Pragyan - March, 2012

00 Editorial
01 EditorsMailBox
02 CampusUpdate...................................................................../SurjyaChutia
04 AcademicWorldAround
06 Panorama
Personality
09 Dr.PrabhakaranandhisSociety......................./Dr.PurnenduShekharDas
Exam & Education
12 | ............../ : +; : +
14 WhatdoweExpectfromTeachers........................................../BiplabBanik
15 ImprovingStudents'AchievementinMathematics.................../DipenSaikia
18 KnowledgeandSkillAcquisition............................................../LeenaDutta
Career
21 NotesforFreshers-V............................................................/PrasantaBora
25 CareerinMediaAnthropology........................................../Dr.PradeepNair
28 India'sRuralInventorsDriveChange....................................../RajaMurthy
Science & Tech.
30 AnAnecdoteConcerningLeftoversItems........./Dr.ParthankarChowdhury
33 HazardsinMining................................................................../Dr.PulakDas
36 + + + ++ .............................../+ + +
Social Science
38 WitchHuntingASocialMalady................................./SangitaBhagawati
39 ProspectsofHandloomIndustryin......../Dr.SanjitaChetia&AlpanaBorah
43 GrowthandDevelopmentof...ABriefStudy........../SangeetaBoruahSaikia
50 MassMovementinTransition:............................................/BaikunthaDas
51 Consumer'sAwareness&RightProtection................/KaurangaBorgohain
Language & Literature
58 ABelovedDaughterofAssam:Writer,Peacemaker.........../AruniKashyap
60
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88 ExploringSpanishCulturein...Lorca'sPoetry................./HasnahanaGogoi
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Students Column
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100 WhatisLove........................................................................./N.Sundaresan
102 EnglishPoetsandPoems:Anoverview.........................../RuksanaKhatun
104 : , + , |t | |
Patron : Dr. Bhuban Gogoi, the Principal, Tinsukia College
Chief Adviser : Someswar Hazarika, President, ACTA, Tinsukia College Unit
Advisers : Bantimala Devi and Rana K Changmai
Editor in Chief : Dr. Apurba Bhaskar Gogoi
Executive Editor : Sushanta Kar ; Editors : Deepika Bhattacharjee, Mayuri Sharma Baruah,
Manashi Rajkhowa, Nilimjyoti Senapati, Surjya Chutia, Boikuntha Das, Ram Naresh Das
Circulation Manager : Santanu Borah
Students Representatives : Roshan Gupta, (Magazine Secretaty, TCSU)
Published by : Secretary, Assam College Teachers Association (ACTA),
Tinsukia College Unit, Tinsukia College, Tinsukia - 786125
Contact : Web : http://sites.google.com/site/pragyan06now ;
Blog : http:pragyan06now.blogspot.com ; Cell : 9954226966
email : pragyan_tsc50@yahoo.co.in ; pragyan.tsc50@gmail.com
Printed at : The Assam Computers (Govt. app A Category Press), Tinsukia (Assam)
The Editorial Board of
Pragyan expresses gratitude
to all the writers of this
Issue for their invaluable
contribution to this issue. We
are looking forward for more
contributions in future.
] V l. lX l uc-lll M r.'
]
December, 2011 issue of Pragyan is quite informative and covers articles on Chemistry and Forestry...
its really nice reading...congrats to the editorial board.
Tanusree Sarker, Associate Proffesor,
Womens College, Tinsukia commented on Pragyan blog post.
On December '11 Issue
(Readers may choose whatever language they feel comfort to write in mailbox. But for better
communication we prefer English and Assamese. Editor.
]
1
Dr. Sitanath Lahkar Delivered the
Annual Departed Teachers Memorial Lecture
Surjya Chutia
A
ssam College Teachers
Association, Tinsukia College
Unit organises Annual Departed
Teachers Memorial Lecture regularly
in memory of the colleagues who died
either in service or after retirement. The
memorial lecture for the current year
was organised by the teachers unit on 4th
February 2012 at the college auditorium.
Dr. Sitanath Lahkar, the Principal in-
charge, Cotton College, Guwahati and
prominent dramatist, pioneer of the
movement of Street Play in Assam,
delivered a thought provoking lecture
on the topic Natak, Rajniti aru Uttor
Adhunik Darshan In his speech Dr.
Lahkar elaborately discussed each and
every aspect of dramatic performance
and how it is always infuenced by politics
and ruler. The lecture session was followed
by an interesting interaction session.
At the beginning of the session Mriganka
Choudhury, the general secretaryof the teachers
unit addressed the invited guests and resource
persons and extended a warm welcome into the
function as well as to the College. Then Dr. Bhuban
Gogoi, principal, Tinsukia College, kindled a
lamp in memory of the departed teachers and
it was followed by foral tribute to the departed
souls. The whole function was presided over by
Sri Someswar Hazarika, president of the teachers
unit
and anchored by
Rasmita Borkotoky,
Asst. Prof. Economics Dept.
The function ended with vote of thanks offered by
Dr. Bulbul Gogoi, assistant secretary of the unit.
The Career Counselling Cell (under
IQAC) of Tinsukia College organized a one day
workshop on drama in afternoon on 4th February
2012 where Dr. Sitanath Lahkar took part as the
key resource person. Apart from the teachers and
]
T
he Tinsukia college NCC (D Coy) unit is
one of the best NCC units under 10th Assam
Bn. NCC, Dibrugarh, which has both the Boys
and Girls wings. Apart from their participation
in various social work and NCC training Camps,
the Cadets of the unit take part regularly in the
Independence Day and Republic Day parades
organized centrally by the district authority of
Tinsukia. The Cadets of the unit performed well
in the last Republic Day parade on 26th January
2012, where the unit is adjudged the best unit in the
district and awarded the frst prize in its category.n
4
NCC Unit Adjudged the Best
2
A Talk on Future Prospects in Chemistry
3
students, many people associated with drama
participated in the workshop.
In the evening Samahar Natya Gosthi
Guwahati staged the play Kahaya Chandidaxe
at the College auditorium which was composed
and directed by Dr.Sitanath Lahkar. The members
of the Natya Gosthi impressed the audience with
their powerful performance.n
The Updater teaches Economics in the College
Tinsukia College won Dr Bipin Chetia Memorial Trophy
T
he department of Chemistry, Tinsukia College organised
an interaction programme on 2nd February 2012 among the
students. One ex-student of the department, Dr. Mukut Gohain,
presently working as a senior researcher at the University of
Freestate, Bloomfontein, South Africa took part in the interaction
session. Dr Gohain shared his feelings and experiences and recalled
his glorious experiences in the college during his time. He also delivered
a special talk on Future Prospects in Chemistry and gave some valuable
suggestions for the future betterment of the students. It is worth mentioning
that Dr. Gohain was awarded the young foreign researcher award by the Govt.
of Spain during his postdoctoral research at the University of Burgos, Spain.n
A
ssam College Teachers
Association (ACTA), Tinsukia Zone
has been organising various academic, sports and
cultural programmes and competitions amongst
the College teachers of Tinsukia district every
year since its inception.
This year Dr. Bipin Chetia Memorial
Inter-College Teachers cricket
match was organised by Tinsukia
Zone in collaboration with
Tinsukia College Teachers
Unit at Kachujan feld, Tinsukia
from 7
th
February 2012. The
inaugural match on 7th Feb was
played between Digboi College
Teachers team and Doomdooma
College Teachers team. The fnal
match was held between Tinsukia college
team and Digboi college team on 9
th
February and
the Tinsukia college team won the fnal game.
Sri Rajeev Mohan of Tisukia College team was
adjudged the man of the match and got the Baldev
Sharma memorial Trophy.n
]4
A
fve-days Farmers Training Programme
on Bio-diesel and its economic benefts
organized by the Department of Mechanical
Engineering of North Eastern Regional Institute
of Science and Technology (NERIST), Nirjuli,
Arunachal Pradesh concluded on 24th Janurary,
2012 Tuesday. 34 participants took part from the
State and neighboring region.
Taking part in the valedictory function Prof.
Dipankar Pal, Director of NERIST said that the
Bio-diesel from Jatropha is well established from
research to market. It is the high time to us to
switch over our dependency on fossil fuel to bio-
fuel and strengthen the countrys economy. He
further asserted that NERIST has been established
to produce technically suited manpower for the
development of North Eastern part of the country.
He recalled that it is their moral responsibility to
extend their knowledge and experience to the grass
root people of this region by various means like
man and machine. O. P. Mounglang, Manager of
NABARD Regional Offce at Itanagar attending the
function as special guest highlighted the NABARD
activities in this region and expressed his deep
satisfaction after getting more capricious feedback
from participants about the programme. He asked
the coordinators of the programme to submit
minimum four to fve proposals to the NABARD
Offce. The Chairman, Organising committee and
head of the mechanical engineering department
Dr. Asis Giri said there is enough scope for the
development of vegetable based seed plantation
like jatropha for the economic growth of the
agricultural sector and by this century India may
turn into global power house during presenting his
welcome address to the Guests.n[PEB]
NERIST, Nirjuli, Arunachal Pradesh
Farmers Training Programme at NERIST
T
he Volume III of Asomiya Jatiyo Abhidhan
was released in a function held at District
Library hall at Tinsukia on 29th January, 12.
Inaugurating the function organized for releasing
the volume, Dr Amarjyoti Chaudhury, of Tezpur
University stated that use of language should fow
like a river and as it collects water from both the
sides, similarly Assamese language must collect
the words or languages of all the tribes, caste,
creed of Assam so that it would help to create
Bor Asom.
He also congratulated the publisher of the
Asom Jatiyo Prakash, Jorhat
The Volume III of Asomiya Jatiyo Abhidhan was released at Tinsukia
]
dictionary, Asom Jatiyo Prakash (AJP) as a team
for its efforts to compile a dictionary refecting
the exact notion of Bor Asom. Dr Chaudhury
further added that it
was a remarkable day
in the history of not
only of the Assamese
literature but also for
the Assamese society
as well. Releasing
the dictionary in the
function, Dr Bhim Kt.
Baruah, Professor of
Dibrugarh University,
Deptt. of Assamese, stated that the book, third of
its series, would help the people of Assam to know
about Assamese literature in details in present day
context. He also suggested that the letters of both
of consonants and vowels that were not being in
use in day to day life should be obliterated.
The function that was presided over by
Dr Madan Sharma, Dept of Foreign Language,
Tezpur University, was organized jointly by the
All Assam Moran Students Union and All Assam
Muttock Students
Union under the
joint auspices
of Asom Jatiya
Shikhya Samanay
Parishad and Assam
College Teachers
A s s o c i a t i o n
(ACTA). It was
attended and
addressed by Dr
Naren Changmai, president, ACTA, Dr Mahendra
Hazarika, HS Kanoi College, Dibrugarh, Dr
Jogen Bora, president, AJSSP, Dr Amiya Pator,
president, Tiwa Sahitya Parishad and offce
bearers of many organizations of socio culture
and students. The meeting was conducted by Dr
Debobrata Sharma, secretary, AJSSP.n[PEB]
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(Contd. on Page 8)
]
I
t was only after Assam Bengal Navigations
success on the river Brahmaputra the company
extended its river cruises on the river Hugli (a
tributary of Ganges) in 2007, extending it to the
Ganges in 2010 attracting visitors from around
the Globe.
The Indo-British joint venture Assam Bengal
Navigation frst launched its operations in 2003
offering long-distance cruises on Brahmaputra in
Assam. In the beginning majority of the companys
clients were from Europe. In recent times clients
are coming from Australia, North America and
Japan as well. Assam Bengal Navigation has two
luxury river boats - the ABN Charaidew, and
ABN Sukapha. The Brahmaputra cruises are in
operation from end September till end of April and
the Hugli and Ganges cruises remain in operation
from July till end of April.
Still a nascent product in India, the many great
rivers of South India can be developed as important
destinations for river cruising in India. The sector
needs a lot of support from both central and state
governments and the travel trade fraternity. Help
from state Inland Water Transport departments and
the Inland Waterways Authority of India is crucial to
the success of any cruise operation.
Marketing the cruise experience to the right
audience is a key driver for the growth of river
cruising. While operating cruises on the rivers of
India it is important to understand, respect and
protect the fragile ecosystems that these river
systems support. The cruise operators should also
be careful while developing on-shore or river-
bank facilities. Too many river cruise vessels
plying on a river could have serious detrimental
effect in terms of marine life as well as the
on-shore destinations being visited by guests.
The company is also running a luxury eco-
resort called the Diphlu River Lodge in Kaziranga
National Park. The air-conditioned cottages built
on stilts have thatched verandahs and en-suite
bathrooms, directly overlook the river and the
National Park and can accommodate 24 guests.
This apart, it has also helped re-open the Manas
National Park by starting operations in the
Bansbari Lodge. Situated right at the entrance to
the park, the lodge has 16 twin-bedded rooms.n
http://www.expresstravelworld.com/201111/market10.shtml
River Cruise on Brahmaputra Turning to be a Popular Travel Option
7]
C
urrently, internet links to the state are
from Mumbai and Chennai international
gateways, which are linked to Assam through the
narrow Siliguri corridor. This leads to frequent
disruptions in IT connectivity in Assam and other
northeastern states. This has also deterred IT
companies from investing in the state.
During the 56th National Development
Council meeting, chaired by Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh in New Delhi recently the
Assam Government proposed the present
international internet connectivity from Cox
Bazar should be extended up to Guwahati as
the distance between the two places is only 480
km. According to the state government Internet
connectivity from Cox Bazar and Guwahati
could be easily linked through the Se-ME-WE-4
undersea cable station.
The government also proposed to set up
T
o keep the memories of Dr. Bhupen Hazarika
alive, the All Assam Gorkha Students Union
(AAGSU) appeals the Indian Gorkha population
and across the globe to call the black coloured
embossed spotted Vadgawley Gorkha hat worn
by Dr. Bhupen Hazarika for life time as Bhupen
Da Gorkha Topi henceforth to pay true homage
and tribute to the legend who for lifetime wore
this particular cap on head top. According to
AAGSU, Bhupenda was very closely associated
with the Gorkhas since his birth in 1926, at Sadiya
in Tinsukia district of Upper Assam and grew up
in Tezpur in todays Sonitpur dist., both Gorkha
populated region of Assam. He hugely adored
the Gorkhas and their
tradition and culture.
Thats why he always
wore the vadgawley
Gorkha Cap through
out his life and sang
songs Kopili
Noir parat
Gorkha Gabhoru
Joni.... on
seeing a Gorkha
damsel fetching
water in clay pots on the bank of
Kopili river in Assam.n [PEB]
an international internet gateway in Guwahati
for international internet connectivity from Cox
Bazar. A hub of the National Internet Exchange
of India (NIXI) should be set up in Guwahati to
strengthen internet service.
The state government is having a serious
thought on connectivity of all districts, subdivisions,
blocks and panchayats with high speed (100/1000
Mbps and above) links for faster connectivity so that
the general public beneft from internet connectivity.
During the 12th Plan, the approach of the
government would be to create capacities in terms
of skill building in IT and IT-enabled services
up to the block level by taking connectivity to
villages using a mix of various technologies,
creating the right internet communication
technology infrastructure for providing services
to the citizens and also attracting investment to
the state.n[PEB]
Gorkhas to call Vadgawley Gorkha cap as
Bhupen Da Gorkha Topi
Internet is going to make Assam Bangladesh Closer
The Rhythm of Colours Strengthen ties Between
Artists of Assam and Bangladesh
T
he Indian Council of Cultural Relation
and Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts Dhaka
had jointly organized an Art Exhibition called
the Rhythm of Colours at Srimanta Sankardev
Kalakshetra, Guwahati on 30th October11.
There were altogether 10 artists from Bangladesh,
]
including painter Qayyum Choudhury and
17 artists from Assam, who took part in the
exhibition. It ended on November 3rd, 2011.
Artists from
both sides were
unanimous that the
coming together of
the veterans would
go a long way
in fostering ties
between the two
countries.
While talking
with the media
painter Qayyum
Choudhury said
Culture is such a power sphere where people-
to-people relation can easily be strengthened. We
are very optimistic that the ongoing gathering
of artists from Bangladesh and Assam is a
step forward in strengthening our ties, Noted
Assamese art critic and writer Mousumi Kandali
also echoed the same sentiment. She said,There
is already a cultural link between Assam and
Bangladesh. The coming together of prominent
artists from Bangladesh has consolidated the link.
This is a great platform for exchange of ideas,
Participants hoped that in coming days there will
be more exchanges of artists between Assam and
Bangladesh.
It may be
mentioned here
that prior to this
exhibition at
Guwahati another
exhibition took
place at Dhaka in
May same year.
Artists from seven
northeastern states
exhibited their works
there. Common
landscapes and
vocabularies in Assam and Bangladesh has
further impressed the visiting of Bangladeshi
artists on prospect of strengthening of cultural
links between the two sides. The artist Nasim
Ahmed Nadvi made a poetic statement saying,
When I stood on the banks of Brahmaputra,
I felt like I am in my own country standing on
the banks of Padma. There are so many words
I came across in Assamese which are common
in Bangla. This only convinced me that we may
be politically divided, but not culturally.n[PEB]

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(Contd. from Page 5) Academic World Around
]
A
silent revolution has been going on in rural
Kerala for nearly a decade, liberating poor
women from a helpless existence, with the
successful implementation of the micro-credit
system of the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh,
founded by Dr. Mohammad Yunus, the Nobel
Laureate for Peace.
The scheme, implemented by SRI (Society
for Rural Improvement), founded by Dr. Prabhakar,
a colleague of Dr. Yunus, from Kollengode village,
has exploded the socio-economic myth that poor
rural women are not credit-worthy.
He left his cushy job in the U.S. and
decided to implement the micro-credit model of
Dr. Yunus. Before reaching Kollengode, he had
training stints under his mentor in Bangladesh in
1995. The society is serving more than 25,000
poor rural women in 1100 centres in Palakkad,
Thrissur, Alappuzha, Thiruvananthapuram,
Kollam and Malappuram districts in Kerala and
Coimbatore and Pollachi in Tamil Nadu, with a
loan disbursement of nearly Rs. 45 crores.
Sri Manikoth Puthiyaveedu Prabhakaran
was born on 25th June, 1942 at Kalliassery
in Kannur of Kerala. His father, Late K. P.
Shankaran Nambiar was a school science teacher,
retired as Head Master and his mother was Late
M. P. Meenakshi Amma, a very simple pious and
religious housewife.
Dr. Prabhakar, the ffth child among the
seven children of his parents, did his schooling
upto XII at Kannur and completed his UG
and PG standard of education in Pune. After
Post-Graduating in English Literature from the
University of Pune, India, Dr. Prabhakar was on
an expatriate teaching assignment at the Teachers
Service Commission and University of Nairobi,
Kenya. Then he went to University in California,
U.S.A. to do his Doctorate in English Literature,
and served as a Professor in California and
Washington, DC teaching English Literature and
Communication. He is a freelance writer, and
author of students aid Book of Grapes of Wrath
by the Nobel Laureate, John Steinbeck.
Dr. Prabhakar is a dual citizen (U.S.A. and
India), and a friend of Dr. Shashi Tharoor, (former
U. N. Under Secretary General).
Dr. Prabhakar was invited by Grameen Bank/
Trust, Bangladesh as a Consultant and Resource
person to give a presentation of his last ten years
experience in Kerala to an International audience
at the Micro-credit conference in Bangladesh. He
has also given a presentation at the World Bank,
Washington, D.C. about innovative micro-credit
system for poverty alleviation and empowerment
of poorest rural women. Dr. Prabhakar was
also invited to give a presentation about the
innovative Micro-credit and poverty alleviation
initiatives to the young IAS/IFS/IPS Offcers
at the prestigious Lal Bahadur Sashtri Academy
of Administration, Mussorie, India which trains
the Govt. Administrative, Diplomatic and Law
Dr. Purnendu Shekhar Das
]
Enforcement Offcers for the various Govt.
agencies, Foreign Missions etc. Dr. Prabhakar is
also a member of the Expert Committee for the
evaluation of the selected Research Proposals
on socio-economic development activities at
the CDS (Centre for Development Studies),
Trivandrum, Kerala, a Research Program on Local
Level Development. He has presented a Paper,
titled Poverty Alleviation & Micro-credit in the
Socio-cultural context of Kerala at the Third
National Meet on Micro-credit & NGOs at the
EDI (Entrepreneurship Development Institute of
India), Ahmedabad, India. Recently, Dr. Prabhakar
was invited to present a Paper titled, Risk Factors
in Micro-fnancing, during the International
conference at NIDM (National Institute for Disaster
Management), Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi, India.
This was the frst Paper of its kind in the feld of
Disaster Management.
It is amazing, but true in Kerala, a society
highly indoctrinated by the Leftist ideology, the
Grameen Banking System of Dr. Yunus has been
successfully replicated with modifcations, ten
years ago. Having trained under Nobel laureate
Mohammed Yunus of Bangladesh, Dr. Prabhakar
says when he came to his hometown Kalliassery in
Kannur with ideas about starting a similar centre
there, he was told that there is no such poverty there.
