cross-check
>> >news items.
>> >
>> >--Ram da
>> >
>> >On 6/2/08, uttam borthakur <uttamborthakur at yahoo.co.in> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> Ram Da
>> >>
>> >> Will it not be prudent to get all the facts together before getting
>> >> euphoric? You know as well as all of us do that 'SHG' is not a magic
>> wand.
>> >> The land acquired by the SHG( the process), the initial funds raised by
>> >> them( the process) may not be accessible to a poor farmer in Assam
>> without a
>> >> history like the person in question and his cohorts have. So let us not
> > >> repeat the bane of being euphoric or depressed too fast. These days
>> news
>> >> reports are also not very innocuous.
>> >>
>> >> Ram Sarangapani <assamrs at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> Now, here is some great, positive news!
>> >>
>> >> And for those of us who see everything is wrong with Dilli, the
>> >> Swarnjayanti
>> >> Gram Swarozgar Yojana initiated by Dilli is doing wonders.
>> >> Highlights mine.
>> >>
>> >> --Ram
>> >> ____________
>> >>
>> >> Self-help groups in Assam transform rural economy (Feature)
>> >> June 1st, 2008 - 12:59 pm ICT by admin -
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> By Syed Zarir Hussain
>> >> Nagaon (Assam), June 1 (IANS) Karuna Kalita was once an explosives
>> expert
>> >> with the terror group United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). But he
>> got
>> >> fed
>> >> up with life in the jungles and surrendered in 2003. He opted for a new
>> >> life
>> >> by forming a self-help group (SHG). The 36-year-old former rebel, who
>> is a
>> >> father of two, is today into mechanised farming, growing paddy in an
>> acre
>> >> of
>> >> land, besides cultivating cabbage, mustard, and bhut jolokia - the
>> hottest
>> >> chilli on earth - at his native Dhing village in the central Assam
>> district
>> >> of Nagaon.
>> >>
>> >> "I have 12 other members in my SHG and we are working hard. Last year
>> we
>> >> earned about Rs.1 million," Kalita said before he jumped into his
>> tractor
>> >> and set off for work.
>> >>
>> >> >From former separatists to housewives to educated but unemployed
>> youths,
>> >> thousands of people in the northeastern state of Assam are pushing
>> >> micro-enterprises into profitable business ventures, thereby turning
>> around
>> >> the region's rural economy.
>> >>
>> >> There are more than 90,000 SHGs working in diverse fields in rural
>> Assam -
>> >> the whopping number being an indicator of the success of the central
>> >> government-aided venture in working towards development and boosting
>> the
>> >> rural economy.
>> >>
>> >> "Earlier, earning Rs.3,000 per month was unthinkable. But now after
>> setting
>> >> up an SHG, I and my seven friends are not only earning but also
>> encouraging
>> >> others like us to do something and earn a living," said Nandeswar
> > Dihingia,
>> >> a college dropout in Dhing.
>> >>
>> >> *The concept of SHGs got a major impetus after New Delhi launched the
>> >> Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) - a programme aimed at
>> bringing
>> >> families above the poverty line by ensuring a sustainable level of
>> >> **income*
>> >> * over a period of time.*
>> >>
>> >> "The SHG scheme has led to a silent economic revolution sweeping
>> through
>> >> rural Assam. This is a good sign as people are getting involved in
>> self-
>> >> enterprise,"
>> >> Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi told IANS.
>> >>
>> >> *Under the programme, SHGs can avail themselves of assistance in the
>> form
>> >> of
>> >> **bank loans*
>> >> *, supported by back-ended government subsidy - a group can avail
>> itself of
>> >> a government subsidy up to Rs.125,000.*
>> >>
>> >> >From dairy to mechanised farming, weavin, poultry, food processing
>> >> unitsand
>> >> mushroom cultivation, people in Assam's countryside are busy setting
>> > > up
>> >> micro-enterprises by forming SHGs.
>> >>
>> >> "We are now self-reliant and able to speak with our heads high," said
>> >> Rupanjali Gharphulia. Rupanjali along with a dozen-odd housewives had
>> >> opened
>> >> a poultry farm with bank loans and is today making a substantial
>> profit.
>> >>
>> >> *The self-help group movement has indirectly come to perform the role
>> of
>> >> peacemaker in a state where militancy is a problem*.
>> >>
>> >> *"One can only hope this movement indirectly helps solve the region's
>> >> growing unemployment problem, which in turn could tame insurgency in
>> the
>> >> state," Assam Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Chandan Brahma
>> >> said.*
>> >> _______________________________________________
>> >> assam mailing list
>> >> assam at assamnet.org
>> >> http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Uttam Kumar Borthakur
>> >>
>> >>
> > >> ---------------------------------
>> >> Has your work life balance shifted? Find out.
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>> >>
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