Volume 33, Issue No 5, February 2005

News & events of the Assamese people living around the world

Table of Contents:

A Tale of Two Lakes and Revived Hope....................................................................................... 1ASA Delivers Project Hope .......................................................................................................... 2Search for the Assamese 1837 Bible at the Harvard Library.......................................................... 3Xattriya for Tsunami Relief .......................................................................................................... 4Mechanization Strategies for Agriculture in Assam....................................................................... 5Flood Control in Assam- Task Force Recommendations ............................................................... 6

A Tale of Two Lakes and Revived Hope

T H E Y H A V E ADREAM, but it is notunrealistic. They have aplan, but no means to turnit into a project. Over theyears, there were scores ofmeetings held, rolls ofpictures taken, andheadline news ran thefront page of thenewspapers on theprospective economicdevelopment of theseeconomically backwardpeople of flood-ravagedareas. But very little orpractically nothing wasdone in reality. In everywalk of their lives, theyhave to trip against the debris ofbroken promises from bothgovernment and non-governmentorganizations. Yes, I am takingthe readers to Puthimari, amedium size village in Kamrupdistrict, situated on the bank ofPuthimari River.

In a nice afternoon of 12th ofJanuary, this year, I and AmiyaSharma, Deputy GeneralManager (Economist) of NEDFi,who is also coordinating ASA’sflood relief effort overseas withthe help of NGOs, headed out to

the village of Puthimari to assess the area and how the flood relief money couldpossibly be utilized toward building a self sustained livelihood of the villagers.So we made it a point to stay focused on the investment strategy rather thanusing up the money for temporary relief in the form of micro donations. As wewere driving past villages, the fecundity of nature was apparent everywhere. Ifthe history of America west is written on the saddle of horses, the socio-culturalhistory of Assam is undoubtedly imprinted on the thatched cottages nestledamidst tall trees and swathes of undulating paddy fields that stretch up to thehorizon, as well as the kaleidoscopic pageantry of a day in the life of theirinhabitants. All throughout my way, I could hear the wind calling my name; Icould feel the warm hugs of the small towns that retain their fabled past withundiminished charm.

Siba Deka and Tapan Pathak, the president and secretary of Pragjyotisha KrishiShilpa Samabay Samiti Ltd, respectively, along with some other villagers greetedus when we got there. They took us to the shore of a huge oxbow lake. This lake

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was created as a result of achange of course of the riverPuthimari over a hundred yearsago and now encompasses anarea of over 25 bighas. This lakeis already very rich in fishpopulation and has tremendouspotential for large-scale fishfarming. Unfortunately the lakeis swamped with aquatic plantsand weeds to the extent that onecan literary walk over them fromone bank to the other. From thedata available from varioussources, we estimated cost ofcleaning the lake in the vicinityof over three lakhs of rupees. Wehave a limited set of resourcesand a gargantuan task ahead; butwe were undaunted in our spiritto put-together a plan that wouldmake a long lasting difference inthe lives of those financiallychallenged villagers. So we hadto consider plan B. There isanother lake, not very from theoxbow lake that I just talkedabout, which is already in fishproduction. This (latter) lake canbe leased from a local socio-cultural body for about 80,000rupees a year. Reportedly, thislake is so rich in fish populationthat, even after all the expensesfor its maintenance are paid off,

the owners will be able to save over a lakh of rupees. This money can then beinvested on clearing up the other lake and if things work as per plan, the oxbowlake will be ready for full-fledged fish farming in couple of years providing thevillagers with a descent and permanent source of livelihood. So the current planis to loan the flood relief money to the cooperative society that will buy the leaseof this lake for a year.The beauty of this alternative plan lies in that once this group of villagers issecured with a sustained income, the original pool of money can then be recycledfor similar productive projects in other areas. When the dream of these villagerswill come to a reality, this project will be a tremendous source of inspirations tothe NRI Assamese, who contributed to it and Assam Society of America, whichis implementing the project on their behalf - to forage similar projects in future.

Assam Society of America takes this opportunity to extend its sincere thanks toPuran Sharma, Sanjib Bhuyan, Pallav Bordoloi and Jukti Kalita, who earlierorganized the Flood Relief Concert in Franklin Park of New Jersey. ASA willalso remain grateful to Amiya Sharma who is overseeing the work in Assam onbehalf of the society and IIRM, an NGO, which is giving a helping hand with thefinancial transactions.