Finally, he chose Kollengode, egged on by
his kin, poet and writer, Iyyengode Sreedharan.
Kollengode is one of the most backward locations
in the District of Palakkad in the State of Kerala,
with poor basic infrastructure, stagnant economy,
daily wage earners, migrant labor population etc.
In the beginning, it was an uphill task as there was
a lot of scepticism. But the toil was worth the
effort. It was a different experience from working
in the U.S. for 22 years as a Professor of Literature
and Communication. SRI has been replicating the
concept, objectives and functions of the Grameen
Banking System with necessary modifcations and
innovative developments.
One of the secrets of success of SRI is
that, it does not believe in micro-managing the
benefciaries, but in monitoring and providing the
necessary capital, assistance, guidance, leadership
etc. SRI is also breeding a new generation of young
work force, by combining the positive elements of
the West and East, such as professionalism, work
ethics, customer service, transparency, productivity,
accountability etc., with awareness to human
labour, dignity to human beings and sensitivity
to socio economic and other conditions. Such a
new work force is trained how to balance our fscal
responsibility with a social consciousness. SRI is
in the process of building social assets along with
economic assets for the poor rural women. If we
go one step towards them, they will come ten steps
towards us. Here everyone becomes a winner.
During the last eleven years SRI has expanded
its clienteles base from 20 to 25000 benefciaries
(5000 Groups), spread over 1100 centers of
Kollengode, Vadavannur, Thattamanglam,
Vadakkanchery, Nemmara, Coyalmannam,
Palakkad, Cherpu, Cherthala Palakkad, Trivandrum
and Kollam Branches in the District of Palakkad,
Thrissur, Alapuzha, Trivandrum and Kollam
in Kerala State, and Pollachi & Coimbatore, in
the neighboring Tamil Nadu State with a loan
Disbursement of nearly 45 Crore Rupees. The
Benefciaries Savings generated is 9.5 Crores. About
99% of the funding is commercial loans from the
Banks. SRI is proud to announce its achievement
of fnancial viability and sustainability by prudently
managing the scarce resource available. The poor
rural women have exploded a socio-economic myth
that they are not credit-worthy with a repayment
record of almost 100%.
Along with weekly repayment, there is a
mandatory saving system to inculcate in the women
the habit of thrift and savings. In the beginning, the
loans are given exclusively to poor rural women
for economically viable and environmentally
sustainable income generating activities. Now
SRI is embarking on Micro-entrepreneurship,
such as Vanitha Canteen, Vanitha Grocery Store,
Ladies Sewing and Embroidery Center, Soap and
Detergent Unit etc. to enable the women to stand
on their own feet. Recently, the rural women of
SRI have embarked upon an innovative venture,
producing cups, plates, dishes etc. from Areca nut
leaves to save our environment from the menace of
plastic contamination. Areca nut leaves are clean,
durable, economic, re-usable and eco-friendly.
As about 15% of the women are engaged
in rearing milking animals, SRI is seriously
]
contemplating to organize an innovative WEDD
(Womens Empowerment through Dairy
Development), eventually to be owned and
operated by the women. SRI has been seeking the
earnest support of their friends in the unique multi
funding venture.
Unique features of society of SRI (Society
for Rural Improvement) are worth mentioning.
The loans are disbursed only to women. The
benefciaries are chosen regardless of their caste,
creed, religion or political affliation. Loans are
provided without any collateral, called moral
collateral. People are chosen based on the
fexible poverty criteria; such as location, poverty
level, income, property value, living standards,
availability of water, electricity etc., number of
members and minors in the family, alcoholics in
the family and sources of subsistence etc. Loans
are exclusively given for income generating
activities. The mode of repayment is small weekly
installments. The rate of repayment is almost
100%. Out of these weekly installments, a certain
amount is set apart as mandatory saving. SRI has
direct contact with the benefciaries. The women
are divided into groups, and repayment becomes
an individual, as well as collective responsibility.
The income generating activities can be chosen
by the benefciaries at their own will. Willing
lapse of repayment is discouraged. There is
no micro management but only monitoring
under the programme. Thus, group formation,
group dynamism, mutual understanding, trust
and assistance, human approach, dignity to the
individual, transparency in all operations, are its
salient features.
SRI (Society for Rural Improvement) lends
money only to women, since it is they who suffer
poverty more than men. They need alternative
sources to meet their requirements of small capital
for engaging in meaningful income generating
activities. It is a window of opportunity for
them. Given some opportunity to fght against
poverty and hunger, women turn out to be more
natural fghters than men. It has been proved that
poor rural women are credit worthy, have basic
entrepreneurial skills, honest and hard working.
They are more responsible and accountable than
their men. The poor rural women bear the brunt
of bringing up the family, especially raising up the
children. The economic empowerment in a woman
trickle down in a family, while a man does not
necessarily do so.
In the name of alleviation of poverty, we
have spent crores of rupees, millions of dollars,
created complicated bureacratic system, and
delivered colourful speeches in elegant style. But
the sad truth is that we have miserably failed to
solve the problems because we tried to impose
solutions from sky crappers in posh cities with
computer printouts. The well meaning plans never
reached the poorest and needy due to faulty design
and fawed implementation system. We never
consulted with people for whom the programs are
meant.
Our nationalized Banks are a classic case.
They have brilliantly created more than 6,000/-
billion rupees of NPAs (Non-performing Assets),
but they cannot provide a meager fund of few
lakhs to a genuine NGO for SHG development.
In the bureaucratic system we have to create
a new generation of work force by combining
the positive elements of the West and East, such
as responsibility, accountability, productivity,
customer service, result-orient approach etc.,
along with sensitivity and awareness to grass root
level needs, ground realities and above, all, human
needs with dignity. We have to create an innovative
and dynamic work force that can balance our fscal
responsibilities with a social consciousness.
What we need more than Five Year Plans,
multitude of Projects, some of which will never see
the light of the day, and colorful speeches in
elegant style, is a change of mind-set, and a
positive, productive, result-orient attitude and
pragmatic approach. From this perspective, I do
hope these efforts of SRI would sow the seed for
that mind-set, nurture it, germinate, and allow to
grow and blossom, culminating in rich fruits for
the beneft of SHG movement and womens
empowerment. Thus comments self dedicated
living legend Dr. Prabhakar.
Mother Teressa taught how to die with
dignity and Dr. Md. Yunus and Dr. Prabhakar have
been teaching us how to live with dignity.n
(The author is Vice Pricipal at Tinsukia Commerce College, Tinsukia)
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W
hat are the teachers motivations and
rewards ? Service to others, respect
from others, infuence over others, fnancial
wherewithal, security, opportunity for self-
improvement and research, social transformation-
these are some motives. And people who are
not in the teaching line may add comparatively
light work, long vacations and autonomy. The
teacher himself knows that his work consists
of intangible elements and therefore cannot be
measured in clock hours and must always be done
to do honour to a highly respected profession.
Rewards are mainly in the satisfaction of a good
job done, a real service rendered, the success of
students in examination and life) and the respect
of students and colleagues. Can one ask for
more? Financial gain and security are no longer
true because of sky-rocketing prices and taxes.
However all professions are affected by infation
and other problems. But we cannot aspire for a
greater reward than the appreciation of a grateful
student.
Swami Vivekananda suggested a signifcant
motive to all teachers. His exhortation was
Serve the children of the Lord, if you have that
privilege. If the lord grants that you can help any
of the children, you are blessed. Do it only as
worship.
( + + |+ )
Biplab Banik
]
Jesus went about the villages of Palestine
teaching love. Without even writing down a word
he exercised over the minds of people an infuence
that a library of books could not surpass.
The Vedas say Matru Devo Bhava, Pitru
Devo Bhava, Acharya Devo Bhava. The Mother,
the Father and the Teacher are given the highest
place in society. An American scholar who did
research taking a random sampling of 500 men
found that: Behind the greatness of every man there
should be one of the three factors.(1) the example
of a father,(2) the training of a mother and (3) the
inspiration of a teacher. Take the case of any great
person, one of these infuences will be seen.
1. Suchihi= External and Internal Cleanliness
(Character)
2. Vachaswi= Accurate and effective
expression; articulation.
3. Varchaswi= Bright countenance (good
personality)
4. Dhritiman = Brave and imperturbable
(moral courage)
5. Smiriman = Good memory
6. Kriti = Written work like books, articles
and research
7. Namratha = Humanity
8. Utsahi = Enthusiasm
9. Jijnasu = Eagerness to pursue knowledge
and wisdom at all times.
The Radhakrishnan Commission defned merit
as a combination of academic distinction,teaching
ability and leadership in students activities.
A good teacher always keeps himself up-to-date
in content and methodology. The good teacher will
not allow his personal problems to affect the quality
of his teaching. Insatiable thirst for knowledge has
always been associated with good teachers.
Vishnu Sarma, the author of Panchatantra used
to say, He is a poor teacher who could not teach
the dullest boy. If a pupil did not make good, the
discredit went not only to the pupil but also to the
teacher. This view is in consonance with the modern
educational theory. Any subject matter can be taught
to any person of any age in some form that is honest
(Jerome Bruner). There are no slow learners but
only slow teachers. (Benjamin Blossom)n
T
eachers want to teach to the best of their
ability. However, they often do not know
what changes will make a difference and rely
upon their own experience, using trial and error,
to make decisions about their teaching. Again,
to improve our students achievement, effective
teaching is the most important part. Effective
teaching behaviours are those teacher behaviours
(The author teaches Chemistry)
that lead to improve students achievement. Most
research studies pertaining to effective teaching
tend to look at one aspect of teaching, but a common
thread runs through many of the behaviours that
these studies have identifed as effective, and that
thread is students involvement. Thus, as teachers
seek to improve their teaching effectiveness by
changing their instructional practices, they should
Dipen Saikia
]
w Create a classroom learning context in
which students can construct meaning.
w Make explicit the connections between
mathematics and other subjects.
3. Learning new concepts and skills while
solving problems : Students can learn both
concepts and skills by solving problems.
There is evidence that students can learn
new skills and concepts while they are working
out solutions to problems. For students can learn
both concepts and skills by solving problems.
Development of more sophisticated mathematical
skills can also be approached by treating their
development as a problem for students to solve.
Teachers can use students informal and intuitive
knowledge in other areas to develop other useful
procedures.
4. Opportunities for both invention and practice:
Giving students both an opportunity to discover
and invent new knowledge and an opportunity to
practice what they have learned improve student
achievement.
In the classroom, a balance is needed
between the time students spend practising routine
procedures and the time which they devote to
inventing and discovering new ideas. Teachers need
not choose between these activities; indeed, they
must not make a choice if students are to develop
the mathematical power they need. Teachers must
strive to ensure that both activities are included in
appropriate proportions and in appropriate ways.
To increase opportunities for invention, teachers
should frequently use non-routine problems,
periodically introduce a lesson involving a new
skill by posing it as a problem to be solved, and
regularly allow students to build new knowledge
based on their intuitive knowledge and informal
procedures.
5. Openness to student solution methods and
student interaction : Teaching that incorporates
students intuitive solution methods can increase
student learning, especially when combined
with opportunities for student interaction and
discussion.
In the classroom teachers should concentrate
on providing opportunities for students to interact
in problem-rich situations. Besides providing
appropriate problem-rich situations, teachers must
carefully consider the teaching context, giving
special consideration to the types of students
they teach. Students' involvement indicates how
actively students are participating in the lesson
while it is taking place. Two important strategies,
which are often overlooked, that a teacher can use
to improve student involvement are: stating the
lesson objective in the introduction to the lesson,
and asking questions during the lesson. Here some
of the steps we have discussed below:
1. Opportunity to learn: The achievements of
the students bear directly and decisively on the
opportunities provided to the students.
The fndings about the relationship between
opportunity to learn and student achievement have
important implications for teachers. Teachers must
ensure that students are given the opportunity to
learn important content and skills. If students are
to compete effectively in a global, technologically
oriented society, they must be taught the
mathematical skills needed to do so. Thus, if problem
solving is essential, explicit attention must be given
to it on a regular and sustained basis. If we expect
students to develop number sense, it is important to
attend to mental computation and estimation as a
part of the curriculum. If proportional reasoning and
deductive reasoning are important, attention must be
given to them in the curriculum implemented in the
classroom. It is important to note that opportunity to
learn is related to equity issues. Some educational
practices differentially affect particular groups of
students opportunity to learn.
2. Focus on meaning: Focusing instruction
on the meaningful development of important
mathematical ideas increase the level of student
learning.
In the classroom, as might be expected,
the concept of teaching for meaning has varied
somewhat from study to study, and has evolved
over time. Teachers will want to consider how
various interpretations of this concept can be
incorporated into their classroom practice. They
can adopt the following practices:
w Emphasize the mathematical meanings of
ideas, including how the idea, concept or
skill is connected in multiple ways to other
mathematical ideas in a logically consistent
and sensible manner.
7]
encourage students to fnd their own solution
methods and give them opportunities to share and
compare their solution methods and answers. One
way to organize such instruction is to have students
work in small groups initially and then share ideas
and solutions in a whole-class discussion. One
useful teaching technique is for teachers to assign
an interesting problem for students to solve and
then move about the room as they work, keeping
track of which students are using which strategies.
In a whole class setting, the teacher can then call
on students to discuss their solution methods in
a pre-determined and carefully considered order,
these methods often ranging from the most basic to
more formal or sophisticated ones. This teaching
structure is used successfully in many Japanese
mathematics lessons.
6. Small-group learning : Using small groups
of students to work on activities, problems and
assignments can increase student mathematics
achievement.
In the classroom, small groups can be used
as part of mathematics instruction. This approach
can result in increased student learning as measured
by traditional achievement measures, as well as in
other important outcomes. When using small groups
for mathematics instruction, teachers should:
w choose tasks that deal with important
mathematical concepts and ideas;
w select tasks that are appropriate for group
work;
w consider having students initially work
individually on a task and then follow this
with group work where students share and
build on their individual ideas and work;
w give clear instructions to the groups and set
clear expectations for each;
w emphasize both group goals and individual
accountability;
w choose tasks that students fnd interesting;
w ensure that there is closure to the group
work, where key ideas and methods are
brought to the surface either by the teacher
or the students, or both.
7. Whole-class discussion: Whole-class discussion
following individual and group work improves
student achievement.
In the classroom, it is important that
whole-class discussion follow student work on
problem-solving activities. The discussion should
be a summary of individual work in which key
ideas are brought to the surface. This can be
accomplished through students presenting and
discussing their individual solution methods, or
through other methods of achieving closure that
are led by the teacher, the students, or both. Whole-
class discussion can be an effective and useful
instructional practice. Some of the instructional
opportunities offered in whole-class discussion do
not occur in small group or individual settings.
8. Number sense : Teaching mathematics with
a focus on number sense encourages students
to become problem solvers in a wide variety of
situations and to view mathematics as a discipline
in which thinking is important.
In the classroom, attention to number sense
when teaching a wide variety of mathematical
topics tends to enhance the depth of student ability
in this area. Competence in the many aspects
of number sense is an important mathematical
outcome for students. Over 90% of the computation
done outside the classroom is done without pencil
and paper, using mental computation, estimation
or a calculator. However, in many classrooms,
efforts to instil number sense are given insuffcient
attention. As teachers develop strategies to teach
number sense, they should strongly consider
moving beyond a unit-skills approach to a
more integrated approach that encourages the
development of number sense in all classroom
activities, from the development of computational
procedures to mathematical problem solving.
Although more research is needed, an integrated
approach to number sense will be likely to result
not only in greater number sense but also in other
equally important outcomes.
9. Concrete materials : Long-term use of
concrete materials is positively related to increases
in students mathematics achievement and improved
attitudes towards mathematics.
Although successful teaching requires
teachers to carefully choose their procedures on
the basis of the context in which they will be used,
available research suggests that teachers should use
manipulative materials in mathematics instruction
more regularly in order to give students hands-on
]
experience that helps them construct useful meanings
for the mathematical ideas they are learning. Use of
the same material to teach multiple ideas over the
course of schooling has the advantage of shortening
the amount of time it takes to introduce the material
and also helps students to see connections between
ideas. The use of concrete material should not
be limited to demonstrations. It is essential that
children use materials in meaningful ways rather
than in a rigid and prescribed way that focuses on
remembering rather than on thinking. Further, it
is important that students come to see the two-way
relationship between concrete embodiments of a
mathematical concept and the notational system
used to represent it.
10. Students use of calculators : Using
calculators in the learning of mathematics can
result in increased achievement and improved
student attitudes.
One valuable use for calculators is as a tool
for exploration and discovery in problem-solving
situations and when introducing new mathematical
content. By reducing computation time and
providing immediate feedback, calculators help
students focus on understanding their work and
justifying their methods and results. The graphing
calculator is particularly useful in helping to
illustrate and develop graphical concepts and
in making connections between algebraic and
geometric ideas. In order to accurately refect their
meaningful mathematics performance, students
should probably be allowed to use their calculators
in achievement tests. Not to do so is a major
disruption in many students usual way of doing
mathematics, and an unrealistic restriction because
when they are away from the school setting, they
will certainly use a calculator in their daily lives
and in the workplace. Another factor that argues for
calculator use is that students are already permitted
to use them in some offcial tests. Furthermore,
some examinations require the candidates to use a
graphing calculator.
Experience has shown that teachers need time
to absorb new information, observe and discuss
new practices, and participate in the training
needed to become confdent with new techniques.
This often means changes in traditional schedules
to give teachers regular opportunities to team with
their colleagues, both to acquire new skills and to
provide instruction. As schools continue the task of
improving student achievement by expanding the
knowledge base of teachers, the need to restructure
schools will become more and more apparent.
Improving student achievement can provide
the basis for well-designed staff development
activities. If schools provide generous opportunities
for teacher learning and collaboration, teachers
can and will improve teaching and learning in
ways that truly beneft all students. To achieve that
end, professional development must be viewed as
an essential and indispensable part of the school
improvement process.n
Reference: Improving student achievement in mathematics By
Douglas A. Grouws and Kristin J. Cebulla.
(The author teaches Mathematics at Salt Brook Academy, Dibrugarh)
Leena Dutta
I
n present days, development of skill is given
prior importance. Skill development is a key
factor to accelerate youth empowerment. The
Leena Dutta
Ministry of Human Resource Development
announced 2012 as the year of skill development.
It provides employment opportunity and brings
]
reforms to educational system. It needs more
interest and investment in education sector. Skill
is needed in each sphere of job market. Skill is
specially needed for people in the area of business
and management. Vocational education is an
aspect of education which imparts technical skills
on particular feld through practical work.
What is Skill ? Government has taken initiative
for skill based society. It becomes necessary to
know the meaning of skill. Generally, Skill means
ability to do something perfectly. Dictionaries have
defned it properly. The encyclopedia dictionary of
education defned skill as a well developed capacity
of any kind, including the intellectual, physical
or artistic capabilities. The New International
Websters Student Dictionary defned skill as
ability or profciency in execution or performance.
Business Dictionary has defned skill as an ability
and capacity acquired through deliberate, systematic
and sustained effort to smoothly and adaptively carry
out complex activities or job functions involving
ideas(cognitive skills), things(technical skills) and/
or people(interpersonal skills). Skill development
is the process of identifying and responding to the
challenges of particular contexts or environments
and such challenges may be at the level of
individuals, groups, organizations or nations.
Skills may be hard skill and soft skill. Hard skills
are related with knowledge of machinery equipment
and soft skills are related with people-oriented skills.
Need of skill acquisition :
a) Self-actualization : According to the great
educationist Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, education
means the training of the intellect, refnement of
heart and discipline of the spirit. Self-actualization
means realization of selfhood. People consciously
and unconsciously are trying out to realize own self
in life. Experience and realization have increased
with ages. Experience, techniques and skill modify
behaviour and enlighten personality.
In ancient ages, Indian philosophy accepted
the ultimate aim of life as liberalization of soul.
Vedanta philosophy gives importance on Self
realization which is concerned with spirituality.
Self-realization is a concept of spiritual and
moral value. Sankaracharya says that education
is realization of self. The person who better
knows to manage his life with skill can realize his
selfhood. He knows own skill, satisfaction, virtues,
possibilities and aim of life. In western psychology
also self actualization is given importance by
Humanistic psychologist Abraham Harold Maslow.
He advocates on need of self actualization as
supreme after fulfllment of other needs of human
being.
b) Job recruitment : Skill fulflls the defcit of
capabilities. Skill training needs prior importance
from the stakeholder. Skill is needed for a job
besides knowledge and good academic career.
During eleventh fve year plan of India, National
skill development corporation is launched (2009)
in public-private partnership to study the scenario.
National skill development Mission aims to cope
up the defcit of skill crunch in the country.
c) Successful living : Success is related with
expectation of each person. It is closely related with
mental satisfaction. Success is different to people
on the basis of satisfaction. Acquisition of personal
skills like adaptable behaviour, cooperation,
decision making, emotional stability, truthfulness,
tolerance, unity etc. helps in successful living.
