Skip to content Skip to navigation

Unemloyment in Assam and ULFA

Unemployment is a burning problem in the country and Assam is no exception. The ever growing population has made it extremely difficult for the government to provide jobs for every educated youth. Educated unemployed are rapidly flooding the state. Government jobs have become a pipe dream. Here arises the need of introducing vocational training courses in our syllabi from an early stage in schools itself which will help the youth to be self sufficient rather than awaiting for that coveted dream job.

Unlike other states the Northeast and Assam in particular has been deprived of private companies and Multi national Companies who shy away from investing in the region due to extremism. For the proscribed ULFA’s questionable activities have left no room for private investments by any companies in the state. Extortion, kidnappings, bomb blasts are not exactly conducive for industrialization or any progressive work. The perfunctory tug of war between the government and the ULFA has in turn victimized the local youth and deprived them of a secure future. If such a trend continues for long then those few companies that have braved the hostile conditions will ultimately be forced to relocate and further aggravate the unemployment problem.

Albeit population explosion is another major factor for unemployment but terrorism is a direct cause for this growing problem and vice versa. For lack of jobs push the youth to join extremist groups to earn a fast buck which in turn act as deterrent to employment avenues.

There are over 15 lakh unemployed in the state. According to the state’s latest economic survey report the number of unemployed per 1,000 people in Assam is 21 in the rural areas against 5 persons at the All India level. Similarly the number of unemployed per 1,000 people in urban areas in the state is 20 against 14 people at an all India level. The government is not sitting idle but has given serious thought to curb this problem which is also the prime cause of insurgency. The government is allegedly going to implement a Rs 11 crore job generation scheme aimed at minimizing the problem. The scheme is said to be formulated on the lines of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan.

We Indians play the blame game really well for whenever things go awry we conveniently blame the next person in this case government. Extremism is definitely a major deterrent but it is not the end of the world.

The social scenario in Assam is a volatile one at least it appears to be so to people in the heartland of our country. The media too is agog with reports of violence and mayhem giving the impression of a prevailing tension in the region as a result of which investments in the region are sparse and far between.

Therefore in such a catch 22 situation the youth can take up self employment avenues such as start small scale industries or take up sericulture, pisiculture, weaving etc. The options are many but there is a dearth of proper vision and attitude among our youth. The Banks are always there to fall back upon provided one is armed with a little patience and forbearance.

Sadly a small step forward proves to be futile when insurgent factors destabilize the development process and take us four steps backwards. The recent kidnapping and subsequent killing of FCI official PC Ram is a dastardly act that should be condemned by all. Such incidents push Assam further into the labyrinths of underdevelopment and the wheel of progress comes to a standstill.

