While discussing the contribution of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar saheb (popularly known as Dr B.R. Ambedkar/Babasaheb) volumes are required to write as his massive contribution in all fields are assets to Indians. I wish to quote a line that has greatly motivated me. “Life should be great rather than long”, said Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who flagged the ‘Constitution of India’.
Born on 14 April 1891, Dr. Ambedkar showed the path of Dalits on how to lead a venerable life. Interestingly, his date of birth i.e. 14 April has coincided ( sometimes one-day variation) with great celebration in Assam, Bengal, Punjab, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu as generally this date is celebrated as New Year in the respective state. In Assam, a week-long celebration is known as ‘Rongali Bihu’, in Bengali ‘Subha nabarsha’, Vishu in Kerala, Vaishakhi in Punjab, and Puthandu in Tamil. All these evince that he was born on an auspicious date and month. Dr. Ambedkar saheb passed away on 6 December 1956 but undoubtedly ‘his life was great rather than long’.
Hailing from the socially most backward class, he has shown everyone particularly in the lower echelons of the society, mainly Dalits how to survive with dignity. It may be mentioned that Dalit communities are found not only in India but also in Bangladesh, even among the Muslims of Bangladesh. Dalit in Bangladesh is a recent adoption earlier they were called indigenous or antaz but in recent times, Dalit is used. The data reveals that around 30 Dalit communities live in the South-west part of Bangladesh. Socially and economically they are backward, poor, and vulnerable. Bhumija Foundation of Bangladesh identified nine Dalit communities in the South-western region of Bangladesh based on their occupation and distinct culture.
Anyway, in his childhood, Babasaheb never felt the brunt of the caste politics or ‘Untouchability syndrome’ as he was born at Mhow, Indore present Madhya Pradesh in an army family of Army cantonment. In his own words “……my father was employed in the Army. He held the rank of Subedar at that time. Since we lived in the cantonment, we had little to do with the world outside the military area. I had no experience of Untouchability”. But after his father’s retirement, the situation totally changed. His father shifted to Satara and he felt the brunt of untouchability as even no barber was prepared to cut their hair as sequel Dr. Ambedkar’s elder sister used to cut his hair. Like this, he had to face many social issues in those days because of his caste (Mahar). Anyway, while Dr. Ambedkar ji served in the Baroda state he was denied accommodation on rent both by Hindu or Muslim house owners as a sequel he had to live in a Parsi Dharmasala, and there also he had to face serious problems because of caste.
Dr. Ambedkar was a man of vision and had a strong desire for the development of human beings. In his words, “I believe that the world can be conquered by intelligence”. Further, he felt “without social efficiency no permanent progress in other fields of activity was possible”. And that is why he emphasized self-respect, “Self-respect is the most vital factor in life, without it man is a cipher.” He considered education as the most powerful catalyst for bringing about the changes in the society. It is believed that he used to study even for 18 hours every day in his school days. Dr. Ambedkar was in favour of birth control and he was of the opinion that with a huge population India would face severe problems on many fronts. He may be quoted here, “the educated class has, by this time, fully realized the necessity of birth-control and fortunately, the leaders in our country also are unanimous on this point. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sir Rabindranath Tagore, and Mrs. Sarojini Naidu know very well the importance and the urgency of the movement for birth control and are in favour of contraceptives”. He had also stated that “Population in India grows decade by decade in geometrical progression. As against this unlimited growth of population what is available for cultivation is not merely a limited amount of land but a limited amount of land whose fertility is diminishing year by year. India is caught between two sides of a pincer, the one side of which is a progressive increase in population and production is increasing to an alarming degree, leaving India with the inheritance of poverty, more poverty, and chronic poverty.”. His theory of population growth in the context of India matches with Malthusian theory of population and our policymakers should look into this issue.

Babasaheb’s feelings toward women and their empowerment can be understood in his writing. “I measure the progress of a community by the degree of progress which women have achieved.” Dr. Ambedkar’s contribution to the economic development of India was enormous as already mentioned volumes are required to write.
In 1990, Dr. Ambedkar saheb was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award. Although Babasaheb passed away on 6 December 1956, through his activities and contribution he will be in the hearts of millions of Indians.
On the occasion of his happy birthday on 14 April 2022, I extend my Pronam to the great soul.