Handful skills bring job satisfaction to people in
different felds also.
d) Practical use of knowledge : Knowledge is
learning of information. Skill helps to practically
use knowledge learned in the classroom. It helps to
realize dignity of work. Skill can bring expertness
in performance.
Skill acquisition in education:
Skill acquisition is a relevant trend in
education. After higher secondary stage education is
provided through two dimensions: general education
and vocational and technical education. Both give
emphasize on creation of skilled manpower through
developing competency and ability of students.
Formal education develops different skills in
reading, writing, numeracy, presentation, assignment,
teamwork, information technology, communication
etc. Vocational education is training in a particular
occupation which enable one to enter world of that
occupation. Vocation refers to a particular career
or occupation. Vocational and technical training
paves the way for learners who are deprived from
further education. Technical education imparts skill
on machinery methods in science and industry. At
elementary level, socially useful productive work
]
Reference:
1. Mahendra, M., The encyclopedia dictionary of educa-
tion, Volume III, New Delhi: Arup & Sons, 2002.
2. The New International Websters Student Dictionary
3. www.Business Dictionary.com
(The author is a Research Scholar in the Dept. of Education, Dibrugarh University.)
Such change could happen faster with greater
corporate common sense. Gupta said one of the
major challenges was convincing big companies to
invest in research and development in grassroots
inventions and beneft from them.
Companies that take the plunge are making
their investors happy. Mumbai-based Marico,
makers of the popular Parachute coconut oil brand,
found a farmer in the south Indian state of Kerala
who invented a device to more safely and quickly
climb coconut trees to pick the lucrative nuts.
Marico chief executive Harsh Mariwala
teamed up with India's Coconut Development
Board to turn the prototype into a commercially
viable machine, according to a Harvard Business
Review posting dated April 13, 2009. Marico
then used its nation-wide network to distribute the
machine to its hundreds of coconut oil suppliers.
Coconut oil productivity increased, as have
Marico's profts, which surged to $40.6 million last
June from $12.6 million fve years earlier.
Other innovation networks with a rural base are
thriving across the country. The Chennai city-based
Villagro calls itself a mass transformation movement
with singular objective: to create a prosperous rural
India, buzzing with ideas for growth, and transform
rural lives through innovations. Villagro says it has
activated nearly 1,500 innovations since 2001, and
benefted more than 130,000 lives in rural India.
Navi Radjou, executive director of the Center
for India & Global Business at the Judge Business
School, University of Cambridge, in the United
Kingdom, noticed the innovation wave during a
recent trip to India. What struck us most during
this feld trip is that most Indian innovators - both
large and small - are now single-mindedly targeting
the rural market, which accounts for 70% of India's
population, Radjou said in the Harvard Business
Review this month.
Radjou, who previously led the Forrester
Research team on global innovation, calls for
turbocharging India's growth by building a
National Innovation Network, with public-private
partnerships between grassroots entrepreneurs and
large corporations.
Innovation gurus such as Professor Gupta
are emphatic about grassroots knowledge bridging
social and economic divides. Some people think
in terms of surviving the next day, while others
have the luxury of being able to plan for the next
century, he says. When these time horizons
converge, we will have a society in which the
skills, knowledge and resources in which poor
people are rich are validated more fully.n
and work experience are taught to motivate students
to participate in productive work. The centrally
sponsored scheme of vocationalisation of education at
secondary stage ensures imparting skill on diversifed
subjects for both boy and girl students. Industrial
training institutes and polytechnics provide diploma
and certifcate courses in technician training. Some
nongovernmental organization and social welfare
organization also take steps for apprenticeship
training in manifold skilled jobs.
For skill based learning general awareness
of the programme in different sectors should
be strengthened, adequate environment should
be created, relevant topic should be needed in
the curriculum and teaching method should be
participative for the students, preparing adequate
reading material for teachers and students, monitoring
and evaluation of feedback report from the students
of the programme and training of the teachers.
Knowledge-centered learning is a key
factor to tackle different problems of education.
Knowledge can be inculcated by disseminating
and applying the information. A knowledge-
based society can be created only through
enhancement of skills of its human resources.
Skill development subjects should be chosen after
systematic planning and making surveys of the
local requirements.n
(Contd. from Page 29) Indias Rural Inventors Drive Change
(Copyright : http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/LA29Df03.html)
]
[Editors Note : Prasanta Bora is an Engineer by profession. His blog Career Quips is worlds 5th
best career blog. Its Google page rank is 4th. With more than 3,500 blog subscribers, Career Quips
gets more than 3,50,000 visitors per month, but, very few of them are from NE India, for whom its
created. To make such a wonderful blog popular among NE Indian students and Pragyan readers
we invited Prasanta to write for us. We are grateful that he has started a new series.]
A few words from the writer : The contents of this write up have actually been reproduced for
Pragyan from my career blog. As the contents were actually made for the blog, to present it to the
students as a published form we needed some minor edits.
Full potential of the knowledge imparted here can be found only online at the blog, since many
contents can not be presented in hard published form say for example, the video on demo GD in
section Group Discussion. Also we may not be in position to write in details about links of other sites
those our blog have. Well try to mention the related web IDs here. Students are advised to visit those
sites or our blog to search it, simply type Career Quips or careerquips or any combination of these
two words. The frst result shown is the blog: www. careerquips.blogspot.com.)
Prasanta Bora
D
o you remember, we made a commitment
in previous issue to write in details about
tests those you will have to face after applying for
a job ? Here, they are :
Aptitude Test:
Written Aptitude Test for Jobs
Written test (whether pen-paper or online)
happens to be the most common of all the
selection tests used by the recruiters. In fact, it
happens to be the frst obstacle, put by a recruiter
before candidates in their quest for the job. The
other phases of the selection process like GD/
interview follows for only those who qualify the
Written Test.
So how to clear this frst obstacle ?
The answer is : only through practice ! You can
practise through these recommended books and
also by practising the previous years question
papers of specifc recruiters.
Written tests in most of the recruitment exams
consist of following four test sections:
1.0 Test of General Awareness.
2.0 Test of General English.
3.0 Test of Quantitative Aptitude.
4.0 Test of Reasoning Ability.
If you study and master above four test
sections, you can appear in any exam and come out
with fying colours - it may be a bank recruitment
exam (for Probationary Offcers or Clerks), a PSU
recruitment exam (such as SAIL/GAIL/BHEL/
ONGC etc.), a management entrance exam (such
as MAT/CAT).
All these exams invariably contain at least
one of above four aptitude test sections. To illustrate
]
this, I am showing below the written exam pattern
of some popular exams below:
Pattern of SBI PO exam :
Pattern of SBI Clerical written exam:
Written test will consist of Objective type questions
in following fve papers:
1.0 General Awareness.
2.0 General English.
3.0 Quantitative Aptitude.
4.0 Reasoning Ability.
5.0 Marketing Aptitude / Computer Knowledge.
SSC CPO (Central Police Organisation) exam
pattern:
Management Aptitude Test (MAT) exam pattern:
MAT is a 2hr-30min test with following fve
sections, each of 40 marks:
1. Language Comprehension: 40 Questions,
30 mins.
2. Mathematical Skills : 40 Questions, 40
mins.
3. Data Analysis and Suffciency: 40
Questions, 35 mins.
4. Intelligence and Critical Reasoning: 40
Questions, 30 mins.
5. Indian and Global Environment: 40
Questions, 15 mins.
All the questions are multiple-choice
objective type questions.
So as you can fnd from above exam patterns,
written aptitude test is almost universal. So what you
should do is prepare for these tests section by section:
frst study for Test of General Awareness, than study
for Test of General English and so on and so forth.
If you study and master above four test
sections, I give you 200% confrmation that you can
do well in the written aptitude tests of competitive
recruitment exams.
In addition to above Written Test, some
recruiters also conduct Technical Test for the
engineering students, depending on the branch/
departments to which a student belongs. This is
being discussed in the next post.
What sort of questions are asked ?
To give you some idea, following are some
example of questions asked by recruiters in
different sections. Can you help me with some more
examples? You can post these examples by posting
as comments by clicking Post a Comment link at
the bottommost part of this post or you can write at
mailborap@gmail.com
Verbal Section:
1.0 Synonyms.
Example: Best pair of choices which expresses the
same relationship as the given
APIARY : BEE ::
a. mountain : skier
b. airport : fight
c. schedule : event
d. stable : horse
Ans: (d) stables, where horses are kept, just like in
Apiary bees are kept.
2.0 Antonyms
Example: LATITUDE
a. frenzy (b) attitude (c) altitude (d) restriction
Ans: (d) restriction. Meaning of latitude is
freedom, room to move; scope.
3.0 Sentence completion :
Example: Which options out of a), b), c) and d) flls
the sentence below correctly:
After the funeral, the residents of the apartment
building __________
a. sent faithfully fowers all weeks to the
cemetery.
]
b. sent to the cemetery each week fowers
faithfully.
c. sent fowers faithfully to the cemetery each week.
d. sent each week faithfully to the cemetery
fowers.
Ans: (c)
4.0 Sentence correction: Which part of sentence
needs to be corrected?
Example: The progress made in space travel for the
early 1960s is remarkable.
a. progress (b) made (c) in space (d) for
Ans: (d). It should be during
5.0 Fill-in-the-blanks.
Example: __ his vacation, Ram went __ the forest
and also walked __ the river.
Ans: During, to, along.
6.0 Reading Comprehension:
Example:
Line 1. A recent investigation by scientists at
the U.S. Geological Survey shows that strange
animal behavior might help predict earthquakes.
Investigators found such occurrences within a
ten-kilometer radius of the epicenter of a fairly
recent quake. Some birds screeched and few about
wildly; dogs yelped and ran around uncontrollably.
Line 5. Scientists believe that animals can perceive
environmental changes several hours or even
days before the mishaps. Animals were noted as
being restless for several weeks before a Tashkent,
Uzbekistan, earthquake. An hour before the
disaster, domestic animals refused to go indoors
and dogs howled and barked furiously. In 1960, an
earthquake struck Agadir in Morocco. Survivors
recall that stray animals, including dogs, were
seen streaming out of town before the earthquake.
In a safari zoo near San Francisco, llamas would
not eat the evening before a 1979 quake, and they
ran around wildly all night. Line 12. Unusual
animal behavior preceding earthquakes has been
noted for centuries. British Admiral Robert Fitzroy
reported huge focks of screaming seabirds over
Conception, Chile, in 1835. An hour and half later,
dogs were seen feeing, and ten minutes later the
town was destroyed. Similar stories of chickens
running around in apparent states of panic, horses
trembling and dogs barking incessantly were
recorded throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries by survivors of earthquake destruction
in India, Yugoslavia, Peru, Mexico and the
Unites States. Line 18. In 1976, after monitoring
bizarre animal behavior, the Chinese predicted
a devastating earthquake. Although hundreds of
thousand of people were killed, the government
was able to evacuate millions of others people and
thus keep the death toll at a lower level.
Q:What prediction may be made by observing
animal behavior?
a. An impending earthquake
b. The number of people who will die
c. The ten-kilometer radium from the epicenter
d. The fact that an earthquake has occurred.
Ans: a).
Quantitative Section:
1.0 Questions involving Venn diagram.
Example: If in a class 80 people speak English,
42 speak French, 65 speak Hindi, 12 speak both
English and Hindi, 17 speak both French and
Hindi, 13 speak both English and French and 6
speak all three languages, how many people are
there in all?
Ans: 133 people as shown from following diagram:
2.0 Time and Distance
Example : A truck departed from Newton at
11:53a.m. and arrived in Far City, 240 miles
away, at 4:41 p.m. on the same day. What was the
approximate average speed of the truck on this trip?
a. 16/1,200 MPH (b) 40/288 MPH
c. 1,494/240 MPH (d) 50 MPH
Ans: d.
Distance: 240 Miles. Time: 4 hr & 48 mins = 4.8
hrs. (48 mins=48/60hrs=0.8 hr).
Average speed: 240/4.8 = 50 MPH
] 4
3.0 Problems on ratio/percentages :
Example: If the ratio of women to men in a meeting
is 4 to 1, what percent of the persons in the meeting
are men?
a. 20% (b) 25% (c) 33 1/3% (d) 80%
Ans: a). 20%
4.0 Geometric Formulas :
Example: If the measures of the three angles of a
triangle are (3x + 15), (5x - 15), and (2x + 30),
what is the measure of each angle?
a. 75 (b) 60 (c) 45 (d) 25
Ans: b. 60
Sum of all angles in triangle=180. Therefore, 3x +
15 + 5x 15 + 2x + 30 = 180, x= 15.
With x=15, measure of the angles, say 3x + 15 =
60. Check same for others.
5.0 Ratios :
Example: A and B undertake to do a work for
Rs.56. A can do it alone in 7 days and B in 8 days.
If with the assistance of a boy they fnish the work
in 3 days then the boy gets Rs.....
a. 11 (b) 45 (c) 43 (d) 21
Ans: 11
6.0 Puzzles :
Example: You are given two candles of equal size,
which can burn 1 hour each. You have to measure
90 minutes with these candles. (There is no scale or
clock). Also u r given a lighter.
Ans: First light up the two ends of the 1st candle.
When it will burn out light up one end of the
second candle. (30+60=90)
Logical Section:
1.0 Blood relation:
Example: Pointing to a man Carl said, He is the
son of brother of my mothers husband. How are
Carl and the man related?
Ans: Paternal Cousin
2.0 Data suffciency:
One sentence is given below. Mark the answer
according to the following:
A If only FIRST sentence is required to verify
the sentence
B If only SECOND sentence is required to
verify the sentence
C If both FIRST and SECOND sentence are
required to verify the sentence
D Cannot be verifed even if both sentences
are considered
Example:
Two trains are traveling towards each other. When
will the two trains meet? If -
1. Train A is coming at a speed of 20km/hr
2. Train B is coming at a speed of 30km/hr
Ans: D
Following was the criteria decided by the selection
committee of Indian Cricket Board:
1) Players age should be 18-28 years
2) He must be the captain of any cricket team
for at least 2 years
3) He must be a Ranji Player for at least 2
years
4) He must have taken at least 20 wickets or
made 1000 runs in a calendar year in Ranji
If 1st condition is not fulflled .. referred to chairman
If 2nd condition is not fulflled he must be an all
rounder with at least 500 runs and 15 wickets
If 4th condition is not fulflled referred to VP
Now choose correct option based on following
conditions:
Rahul was born on Dec.10,1979 and is a captain
of Ranji team since Feb 2005. He won man of the
tournament last year for taking 24 wickets last
year. He is:
a) Selected b) Rejected c) Referred to Chairman d)
Data Insuffcient
Ans: a
3.0 Symbol change:
Example: If * means +, + means -, - means / and /
means *, then what is the value of-
8+4-9*7/12+3
Ans: 8-4/9+7*12-3 = 88.55
4.0 Matching comparisons:
A- If all the three options match
B- If FIRST and SECOND options match
C- If FIRST and THIRD options match
D- If none of the three match
Example: KKTUJNGDFTSR KKTUJHGDFTSR
KKTUJNGDFTSR
Ans: C
]
These are just some examples so that you get
the feel of what sort of questions are asked. Can
you help me with some more examples? You can
post these examples by posting as comments by
clicking Post a Comment link in our site. Next
time well talk about Technical and other tests.n
Check this link for more: http://careerquips.blogspot.in/2007/12/recommened-books-for-preparation-of-job.html
M
edia Anthropology is an area of study within
social or cultural anthropology and is now a
days a part of media and cultural studies that deals
with the social and cultural aspects of mass media.
Media anthropology is an inter-disciplinary
stream of study infuenced by the approaches and
practices taking place in Visual Anthropology,
Film and Performance studies and Development
Communication. Media anthropology generally
represents the application of instruments
(theories, concepts, methods, approaches, tools
and techniques) to understand media studies
from a socio-anthropological perspective. Social
scientists and media anthropologists generally
consider media anthropology as an approach
to understand the interaction between various
academic and applied aspects of anthropology
and the multitude of media.
Scope and Areas of Work : As far as the growth
and scope of the subject is concerned, media
anthropology grows out of the anthropology
of modern societies and their culture fnding a
place under the broad arena of mass media. It is
different from cultural anthropology as it turns
its attention from exotic to mundane and from
indigenous to manufactured culture while
preserving the methodological and conceptual
assets of anthropological tradition.
The study of media anthropology in
communication studies is gaining a lot of attention
these days because it prepares media practitioners
for more complete engagement with the symbolic
construction of reality and the fundamental
importance of symbolic structures, myth and
rituals in everyday life.
Media Anthropology is a multidisciplinary
feld of study having a wide scope for the graduates
from the felds of Communication, Anthropology,
Psychology, Sociology, and Philosophy. Media
anthropology as a practice provides the scholars
two main branches/areas to build a career
i. Research Branch: This branch especially deals
with studies related to media structures, function,
process, impact etc. of media information,
technologies, mediums, professionals, audience
and control.
Note 1:
a) A Modern Approach To Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning by R. S. Aggarwal. Publisher: S. Chand Publisher (2012)
b) A Modern Approach to Non Verbal Reasoning by R. S. Aggarwal, Publisher: S. Chand Publishing (2011)
c) Advanced Non Verbal Reasoning (Hindi) by R. S. Aggarwal, Publisher: S. Chand Publisher (2010)
d) A Modern Approach To Logical Reasoning by R. S. Aggarwal, Publisher: S.Chand Publishing (2007)
e) An Advanced Approach To Data Interpretation by R. S. Aggarwal : Publisher: S. Chand Publisher (2011)
f) A Modern Approach To Verbal Reasoning by R. S. Aggarwal, Publisher: S.Chand Publishing (2010)
g) How To Prepare For Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning For The CAT by Arun Sharma Publisher: Tata
McGraw Hill Education Private Limited (2010)
Dr. Pradeep Nair
]
ii. Applied Branch: This branch deals with the
communication of anthropological information
and insights through media channels in widely
acceptable styles and formats. The branch also
provides an opportunity to the scholars to promote
anthropology in various media by infuencing
journalism practices to add as sixth W whole to
the conventional list of 5 Ws who, what, when,
where and how, in order to create an alternative
method of gathering and presenting information
that can help to fll the educational vacuum, not
with more detail, but with more perspective.
Communication is a key tool that
anthropologists use to understand social and cultural
environment by focusing on each and every aspect
of the social and cultural life of a nation. In social
and cultural anthropology, communication is used
to educate and train people to study and analyze
the nature and state of specifc social and cultural
structures and institutions which widely affect the
process of social and cultural development in the
society. The approach is to understand the media
and cultural process as institutions, as workplaces,
as communicative practices, as cultural products,
as social activities, as aesthetic forms, as
historical developments and alike. The studies are
mostly concerned with the understanding of the
relationship between media institutions/channels
and the patterns of socio-cultural changes basic to
the problems of contemporary nation building.
The scope of media anthropology is tremendous. It
offers an excellent opportunity to communication
scholars having a background in social sciences and
humanities (with a good understanding of social-
cultural anthropology) along with communication to
study how media institutions in transitional societies
can best manage the communication activities and
tools to facilitate cultural modernization.
There is a peculiarly intimate relationship
between the social, cultural and communication
process. Media anthropology provides a new
ethnographically informed, historically grounded
and context-sensitive approach to communication
scholars and cultural scientists to study the ways
in which people use and make sense of media
technologies. The subject has great potential to
explore the dynamics of social and cultural processes
of media consumption, production and circulation.
So, we can see media anthropology as a feld
within the broad discipline of social sciences and
humanities dealing with the relationship between the
mass media and culture. The main focus of the study
is more about how culture is transmitted through the
mass media, and the media process or system by
means of which society is shaped. Anthropology is
the social science, studying culture, whereas media
anthropology is the specifc feld which deals with
the whole process through which culture shapes
human beings through the mass media.
Nature of Job : Having a Degree or Diploma in
Communication/Media Studies along with a broad
understanding of social and cultural anthropology can
offer you a range of communication activities to work
as a link between media and cultural practices. As a
media anthropologist one can work for various media
institutions, production houses, and cultural agencies
to study how people in different social and cultural
settings use media in order to disseminate their
culture and to affrm a specifc identity. As a media
anthropologist one can also work with universities,
research institutions and organizations to employ
cultural anthropological methods and concepts to
interpret media culture. Media anthropologists can
also conduct studies for various media organizations
to study the infuence of mass media channels
(newspapers/magazines, radio, television, flm and
internet) on media content or media consumption.
One can also fnd immense scope for studying
the processes through which cultural products are
institutionally created and distributed in the mass
media industry. Media organizations are very much
interested to know how social and cultural messages
in the forms of articles, news stories, documentaries,
soap operas, flms, blogs, websites, advertisements
are consumed and invested with meaning by different
types of audience. Analysis of media contents is one
feld where hundreds of openings are taking place for
young media anthropologists everyday.