(In the photograph: ASA representative Prakash Deka hands over the flood reliefmoney to Siba Deka, the president of the Samabay Samiti. Also seen in thepicture are: other members of the samiti, Tapan Pathak, the secretary (3rd fromleft), Amiya Sharma of NEDFi in “Phulam Gamocha” and Nandini Hazarika(extreme right), a Fulbright scholar and Executive Director, ECO Systems,India.)

By Prakash Deka, New Jersey

ASA Delivers Project HopeDURING 2004, ASSAM SOCIETYof America collected money for acharitable project titled “ProjectHope”. Details of the project wherepublished in a previous issue of the

ASA Newsletter. ASA decided thatProject Hope would provide moneyfor the Dining Hall of B.D. Deaf andDumb School , Kahi l ipara ,Guwahati. The school, theoretically

is supported bythe Governmento f A s s a m ,a l though no tmuch financialhelp has comef r o m t h eGovernment inrecent years. Thestudents in thisschool are allbright, energeticand driven. But,God has dealththem a rough deal,and in a place likeA s s a m , i tbecomes a stigmaif one is disabledin any physicalmanner.

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Sometimes, even parents andrelatives abandon such children. Aninstitution such as the B.D. Deaf andDumb School is engaged in a noblemission dedicating itself to theeducation and general upliftment ofa segment of society that is almostinvisible in public life. This is thefirst phase of Project Hope. In the

second phase, ASA intends to raisemoney to work with the Deaf andDumb School in Barhampur,Nagaon. If you would like to helpbuying things that can be used inday-to-day life, please contact SanjibBhuyan, President of ASA.

(In the photograph: ASArepresentative Prakash Dekahands over the check ($1000.00)to Ms. Indrani Lekharu, thepresident of Padmini Sangha)

By Prakash Deka, New Jersey

Search for the Assamese 1837 Bible at the Harvard LibraryON SUNDAY (FEB 7TH, 2005)Priyankoo-da (Sarma), a graduatestudent of Linguistics at theUniversity of Florida, sent out anemail on the AssamNet requestinginformation about the oldestAssamese Bible, which he neededfor his research work. I recollectedanother discussion, long ago, on theforum, about one of the oldestpublications in Assamese languagebeing the Bible. I was sitting insidethe Harvard library and decided tocheck out its availablity within thelibrary. Harvard is reputed topossess various rare documents. Thiswas the moment to find somethingof interest to many Assamesepeople.

The very first search on the HOLLISCatalog search revealed 8 bibles inAssamese language. The oldest wasthe one published in 1837.

I copied the details on the reply-email to Priyankoo-da andAssamNet . Subsequently, Jugal-da(Kalita) suggested the use of theinter-library loan facility andAlpanaji (Sarangpani) also found thebook in Libary of Congresscatalogue, as she mentioned in heremail message to the group. Eagernot be left out of the goldenopportunity to utlize the Universityresources at Harvard, I offered tosend scanned copies or photocopiesof the book to all interestedmembers of the AssamNet.

HOLLIS catalog had shown thebook to be available in WidenerLibrary - the oldest (perhaps) andthe most prest igious andaristocratically designed library at

Harvard .For the book theinstruction was to inquire at thecirculation desk - which I did onTuesday Feb 8th , at 3pm, aftercompleting my part time job in theConservation Department ofWidener Library. I was told that thebook is kept in a vault outside thelibrary building and has to berequested, online, for viewing. Thebook would then be brought to thelibrary. The circulation deskmanager, very helpfully helped me

in requesting the book's delivery. Ihad to feed in my Harvard ID andPIN number to order for it onlineand was informed that it would beavailable the next day at 3 pm forviewing the Phillips Reading Room.Most likely, I would not be able totake it outside the room, the deskmanager informed.

The next day, I checked with thecomputer lab attendents at Gutmanlibrary , in the Harvard School ofEducation , where I am based. Theyinformed that there were plenty ofscanners available for my use.Armed with this knowledge andafter receiving an email from theWidener library that the book wasnow available for my use in thePhilips Reading Room I went there.

