Decode Politics: Why Himanta Sarma wants a second capital in Dibrugarh, the geography and politics

* Why Dibrugarh?

The BJP, which archetypal came to powerfulness successful Assam successful 2016 nether the enactment of Sarbananda Sonowal – who hails from Dibrugarh – has been mounting up powerfulness centres successful assorted regions of the authorities with antithetic geographical and demographic dynamics.

One of the fashionable determination distinctions drawn successful Assam is betwixt Upper Assam ‘Ujoni’ (the eastbound portion of the authorities successful the precocious reaches of the Brahmaputra) and Lower Assam ‘Namoni’ (further downstream of the Brahmaputra, which extends towards the state’s borderline with Bangladesh). Apart from the Brahmaputra valley, determination is besides the chiefly Bengali-speaking Barak Valley and the tribal bulk hills of Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao.

While some Upper Assam and Lower Assam are demographically diverse, the erstwhile is identified arsenic the heartland of “indigenous Assamese” civilization and identity. It was some the spot of the Ahom kingdom and the beverage industry, and is location to antithetic taste Assamese groups, including 5 – Ahom, Moran, Motok, Chutia, and the beverage tribes – of the six which person agelong been demanding Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

The state’s powerfulness centre Guwahati is located successful Lower Assam, the portion from wherever Sarma hails. The archetypal CM’s Secretariat extracurricular Guwahati was inaugurated past twelvemonth successful Dibrugarh, 435 km from Guwahati, portion different “mini-secretariat” has agelong been successful the works successful Silchar, the administrative and commercialized centre of the Barak Valley located astir 300 km from Guwahati.

While the stated purpose of the constitution of caller secretariats is administrative decentralisation, the announcement of a 2nd superior successful Dibrugarh – a hub of transport connectivity, acquisition and healthcare successful Upper Assam, surrounded by the region’s tea, lipid and ember industries – is pointedly political.

Why the absorption connected Upper Assam

The portion has ever been politically important arsenic the nervus centre of Assamese nationalist authorities and Sarma’s 2 predecessors – the precocious Tarun Gogoi, Assam’s longest serving CM, and Sonowal – some beryllium to the region. With the BJP nether Sarma chiefly framing its authorities successful absorption to Bengali-origin Muslims successful the state, who are mostly concentrated successful Central and Lower Assam and parts of the Barak Valley, the governmental rhetoric astir Upper Assam has taken connected a renewed value successful the state.

On aggregate occasions, the CM has claimed that its taste communities are nether unsocial menace from demographic pressures.

In the midst of tensions crossed the authorities successful August past twelvemonth aft the alleged gang-rape of a 14-year-old miss successful Nagaon, an incidental successful which the accused were Bengali Muslims, section organisations successful Sivasagar issued a telephone for “all Bangladeshis to permission Upper Assam wrong 7 days”. When this came up successful the Assembly league and Opposition MLAs pressed for information of radical migrating wrong the state, Sarma had deed retired astatine the question of Bengali-Muslims from different parts of the authorities to Upper Assam, accusing Bengali-Muslims of “insisting connected taking each of Assam”.

“Where Assamese radical don’t privation it, don’t spell forcefully. If you spell against the volition of the radical of Upper Assam, nary information volition beryllium given,” helium said.

This communicative of protecting “indigenous interests” and peculiarly those of the communities successful Upper Assam has been a recurring diagnostic of the Sarma-led authorities government.

The governmental factors successful the move

A governmental subject prof from Dibrugarh University said determination had been nary fashionable request for a “second capital” successful the region. “I person not observed specified a sentiment among the radical and this determination seems to beryllium much informed by caller politics, peculiarly aft past year’s Lok Sabha elections. There is simply a feeling of immoderate diminution successful the BJP’s popularity successful Upper Assam, and the enactment has besides been putting a batch of effort successful the Muslim-majority parts of Central Assam,” said the professor, who did not privation to beryllium named.

Opposition parties constituent to Congress person Gaurav Gogoi’s triumph from the Upper Assam spot of Jorhat successful the Lok Sabha elections, seen arsenic 1 of the biggest prestige contests successful the state, arsenic a motion of the enactment regaining crushed successful the region. At the aforesaid time, the BJP saw a 10 percent constituent driblet successful its ballot stock successful the Dibrugarh spot contempt erstwhile CM Sonowal having won from determination by implicit 1 lakh votes earlier.

There person besides been on-and-off attempts by Congress and newer determination parties Asom Jatiya Parishad and Raijor Dol, which person been gathering a beingness successful Upper Assam, to contiguous a agreed front, with the 2 outfits joining hands successful the Lok Sabha elections.

Congress person and Leader of Opposition successful the Legislative Assembly Debabrata Saikia said portion mounting up a 2nd superior successful Dibrugarh was “a invited move”, “It is fundamentally an effort to retrieve mislaid crushed successful Upper Assam since the Opposition has gained a foothold successful the region.”

Saikia added: “In this case, authorities wealth is being spent for governmental purposes portion determination are much pressing needs similar mounting up much acquisition institutes and amended healthcare. People privation the Assam Medical College successful Dibrugarh and Jorhat Medical College to beryllium astatine par with Gauhati Medical College.”