Where to Study and the Eligibility : Presently
many departments of Communication of Indian
Universities are offering Media and Cultural studies
as one of their optional subjects at Post Graduate
level. People trained in Journalism and Mass
Communication with a degree in Anthropology,
Sociology or Psychology can fnd a job assignment
in the feld of Media Anthropology. The Centre for
7]
Media and Cultural Studies of Tata Institute of Social
Sciences (TISS), Mumbai offers a Masters program
in Media and Cultural Studies, whereas the School of
Arts and Aesthetics of Jawahar Lal University (JNU),
Anwar Jamal Kidwai Mass Communication Research
Centre (AJK-MCRC) of Jamia Millia Islamia, New
Delhi, School of Media and Communication of
Pondicherry University and Sarojini Naidu School
of Arts & Communication, Hyderabad University
have specifc papers on media and cultural studies
as a part of their regular master program in mass
communication. Many sociology and anthropology
departments of central and state universities in India
also have papers on media anthropology as a part of
their regular anthropological programs.
These specifc papers on media anthropology,
media and cultural studies offered by these institutions
aim at honing skills of media students within a
research framework which enables them to develop
a critical perspective on media, culture and society.
Research programs offered in the feld
of media anthropology by Indian universities
encourage scholars to study the determinations
of media technologies, micro-group cultural
traditions, reception situations, and immediate
social, cultural and economic confgurations.
Universities and research organizations offering
research programmes in the feld of media & cultural
studies generally promote a local vision of acts of
communication with mass media placed within a
domestic communication having inter-discourse
connections thus linking new communication
and media technologies, television, internet and
other media to the family dynamics and other
conventional social and cultural networks.
Where to Look for the Job : Government social
organizations, cultural agencies and departments,
academic and research institutions, communication
consultancies working in the feld of social and
cultural development, media organizations, and non-
government organizations working in social sectors
generally advertise their vacancies in newspapers.
Websites of these organizations also give you
the details of the jobs, eligibility and application
procedure. You can work with these agencies as
a media anthropologist, cultural communication
specialist, journalist, researcher and media consultant.
Remuneration : The salary in media anthropology
and cultural sectors depends on your qualifcation
and experience, your expertise in social and cultural
issues and on your communication skills. Having a
degree or diploma in communication studies along
with a good understanding of social and cultural
development issues can help you to earn Rs. 20,000
to 25,000 at entry level positions. A Masters or
Doctoral degree in communication studies with a
formal education/specialization in social sciences/
humanities is recommended for more opportunities.
Reputed Non Government Organizations and
Communication Consultancies can offer good
remuneration to media anthropology professionals
for their different projects/programmes. Inter-national
donors and government partners also offer good
positions for people having a good understanding
of cross-cutting support in ethnographic media
research. A strong leadership, team development and
networking skills may promise you a high position in
media and cultural sectors.
Excelling your Skills : As a media anthropologist
one should have a good understanding of the
effective communication to plan and create
initiatives at all levels, from designing simple social
and cultural messages for print or electronic media or
for a website to strategize a complete socio-cultural
communication campaign. Social and cultural
campaigns require research based communication
strategies to design and deliver media messages to
the intended audiences. As a media anthropologist
one should have to learn how a complete process
of cultural modernization takes place in a country.
Carrying research based anthropological
and cultural studies for educational institutions,
research organizations and media production houses
requires a scientifc approach capable of allowing
the immersion in volatile social and cultural
contexts, a capability to eliminate social and cultural
distances and psychological barriers and a minute
observation of microscopic behaviours. As a media
anthropologist if you have the skills to identify social
values on which cultural consumption practices are
based, you may have a chance to do well in the feld
of applied communication.n
(The author is presently working as a Research Scientist at Anwar Jamal Kidwai Mass Communication
Research Centre (MCRC), Jamia Millia Islamia (A Central University), Jamia Nagar, New Delhi)
]
M
ansukh Prajapati invented a frst-of-a-kind
refrigerator that is made out of terracotta,
works without electricity, costs US$53 and
is selling in the thousands. It's a sample of an
innovation wave from rural and small-town India
enriching the world with common-sense products.
Anil Gupta, a professor at India's
premier business school, the Indian Institute of
Management, Ahmedabad, leads a pioneering
tribe of technocrats working for no-frills change
at the mass level, by harnessing knowledge wealth
from economically weaker sections of society.
"Being economically poor does not mean
being knowledge-poor," Gupta told Asia Times
Online. "But the poor who are at the bottom of the
economic pyramid are often considered as being
at the bottom of the knowledge pyramid as well.
Nothing could be further from the truth."
To prove the truth that wisdom does
not depend on university degrees, Gupta's
21-year-old Honey Bee Network
has compiled an unprecedented
database of 140,000 innovations
created by farmers, villagers and
small-town inventors. Many have
no formal education or technical
training. Teams of Honey Bee
volunteers scout across India to hunt
out local innovations, inventions
and traditional knowledge practices.
The Honey Bee Network of
rural and small-town inventors,
academics, scientists, entrepreneurs,
policymakers and volunteers gather,
pool, develop and share know-how
from a mass-based, much-ignored source. India's
heart beats in its villages, and the country is
entering a phase of listening to its heartbeat.
Gupta, who is also a visiting professor of
innovation management in emerging markets
at the European Business School, Frankfurt,
Germany, coordinates the Honey Bee Network. In
turn, the network connects with other supporting
agencies in India, such as the National Innovation
Foundation, Society for Research and Initiatives
for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions, the
Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network,
Innovation Club and the Network of Rural
Universities.
The inter-connected agencies help test
grassroots inventions, fle for patents, fnd investors
to develop, produce and market eco-friendly,
cheaper new products. The small inventors have a
chance to proft from their creativity.
"Most of the innovations in our database are
Raja Murthy
]
open source and shared freely," said Gupta. "But
if needed, we help innovators fle for patents for
innovations that are commercially viable." He
points to Honey Bee inventors even procuring
patents in the United States, with its strict patents
regimen, proving the quality of technical talent
available at the grassroots level.
Prajapati, a clay potter from the western state
of Gujarat, is a typical success case from this new
tribe of innovators with supporting angels to guide
them to commercially producing their inventions.
Prajapati invented low-cost refrigeration in a
country where the fridge remains out of reach of
lower, middle-income groups and the poor. The
Mitti Cool, made out of terracotta, an unglazed
clay-based ceramic, uses an age-old practice still
common in India of earthen-clay pots keeping
water refreshingly below room temperature.
Prajapati developed the earthen pot-cooling effect
to produce a fridge that keeps food, vegetables,
even milk, fresh for days, requires no maintenance,
needs no electricity and costs $53, with shipping
charges extra.
Prajapati's bigger success is his $1 non-stick
frying pan made out of clay. It's a healthier, safer,
cheaper version of non-stick utensils compared with
the conventional tefon-coated chemical variety.
Gupta, who in 2007 became an honorary
professor at China's Tianjin University of Finance
and Economics, says cost-effective, locally
sustainable grassroots innovation is the way
forward to source new technologies and ideas in a
global economy, to serve more people.
"It is now realized that mere reliance on
market forces will not work to fll innovation
gaps or to disseminate innovative ideas, products
and services among disadvantaged segments of
the population," says Gupta's nine-page paper
"Grassroots Green Innovations for Inclusive
Sustainable Development".
Such sustainable, ready-to-order inventions
from the Honey Bee database range across 34
categories. They include agricultural tools and
techniques, water conservation, health, education
innovation, food and nutrition, traditional
medicines and industrial and household goods.
Farmer Mansukh Jagani invented a
motorcycle-driven ploughing machine for felds in
a drought-hit region where most farmers can barely
afford tractors or bullocks. Uttam Patil invented
matchsticks made of natural fbers sourced from
agricultural waste.
Bachu Thesia invented a long-lasting
electric bulb that withstands short-circuits. When
thieves began pinching the cost-saving bulbs from
households and felds, Thesia inserted a slip of
paper with the name of the owner into the glass
bulb to help identify those that were stolen.
The Honey Bee Network, which has a presence
in 75 countries, aims to prevent exploitation of
traditional knowledge; multinational biotechnology
corporations, for example, are accused of patenting
traditional Indian medicinal knowledge such as
neem and turmeric.
"Honey Bee, true to its metaphor, has been the
source of pollination and cross-pollination of ideas,
creativity and grassroots genius, without taking
away the nectar from the fower forever," says the
introductory note on the Honey Bee website.
Thousands of such ideas and products are
feeding other innovation networks across India.
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in
Chennai, part of the globally renowned IIT centers
established across India, operates the "Rural
Technology & Business Incubator" agency to
"design, develop, and bring about innovations that
would ft to most of our rural needs".
Digital Green, a Microsoft Research India
project, helps increase the productivity of small
farmers through low-cost information exchange,
such as personal interactions among farmers and
with experts. Digital Green videotapes agricultural
improvements by farmers in a village and shares
the innovations with other villages. The You-Tube-
like information sharing aims to help small farmers
across the developing world.
Highly qualifed technocrats work with
farmers for mutual beneft. Bangalore-based
Digital Green's chief executive, Rikin Gandhi, for
instance, is a computer engineer with a master's
degree in aeronautical engineering from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Born and
brought up in the US, Gandhi represents a reverse-
migration back to India, to help serve the country
at the grassroots level.
(Contd. on Page 20)
]
V
ultures are facing the trend line of extinction,
but believe it true or not, their jobs have been
shouldered on by the domestic quadrupeds. The
scavenging task appears to be a problem no longer
for the municipal mayors. At least the clippings
placed here support such propositions (Fig,-1).
Im tempted
to quote few
lines from
the Municipal
Solid Wastes
(Management
and Handling)
Rules, 2000,
(Schedule
II./viii), which
speaks, Stray animals shall not be allowed
to move around waste storage facilities or at
any other place in the city or town and shall be
managed in accordance with the State laws.
In Delhi and other big cities of the country,
usually the dustbins are made having two
compartments, one part contain biodegradable
wastes, and non-degradable on the other. This,
however, makes a sense. But this is seldom practised
in our north eastern cities, including Silchar.
In a city with rapid population growth,
and consequent urban congestion, the disposal
of generated waste has been a major challenge
for the municipal managers. This coupled with
lack of adequate decent sense of the common
inhabitants results only in both vertical and
peripheral expansion of the waste heap.
Silchar, like other urban areas of north-east
was a small town till seventies and eighties. Most
of the houses did not have sanitary toilets during
those days. Scavenging of night soil was done each
day early dawn by the sweepers, called Nagas.
Even these days also in most of the old constructed
houses one can fnd a narrow lane behind those
houses which was used as the entry/exit passage
for those so called Nagas. Time has changed, so
also the nature of their bread winning. Obviously,
else, in these days of increasing consciousness and
human rights, one cannot think of such inhuman
works that had to be discharged by these human
resources during those days.
With time, everything has transformed.
Seventies and Eighties make a gulf of difference
with twenty-ten or eleven. The crocking sound
of Kerosene hawkers has disappeared, so also
pleasant urban atmosphere. Fire wood vendors
have been replaced by gas agencies, beautiful
Assam type buildings by multi storied apartments,
and thus the fresh urban milieu by congested and
polluted environment.
The urban scenario of Silchar narrated
here is more or less identical and can be a
representative of the other small or big towns in
the north-east. These days, in the city of Silchar
itself on an average 90 tonnes of municipal wastes
are generated each day. With the available infra
structure, the municipality authority fnds it quite
diffcult to get the both ends meet. It cannot be
Fig:1. Cattle grazing on Municipal
grasses!
Dr. Parthankar Chowdhury
]
denied that the task of keeping the city clean
does not only shoulder on its offce concerned,
but rests equally on all its stakeholders. The root
of all incompatibility lies here, and inevitably the
consequences follow.
Ideally, municipal waste are broadly
categorised into fve different categories. The
frst of these is waste that is biodegradable. This
includes things like food and kitchen waste like
vegetable peelings, and other green wastes etc.
The second category of municipal waste
is recyclable materials. Paper is also included in
this category but non-biodegradable items like
glass, plastic bottles, other plastics, metals and
aluminium cans fall into this section as well.
The third category of municipal waste is the
inert wastes and includes materials that are not
necessarily toxic to all species but can be harmful
or toxic to humans. For example, construction and
demolition wastes.
Clothing and plastics such as children's toys
constitute the fourth category of municipal wastes,
i.e., the Composite waste that are composed of
more than one material.
Household hazardous waste is the ffth category
of municipal waste. This includes medicines,
paint, batteries, light bulbs, fertilizer and pesticide
containers and e-waste like old computers and other
electronic products, printers, and cellular phones.
They cannot be recycled or disposed of with other
waste categories, and out of these, disposal of e-waste
has emerged as a major concern in the country.
In an ideal situation, in order to encourage
the citizens, municipal authority should organise
awareness programmes for segregation of
wastes and shall promote recycling or reuse of
segregated materials. The municipal authority
may undertake phased programme to ensure
community participation in waste segregation.
This is as per rule contained in Schedule- II of
the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and
Handling) Rules, 2000. For this purpose, regular
meetings at quarterly intervals need to be arranged
by the municipal authorities with representatives
of local resident welfare associations and non-
governmental organisations. This practice is
seldom witnessed in any places of north east India
including Barak Valley.
Schedule- II of the said act also speaks that
the vehicles used for transportation of wastes shall
be covered. Waste should not be visible to public,
nor exposed to open environment preventing their
scattering. Fig: 2 given here speaks about blatant
violation of
the concerned
section, at least
here in the urban
Silchar.
T h e
c o n c e r n e d
section further
adds that the
following criteria shall be met, namely; (i) the
storage facilities set up by municipal authorities
shall be daily attended for clearing of wastes. The
bins or containers wherever placed shall be cleaned
before they start
overflowing;(ii)
Transportation
vehicles shall
be so designed
that multiple
handling of
wastes, prior to
fnal disposal, is
avoided. The candid lens opines that these are mere
paper-tigers. (Fig: 3).
As regards processing of Municipal Solid
Wastes, it has been stated in crisp terms that the
Municipal authorities shall adopt suitable technology
or combination of such technologies to make use of
wastes so as to minimize burden on land fll; and for
the same, the following criteria shall be adopted;
(i) The biodegradable wastes shall be processed
by compositing vermin-composting, anaerobic
digestion or any other appropriate biological
processing for stabilization of wastes. It shall be
ensured that compost or any other end product
shall comply with stipulated standards as contained
in the Schedule-IV of the said act. It may sound
improper that the spatial distance between the pair
of terms like Vermi-compost and Municipality
board or corporations of the north-east is several
thousand kilometres apart from each other. Alas!
About a couple of years back, a meeting had
been convened by a group of people living in the
Fig:2. Municipal waste
transported uncovered.
Fig:3. No Bin Culture
Waste dumped in open air.
]
vicinity of dump site located at Meherpur, in the
outskirts of Silchar. Although originally the area
was considered outside the city proper, but, the
peripheral expansion of the city has made the area
to fgure within the city, and the same has been
included in the master plan as well. Residents living
there narrated their painful stories; some of them
went on to add that even during daylight hours,
they keep on hanging their mosquito nets in order
to get rid of fies. People take their breakfast, lunch
and dinner all within the net. Even when friend or
stranger visits their residence, and tea is served, he/
she is invited to go within the mosquito net, else
house fy will be served with tea at gratis. It was
very diffcult for us to inhale the rotten smell that
was coming out from the area visited. However,
under constraint the meeting was convened.
The British Medical Journal The Lancet
(Environment News Service, Toxic Waste Landflls
Pose Birth Defect Risks, London, 25 Jan 02),
reported that women living within three kilometers
of a hazardous waste landfll site have a 40 percent
greater risk of conceiving a child with a chromosomal
birth defect, such as Downs syndrome.
Schedule III of the Municipal Solid
Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000
emphasizes that the landfll site shall be away from
habitation clusters, water bodies, Wetlands and
places of such other importance. Also a buffer zone
of no-development shall be maintained around
landfll site and shall be incorporated in the Town
Planning Department's land use plans. Further, the
land fll site shall have wastes inspection facility
to monitor wastes brought in for landfll, offce
facility for record keeping and shelter for keeping
equipment and machinery including pollution
monitoring equipments. Utilities such as drinking
water (preferably bathing facilities for workers) and
lighting arrangements for easy landfll operations
when carried out in night hours shall be provided.
Safety provisions including health inspections of
workers at landfll site shall be periodically made.
All the sentences referred above have been
quoted without any distortions. One hundred
percent distortion has been observed so far as
implementation of the concerned section of the rule;
lack of awareness among the local mass is another
factor for its non-implementation, consequently
the problem is mounting up manifold.
The story narrated here speaks volumes of the
endless sufferings of the mankind due to lack of basic
minimum civic amenities for an urban life and also
lack of consciousness among the mass regarding the
concerned rule and the need of its implementation.
The endless misery of the mass can
be addressed with quotation from Swami
Vivekananda, who said, We must have friendship
for all; when people are happy, we ought to be
happy. Let these words be the guiding force for
all who are in the chair of respective municipality
board or corporation. Only these attitudes can
make our ambience just ft for human habitation.
Before throwing garbage any further, let
us all think for a while, what will we do when
there would be no more place left to put all the
garbage?n
Discussion and Conclusion :
Its very important to at least know these risks/
hazards associated with operations related to oil and
gas sector. These seemingly less important issues
accumulate during any project period and affect the
project in terms of loss of human resources, loss of
time, loss of materials and money, and also the loss
of environmental balance of the region. If the health,
safety, and environment (HSE) related issues are
considered, and given due importance during the
planning period with a separate fund, these risks
can be avoided and the project can be completed in
economical way in its true sense. The HSE personnel
have a role in looking after these issues on the ground
level and execute the measures against these risks.
Safe operating practices (SOP), continuous training
and awareness of the employees, and regard for the
nature and obeying its fundamental rules are likely
to go a long way in oil and gas sector to perform its
operation in India more economically and fruitfully.n
There must be a reason why some people can afford to live well. They must have worked for it. I only feel angry when I
see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use. Mother Teresa, (A Gift for God,) 1975
(Author teaches Ecology at Assam University, Silchar.)
(Contd. from Page 35) Hazards in Mining
(Author teaches Ecology at Assam University, Silchar.)
]
O
il and Gas sector is a fast developing
industrial sector in India. Besides the
traditional units of the country like ONGC, OIL,
IOC, GAIL, etc. which are working in this feld
from last over hundred years or so, organization
(related to energy) like NTPC has now started to
show its interest in petroleum exploration. Some
of the major private players like Reliance, Jubilant,
Shiv-Vani etc. are also contributing its part along
with oil companies from around the globe like
Geopetrol, Canoro, Brownstone, etc.
Undoubtedly the oil & gas exploration and
production as an industry is likely to boom in
coming decades with all its pros and cons. The
country as a whole has huge reserves of petroleum
spreading from northeastern India to Rajasthan
and extending up to southern parts of India, both
within and beyond the shores. There is no doubt
that this sector is contributing huge revenues to
the government, but along with this, one should
keep in mind that this operation is associated with
different types of hazards often overlooked.
Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE)
hazards : The exploration work in this sector
progresses in different phases including works
like construction of approach road (if necessary),
earth cutting (if required), site preparation, heavy
vehicular movements, Rig build up, and then
drilling. All these activities are associated with
different types of risks described as follows:
Dr. Pulak Das
] 4
]
(Contd on Page 32)
]
+ (Mimicry) , + + +
+ + + + +
+ (Mimic) | + + +
(Model) + , + +
+, + +
+ + ++ (camou-
fage) , + + +
++ + + + + +
+
|| - |- | = :
+ (Mimic) : + +
: +
(Model) : + +
:
| | (Palatable) : |+
|+ | (Unpalatable) : |+
++ (Camoufage) : + +
+ + ++
+ :
+ (Warning colouration) +
++ , + + +
+ :
| - |- |- :
+ + + + +
(Batesian) + : | | +
(Mimic) |+ | (Model) + + ++
+ : +
++ + + +
+ +
+ (Mullerian) + : + +
|+ | +
: + + +
:
1) http://www.angelfre.com/ab8/mimicry/
2) http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/Invertebrates/
Facts/insects/camoufage.cfm
3) http://miraclesofnature.org/tag/insects/
4) http://microecos.wordpress.com/tag/crypsis/
5) http://blog.silive.com/weather/2008/04/your_
chance_to_defy_gravity.html
6) http://conservationreport.com/2008/11/08/can-
you-see-me-animal-camoufage-leaf-mimics/
- |-| -- |
( ( )+ + + + + + ++
+ | + + )
7]
W
itch-hunting, one of the most brutal
deeds ever committed by rational people,
is known by different names viz. Voodoo,
Witchcraft, Black magic and is prevalent in
different customs and beliefs in the world. It
still occurs in societies where belief in magic
is predominant. Witchcraft is the alleged use
of supernatural or magical powers. A witch
is a practitioner of witchcraft. Historically, in
early modern Christian Europe, it was widely
believed that witches used their devil powers
to harm people and property. The concept of
witchcraft as harmful is normally treated as a
cultural ideology, a means of explaining human
misfortune by blaming it either on a supernatural
entity or a known person in the community. This
paper throws some light on the issue of witch-
hunting in India in general and particularly in
Assam that has not properly been addressed and
to suggest some remedial measures.