I wanted to scan the originaldocument, to preserve its authenticlooks, yellow pages, grey cover etc.,but I was informed that at Widenerno scanners were available forstudent use. They suggested I checkwith the microfilm department or theconservation department (in thebasement, where I worked and hadelectronic access system; entry to itis restricted). Neither had a scannerfor digitization it directly it seemed,except for micorfiliming it first andthen digitizing it.Ms Ethel Hellman(my boss) at the Conservationdepartment, an expert in handlingold documents exclaimed that itcannot be scanned at all or evenphotocopied (without a specializedmachine)- since it cannot beflattened without damaging thepages. I requested her to try withoutflattening it. The first page turnedout all right. She insisted on doing

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the photocopies herself to avoiddamaging the book (I am grateful toher for that help). In no time all thepages were copied and the bookback with with the Reading Roomstaff.

That evening I went to the Gutmanlibrary and with the help of thestudent-employee I managed to getthe scanning done - though eachpage was well above 1MB spaceeven with PDF format. So I savedeach page (or two ) in a separate file,which made it easier to send them asemail attachments. Late that night(Feb9th) I emailed the scannedpages in 3 emails to Priyankoo-daand all members of the AssamNetwho had

requested for a copy. I had to send in3 emails because the total memoryspace used by the scanned pages wasabout 15MB.

The details of the book are givenbelow.

The Book: The Bible. N.T. Matthewv-vii. Assamese. 1837.:The Title: Sermon on the mount - inÁsámese. Yéshu Khrístor - úpadehorkothá.; From Dr. Carey’s translationwith alterations., Sad'iya: Printed atthe American Baptist Mission Press,1837Year acquired by HarvardUniversity: 1848Dimensions: 6 inches by 9 inchesAppearance: Greyish cover,yellowish, brittle pages, but intact.

Language: Assamese words writtenin English alphabetsScript: Roman alphabets (English)Binding: From the side thus pagescould not be flattened on the scanneror photocopier - to take photocopies or do scanning.Pages: 16 plus coverNOTE: It was kept in a thick,white,"acid free" envelope

If anyone else needs a copy, pleasecontact Jugal-da (jkalita@uccs.edu)o r e m a i l m e a tjaipurschool@yahoo.com.

By Umesh Sharma. Umesh is anM.Ed student at Harvard University,Graduate School of EducationCambridge , MA 02138

Xattriya for Tsunami ReliefTHERE WAS A BEAUTIFULperformance of Xattriya in Denver,Colorado, by Bonmayuri Kalita andher students on the 30th of January,Sunday. Bonmayuri and 7 of herstudents, some as young as 6,performed beautifully for about 15minutes in the Gates Concert Hall onthe University of Denver campus. Itwas one of the best performances ofthe night. It was a fundraising eventorgan ized by the As ianCommunities of Colorado. About16,000 dollars were raised.Participants included IndianCommunity of Colorado Springs,Denver Thai Lions Club, AssameseAssociation of Colorado, GamelanTunas Mekar (Irian Jaya, Indonesia),Tamil Association of Colorado, TheNorth Sumatra Vocal Group, KeralaAssociation of Colorado, Sri LankaAssociation of Colorado, ColoradoTelugu Association, Mudra DanceStudio and the Rebecca DenglerGroup from West Sumatra.

Pictures or audio or video recordingswere not allowed inside theauditorium during the performances.

There was a brief video clip of allthe varied performances along with alittle bit of Xattriya in a CBS

Channel 4 news report in Denver onSunday, January 30.

The accompanying photographshows the younger dancers rightbefore the performance. Thephotographed dancers are ArushiRaval, Kuhu Basak, DevyankaGupta, Tia Basak and Vanika Hans(from left to right). Three adultdancers not included are MaryBrehm, Sandhya Pejathaya andBonmayuri Kalita. No photographs

where permitted inside theauditorium.

Bonmayuri teaches Xattriya andBharatnatyam to about 30 studentsin Colorado. Bonmayuri and othersare doing their bit to spread thebeauty of Xattriya dance to theworld. Let's congratulate them onthis noble endeavor.