Rituparna Goswami Pandey

Comments

mitu's picture

Good insight into the actual problem. When would Assam solve unemployment

Pages

Add new comment

Other Contents by Author

Hundreds of uncounted ballot papers are being found outside the Panchayat Election Counting centre at Dhemaji Deputy Commissioner's office premises at Dhemaji on 30-01-08 showing great concern over the Panchayat Election counting.Pix by UB Photos.
More than one hundred Adivasi people rushed to Guwahati on Wednesday to depose before the Justicer Manisana panel probing the Beltola incident but the chairman invited three of them to brief the infamous violence. Led by AASAA, these Adivasi people hold a rally in front of the Commission office demanding an impartial enquiry into the violence. Mostly, of them came from Kokrajhar, Udalguri and Nagrijuli. Those three who deposing before the commission were Lakhi Orang Ramsingh Tappu and Agtha Kerkata. On Tuesday former Kamrup Deputy Commissioner Avinash Joshi, magistrate C K Bhuyan deposed before the commission.
Despite a chilly Wednesday, the North East Games gets underway at a colourful fuction organised at the Sarusajai Sports Complex where Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi took salute of the march pass by the eight north eastern state teams. Sports Authority of India director Ratan P Watal attended the meeting as the guest of honour. As many as 2000 sports men are participating in the event to be concluded on February 2. The inauguration of the entire event was marked by a colourful march pass participated by the eight north eastern states. Altogether 240 players are from Manipur while Meghalaya has 224 players. It is followed by 175 sportsmen from Mizoram. Nagaland had 146 players while Sikkim...
Six people died and 38 others have been injured at a road mishap which took place on late Tuesday morning in Numaligarh near Babathan. According to information, a 609 bus bearing No. As-02-9791 from coming Lakhipur, Kaziranga on its way to Deopani Than in Karbi Anglong district fell down on the gorge. Five people died on the spot including the driver Reba Gogoi while one more died on the way to the Guwahati medical College Hospital. Other seriously injured people are under going treatment at the VKNRL Hospital. Some of the critically injured people have been rushed to the Golaghat Civil Hospital.
Eleven passengers were killed when a Guwahati-Silchar bus skidded off the road and fell into a over 100-metre-deep gorge near Mawryngkneng, about 40 km from Shillong, in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya on Wednesday morning. According to information, there were 40 passengers in the Assam State Transport Corporation bus and most of them escaped with minor injuries. The injured people have been taken to the hospital.
Situation in the city’s Betkuchi area is still tense 15 hours after the killing of a former NDFB cadre..According to information, the incident took place at when three unidentified youths fired at the courtyard of his residence. The deceased was identified as Gambaru Basumatary. He died on way to hospital. Immediately after the incident, the miscreants left the scene. The police officials later came and the investigation is going on.
Ten people were left dead and more than thirteen injured when a Tata Safari has a head on collision with a truck in Sonitpur district’s Santipur Tiniali near Dhekiajuli on Wednesday morning. The deceased include six women. Local people have rushed the injure people to the Tezpur kanaklata Civil Hospital. According to information, the incident took place while the Tata Safari bearing no AS01 X8676 coming from Dhekiajuli Moroni gaon had a head on collision with a truck AS 14C0334 on its way from Moran to Guwahati. All these ten people died on the spot. The deceased were identified as Basanti Boro, Rupeswari Boro, Jora Boro, Miloni Boro, Dhanjit Boro, Robindra Boro, Babul Chetri, Tilok...
The Congress is heading for a landslide victory in the overall scenario even as the ruling party is losing support in some of its strongholds. In Tinsukia, Sivasagar, Sonitpur and Dhubri the party is showing excellent performance while the Asom Gana Parishad is also improving its performance in some places. The counting of votes are still going on. According to state election commission information, the counting will be over by Wednesday as there was no use of electronic voting machines this time. Meanwhile, jubilation is there among the wining candidates and their supporters. There is report that a counting officer died of stroke at the Gordon High Secondary School in Nalbari in the...
The ruling party is set to scale a major victory in the panchayat polls towards the end of the vote counting on Tuesday. Congress is followed by the main opposition Asom Gana Parishad in most of the districts while BJP is brightening its prospect only in Dibrugarh district. The counting of votes in Jorhat district has ended at 11 in the morning. The ruling party has won 85 gaon panchayat presidents, 648 gaon panchayat memberships and 84 block level seats. The opposition AGP trailed behind Congress with 20 seats in gaon panchayat presidentship seats, 269 gaon panchayat memberships. The counting has ended also in Majuli and Kamrup metro, where Congress is enjoying a landslide victory. The...
Congress is moving neck and neck with the opposition Asom Gana Parishad in the initial trend of the counting of votes that has begun in the morning on Monday. In Guwahati rural, AGP is leading over the ruling party while the AGP trailing behind the Congress by 10 seats in Dibrugarh district. In Jorhat also, the ruling party is trailing behind the opposition by one seat. Counting of votes has been delayed in Darrang district by three hours. Nalbari too delayed the counting of votes followed by police lathicharge outside the counting stations.