The history of witch-hunting dates back
to the dawn of civilization when in 331 BC,
170 women were executed as witches in the
context of an epidemic illness. Although it was
emphasized by Livy as a scale of persecution
without precedent in Rome, but smaller-scale
witch-hunts. In 184 BC, about 2,000 people
were executed for witchcraft, and in 182-180
BC another 3,000 executions took place, again
triggered by the outbreak of an epidemic. In
1431 AD, Jeanne dArc (Joan of Arc) was burned
alive at the stake for heresy at the age of 19 only.
In India, the practice of witch-hunting is
prevalent in about half a dozen states, generally
regions located in central and eastern India.
Mayong in Morigaon district, Assam used to be
known as the capital of black magic in India.
According to National Crime Record Bureau,
175 cases of witch-craft related murder were
reported in 2008 from various states of India
including Jharkhand, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh,
Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh. As per a
study by an NGO, more than 25000 women were
killed in the past ffteen years in India after being
accused of practicing witchcraft. In Assam, it has
claimed 116 lives including 66 women and 50
men in the past ten years (2001-2011). According
to the state government data, 68 persons 28 male
and 40 female have been killed in Assam from
2006 until May 2011, for supposedly practicing
witchcraft. The government says 322 persons have
been arrested in connection with these murders.
Over 10 people have been killed in witch-hunts
in 2011. Most witch-hunts reported in the year
2011were from Kokrajhar, Udalguri and Sonitpur
districts. The practice is also prevalent in Kamrup
(rural), Goalpara, Chirang, Baska, Lakhimpur
and Karbi Anglong districts. In Kokrajhar, witch-
hunting did claim its fourth victim in April, 2011
creating panic in lower Assam. In the district,
an impoverished elderly couple was beaten to
death and thrown into a river on 9th Oct, 2011. In
Sonitpur district of north-central Assam, a three
member family and one of their neighbors were
conveniently labeled witches and were killed
on 22 June, 2011 whose bodies were found by
police in a ditch in Monabarie Tea Estate. Debari
Sangita Bhagawati
]
Nagbanshi and Regina Daimari were killed in
Tinsukia and Jorhat districts respectively who were
blamed as witches by the villagers. Witch-hunting
has especially crippled areas inhabited by Bodo
and Rabha tribes and Adivasis.
The incident of witch-hunting is rampant in
those regions where people are mostly illiterate
and proper health care facility is not available. In
those villages superstitions loom large and people
still cling to age old myths. In the areas where
there is lack of proper health care facilities, people
often approach the Bez or Ojaa (witch doctor)
who provide medication to the villagers from
several diseases. In some cases land grabbing has
been considered as a reason behind the murder of
innocent people who are suspected as witch. Witch
doctors are much in demand in villages where lack
of safe drinking water and sanitation has led to
spread of various diseases.
Witch-hunt is a gross violation of human
right as it takes away a persons right to life.
Several right groups along with Assam State
Women Commission (ASWC) have demanded
the government to protect people from the
practice and help the victims. The ASWC has
even recommended the inclusion of lessons on
superstitions and evil practices in the primary
school textbooks. It has submitted a draft on
formulation of a Bill conferring protection against
witch hunting to the Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi
on September 1, 2011. To eradicate this practice a
project called PRAHARI has been implemented by
the government in different parts of the state. Most
witch-hunting cases are dealt with under Section
323 of the Indian Penal Code which prescribes a
years imprisonment and Rs 1000 as fne. Recently,
on 2nd February, 2012, the Gauhati High Court
passed a landmark verdict and put the onus of
taking responsibility of maintaining families whose
member or members are killed on the suspicion of
practicing witch-craft and to provide rehabilitation
along with providing monetary compensation in
the range of Rs. 3 to 5 lacs. The government should
also pay attention on providing proper health care
facilities to the people who live in the remote
areas. However, the only solution to this problem
would be to educate the people and to frame laws
for the protection of people belonging to the rural
areas where such practice prevails. Until then,
superstitious beliefs in the existence of black magic
and witches will prevail along with the prevalence
of Ojaas who have been holding sway over the
mind of the poor and illiterate villagers. NGOs
can play a crucial role in eradicating the malady by
spreading awareness about the social evil. Media
has been doing great jobs by highlighting the issue.
It is high time to address the issue of witch-hunting
and a massive awareness programme is the need
of the hour.n
REFERENCES :
The Hindu, April 19, 2011
The Assam Tribune April 25, 2011
The Assam Tribune August 25, 2011
Times of Assam, August 30, 2011
India Today, November 29, 2011
(The author teaches at B.R.M. Govt. Law College, Guwahati.)
]
A
ssam and North East is said to have a very
rich and diverse textile heritage. Through
the ages, the texture, range, colour need and
economic and social values of textile life in
Assam and North East have been able to retain
its basic form.
Assam a state with diversity is famous
for its rich cultural heritage, handloom industry
is a part of the Assamese culture and tradition.
From the view point of calibre and effciency,
the handloom weaver always possesses a place
of pride in the cultural life of the Assamese
people. From time immemorial, Assam has
attained a high water mark of excellence in the
manufacture of fne fabrics. The tradition of
handloom weaving in Assam has been long and
glorious and the skill of the hand spinner and
handloom weaver is of a very high order. The
artisans of Assam are also known from early
times for hand spinning, hand printing, hand
dyeing and hand weaving. The artisans in this
industry have been carrying their profession
without having schooling or without any sort of
technical training. They are accustomed with the
art of weaving as hereditary occupation.
Handloom weaving occupies a place
of pride in the economy of Assam and as
had already been said among all the cottage
industries its position has always been a
dominating one since the early period. Das N.C
(1981) conducted a study on the traditional
handloom industry of Assam to understand its
present position, problems and prospects. He
observes that the place of handloom industry in
the socio-economic and cultural life of Assam has
been of vital importance from very early times. In
the Assamese society handloom has occupied a
place of pride since remote past. The industry has
not only created the avenues of self employment
to a large section of society, but has also provided
opportunities of economic support to a sizeable
section of its people. The study shows that the
handloom industry in the state has engaged
about 12 lakh persons as full time and part time
weavers.
In the present study, it is intended to have a
detailed investigation of the Assamese handloom
and textile tradition along with its socio-
economic dimension. The study will have the
following broad.
Methodology :
The intensive investigation for the purpose of the
present study has been carried out in the micro-
feld Sualkuchi, one of the most renowned villages
in Assam. While dwelling on the methodology, it
may be noted that depending on the nature of the
data that were sought to be generated, different
standard anthropological; techniques were used
in the feld. Emphasis, however, was always put
more on observation (preferably a participant
one), interview and collection of concrete cases.
Whenever necessary, the data obtained through
one technique and/or from one informant were
crosschecked through alternative techniques and /
or from other informants. Again, sometimes more
than one technique (eg., an observation had to
be clarifed through an interview) had to be used
simultaneously to have a better understanding
Dr. Sanjita Chetia
Alpana Borah
]4
of a particular issue. Besides, our own prolonged
personal association with, and observation of
the life and activities of the people in different
places of Assam have provided us with added
opportunities to understand their life pattern in a
better and holistic way.
Again, by living in the village, one is able
to observe the customs and practices etc., of
the native people to an extent which cannot be
often yielded from the written documents and
descriptive accounts. Schedules are framed for
the purpose but some degree of participation is, in
fact, obligatory for the student of Home Science.
Then in the process, one sees as much as he can
and sometimes also participates whenever the
situation permits or he is welcome to do so by
the people under investigation. The experiences
are also compounded by the investigator through
formal discussions with the people there, as widely
as possible.
After returning from the feld, the gathered
experiences are systematically arranged and
assembled together and presented in the form of a
monograph with generalised statements.
With regard to the collection of secondary
data, sources like published and unpublished
materials (such as books, journals, offcial records,
reports and documents etc.) were consulted. All
these were used to generate data on the origin,
history and development of textiles in Assam, and
also some other relevant facts about the Assamese
textiles as well as those of the different other
communities of North-East India.
The Micro-Field : The intensive investigation for the
purpose of the present study has been carried out in the
micro-feld Sualkuchi. It is famous, not only in Assam,
but also beyond, for its silk industry. Sualkuchi may
be compared with Manchester, a Wealthy Village of
England during the frst quarter of the 18th Century.
A village, without a municipal corporation and
with a population of around ten thousand persons,
Manchester has been famous as a manufacturing centre
of woollen, linen and cotton goods of all kinds. Like
the artisans of Manchester, a section of the inhabitants
of Sualkuchi have remained engaged since antiquity
in the production and distribution of mulberry silk,
commonly known as pat and Muga fabrics of various
artistic designs and patterns.
Its history may be traced back to the days of
Kautilya (fourth Century B.C.) and certainly to the
reign of Dharampal of the fourth century who had
established his capital of Godanda hills in the west
of Guwahati, now-a-days just at the eastern side of
Sualkuchi (Baishya, 1989). Situated on the north
bank of the Brahmaputra at a distance of around
32 km west of Guwahati, Sualkuchi is linked with
the former and Hajo township (12 km north) by
P.W.D. roads and with Palasbari on the south bank
by motor boat and country boat.
According to 1991 census, it has a total
population of 14310 distributed in 4,468
households. It will be interesting to note that
around 92 % of the workers are engaged in non-
agricultural activities and therefore, the census
authorities have rightly classifed it as an urban
area. Sualkuchi can be considered as an industrial
village which is inhabited by the indigenous
Hindu population living in Tols and Paras of two
adjoining revenue villages, viz; Sualkuchi and
Bamun Sualkuchi. The two together cover an area
of around 3.44 sq.km. Lengthwise, the village
covers around 4 km. and its breadth stretches
around 2 km. Population settlement is very dense.
The houses of the village are neatly laid out in
columns.
Demographic and socio-economic background
of the study group :
It is important to understand the demographic and
socio-economic background of the people under
investigation as it plays a decisive role to shape
their values, attitudes and practices with regard to
certain issues. This also infuences the formation
of their opinions on matters relating to change and
innovation etc., in a society. Thus, Mannheim
(1936) maintains that the opinions, statements,
propositions and systems of ideas etc., are not
taken at their face value, but are interpreted in the
light of the situation of the person who expresses
them. The view indicates the rationale for studying
these aspects of the people in any social research.
Occupational Pursuits :
Occupation determines, to a great extent, ones
mode of living, thinking and behaviour etc.
therefore, it is necessary to have an idea about
the ocupational pursuits of the people under
investigation. Table No.1 shows the distribution
4]
of the population (study group) by primary
occupational pursuits. It will be seen from the table
that there are 52 (4.85%) individuals who are too
young to work. Similarly, 49 (4.58%) persons are
too old to work. Besides, there are 140 (13.08%)
students, 20 (1.87%) unemployed persons and
2 (0.19%) pensioners. Thus, it is apparent from
the table that 75.43% of the people are actively
involved in economically gainfull pursuits. Out
of them, more than 87% (67.13% of the total
population) are engaged in textile activities.
The other primary occupational pursuits include
cultivation (0.28%), service(3.17%) and business
(4.85%). It is thus apparent that the economic
activities of the people, by and large, centre around
textile production.
Table No. 1. Distribution of population
According to various Occupational Primary needs
Prospect of Handloom Industry :
A silk industry in general covers a wide
range of activities ranging from tree cultivation
and biological silk worm rearing to industrial silk
production as well as its processing. Its history
goes back to more than 3000 years before Christ.
It is reported that a cocoon had suddenly fallen
into the tea cup of a Chinese Emperor and while
the cocoon was pulled out, it had unrolled itself
yielding a long white flament. Historical records
revealed that silk culture spreaded to India from
China too probably during 6 B.C. or 5 B.C. The
history of sericulture in India can be traced back to
the 4th century B.C.
The history of a thousand years of traditional
art and craft of North-Eastern region tells us of
a vast range of handlooms products, each one
of which is incomparably exquisite in design,
craftsmanship and vibrant in colour.
History also shows that the Mughals took
many gorgeous clothes from Sualkuchi to Patsah.
History also reveals that the Mughals never brought
the weavers along with them. They came to Kamrup
with arms only conquer and reign when the Ahom
reoccupied Sualkuchi, they found many clothes
which were ready to be taken to Patsah. All these
antecedents lead us to believe that silk industry was
a local wealth of Sualkuchi. And it could attract the
minds of elegant emperors and queens who loved
pomp and granduer. (Semon ; 1897).
The handloom and textile industry of
Sualkuchi is one of the most valuable assets of
the Assamese culture and tradition. Handloom
products has a great importance
in the rural sector as it provides a
vital source of rural employment
and economic support.
It reveals that there is a great
scope to establish the small scale
apparel industries based on these
beautiful hand woven fabrics
and also will help tremendously
in commercialization of the
indigenous fabrics which will
be a great source of economic
upliftment of people.
One of the most prominent
occupations is the selling of different accessories
related to textile industry or which are needed for
weaver. The cost of a shuttle loom varies from Rs.
4000.00 Rs.4500.00, that of a fy shuttle loom
including ftting charge ranges between Rs.6000.00
Rs. 6500.00, and the cost of a Dobby machine
including its frame is about Rs. 1500.00 and the
cost of Jacquard machine is 1500.00. Barring the
dobby machine, reed, shuttle and bobbin that are
brought from Banaras, the other items are generally
made locally.
Reeling of muga yarn is the most important
part of textile activities. When reeling is not done
in proper way then the weaving becomes diffcult
for the weavers. Reeling is mostly confned to the
womenfolk as a source of income. Muga reeling is
done in the age old traditional Bhir. Two persons,
Sl Occupation Male Female Total
No. No. PC No. Pc No PC
1. Too young 21 1.98 31 2.89 52 4.85
2. Weaving 318 29.69 401 37.44 719 67.13
3. Cultivation 3 0.28 - - 3 0.28
4. Service 24 2.24 10 0.93 34 3.17
5. Business 42 3.92 10 0.93 52 4.85
6. Student 100 9.34 40 3.74 140 13.08
7. Unemployment 11 1.03 9 0.84 20 1.87
8. Too old to work 29 2.71 20 1.87 49 4.58
9. Any other - - 2 0.19 2 0.19
Total 548 51.17 423 48.83 1071 100
]4
engaged together in the reeling process in bhir can
reel around 500 cocoons in 7 hours. The wage rate
is Rs. 150.00 in case of bhir and Rs. 220.00 in case
of machine per day for one reeler. The quality of the
muga yarn in the twisting process, however, remains
sub standard as the flaments remain split. This in
turn impedes the speed of the loom. Further, the
meterage of the yarn also remains, relatively less as
it is not well stretched in the reeling process. It may
relevantly be noted here that the total amount of
muga cocoon annually reeled in Sualkuchi is around
1 million quintals (source: Panchayat Offce).
Another occupation in textile industry is
warping process. The people (mainly men) now
invariably use drum warping (bati khara). It can
be carried out both indoor and outdoor. It involves
relatively less time and relatively more amount of
yarn can be wrapped at a time. The cost of warping
process is found to be Rs.100/-.
Dyeing is another proft motive that motivated
the person to be involved in the textile pursuit.
The world of textiles without colour is almost
unimaginable. Earlier man depended on plants and
insects for his supply of colour, but today with the
availability of synthetic dyes, there are hundreds of
colours to choose from, Dyes are soluble substance,
which penetrate into the fbre and are fxed by
chemical action, heat or other treatment. During
the present investigation it has been observed that
the weavers (both women and men) generally take
recourse to yarn dyeing in hank from. The wage rate
for dyeing is Rs. 500.00 per day.
Weaving is a primary occupation for the
weavers of Sualkuchi. The wages of weaver are
calculated on a number of bases, mainly involving
the design and the textile item. These are as follows :
i] On article basis :
1 piece of plain silk mekhela {100.00
1 piece of plain silk chadar {110.00
1 piece of plain silk saree {200.00-250.00
1 piece of plain cotton gamocha{30.0040.00
1 piece of plain muga mekhela {150.00
1 piece of plain muga chadar {250.00
ii] On the basis of design :
A design consisting of 100 {8.00 10.00
picks (kathi) for muga and
pat silk mekhela
A design consisting of 100 {10.0012.00
picks (kathi) for muga and
pat silk chadar
A buta on pat silk {1.00
A buta on Muga silk {1.20
There are different types of sanekis for
reproduction of various designs. Initially, the
entire process of working out foral design on
saneki as well as weaving the same of the cloth
was manual. The task of designing with the help
of dobby machine has become relatively less
diffcult and less time consuming. With mechanical
help, nowadays, production of clothes with even
bigger design has become faster. To use dobby and
jacquard machines at frst one has to workout the
design on the graph paper. From the graph paper
it is transferrerd to the card. The card then passes
through the dobby or the Jacquard machine. The
cost of one designed saneki is Rs. 200.00.
Recently there has been a remarkable growth
in the handloom industry primarily as a result of
the initiative of the weaving community. The
unique skill of the weaver, his comprehension
of colour, texture and function, the weavers
capacity for rapid adaptation and for production
of small yardage in a variety of designs has
been the industrys greatest strength. Handloom
cloth has become an important foreign earner on
account of its ability to meet the needs of fashion
markets, producing even a hundred meters of
fabric in a particular design or colour combination
to meet the individual taste of the consumer. It
is the exclusiveness of handloom that gives it an
edge over cloth produced by the other sector. It is
nesessary to continue research on improving the
quality and the productivity of handlooms. Studies
have shown that minor modifcations in machines
and processes can increase productivity by up to
50%.n
Reference :
Baishya, P. 1989. Small and Cottage Industries : A Study in Assam. Delhi : Manas Publications.
Das, N.C. 1981 . Handloom Industry in Assam. Unpublished Ph.D thesis Gawahati : Gauhati University.
Semmon, H.F. 1897. Monograph of cotton fabrics of Assam. Calcutta : The Author
(The authors teach Home Science at Digboi Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Digboi)
4 ]
U
rbanization is an important social index that
refex the standard of living and stands as
indicator signifying the level of economic growth
and development of a country. The increase
of literacy, its economic affuence, changes
of social customs and life style increase the
mobility of the people. All these changes also
help to change the occupational structure, Social
and Economic process. Actually the process of
urbanization refects the increase of town living
people as well as increase in the number of urban
centers and extension of urban way of life in a
region obviously with the associated decrease of
percentage of rural population.
Study Area : Undivided Dibrugarh and Tinsukia
District is an important urban area in Assam. The
District of Lakhimpur was bifurcated on 2nd
October, 1971 to create the Districts of Lakhimpur
and Dibrugarh. It is bounded on the north and
north-west by the river Brahmaputra which forms
the common boundary between Lakhimpur and
Dibrugarh District, on the north-east and east
and south-east by Arunachal Pradesh and on
the south west by Sibsagarh District (Census of
India 1981). It is situated between 27
0
5 and 27
0

58 North Latitude and 94
0
35 and 96
0
0 East
Latitude. It covers urban area 105.96 per Sq. km
with 110 feet above mean sea level.
Population Growth: At the beginning of this
century (1872) the Dibrugarh township had a
population of 3,870 (Hunter 1879, 1975). The
population of the district increased from 11,217 in
1901 to 13,3,571 in 2001. Very little change took
place in the growth of the urban population in the
decade 1901. In 1901 the total urban population
had crossed just 10,000 (Table 2). The growth of
urban population in the district was shown but
relatively high during the period between 1872
and 1911. During this period, the growth rate was
276.3 percent as against about 211.3 percent in
Assam and only 21.8 percent in India as shown in
Table 1. This growth was due mainly to the infow
of people, the products of commerce and industry,
fnance, residence, education etc.
In 1921 two new urban centers called
Tinsukia and Doomdooma came in to existence.
Tinsukia was a commercial centre which owed its
development to the establishment of the Assam
Bengal Railway line with a population 3,080.
Doomdooma came up as a service centre of the
tea gardens with a population of 1,162 (Table 2)
During the decade of 1921-31, the growth
of urban population was extremely high in both
the new towns of Tinsukia and Doomdooma 67.5
and 63.5 percent respectively (Table 2) due to
the immigrants. The vast majority of immigrants
came as periodic visitors, mostly general labours
and earthworkers from Bihar and the united
provinces and Traders from various parts. Most
of the permanent and semi permanent immigrants
fell in to three great classes of (i) those connected
with tea (2) Eastern Bengal (now Bangladesh )
Sangeeta Boruah Saikia
]44
cultivators and (3) those from Nepal. (Gazetteer
of India 1999) sizeable section of the Bengal
immigrants, however, also came in connection with
service business, professions and petty traders.
In much the same way the decades1931-41
were not marked in the growth of urban population.
The number of towns remained same until 1951.
There was, however signifcant rise in the growth
of urban population during 1941-1951 although
the number of towns remained same. Urban
population gained by 58.3 percent where as rural
population increased only 19.7 percent (Table
1). Specially after independence expansion of
administrative industrial and commercial activities
and development of transport and communication
systems gave new inputs to the growth of the Town.
Dibrugarh 68.3 percent, Tinsukia 46.9 percent and
Doomdooma 42.4 percent respectively.