By Jugal Kalita, Colorado SpringsColorado

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Mechanization Strategies for Agriculture in Assam

THE LOWER LEVEL OFagricultural mechanization in Assamis one of the reasons of the loweragricultural productivity of the state(grain equivalent yield of Assam isonly 1.61 t/ha in comparison to 5.26t/ha in Punjab). Compared to thenational level, the agriculturalmechanization scenario in Assam isstill in its infancy. The tractorpopulation in Assam is only 2 perthousand hectares as against 82.5 per

thousand hectares for Punjab and12.2 per thousand hectares in Indiaas a whole (based on assessment inthe year 2000). It has been provedwithout any doubt that appropriatea g r i c u l t u r a l m e c h a n i z a t i o nprogramme ensures increase in landproductivity by maintainingtimeliness of operations and also byincreasing the labour productivity.

Small and fragmented landholdings (more than 80% farmholdings are owned by small andmarginal farmers with averageholding size of 1.6 ha) anddominancy of animate sources offarm power (more than 85% of thefarm power is contributed by humanand animal sources of farm power)

are two characteristic features ofAssam agriculture affecting the farmmechanization. In addition to theabove distinguishing features ofAssam agriculture, the soil, climateand anthropometrics of humanand animal of this region are alsodifferent from the rest of thecountry. Therefore, the technologyfor agricultural mechanizationprevalent in other regions cannot bedirectly adopted in this region.

Modification of the technologysuiting to the agro-climatic,anthropometrics as well as socio-economic conditions of the statebacked by appropriate research anddevelopment programme can onlyp r o m o t e t h e a g r i c u l t u r a lmechanization in Assam. Keepingin view of the above some of the keyissues, which need to be addressedfor appropriate mechanization, arelisted below:

™ Increase the utilizationefficiency of existing animalpower by providing matchingimproved an imal d rawnimplements for critical farmoperations.

™ Introduction of mechanicalpower sources (tractor & powertiller, stationary engine) under twospecific cases viz. (i) largecategory of farms and (ii) othercategories of farms to supplementthe animal power in “time-critical” farm operations. Theintroduction of improvedmachinery for major farmoperations viz. tillage, irrigation,inter-culturing, harvest ing,threshing will economize the useof power sources by increasing theyearly use.™ In order to address theexisting problems (many of whichhave its root in poor socio-economic condi t ion andunemployment) of the state, theagricul tural mechanizat ionstrategy should be targeted toenhance employment opportunityin addition to maintain timelinessof farm operation and reduction ofdrudgery of farm operations. Thelocal manufacturing facility offarm implements is to bedeveloped. The appropriatenesswill also be ensured if implementsare manufactured local lyconsidering the local factors inaddition to increasing thee m p l o y m e n t o p p o r t u n i t y .Employment opportunity will alsoincrease, as the mechanizationp r o g r a m m e s h o u l d b eappropriately backed up bytechnical personals.

By D C Baruah. Dr. Deben Baruahis an Associate Professor in AssamAgricultural University, Jorhat,Assam).

The photograph shows that there isscope for mechanizing selectivefarm operations: view of a paddyfarm using self propelled paddytransplanter at Jorhat.

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Flood Control in Assam- Task Force Recommendations

ANYONE EXPECTING FRESHzIDEAS about flood control inAssam from the Task Force that wasset up by the Prime Minister of Indialast summer, has reasons to bedisappointed after reading therecent report in the media (TheAssam Tribune, dated Jan 20,2005)about its recommendations. Onemay recall that the Prime Minister,Dr. Manmohan Singh, during hisNovember 2004 visit to Guwahati,promised to make floods “a thing ofthe past.” Sadly, the reportedrecommendations will in no way gofar enough in achieving that goal. Atbest they will maintain a status quoat least up to the end of the 11th plan(Year 2012) and perhapsindefinitely. Whereas a bold andvisionary approach was expected fora lasting solution of theextraordinary problem of flooding inAssam, the Task Force’s mindsetthwarts creativity and acceptsbusiness as usual. Once again, thepeople of Assam are about to be ledthrough an illusive path with no endto misery due to perennial flooding.

