I AND MY WORDS

Srimanta Sankaradeva, a Beacon of Assamese Culture (Courtesy: Wikipedia) As the year 2020 starts, Assam continues to debate issues that have refused to die for decades now. This is not to undermine the seriousness of the issues – illegal immigration is certainly a big problem and a national security concern for us. However, the paradigm of the discussion often takes into itself the discussion of Assamese identity, the native vs outsider narrative, and the demographic sensitivities all wrapped in one. This has hampered a fair dialogue and introspection in general on the issues that Assam faces, and the state has certainly lost out in the face of fresh ideas, with a sense of stagnation setting in the state and its people’s discourse. Given this situation, perhaps it is important that one looks into the complex issues of identity, origin and clashes on the subject at large. One important reason for me writing this multi part piece is my belief that sometimes an outsider’s pe...

The Buck Stops With the Duo (Courtesy: Bloombergquint) The fracas in Maharashtra notwithstanding, things are at a critical juncture with respect to the economic scenario. Not undertaking critical labour and land reforms in the previous terms of course have contributed; however, the lack of steps is not really the problem right now. The real problem at this stage is a dampened sentiment about the state of the Indian economy. This sentiment has essentially been harmed by a handful of reasons that are not being addressed suitably: GST – yes, it is proving to be a dampener. While I had back then too stated that its benefits were being overstated, the GST mechanism per se needs fixation. While tax collection is immediate and even before payments are received by the suppliers of goods and services, the input credit necessary to keep many businesses afloat and flush with working capital is taking unduly long. Steps have been announced to attempt tax reform; however, this step is y...