The most spectacular increase in urban
population took place in the decade 1951-61. The
number of urban centers rose up from 3 to 7 and
the proportion of urban population increase to
165.5 percent was fve times higher than that of
rural growth (Table-1) 32.1 percent. Doomdooma
was very closely followed by Tinsukia where
the growth rate of urban population was 132.1
percent (Table 2). This high growth of population
of the district during this decade was due to rapid
industrialization , based on the mineral wealth of
the district as well as expansion of employment
scope and infux of immigrants, migration of
rural population to towns. The development of
new urban centers in the more rural area based
on increasing commercial activities is also greatly
responsible for increase in the number of urban
population.
In 1961-71 the urban growth has gone down
which accounts for a growth of 60.7% in spite of
an addition of 4 new urban centers like Duliajan
(11,491), Margherita (9,250), Namrup (7,972) and
Makum (5,992) respectively. This slow growth can
be attributed to the decrease in the rate of migration
from rural areas to the increasing unemployment
problem on the one hand and development of a
large number of market and service centers in the
rural areas on the other (Sharma 1978). The result
has been that the town like Dibrugarh with 37.4
percent in 1971 as opposed to 53.98 percent in
1961, Tinsukia 92.9 percent in 1971 as opposed to
132.5 percent in 1961, Doomdooma 28.3 percent
as opposed to 132 percent in 1971 have shown
a declining growth, while newly uplifted town
like Namrup, Duliajan, Makum and Margherita
have a good number of migrants due to discovery
of Oil Field, drilling activities and industrial
development.
TABLE-1
Dibrugarh and Tinsukia District
Growth of Rural and Urban Population of Dibrugarh & Tinsukia District, Assam & India 1872-2001
4 ]
Source : (i) Hunter w.w : A statistical Account of Assam Vol, Delhi 1879; Rept. 1975
(ii) Census of India 1971, 91, 2001 series 3, Assam Part vi-A Town Directory
(iii) Allen B.C. District Gazetteer Lakhimpur VIII 1905
Table 2
Dibrugarh & Tinsukia District
Growth of Urban Population in Percentage 1901- 2001
Table Continues
]4
On the other hand in Digboi and Digboi Oil
Town, there was a decrease (Table2) of population
owing to shifting of some of their population engaged
in oil mining activities to the newly developed oil
felds of Moran, Naharkatiya and Hugrijan during
the same decade some units associated with oil
refnery were shifted to Tinsukia from Digboi
brings decline in the growth of urban population 9.3
percent and 5.6 percent respectively.
During 1971-91 one new urban centre
Barbari A.M.C. area in Dibrugarh then came in
to existence with a population of 5,540. During
this decade the overall growth of urban population
stood at 50.42 percent (Table-1) as against 39.58
percent in Assam and 36.47 percent in India.
Namrup leading position in the district followed
by Margherita and Makum town with growth
of population 134.7 percent and 100.2 percent
respectively due to the industrial-cum-trade and
commercial activities.
During the decade 1991-2001 Digboi Town
committee area gradually rose up but in Digboi oil
town again went downward from 1991onwards
(Table 2) because refnerys rule and regulation
were changed and the use of automation, decreased
the demand of extra labour. Barbari A.M.C. area
also declined with 26.2 percent, on the other
hand Namrup town has shown a declining growth
of 3.64 percent due to poor industrialization of
Namrup fertilizer. While Chabua leading position
in the district with a growth rate of 185.6 percent
(Table 2). In this decade 7 new urban centres grew
up named as Ledo Town (8571), Ledo Tikak,
(6764), Moran Town (6826), Sarupathar Bengali
(6609), Duliajan No. 1 (1602), Bahbari gaon
(6166) and Borgolai Grant No. 11 (4383) over
all growth of urban population of the district at
32.18 percent (Table-1) as against 38.24 percent in
Assam and 31.50 percent in India. The main urban
centres Dibrugarh and Tinsukia stood at only 11.19
percent and 37.9 percent respectively.
Thus the urban development in the region
shows an interesting trend from the beginning of
this century under the colonial rule to the present
era of independence which is experiencing great
stresses and strains in spatial organization.
Development of Urban Centres :
Percentage of urban population has been taken
as the most appropriate index for measuring the
level of urbanization. Table-4 shows the urban
density, sex ratio, literacy rate and percentage
of non agricultural workers on important index
of regional characteristics in the process of
urbanization. Towns have been classifed in to
six categories according to their population size.
Table- 4 shows the distribution of town on the basis
of their population size classifcation for the census
year 2001. The growth of urban centers is shown
in table 3 from 1901 to 2001. Dibrugarh and
Tinsukia are class I urban centre, city as per census
defnition. Development of rail communication
in the district can be attributed to the Tea, Coal,
Petroleum and Plywood industries of the district.
A number of industries engaged in manufacture of
machinery, machine tools and parts, steel furniture
of these industries have came up near Tinsukia
town and some even fnd place in the international
markets.
The rapid rate of economic growth through
industrialization : The result is the mass movement
of people from the rural to the urban areas. The
slow growth rate, in some cases stagnation of
small towns may be the result of their inability to
attract new migration (Green Wood 1971). The
newly emerged urban centre like Bahabarigaon,
Sarupathar Bengali, Barbari A.M.C. area Duliajan
No.1, Ledo etc. though not qualifed to attain the
status of towns by the census defnition become
centers thus either with a complex of a daily
market, a few big retail shops, especially along
47]
the main road and road links. A few small scale
industrial establishments primarily agricultural
and forest based, a bank, postal and telephone
service, hospital, police station high school or
higher secondary school and a junior college with
a few of these establishments are potential market
places forming lower orders in the hierarchy of
urban centers in this region.
Table 3
Dibrugarh and Tinsukia District Progress of Urban Population 1901 to 2001
Source: Census of India Series-3 Town Directory 1991, 2001
]4
Conclusion :
From the above discussion it is seen that
(i) Dibrugarh is the only old town which was
once the principal centre of trade next to
Tinsukia which distinguishes itself as
Table 4
Dibrugarh and Tinsukia District Urban Settlement - 2001
the main centre of wholesale trade in the
districts. Duliajan, Namrup, Digboi oil
town, Margherita, Ledo stand as industrial
towns as well as Borgolai, Ledo Tikok,
as mining centers. Other important
4 ]
trade centers are Digboi, Doomdooma,
Margherita, Moran, Makum, Chabua
both wholesale and retail trade go side
by side in almost all trade centers of the
district. Barbari A.M.C. area has grown due
to the Medical Hospital and navigable river
canal within 10 kms from the Brahmaputra
river bank. There are other small towns
like Bahbarigaon, Sarupathar Bengali
area, Duliajan No. 1 which have emerged
in the recent part mainly as administrative
centers.
(ii) From the points of trends in overall growth
rate, the year 1901-2001 is marked with
two distinct breaks at 1941 and 1971. The
year 1971 2001 are distinguished as a
continuously downward of urban population
but above the national level of urbanization.n
1. Bogue, Donald, J and Zachariah,K.C. (1962): Urbanization and Migration in Roy Tuners Indias urban future (ed), Oxford Univ.
Press Bombay.
2. Borooah G.L. (1985) Population Geography of Assam; A study of Dibrugarh district, Mital Publications Delhi- P- 139.
3. Census of India 1901-1961 Vol III, Assam part I and Part II
4. Census of India 1971, Series & Assam part II-A General Population Table.
5. Census of India 1971 Series 3 Assam part X-A & Town Directory. Lakhimpur District.
6. Census of India 1981 Part XIII-A Village & Town Directory Dibrugarh P-XI
7. Census of India (1991) Series -4 Assam part IX-A town Directory, Direction of census operations, Assam.
8. Census of India 1991, 2001 primary census abstract series 4 & 19 Assam.
9. Gazetteer of India 1991 Vol A Govt. of Assam P - 231 .
10. Dutta, K.N. and Dutta N.C.(1976): Gazetteer of India , Assam State, Lakhimpur District, GauhatI.
12. Hunter, W.W. (1879): A statistical account of Assam Vol II B.R. Publishing corporation, Delhi 1975 (Rep) - P-364.
13. Sarma M.C & Das H.P. (1976): The functional pattern and classifcation of the urban centers in Assam. North Eastern
Geographer Journal of the N.E. India Geographical Society Vol VIII No. 1 & 2 .
14. Sharma H.N.(1979): Urban growth and spatial pattern of urban development in the Brahmaputra valley Assam. North Eastern
Geographer Journal of the N.E. India Geographical Society Vol X I No. 1 & 2 P- 31
15. Singh R.P. & Devi & Sobhabati (1986): The Trends and patterns of urbanization in Manipur North Eastern Geographer Journal
of the N.E. India Geographical Society Vol 19 No. 1& 2
(The author teaches Geography at Digboi College)
a-days. All these recent changes in the contents as
well as objectives of such movements give a new
impetus to the discourses on these movements.
Now the academicians primarily focus on the
changing nature of these movements and try to
relate these changes with the overall social change.
What have been observed with regard to these
movements at present are the ways in which these
movements are organised and directed are not very
much clear. All these have put us in doubt about
the nature and focus of these movements. Again,
regarding the leadership of these movements
too, there have been lot of contradictions among
the concerned ones. Even it has been observed
that the leadership is being trapped by the ruling
authority and so manipulated that they are to act in
the vested interested of the ruling authority latter.
The ruling authority makes every possible attempt
to disorganise and spoil any movement of such
kind. Moreover, the leadership is not able to reach
to all sections of people in society. So, compared
to the earliest movements, now-a-days these
movements have failed to involve people in great
numbers which makes these movement losing its
grounds gradually. What makes these movements
more panic at this present juncture is the fact that
the movements are becoming more violent and
aggressive these days. The protesters of these
movements have frequently resorted to violent
activities of different kinds like that of destroying
public properties indiscriminately. This has been
revealed many times in Assam in recent past.
Considering these changes in the nature and
content of mass movements at present, there is
the need to initiate more and more studies in this
regard to comprehend every pros and cons of such
things. In the long run these studies will throw light
on the different aspects of these movements and
will certainly help in leading these movements in
a proper way.n
(The author teaches Political Science)
(Contd from Page 50) Mass Movement in Transition
References :
]
O
ne of the growing phenomena in the post
colonial societies is the emergence of a
number of mass movements. These societies
are engulfed with a great number of such
movements of different intensity and purpose
in recent past mostly aiming at making certain
changes in the ongoing system. People in
large numbers from different socio-economic
and political background participated in these
movements to expedite the process to execute
said changes in the system. In other words,
people of different orientations have clubbed
together under the same roof which make these
movements more organised and progressive.
Since these societies are passing through a
transition from tradition to modernity where the
people are not adequately politically socialised,
these movements have to occur to give some
dynamism to the system as well as check the
despotic tendencies of the ruling authority at
different points of time. As such wherever there
is vacuum with regard to the progress within
the system as well as indifferent attitude on the
part of the authority towards such issues, the
occurrence of mass movements is a must. The
Peasants movements, environmental protection
movements, anti-corruption movements, anti-
dam movements bear testimony of such a
situation. Due to the fact of bringing dynamism to
the system in terms of changes and reforms these
movements have drawn the attention of the social
scientists across the globe and got favourable
spaces in the academic discourses of our time.
The Indian sub-continent has witnessed
the emergence of a large number of such
mass movements of different magnitudes and
purposes in recent past. The Chipko Movement,
the Narmada Bachao Movement, the Assam
Movement are some of the examples of such
movement in Indian context. Though these
movements were different in purpose and
magnitude yet there were something common in
them. These commonness were primarily seen
in respect of the organisational aspects as well
as on the focusing point of these movements. To
put in other words, these movements were very
much focused and organised and as a result of
that in most of the cases these were successful
in achieving their targets. Not only that due to
the able leaderships and these timely strategies
these movements could involve more and more
numbers of people as active participants which
made them more vibrant as well as stronger. Of
late, once again there have occurred a series of
such mass movements at different parts of our
country. The anti-corruption movement lead by
Anna Hazare across the country, the peasant
movement lead by Akhil Gogoi under the banner
of KMSS in Assam and the anti-dam movement
by Akhil Gogoi and his followers in Assam are
some of the glazing examples of occurrence of
such movements. Along with the occurrence of
more and more numbers of movements of such
kind there has been some sort of changes in the
nature and intensity of these movements now-
Baikuntha Das
(Contd on Page 49)
]
C
onsumers Awareness : Consumer awareness
is about making the consumer aware of his/
her rights. It is a marketing term which means
that consumers are aware of products or services,
its characteristics and the other marketing Ps
(place to buy, price, and promotion).Though the
frst consumer movement began in England after
the Second World War, a modern declaration
about consumers rights was frst made in the
United States of America in 1962, where four
basic consumer rights (choice, information,
safety and to be heard ) were recognized. Ralph
Nadar, a consumer activist, is considered as the
father of consumer movement. March 15 is
now celebrated as the World Consumer Rights
Day. The United Nations in 1985 adopted,
certain guidelines to achieve the objectives of
maintaining protection for consumers and to
establish high level ethical conduct for those
engaged in production and distribution of goods
and services. High prices, duplicate articles,
underweight and under measurements, rough
behavior, undue conditions, artifcial scarcity
are some of the ways by which consumers are
exploited by manufacturers and traders. Limited
information, limited supplies and low literacy
are factors causing exploitation of consumers.In
India, the concept of consumer protection is not
new. References to the protection of consumers
interest against exploitation by trade and industry,
underweight and measurement, adulteration and
punishment for these offences, were made in
Kautilyas Arthashastra. However, an organized
and systematic movement to safeguard the
interest of consumers, is a recent phenomenon.
The consumers have to be aware not only of
the commercial aspects of sale and purchase of
goods, but also of the health and security aspects.
Food safety has become an important element
of consumer awareness these days. In case of
food products, its quality depends not only on its
nutritional value, but also on its safety for human
consumption. Consumption of contaminated
or adulterated food is a major cause of human
illness and suffering. This called for strong
legal measures to ensure that the manufacturers
and sellers observe uniformity and transparency
in prices, stocks and quality of their goods.
Enactment of Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was
one of the most important steps taken to protect
the interests of consumers in India. The provision
of the Act came into force, with effect from July
1, 1987. The act recognizes consumers right to
seek redresses and right to consumer education.
The salient features of the Act are as follows :
w Applies to all goods and services unless
specifcally exempted by the Union
Government;
w Covers all the sectors whether private,
public or cooperative;
w Enshrines the consumers rights related to
safety, information, choice, representation
and redress and consumer education.
w The act gives consumers an additional
remedy besides those which may be
available to them under the provisions of
other existing laws and they are free to
choose the remedy.
Kauranga Borgohain
]
w Empower consumers seeking
discontinuance of certain unfair and
restrictive trade practices, defects or
defciencies in services and stopping in
services or withdrawal of hazardous goods
from the market.
Reason for Consumer Protection : The
necessity of adopting measures to protect the
interest of consumers arises mainly due to their
helpless position and the unfair business practices.
No doubt consumers have the basic right to be
protected from the loss or injury caused on account
of defective goods and defciency of services.
However, consumers are unable to make use of
their rights due to lack of awareness and ignorance.
For example, as consumers we have the right to
choose the goods of right quality from a variety
of similar goods available in the market. But
often we fail to make the right choice because
of misleading advertisements by which we are
carried away and buy sub-standard goods. Under
certain circumstances, we are helpless in the sense
of our inability to verify the quality of products.
The clever shopkeeper can deceive us by his
persuasive words. Often we are guided by some of
our beliefs without any basis. For instance, many
of us believe that higher price indicates better
quality and so do not mind paying higher price
for a product if the salesmen recommend it to be
of good quality. Again, it is a common belief that
imported goods are inevitably of a superior quality.
So if there is a printed label or a mark that shows
a product is made in a foreign country, we may
buy it at a higher price without verifying its place
of manufacture. Processed food sold in packets,
like potato chips, are not good for health. but
young boys and girls buy these because they are
tasty. Certain brands of soft drink are popular with
young people as the brand ambassadors shown on
the TV are popular flm artists or cricketers and
what they say carry lot of weight with their fans.
Producers of goods often put standard certifcation
marks like ISI on the package which are genuinely
certifed. Similarly, if packaged good are sold short
of weight we pay for, it is very diffcult to verify
always the weights before buying. Sometimes
the weighing machines are defective. Above all,
consumers are not fully aware of remedies open to
them if goods are defective or there is defciency of
service. So, it can be very well realised why steps
must be taken to protect consumers from business
practices which are unfair and may cause loss
and injury to health and other dangerous effects.
Protection of Consumer Rights : Consumer
protection means safeguarding the rights and
interests of consumers. It includes all the measures
aimed at protecting the rights and interests of
consumers. Consumers need protection due to the
following reasons:
1. Illiteracy and Ignorance : Consumers
in India are mostly illiterate and ignorant.
They do not understand their rights. A
system is required to protect them from
unscrupulous businessmen.
2. Unorganised Consumers : In India
consumers are widely dispersed and
are not united. They are at the mercy of
businessmen. On the other hand, producers
and traders are organized and powerful.
3. Spurious Goods : There is increasing supply
of duplicate products. It is very diffcult
for an ordinary consumer to distinguish
between a genuine product and its imitation.
It is necessary to protect consumers from
such exploitation by ensuring compliance
with prescribed norms of quality and
safety.
4. Deceptive Advertising : Some businessmen
give misleading information about quality,
safety and utility of products. Consumers
are misled by false advertisement and do
not know the real quality of advertised
goods. A mechanism is needed to prevent
misleading advertisements.
5. Malpractices of Businessmen : Fraudulent,
unethical and monopolistic trade practices on
the part of businessmen lead to exploitation
of consumers. Consumers often get defective,
inferior and substandard goods and poor
service. Certain measures are required
to protect the consumers against such
malpractices.
6. Freedom of Enterprise : Businessmen
must ensure satisfaction of consumers.
In the long run, survival and growth of
business is not possible without the support
]
and goodwill of consumers. If business
does not protect consumers' interests,
Government intervention and regulatory
measures will grow to curb unfair trade
practices.
7. Legitimacy for Existence : Business
exists to satisfy the needs and desires of
consumers. Goods are produced with the
purpose of selling them. Goods will, in
the long run, sell only when they meet the
needs of consumers.
8. Trusteeship : Businessmen are trustees of
the society's wealth. Therefore, they should
use this wealth for the beneft of people.
Methods of Consumer Protection
There are four main methods of protecting
the interests of consumers :
1. Business Self-regulation : The business
community itself can help in achieving consumer
protection and satisfaction through self -discipline.
Businessmen can regulate their own behaviour and
actions by adopting higher ethical standards. Trade
associations and chambers of commerce can check
unfair trade practices used by some businessmen.
2. Consumer Self-help : Every consumer
must be alert as self-help is the best help. He should
educate himself and know his rights. He should not
allow unscrupulous businessmen to cheat him.
3. Consumers' Associations : Consumers
should form voluntary associations. These
associations can educate and awaken consumers.
They can take organized action and put pressure on
businessmen to adopt fair trade practices.
4. Government Regulations : The State can
ensure consumer protection through legislative,
executive and judicial actions. The laws enacted
by the Government must be strictly enforced by
the executive. Government of India has enacted
several laws to protect the interests and rights of
consumers. Some of these laws are as follows:
The Essential Commodities Act, 1955
which aims to regulate and control the production,
supply and distribution and prices of essential
commodities.
The Prevention of Food Adulteration
Act, 1954 which aims to check adulteration in food
items and eatables.
The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940
which seeks to ensure purity and quality in drugs
and cosmetics.
The Standards of Weights and Measures
Act, 1956 which aims at ensuring that consumers
get the right weight and measurement in products.
The Household Electrical Appliances
(Quality Control) Order, 1976 which seeks to
ensure safety and quality in the manufacture of
electrical appliances.
The Consumer Protection Act, 1986
which seeks to provide speedy and inexpensive
redressal to the grievances of consumers.
The Consumer Production Act provides
for a three tier system of redressal agencies: one
at district level known as District Forum, second
at state level known as State Commission,
and third at national level known as National
Commission. A complaint is to be made to the
district forum of the concerned district where the
value of goods and services and compensation, if
any, is up to Rs 20 lakhs, to the State Commission
between Rs 20 lakhs and Rs 100 lakhs, and to the
National Commission for more than Rs 100 lakhs.
Interestingly, there is provision for appeals against
the orders of a particular redessal forum by the
aggrieved party before the next higher echelon and
even from the fndings of the National Commission
before the Supreme Court.
Legal protection to Consumers : A number of
laws have been passed by the Government of India
over the years to protect the interest of consumers.
A brief outline of the purpose of these laws is given
below.
(i) Agricultural Products (Grading and
Marketing) Act, 1937: This Act provides
for grading and certifying quality standard
of agricultural commodities which are
allowed to be stamped with AGMARK seal
of the Agricultural marketing department
of the Government.
(ii) Industries (Development and
Regulation) Act, 1951: This Act provides
for control over production and distribution
of manufactured goods. According to this
Act, the central government may order
investigation of any industry, if it is of the
opinion that there has been substantial fall
in the volume of production, or a marked
] 4
decline in the quality of a product, or any
unreasonable rise in price.