One should not doubt that theproblem of flooding in Assam is anextraordinary one, and its solutionnaturally requires extraordinarymeasures and not a disappointingrun-of-the mill approach. Thesolution cannot be anything short ofan integrated, comprehensive, andrevolutionary concept in view of thenature of the most rain-soakedBrahmaputra River basin. It is notgoing to be easy nor is it going to becheap, but the alternative isessentially a condemnation of theAssamese people to a miserable lifeof “living with flood.” One mustunderstand that floods in Assam cannever be completely eliminated;however, it can be mitigated to avoiddestructive consequences. Eventhen, the problem is of giganticproportions given the reality of apeak discharge of 2.6 million cusecin the Brahmaputra river at Panduand its inadequate carrying capacity

along its course in Assam. Some ofits tributaries may even be banklessat certain places resulting inwidespread monsoon flooding. TheBrahmaputra river has the highestspecific yield (3.3 cusec per squaremile) among all the mighty rivers ofthe world including the Yangtse,Mississippi, and the Ganges.

What we see in the reportedrecommendations is a rehash of anold approach without any serioussizing of the problem and withoutevolving a consistent stratagembased on an incisive expertengineering exploration anddeliberation. It was an opportunityfor the Task Force to convince theGOI with a viable, strong, andcomprehensive long term solution,but the Task Force has contenteditself with a timid and myopic view.There must be a vision to achievethe desired goal lest the people ofAssam are subjected to a century ofmisery due to the ravaging effects offloods. Authorities should beundaunted by the enormity of theproblem and aim to realize what isdesired. Lecturing the poor suffererswho are mostly villagers to adjust tofloods is a sign of a defeatistmentality and an antithesis to theprofound responsibility of thegovernment to the people whom itrepresents.

"The difficulty of the task is noreason for avoiding it," so said Mr.George W. Bush in another context

recently in his inaugural address forthe second term as the president ofthe United States. Whether onesupports Mr. Bush politically or not,this profound statement is applicableto how one views the solution ofAssam’s flood problem. Accordingto media report, the Task Force hasrecommended spending $860 croresfor short term flood controlmeasures. It is an illusion to thinkthat a mere Rs.860 crores will solvethe flood problem in Assam.Compare that with Rs. 5,000 croresfor Siang Middle( Syom) HEP, Rs.560,000 crores for the controversialriver-linking project , Rs. 300 croresfor a hospital in Guwahati andRs.600 crores (US$136 million) fordeepening the Columbia River threefeet for a stretch of approximately103 miles. It is difficult to get anysense out of the estimate for floodcontrol in Assam.

The Task Force is making a pitch fornothing more than a stop gap, band-aid type of approach towards solvingAssam’s flood problem This is notto say that the recommendeds t reng then ing o f ex i s t ingembankments and construction ofelevated platforms for shelter neednot be done, however, embankmentsalone cannot tame flooding in anyreliable way as the history of the lastfifty years of building more than4,000 km of embankment in Assamhas shown, not to mention theiradverse effects. Setting up warningsystems is also extremely desirableand a worthy recommendation. Whatis needed most, however, is acomprehensive, multi-prongedattack on the problem leaving nostone unturned to have a meaningfuland lasting flood control in Assam.The Task Force has negated thedredging of the Brahmaputra river asunpractical. “Unpractical”and“living with flood” seem to be in thelexicon of a few in the waterresource establishment in India, butit is time for Assam to rise above

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that mindset because no one elsefaces a problem as serious. It isessential that dredging should alsobe factored into the equation forflood control solution. Beginning inthe summer of 2005, part of theColumbia River in Oregon andWashington states of the USA willbe dredged for a 165- km-longstretch at a cost of $136 million. It isa 1200 mile river going throughseven states in the USA and oneCanadian province. The ColumbiaRiver drains a 259,000-square-milebasin. The dredging will deepen theriver bed to 43 feet from the current40 feet. It is estimated that 1.5million truckloads of dredgedmaterial will be removed from thebed. The stretch of the BrahmaputraRiver from Dibrugarh to Dhubri isabout 644 km long. The author useda simple EXCEL spread sheetcomputation to conclude that todredge a one mile stretch of theBrahmaputra for one foot reductionof high stage at Pandu, wouldrequire approximately 100,000 (onehundred thousand) truckloads ofmaterial to be removed. Is thatunpractical? I certainly don’t thinkso. For dredging to be successful,there must be a corruption freeadministration of the project. I knowthat is a challenge given the existingsocio-political climate, but Assammust be able to take that challenge.

People have the wrong notions aboutdredging on both sides- pro and con.Awhile ago it was reported in theAssam media that in 1978 AssamGovernment bought a single dredgerto do the dredging job. It is not just amatter of buying one dredger. It is amammoth task that has to beplanned and executed carefully. It is,therefore, not surprising that it was afutile effort. Those who think it isjust a matter of digging and puttingthe material on the banks are alsomistaken for the fact that thematerial will soon find its way to theriver bed again. Therefore, a creativesolution will have to be sought forproper disposal. Systematic disposalto create two elevated highways andhigh grounds on the north and southbanks of the Brahmaputra in parallelis one idea of mine. Other ideas willbe out there. But they have to bejudged on technical and other meritsto come to a consensus among theexperts. No such exercise has beenperformed to my knowledge. Asolution will only come throughserious brainstorming among thewater resource experts perhaps in along organized retreat. A few weeksago, I wrote about this elsewhere tosuggest that the government shouldimmediately institute a “think tank”to arrive at a concept in a time-bound manner. It will certainly beworth it.

The Task Force has alsorecommended building dams in theupper reaches of the Brahmaputrariver; in fact, there are already plansto build a cluster of five dams onSiang (Dihang) and Subansirialready. But they are not going tomake a dent in controlling floods,reducing only a meter or so of floodlevel downstream in the river. Theyare also controversial and in thisauthor’s opinion, very unwise inview of the extremely highseismicity of the region.

In summary, the recommendationsof the Task Force are inadequate,and they should revisit the wholeissue again in view of acomprehensive and lasting solutionof the gigantic flood problem inAssam. Twenty three years haveelapsed since the Brahmaputra FloodControl Board was instituted by noless an august body than theparliament of India, but the severityof flood sustains even today. It’stime for deep soul searching and anearnest attempt to control flooding inAssam with commitment ofresources and will.

By Dr. Umesh C. Tahbildar,Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The ASA Newsletter is published monthly. Sanjib Bhuyan, NJ, on behalf of Assam Society of America, has publishedthis issue of ASA newsletter. The editors are Satyam Bhuyan (Ames, Iowa), Ganesh Bora (Manhattan, Kansas), BabulGogoi (New Delhi, India), Jugal Kalita (Colorado Springs, Colorado, Editor-In-Chief), Symanta Saikia (Wichita,Kansas), Santonu Goswami (El Paso, Texas), Vavani Sarmah (Secane, Pennsylvania), Ujjal Pathak (Baton Rouge,Louisiana), Rini Kakati (London, UK), Umesh Sharma (Cambridge, Massachusetts), and Ram Sarangapani (Houston,Texas). The ASA Executive Committee is composed of Sanjib Bhuyan, President (Franklin Park, New Jersey), UtpalBrahma, Vice President (Burlington, New Jersey), Ganesh Bora, General Secretary (Manhattan, Kansas), ProbalTabhildar (Kendall Park, New Jersey), Mantu Baishya (Omaha, Nebraska), Kedar Bhuyan (Mays Landing, NewJersey), and Sangeeta Duorah (California).

We invite contributors from all over the world. We appreciate your valuable feedback, comments & suggestions, andof course, news from your part of the world for inclusion in the coming editions. Please send your writtencontributions to asanewsletter@yahoo.com. If you prefer, you can send your contributions directly to any of theeditors listed above as well. Any contribution must be 750 words or shorter in length. Please include a scanned imageof the author. We also request you to submit other pertinent photographs if possible.

The Publicationof

This Issueof

The Assam Society of America Newsletteris Supported by a Generous Monetary Donation from

Jukti and Suravi Kalitaof Kendal Park

New Jersey

If you would like to sponsor an issue of the newsletter, please contact Sanjib Bhuyan, AssamSociety of America President at sanbhu03@yahoo.com. The society’s Web site is located ath t t p : / / w w w . a s s a m s o c i e t y . o r g . Please look out for another upcoming Web sitehttp://www.assamfound.org.

Assam Society of AmericaPO Box 254Mays Landing, NJ 08330USA

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