(iii) Prevention of Food Adulteration Act,
1954: This Act provides for severe
punishment for adulteration of food
articles. In the case of sale of adulterated
food which is injurious to health and likely
to cause death, life imprisonment with a
minimum fne of Rs 3000 may be payable.
Food inspectors are appointed and they
have powers to lift samples and send them
for analysis.
(iv) Essential Commodities Act, 1955 : Under
this Act, the Government has power to
declare any commodity as essential in the
public interest. Thereby the government
can control the production, supply
and distribution of the trading of such
commodities. It also provides for action
against anti-social activities of profteers,
hoarders and black-marketers
(v) The Standards of Weights and Measures
Act, 1956 : This Act provides for the use
of standard weights and standard measures
of length throughout the country. Metre
has been specifed as the primary unit for
measuring length, and kilogram as the
primary unit for measuring weight.
(vi) Monopolies and Restrictive Trade
Practices Act, 1969 : Under the provisions
of this Act, as amended in 1983 and 1984,
consumers and consumer groups can exercise
their right of redressal by fling complaints
relating to restrictive and unfair trade
practices. The government has constituted
the MRTP commission which is empowered
to deal with consumer complaints after due
investigation and enquiry.
(vii) Prevention of Black-marketing and
Maintenance of Essential Supplies Act,
1980 : The primary objective of this act is
to provide for detention of persons with a
view to prevention of black-marketing and
maintenance of supplies of commodities
essential to the community. The maximum
detention for persons acting in any manner
against the intention of the act can be
imprisonment upto 6 months.
(viii) Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986:
The Bureau of Indian Standards has been
set up under this Act, replacing the Indian
Standards Institution (ISI), to protect and
promote consumer interest. It has two
major activities : formulation of quality
standards for goods and their certifcation
through the BIS certifcation marks scheme
by which manufacturers are permitted
to use the standardisation mark (ISI)
on their products after due verifcation
of conformity with prescribed quality
standards of safety and performance.
The Bureau has set up a consumer affairs
department to create quality consciousness
among ordinary consumers. There is also a
public grievances cell to which consumers
can make complaint about the quality of
products carrying ISI mark.
(ix) Consumer Protection Act, 1986 : This
Act provides for consumer protection
more comprehensively than any other law.
Consumers can seek legal remedy for a
wide range of unfair practices not only with
respect to goods but also for defciency in
services like banking, insurance , fnancing,
transport, telephone, supply of electricity
or other energy, housing, boarding and
lodging, entertainment, amusement, etc.
This Act also includes provision for the
establishment of consumer protection
councils at the centre and the state. For
the settlement of consumer disputes,
the act has provided for a semi-judicial
system. It consists of District Forum, State
Commission and National Commission for
redressal of consumer disputes. These may
be regarded as consumer courts.
Jurisdiction of Consumer Courts : The judicial
system set up under the Consumer Protection Act,
1986, consists of consumer courts at the district
level, state level and national level. These are
known as District Forum, State Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission (State Commission)
and National Consumer Disputes Redressal
Commission (National Commission). Any
individual consumer or association of consumers
can lodge a complaint in writing with the district,
]
State or National level forum, depending on the
value goods and claim for compensation, if any. The
district forum has the jurisdiction to deal with all
complaints where the value of the goods or services
or the compensation claimed does not exceed Rs
20 lakhs. The state commissions are empowered
to deal with cases where the value or amount
involved exceed Rs 20 lakh but does not exceed Rs
One Crore. The State commissions also deal with
appeals the against orders of the district forum. The
National commission has the jurisdiction to take up
all claims and grievances exceeding the value of
Rs. One crore. It has also appellate jurisdiction,
that is, power to deal with appeals against orders
passed by state commissions. An aggrieved party
can appeal to the Supreme Court against the orders
of the National Commission.
Procedure for redressal of consumer grievances :
Consumer complaints can be fled by an individual
consumer or association of consumers. The
complaint may be fled before the District Forum
for the district where the cause of action has arisen
or where the opposite party resides, or before the
State Commission notifed by the state government
or the union territory, or it can be fled before the
National Commission at New Delhi. There is no fee
charged for fling a complaint. The complaint may
be fled by the complainant or his/her authorised
agent in person, or it may be sent by post. Five
copies of the complaint are generally required to
be fled along with the following information.
i) Name, description and address of the
complainant;
ii) Name, description and address of the
opposite party or parties, as the case may be;
iii) Facts relating to the complaint and when
and where it arose;
iv) Documents, if any, in support of the
allegations contained in the complaint (like
cash memo, receipt, etc.)
v) The nature of relief which the complainant
is seeking.
The complaint should be signed by the
complainant or his/her authorised agent. It has to
be addressed to the president of the District Forum
or State Commission or National Commission. A
complaint is required to be fled within a period
of two years from the date on which the cause of
action arose. If there is delay and it is excused by the
concerned Forum/Commission, the reason must be
on record. Complaints are expected to be decided,
as far as possible, within three months from the
date of notice received by the opposite parties. For
those complaints which require laboratory analysis
or testing of products, the period is extended to fve
months. Depending on the nature of complaint and
relief sought by the consumer and facts of the case,
the Redressal Forum/Commission may order one
or more of the following reliefs:
(a) removal of defect in goods/defciency in
services.
(b) replacement of the goods/restoration of the
service.
(c) refund of the price paid for goods or excess
charge paid for service.
(d) Compensation for loss or injury suffered.
Role of Non-Governmental Organisations
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
are those associations of people which aim at
promoting the welfare of the public without any
proft motive. They are voluntary bodies having
a constitution and rules of their own, and are free
from government interference. They depend on
donations and partly on government assistance.
NGOs dealing with consumer problems are
known as consumer associations or consumer
organisations. The role of NGOs has become
increasingly more signifcant over the last two
decades. There are now more than 800 such
organisations in India. These organisations are
registered under the Societies Registration Act or
the Companies Act or as Charitable Trusts. NGOs
have undertaken various activities as part of the
consumer movement.
Non-Governmental Consumer Organizations
are non-proft, non-political (in most cases),
non-regulatory, independent advocacy groups
promoting consumerism in India. Although they
lack statutory powers, they form a critical support
network for consumer when you are a victim of
corporate malpractice and/or deceit. Consumer
organizations improve consumers awareness
of consumer rights and advice them on the legal
recourse they can take when consumer rights are
violated. Some such consumer organisations are :
Consumer Coordination Council (CCC): It was
]
established in 1993 under the Societies Registration
Act 1860, Consumer Coordination Council (CCC)
has been a stalwart proponent of good governance.
In 1996, CCC launched a national campaign
on citizens' charter to implement transparency,
accountability, standards of service and a public
grievance redressal system at the government
level. CCC has made notable achievements in
infuencing the making of laws, governmental
policy decisions, and providing administrative
infrastructure for protecting consumer interest.
It also serves as an umbrella organization for all
other consumer NGOs in India.
Consumer Guidance Society of India: Consumer
Guidance Society of India (CGSI) was founded in
1966 to eliminate all possible forms of consumer
exploitation. It is one of the oldest consumer
organizations in the country and has been
instrumental in lobbying the government to pass
a consumer protection act. It has been a member
of Consumers International for several years and
70% of the consumer complaints received by it
have been resolved. CGSI has been instrumental in
promoting consumerism by publishing its fagship
monthly periodical "Keemat", performing product
testing, providing consumer education at the
grass root level such as schools, and giving legal
guidance to consumers with grievances.
Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group:
Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG)
was established on 7th October 1985and has grown
out to be one of the country's leading consumer
advocacy groups. Instrumental in running
campaigns for greater access to information,
improved functioning of public utilities, greater
transparency and accountability in governmental
and private sector functioning, and protection of
our open spaces and natural environment, CAG
plays a vital role in the growth of consumerism in
our country. CAG specializes in attending issues
that affect the common man's life such as lack
of hygiene, pollution of our natural resources,
inaccessible healthcare facilities, corruption and
lack of accountability for the government revenue
from tax sources.
Association for Consumers Action on Safety
and Health : Association for Consumers Action
on Safety and Health (ACASH) is a consumer
organization that focuses on health-related
consumer issues. It has programs aimed at the
general public promoting consumer rights and
overall dispersion of information regarding
consumer safety. Founded by a group of doctors,
lawyers and other eminent personalities,
ACASH today helps consumers in India through
education & awareness, training, developing IEC
(Information, Education and Communication)
material, networking, advocacy and lobbying and
follow-up action.
Consumer Education and Research Centre:
Consumer Education and Research Centre
(CERC) protects consumer interest in India
through consumer research, campaigns through
media, creation / monitoring / enforcement of
effective consumer laws, consumer advocacy and
information dissemination. An apolitical outft,
CERC has research facilities recognized by the
Indian government, and the United Nations has
approved CERC as an NGO. CERC's mission
includes environmental protection, creating
transparency and accountability in the public and
private enterprises and agencies in our country,
resolving individual consumer complaints,
ensuring consumer safety through product research,
consumer education, awareness campaigns and
product test results dissemination.
Consumer Protection Council: Not to be
confused with the governmental bodies established
as per the Consumer Protection Act 1986, the
Consumer Protection Council (CPC) is a consumer
organization that is non-affliated to any statutory
agency. Instituted in Ahmedabad, the CPC has been
instrumental in undertaking consumer issues such
as consumer safety, traffc safety and pedestrian
safety. It has effectively and successfully pursued
legal battles against governmental agencies when
they neglect or fail to carry out their duties to the
tax payers. CPC has been a member of Consumers
International since 1986.
Consumer Unity and Trust Society: Consumer
Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) originated from
a rural background in Rajasthan. It operates fve
program centers in India, an advocacy center
in New Delhi, and resource centers in several
international locations. CUTS's consumer work
is focused on consumer protection and consumer
7]
safety. It publishes a monthly 'Gram Gadar' which
has been effective in ensuring justice for oppressed
social masses. CUTS has been a member of
Consumers International since 1990.
Consumers Association of India : Consumers
Association of India (CAI) was established on
the World Consumer Rights Day to be a powerful
lobby for the consumer. It has successfully and
determinately taken up the mission to spread
awareness among consumers, educate them about
their responsibilities and rights and to ensure that the
consumers' voices can be heard. In the past six years,
CAI has successfully settled over 98% of the 7500
complaints it has received through arbitration. For
the remaining 2% CAI has supported the consumer
in pursuing the complaint through the Indian legal
system. CAI has been a member of Consumers
International since 2003.
Consumers' Forum : Consumers' Forum is one
the consumer organizations that existed in India
long before the Consumer Protection Act 1986 was
passed. The mission of the organization, at its start,
was to promote consumerism by making aware,
training and educating the consumers on their
rights. This was particularly necessary when there
were no stalwart laws in our country to protect
the consumers. The forum provides free advice to
consumers, conducts brain storming sessions on
matters related to consumer protection and ensures
the representation of consumers in national, state
and district level consumer courts and legally
mandated consumer protection councils.
Mumbai Grahak Panchayat : Mumbai Grahak
Panchayat (MGP), or Bombay Consumer Forum,
started as an agitation against the increase of
consumer prices near festival season for fair
and free distribution of consumer goods. The
distribution system that fourished was registered
under the Indian Societies Registration Act 1960
and Indian Public Trust Act 1950 in the name of
MGP. MGP promotes consumerism by bringing
the consumer to the forefront of the logistics
and supply chain of consumer goods as decision
makers, executors and monitors. MGP's primary
objectives include organizing the consumers for
common causes, educating them and protecting
consumer interest through legal and other means.
VOICE Society : Voluntary Organization in
Interest of Consumer Education (VOICE) strives
to be the voice of and for the consumer that the
governments and other statutory / regulatory bodies
of the country seldom hear. The primary focus
of this NGO is to establish informed consumers
in India. Information dispersed to consumers
through VOICE includes corporate negligence /
misconduct on issues such as consumer safety or
customer satisfaction, their rights as a consumer to
get value for money, and the recourse that can be
taken if consumer rights are defed.
Grahak Shakti : Grahak Shakti works towards
creating consumer awareness by organizing
various programs, street plays and on shows
such as Hello Geleyere. The organization has
undertaken a number of surveys like the one on
spurious drugs in coordination with the Drugs
Control Department Government of India. Its
campaign on credit cards and effective liaison with
the regulator was an effective way to warn the
erring bankers to conduct business ethically.
Conclusion : Invariably, consumers are a vulnerable
lot for exploitation, more so in a developing
country with the prevalence of mass poverty and
illiteracy. India too is no exception to it. Instances
like overcharging, black marketing, adulteration,
profteering, lack of proper services in trains,
telecommunication, water supply, airlines, etc.
are not uncommon here. From time to time, the
government has attempted to safeguard consumer's
interests through legislations and the CPA 1986
is considered as the most progressive statute for
consumer protection. Procedural simplicity and
speedy and inexpensive redressal of consumer
grievances as contained in the CPA are really unique
and have few parallels in the world. Implementation
of the Act reveals that interests of consumers are
better protected than ever before. However, consumer
awareness through consumer education and actions
by the government, consumer activists, and
associations are needed the most to make consumer
protection movement a success in the country. The
schools and colleges can play a very important
role by making students aware of consumerism.
Indira Gandhi Open University(IGNOU) has
developed a complete syllabus which provides the
basic framework for other universities to chalk
(Contd on Page 63)
]
I
ndira Goswami, who died on 29th November,
Tuesday aged 69, was among India's most
celebrated contemporary writers whose
work spoke boldly and evocatively for the
empowerment of women and other marginalised
sections of society across the country. For this,
she won the nation's highest literary honours, and
respect and adulation in her home State Assam,
where she was known as baideiu or elder sister.
In recent years, she used her public standing and
infuence to mediate between the separatist group
ULFA and the government, paving the way for
talks between the two sides.
Writing under the name of Mamoni Raisom,
she won the Sahitya Akademi award in 1983, the
Jnanpith in 2001, and literary prizes from almost
every Indian State. In 2008, she received the Prince
Claus Award in the Netherlands. With their pan-
Indian themes, her novels and short stories, most of
which have been translated from the Assamese into
English and several Indian languages, had appeal
wider than the boundaries of her State. Indira
Goswami was not just an Assamese litterateur; she
was a national writer from Assam.
Far ahead of its times, her Neelkanthi
Braja was one of the
earliest works of
Indian literature
to highlight the
expl oi t at i on
of destitute
widows in
Brindavan.
The book
w a s
born out of
Goswami's own
early widowhood,
and a short experimental stay in a widows' home
in the U.P town.
The plight of widows in Hindu society, and
the oppression of girls and women were themes
that ran through most of her other work, notably
in Dontal Hatir Une Khowda Howda (The Moth
Eaten Howdah of a Tusker), which is set in a sattra
a Vaishnavite monastery in Assam and is a
modern Indian classic.
Her novel about the bloody anti-Sikh riots in
Delhi, Pages Stained with Blood, haunts the reader
long after it is read. She told me once about a visit
to the riot-hit Jahangir Puri. You know, I had
never seen so many fresh widows together wailing
in a chorus, she said.
Indira Goswami was born in November
1942 in a well-to-do Vaishnavite Brahmin family
in Assam. She was educated in Shillong and
Guwahati. In 1962, a meeting with Madhevan
Raisom Ayengar, a young engineer from Mysore
who was working on the construction of the
Saraighat Bridge in Guwahati, led to love and to
marriage. But the marriage was short-lived. Less
than two years later, Madhevan was killed in a road
accident in Kashmir, where the couple was then
living. They had no children.
In Assam, Indira Goswami's life is an
open book. Her frank Adhalekha Dastavej (An
Unfnished Autobiography), written in 1988,
details her battle with intense depression after her
husband's death, her nights with sleeping tablets,
handfuls of which she swallowed in two attempts
It is multilingual column. Our valued writers can contribute write-ups in any of the four languages
English, Assamese, Bengali and Hindi.
Cover Story
]
to end her life, and the story of how she won the
struggle by immersing herself completely in her
writing. It has been read widely in Assam. Even
people who have not read it would know about her
life, in the way everyone knows a folktale. Most of
her early novels run so close to her real life that it is
diffcult to separate fction from reality, especially
for those who have read her autobiography.
She later joined the Modern Indian Language
(MIL) department of Delhi University, and went
on to head its Assamese language department. To
honour her, the University made her the Professor
Emeritus in 2009 after her retirement. It was during
her stint in the national capital that she attained
national prominence.
She drew on other diverse settings for her
novels. The Rusted Sword is set against a worker's
agitation in Madhya Pradesh. The Chenab's
Current is the story of exploitation of labourers
working for companies building an aqueduct over
the Chenab River in Kashmir, and drew from her
own experience in the Valley.
It was the quest for justice, a running thread of
her oeuvre, that may have propelled her into getting
involved in mediating between the separatist group
ULFA and the government; perhaps, she was the
only person who both sides could trust.
Her own efforts came at a time when the
Assamese people had begun looking at the ULFA
with mixed feelings. Like other Assamese, she was
deeply disturbed by the Dhemaji blasts of 2004, in
which the ULFA on Independence Day killed many
children. She had been working on a novel set against
the Assamese separatist movement. The bloodshed
and human rights violations shook her to the core.
She wanted the insurgency to end. But her desire to
bring back the lost boys of the generation invited
people to look at the militants with a new perspective,
as products of the unjust eighties of Assam.
Critics dismissed it as a political move but
she was detached about her involvement from the
beginning. She stressed she was just an observer
in spite of playing an infuential role in the process.
By the time she had a cerebral stroke in 2007 and
was able to recover from it, she believed she had
done her bit for it. Moi duwar mukoli kori disu (I
have opened doors to discussion), she said, and was
eager to get back to what she loved most: writing.
Thus emerged The Bronze Sword of Thengphakhri
Tehsildar, her last novel about a Bodo woman who
fought against the British.
But that frst stroke was the beginning of
the deterioration in her health. Even though she
remained active in public life, it exhausted her.
Right until the end, when she spoke, Assam listened.
After she was hospitalised early last year, the
endless stream of visitors to her intensive care ward
overwhelmed not just her family and friends, but
the hospital authorities too. Suddenly, that corridor
that led to her room in Guwahati Medical College
Hospital had transformed into an equalising space
where politicians in power, and out of power, came
to visit her, jostling for space with innumerable
unknown and known admirers.
Turning the pages of the visitors notebook
that had flled up with thousands of greetings
within days, it struck me then that this is what
she had hoped Assam would be one day: where
everyone would be equal and united, something
she always tried to suggest with her fction. Across
Assam and in several parts of India prayer-meets
were organised by her admirers. Mass texts were
circulated: forward this to people if you want her to
recover; and people did. One evening when I had
gone to the hospital to meet her family I was struck
by a sight of hundreds of mustard oil lamps lit by
people at the entrance. It looked like Diwali.
Truly, when she spoke, 31 million people
listened. May be more. I don't know of any other
contemporary author in the world who occupied
such a central place and unparalleled popularity in
the public imagination.n
(The author is a writer and translator. His frst novel, The House With a Thousand Novels, will be published
by Penguin Books India in 2012. His translation of Indira Goswamis latest novel, The Bronze Sword of
Thengphakhri Revenue Collector, is forthcoming from Zubaan Books. His poems have appeared in places such
as Pratilipi, Postcolonial Text, Indian Literature and anthologized in the The Oxford Anthology of Writings
from North-East India Volume II and Writing Love : An Anthology of India-English Poetry (Rupa). He won
The Charles Wallace India Trust Scholarship for Creative Writing in 2009 to the University of Edinburgh. He
attends the MFA program at Minnesota State University, Mankato.)
]

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+ + +
+ | + +
Domination of religion over state ,
Individual Liberty +
+ +
+ ( + |+
+ +
+ +
+ + + ..)

+ + + +
++ + +
+ + | + ,
| + + ,
It is product of art movement. Bhupen
Hazarika is also a talented talent. Bhupen is also
grown from Assams soil. It is not grown from
Bengal or Orissa Soil.
]
+ + +
, +
+ +
+ : + + ++
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out the curriculum of consumer education. The
Kakitaya University in Warangal, Andhra Pradesh
is already running a one year post graduate course
in Consumer Law. Maharashtra University has also
started a course in consumer education in Pune. The
Books :
1. Consumer and Trading Law: Text, Cases, and Materials
by Brian W. Harvey, C. J. Miller, Deborah L. Parry.
2. Toward a New Model of Consumer Protection: The
Problem of Infated Transaction Costs, in William and
Mary Law Review by Jeff Sovern.
3. Seeking a Single Policy for Contractual Fairness to
Consumers: A Comparison of U.S. and E.U. Efforts, in
Journal of Consumer Affairs by Jennifer Hamilton, Ross
D. Petty.
4. Critical Issues in Business Conduct: Legal, Ethical, and
Social Challenges for the 1990s (Chap. 6 "Workplace
Safety, Consumer Protection, and Product Quality") by
Walter W. Manley II, William A. Shrode.
Internet Sites :
1. http://theviewspaper.net/consumer-awareness/
2. http://www.consumerdaddy.com/a-11-major-consumer-
ngos-in-india.htm
3. Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1092632
4. http://www.sethassociates.com/consumer-protection-
act-in-india.html
5. http://www.nios.ac.in/Secbuscour/27.pdf
6. http://www.nios.ac.in/Secbuscour/27.pdf
CBSE has included consumer protection in Higher
Secondary syllabus. CBSE has also published a
teachers manual on consumer education with live
examples of consumer exploitation and activities of
redressal. n
References :
(The author is a Faculty at Salt Brook Academy, Dibrugarh)
(Contd from Page 57) Consumers Awareness & Right Protection in India
] 4

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It is immaterial where you stay.
I am an original Indian artist and will remain so
till my last breath.
Standpoint; + ..
+ ++ ++ |
+ ++ , He may be the
worlds greatest living artist.
| n
( + )
77]
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I try to write from direct experiences of my life. I only mould these experiences with
my imagination. Dr. Mamoni Raisom Goswami
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S
panish poet and playwright Federico
Garcia Lorca is a prominent name in the
international literary domain whose works have
infuenced writers worldwide. Regarded as the
greatest poet of Spain, Garcia Lorcas poetry has
been translated into various languages including
English and Assamese. Among his most popular
volumes remarkable are Impressions and
Landscapes (1918), Book of Poems (1921), Poem
of the Deep Song (1922), Suites (posthumously
in1983), Songs (1927), The Gypsy Ballads (1928),
Poet in New York (posthumously in 1940), Six
Galician Poems (1935) and Lament for Ignacio
Sanchez Mejias (1935). His poetry introduces us
with the wonderful world of Spanish culture: the
contemporary ordinary life of the poets native
land and the folk- culture of romances and ballads
drawn from the life of the gypsies of Andalusia,
Lorcas birthplace. Also, the
contemporary socio-political
scenario gets refected in the
poems. They play a very
important role in
Hasnahana Gogoi
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bringing about the native culture as well as in
constructing a social identity.
In her book Federico Garcia Lorca, Maria
M. Delgado observes: If Lorca is now viewed
as Spains national poet, this is in part due to
the fact that Spains cultural construction has
been indelibly marked by idioms and myths of
Andalusia. (Delgado, 17) That his were verses
of his native place is apparent in Lorcas use
of Andalusian culture and folk music. Poem of
the Deep Song is full of verses based on cante
jondo, a type of popular Andalusian lyric, also
known as famenco. These cante jondo, literally
meaning, deep songs are short poems pointing to
its peculiar structure, its melodic confguration and
the strong obsessive reiteration of a dominant note.
For example, in Memento, the poet repeatedly
expresses his wish to be buried among the green
trees of his native place. The melody, the fow of
emotion are felt in the poems and whenever we
read those, we must read those poems in terms of
Lorcas reference to his native culture, in order to
have a better understanding. Among his English
translations, the most popular one is The Gypsy
Ballads, which introduces the English readers
with another culture form of Spain, the ballad.
This book is highly stylized imitation of the old,
traditional, anonymous and popular ballads sung
by the blind in the village squares. Poems such as
Sleepwalking Ballad and Ballad of Black Pain
tell us stories of unknown people with dialogues.
More importantly, metaphor plays an important
role in these ballads adding a sense of mystery
the feeling of fragmentation. For example, The
Sleepwalking Ballad, which is among Lorcas
most popular ones, some fragmented pictures
of the story are depicted with the playfulness of
fantasy and reality. Lacking in specifcity, a picture
between the real and the unreal is drawn in the
poem and the three characters too adjoin to it
resulting in mystery.
In her Constructing Identity in Contemporary
Spain, Jo Labanyi remarks: The whole modern
Spanish culture its study and its practice can be
read as one ghost story. (Labanyi, 1) By the sense
of ghost story, what Labanyi suggests is that
there is always some kind of mystery and this very
feature of Spanish culture is a distinctive feature
of Lorcas poetry. Lorca does not say the whole of
the story; the reader fnds that something is yet to
be unfolded in his poems which again becomes a
source of fascination. In the poem, Road, the poet
enquires:
A hundred riders in funeral dress
Where will they go
In that laid to rest sky of the orange grove?
(Lorca: 1987, 59)
In Song of the Rider also, the speaker asks:
Little black horse/ whither with your dead rider?
(Lorca: 2005, 43) Neither of the poems gives us
information about the identity of the riders: we do not
know who they are and where they have come from.
Again, in Riders Song, the poet persona informs:
Cordoba,/ Distant and lonely, Black pony,
large moon,/ In my saddlebag olives./ Well as I
know the roads,/ I shall never reach Cordoba.
(Lorca: 2001, 141- 42)
The information of the rider is not complete.
He marches towards Cordoba besides knowing that
he will die on the way. Why and how is he going
to die we do not know as that part of the story is
not told, which leaves the readers with a gloomy
mind regarding Cordoba. In fact, Cordoba remains
a place of mystery and gloom in Lorca with death
lurching nearby. In another poem, Neighbourhood
of Cordoba also, the same thought is brought out:
night collapses/ Within, a dead girl/ A
crimson rose/ Hidden in her hair. (Lorca: 2001, 47)
Death is a common image in Lorca, which is
dominant in many of his poems creating a gloomy
environment. Apart from being a striking image,
death is used as metaphor. What interests us is that
there is anticipation about death. In Riders Song,
the poet is aware of his death beforehand; similarly,
when he says, whenever I die in Memento or If
I die in Farewell, there is always an awareness
as well as an acceptance of the forthcoming death.
Pedro Salinas calls it the culture of death which
was a part of Lorcas world. One may fnd an
association of this death culture with bullfghting,
Spains most popular sport where the bullfghter is
supposed to take death as one of the two options
with life. However, this shadowy environment
in Lorcas poetry also refects the contemporary
socio- political scenario of Spain. The political
unrest during the frst three decades of the twentieth
]
century can well be perceived in poems like Riders
Song, Road and Song of the Rider. One can
read them in relation to the contemporary political
environment, which led to the civil war in 1936.
Along with death, images such as green,
black horse, the moon, olive, orange,
balcony, etc. are very common in Lorca. One may
accept them as familiar sights of Andalusia, which
is a common setting in many of Lorcas poems.
Ostensibly, it is true that these images are as true as
fesh and blood in Lorcas poetry but besides that,
they carry mystery with them. They invite us to the
gloomy environment attached with nature:
the feld of olive trees open and closes like a
fan/ Above the olive grove/ A foundering sky / And
a dark rain / Of cold stars. (Lorca: 2001, 29)
Likewise, the Galician poems also depict
another of Spains non-castillian literary traditions.
Galicia, the hilly rainy farming region in the north-
western Spain, where peasants still carry umbrellas
to work (Carr, 3) is depicted in poems like
Madrigal for the City of Santiago and the Dance
of the Moon in Santiago. The poet expresses:
Rain falls on Santiago / In the dark night /
Glasses of silver and dream / Cover the vacant
moon. (Lorca: 2001, 255)
His use of images gives us a shadowy
impression, which according to Jo Labanyi, is
very Spanish. Through his very Spanishness the
poems are constructing a collective social identity.
Conspicuously, the poets individual response does
not remain intact; he is assimilating with the society
at certain points where as at some other times he is
resisting against it. As far as the culture of death
is concerned, the poet holds an ironical view, as he
is not being able to accept it. His elegies lamenting
the death of his beloved friend in bullfghting
shows us the poets withdrawal from that cultural
plain as his heart cries out: No. I do not want to
see it! (Lorca: 2005, 141) His ironical tone comes
out in Four Ballads in Yelow:
two red bulls/ In one feld / Are chewing
their sorrows.
Through the exploration of Spanish culture,
his poetry establishes Lorca as a poet rooted to his
native culture. But the volume Poet in New York,
shows a deviation from his early works as in it, one
fnds an anguish, both personal and societal. Had
these poems not been translated into English Lorca
would be known to the world as a poet of gypsy
myth. However, the common structure and images
are prominent in these poems too, which has given
the poems their originality.
The Spanish language carrying multiple
meaning in one word assisted Lorca in maintaining
the ambiguity. For instance, the very frst line of
the poem Romance Sonambulo or Sleepwalking
Ballad is verde quete quiero verde where the
Spanish word quiero means both love and want.
The translators Will Kirkland and WS Merwin have
used love and want respectively in their translations
of the same poem. Again, the title of another poem in
Alan S. Truebloods translation is Song of the dead
Orange Tree where as Merwin entitles the poem as
the Song of the Barren Orange Tree where as dead
and barren are two words having different meanings.
Thus, the use of different words defnitely gives the
same poem different meanings and interpretations.
This very ambiguous nature has actually remained
a source of fascination for which Lorca has always
been read and has long been admired worldwide. His
translations are indeed great English verse essentially
Spanish in tone and texture. They can also be read
in isolation as beautiful poems of mystery. In fact, it
is this sense of mystery which is endowing Lorcas
poetry with a Spanish favor on one hand and leaves
it open on the other for the readers to interpret the
poems from different perspectives.n
1. Carr, Remond. Spain, A History. New York: OUP, 2000.
2. Delgado, Maria M. Federico Garcia Lorca. New York:
Routledge, 2008.
3. Gies, David T. Ed. The Cambridge Companion to Modern
Spanish Culture. New York: Cambridge UP, 2003.
4. Labanyi, Jo. Constructing Identity in Contemporary
Spain. New York: OUP, 2002.
5. Lorca, Federico Garcia. Selected Poems. Ed. Christopher
Maurer. London: Penguin, 2001.
6. The Selected Poems. Ed. W. S. Merwin. New York: New
Direstions Publishing Corporation, 2005. (1955)
7. Poem Of the Deep Song. Trans. Carlous Baur. San
Fransisco: City Light Books, 1987.
8. Phukan, Nilamani. Trans. Garcia Lorcar Kavita.
Guwahati: Students Stores, 1981.
9. Salinas, Pedro. Lorca and the Poetry of Death. The
Carletor Drama Review. Vol.1, No.2, 1955.
10. Taylor, Leticia S. Federico Garcia Lorca. Hispania.
Vol. 33, No. 1, 1950.
[Author is Project Fellow (SAP- DRS Project) under Dept. of English and Foreign Languages Tezpur University]
References :
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n
I
never had any
regards for love or lovers
too. Like we hate a recipe
during our childhood later we
get addicted to it, believe me it happened to me
too !! Like wise during my school days I fell for
a girl, my heart overwhelmed when I saw her
eyes. They were so so cute her eye brows were
like the bow and her eyes were like arrow of
lord kamdev which struck my heart. I was mad
after her. She was from a middle
class family her dad owner of a
pan beeda shop. It was my frst love
of my life so boldly told her , she a
typical indian girl nope I am going to take
care of my father they are going to stop my
education. I was a gutsy person told her dad
too. He told me do something in your life earn
some money. Your father is a farmer look after
him frst , she is going to get married soon,
Forget her. I told him dont worry uncle
I will persuade my studies and get a job just wait
for few years.
He agreed .. Inspite of a fnancial crisis I
was ready for my engineering
Then took a loan then joined in a college
in southern side, I was about to board the train
she took an auto to the station and came
running towards me, then she said mujhe nahi
bulaoge ???? .
I said your dad is strict !!! How can
I ???
( + + )
]
Then we paused and still there was some
time left in my departure , I was chatting with my
family members , but she was still close to me,
when we both were alone I just hugged her and
cried. Then began to talk like a small kid
I will love you till ma death !!! You
are someone special in my life zaroor I will be
an engineer and meet you during my holidays
whenever I come back here.
She had an unpredictable mood tears
and smile she said you must come with violet
colour blazer and ask for my hand from my
father. I love you too. She gave me a idol of
Lord Krishna to my surprise.
Said What ever happens he will protect
you dont worry. She kissed me !!!!
Then the departure started mean while I
told my father to leave my lovie near by her
house.
My college life started as usual frst year
everyone new girls boys all over but when ever
I deviate from my studies used to get her good
noon SMS from her number which made me feel
like you are doing engineering for her too. (A
family man sort of responsibility)
Then I smiled at myself at this age I am
into planning something responsible good going.
Mean while I faced a pretty tuff time in
the internals I funcked in one of the exams.
She spoke to me encouraged me and advised
me to take care. I felt funking in my internals
was like failing in my love life too so took
enormous care for my studies. Infact people
started praising me.
In college life a person who had full
internal attendance, lab notes signed everything
perfect it was me !!! I must really attribute
this to her cause she is the one who made me
fear and care about my life and understand the
genuinity of life.
Then before my semesters many used to
pray God.
I studied infront of the idol only thinking
she was there with me all the time I am not
iconoclastic but not so much involved but she was.
I did very well infact I was scared of one
of my semesters but she told me to keep my
cool and not lose hope I did that exam well too.
Met her during my semester holidays and was
waiting for my 7
th
semester to complete still
cunting the last one (last semester which was
like chasing a target in a ODI) .
Admist all diffculties
I did my engineering, meanwhile I was in
touch with her through SMS and phone calls . Then
after completing I went to her dad and asked for the
wedding . He said wat do you do to which i said I
am an engineer he asked " kithna kamathe ho "
Me with a smile said soon I will get one like
this engg degree he also agreed . Then 6 months I
toiled hard and soon got a job with a nice pay scale.
I took my offce car went to my village took
the blessing of my bapu, then I told him mein us
ladhki ka ghar jaa raha hoon papa. My father
stopped me said no. Even it was strange in such
a joyous occasion why does he do so. Then I wore
a blazer of her favourite colour (violet). Then I
went to her house) I thought she would come out
kiss me all over hug me and praise my violet suit,
but Iam shocked she comes out with mangalsutra
of someother person on her neck . Oh my God hey
kya huha !!!!! Such a anti climax .
Oh no I started crying when she spoke to me
my heart which was like a rock broke for her sweet
smile which was like a rose now my love which
was beautiful like a garden within minutes have
become a desert with only cactus in it.
My feelings were uncontrollable I felt jolted,
only answer who can give me no the girl wont she
has become Mrs now how can I ask her, neither my
dad cause he didnt love the girl and her dad was
bed ridden.
Only way went to a temple near by like
Deewar Amithji hit the bells cried out loud kaise
bhagwaan ho tum !!!!!!!!!!! Sab kuch dethe ho ! Aur
ek chutki mein us cheez ko waapas lethe ho !!!
Kisi ko sweet stall ka owner banathe ho !!
But give him diabates in return like a kill joy boon
Kaise maza lethe ho sabka like that u have ruined
ma life abhi kush ho tum !!!!
What do I do now I dont drink I cant
even become a Devdas,
I am not a coward to commit suicide !!!!
Life is love but her love was my life
Feels like lost everything tears droped
down my cheeks .
]
Then came the poojari chacha he came near
me and said in his gentle tone beta
I told him no God !!!! Bhagwaan hai hi
nahi . He then slapped me and took me outside the
temple showed me a beggar and said tum jaanthe
ho his dad was a landlord, he too fell in love with
the girl who cheated him now see where he is he
would have been a landlord now see a beggar !!!!
Your dad is a farmer see now you are an engineer
why due to the love of the girl uski dil sachi thi !!!
Sacha pyaar kisi ko giratha nahi beta uthatha hai,
her favorite god is Krishna even Lord Krishna
was unable to marry Radha still their love
was eternal because of that love and affection
Krishna Kanaiyya is a god more than what we
can understand.
He saved the world ruled the world too,
same way you too will rule the world my beta".
I cried chacha its fake. He said no beta for
years she came here regularly to the temple prayed
for you that you would become an engineer and
get a job her prayers were answered but her boon
wasnt granted cause of time her dad went unwell
and he wanted to see her getting married soon.
He hugged me and put tikka on my fore head.
Then said God bless you
After 5 years in my wedding with a girl of the
same name of my frst lovie love at second sight
happened with her) my ex lovie also came there
she told aaj tum bahut bade industrialist hogaye !
From my side accept a small gift !!! She gave me
a watch and my partner a watch too I told my wife
about my ex lovie. I told her I dont want these
then she replied what do you want if possible I
will give you.
I said a kiss everyone were shocked !!!!!
Then she too was astonished. Before anyone could
imagine of something absurd my wife said I
want a kiss on my forehead then everyone were
surprised .
Then my wife said If your true love could
make him an industrialist, I just want your love
which could make me a best wife for him then we
were in tears. My ex lovie said I will give both
and kissed on our forehead and said May God
make you a blessed and blissful couple
True love can make you suceed in life even
though your love is a failure.n
T
hroughout study in
different classes, we
have read a lot number of
poems but hardly are we able
to defne poetry. If any one
asks you, What do you mean
by poetry ? Your answer vary
and most often you will be confused and say it
is a strong feeling of a poets mind which he puts
upon a paper. But, in that case you are partially
correct. To defne poetry is really tough. Even
though poetry is the most important genre of
literature and most sweet form still it is not very
easy to defne it.
But William Wordsworth has
solved the problem of defning poetry
when he says
Poetry is the spontaneous overfow of
powerful emotions, or Poetry may be the
(The author is a Mechanical Engineering Graduate from Bharath University Chennai.)
]
emotions recollected in tranquility. How correct is
he when he utters the above statements. It is very
true that poetry is the strong desire which can only
be recollected when your mind is placid and calm.
English poetry had to undergo various
changes from its birth. Its birth can be traced back
to 7th century with the coming of Beowulf, work
of an anonymous writer. Some of the important
stages are as follows
1) Chaucerian poetry headed by Geoffrey
Chaucer with the master piece of the
Canterbury Tales.
2) Elizabethans of 1509 headed by William
Shakespeare with his 154 sonnets.
3) Classicism poetry with John Dryden. A wide
variety of satire and lampoon have evolved
in this age. It was a period where classical
poets like John Milton or Alexander Pope
came out with Paradise lost or The Rape
of the Lock respectively. There was the
existence of bonded form of literature.
4) Jacobean and Caroline poetry containing the
metaphysical poets in 17th century. These
poets were really tough to understand.
There was a cry for more matter and less
words. With this concept the metaphysical
poetry evolved up.
5) The romantic movement was the next
period starting from 1780. This period is
often called as an golden era. The romantic
were the lovers lovers of mankind, nature
and society. They are William Wordsworth,
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, John Keats,
Percy Bysshe Shelley and Lord Byron.
They have epitomized English poetry and
took poetry to the zenith of the literature.
6) The victorian poetry in the 19th century
was also a breakthrough from the traditional
form of poetry. Mathew Arnold presented his
Dover Beach and Summer Night and Lord
Tennyson Ulysses and In Memorium.
7) The modernist or the 20th century poets
include Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, Stephen
Spenser. Their contributiion in the feld of
literature is awesome.
Thus, this was the chronological development
of poetry. The reading of poetry always gives us
pleasure and takes away all the worries from our
mind and keeps our mind afresh. But the thing is
that we have to understand it. Once we understand
it we will enjoy lot and once enjoyed can never be
forgotten. Finally, it is only through any work of art
we can revolt against some oddities in society and
bring peace, prosperity and success.
If winter comes
Can spring be far behind.n

(The author is student of TDC II
nd
Yr Arts)
Sakori.org is an attempt to collate all job
related information with regards to Assam and
the North East of India at one place.
Visit us on : www.sakori.org
] 4
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| - -
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]
Aruni Kashyap : arunikashyap@gmail.com
Prafulla Gogoi 9954954075
Debashish Tarafdar 09432674683
debashistarafdar@gmail.com
Sujoy Roy 9954797122
Tilottama Gogoi 9957524266
Ranjita Saikia 9954770498
Anima Neog 9435350862
Junti Duarah 9435054555
Hashanaha Gogoi : hasnahana@gmail.com
Bikash Jyoti Saikia 9864652811
bikashsaikia80@gmail.com
Chandrama Kalita 9706128840
Jyotirmoy Dutta 9954462617
captaindutta2008@gmail.com
Dr Deepa Thakuria : deepat009@gmail.com
Mousumi Ghurachowa 9435954852
nangmousumighurachowa@gmail.com
N. Sundaresan : nsundu123@gmail.com
Bastab Moran 9854364891
Geetika 8876875894
Navakash : navakas.art001@gmail.com
Gandhari Horses
A Few Works of Maqbool Fida Hussain
WomanwithLamp
Surjya Chutia 9954456991
surjyachutia36@gmail.com
Dr. P. S. Das 9435562410
daspurno@gmail.com
Bantimala Devi 9435135049
Joseph Frank Landsberger : jf@studygs.net
Biplab Banik 9954164021
biplab.tsk@gmail.com
Dipen Saikia 9401294250
deepsand2009@gmail.com
Leena Dutta : leena2840@gmail.com
Prasanta Bora : mailborap@gmail.com
Dr. Pradeep Nair : nairdevcom@yahoo.co.in
Dr Parthankar Choudhury : parthankar@in.com
Sanjita Chetia 7896394070
Rudra Narayan Borkakati 9401320512
rnbk_agri@yahoo.co.in
Dr. Pulak Das 9435375744
pulakdas.ecology@gmail.com
Sangita Bhagawati : sangitabhagawati@gmail.com
Sangeeta Boruah Saikia : saikiasangeeta@yahoo.com
Baikuntha Das 9401101229
Kauranga Borgohain
kaurangaborgohainkauranga@gmail.com

Pragyan - March, 2012

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