The forests are important for human lives as ‘concrete jungle’ cannot provide fresh oxygen and cannot absorb carbon dioxide. In this regard, I wish to highlight the great personality of India and the noble soul of Dr. G.B.K. Rao, the Chairman cum Managing Director of Pragati Resorts in Hyderabad, a famous bio-diversity park. Dr Rao is Chairman Expert Committee (Agriculture & Food Processing), Southern Regional Council, ICC. Pragati Resorts is one of the World’s First Resorts to obtain integrated ISO certification and Green rating from the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC). According to Dr. Rao, a tree absorbs 12 kilograms of carbon dioxide and supplies oxygen throughout the year which can benefit six members of a family. Thus, the importance of a tree can be greatly realized. Anyway, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Forests in 2012 to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests. Countries are encouraged to undertake local, national, and international efforts to organize activities involving forests and trees, such as tree-planting campaigns. The organizers are the United Nations Forum on Forests and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with Governments, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, and other relevant organizations in the field (un.org/en/observances). It is also observed from the website that “for millions of people across the world, wood helps provide safe drinking water, food, and shelter – but wood can do much more and is a renewable resource when forests are managed sustainably”.
In the case of Pragati Resorts, it was established in 1994 and at that time the area was totally barren with terrible climate conditions such that even lizards would not lay eggs there. The water in the area depleted due to the mining of limestone which made the land unfit for cultivation. Dr. G.B.K Rao selected the land on the basis of three criteria – i) it is away from the city also away from highway, ii) area is totally non-cultivable /barren, and iii) totally depleted of water (pragatiresorts.com/about-pragati/). Now, the area has been turned into heaven and the people call “Pragati is Heaven on Earth”. I visited a couple of times and undoubtedly it is ‘Heaven’ as Ambient Air Quality is only 1.4. We know if Ambient Air quality is worse is the impact. It is pertinent to mention that as per the World Bank report, “Globally, air pollution is a silent killer. The air pollution levels in India are among the highest in the world, posing a heavy threat to the country’s health and economy. Almost all of India’s 1.4 billion people are exposed to unhealthy levels of ambient PM 2.5 – the most harmful pollutant – emanating from multiple sources. These small particulates with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns are about one-thirtieth the width of a human hair. Exposure to PM 2.5 can cause such deadly illnesses as lung cancer, stroke, and heart disease” (worldbank.org/en/country/india/publication/). Dr G.B.K Rao, an industrialist-turned-environmentalist, believes that Indian culture is an integral part of nature, and only when sacred herbal and medicinal plants and local cows are protected, then nature can be protected, and man can lead a happy and healthy life. Around 800 varieties of sacred herbal heritage medicinal plants, other rare mother plants, and trees inter alia are Kalpavriksha also known as kalpataru, have been planted in the Pragati which is spread over an area of 2500 acres. There are healing herbs also which remove toxins and provide refresh to an individual through aromatherapy. Also, the area is completely free from mosquitoes, bad bacteria, and viruses. In the Resorts, there is a provision of ‘Amrutha Ahaaram’ (meaning Amrita/lifesaving foods) and for this the special 3-day package has been designed to boost immunity levels naturally to fight against any type of virus or bacteria.
On the International Day of Forests 21 March, I salute Dr. G.B.K. Rao for his great initiative to develop an undeveloped area and to make it a wonderful biodiversity area in India.

Dr. Bhupen Hazarika was a genius person, a great human being, a legendary music maestro, lyricist, writer, composer, film director, and producer. He is popularly known as the “Bard of Brahmaputra”. Although he left for heavenly abode on  5 November 2011 in Mumbai at the age of 85, he is the heart of millions in the  world through his melodious songs as well as versatile activities. He was an erudite scholar  also as he won a scholarship from Columbia University, New York and completed his Ph.D. in Mass Communication. He completed his doctoral degree on thesis “Proposals for Preparing India’s Basic Education to use Audio-Visual Techniques in Adult Education’. And later on from Chicago University, USA, he received the Lisle Fellowship.    

  Born at Sadia, in upper Assam on 8 September 1926, Bhupen Hazarika was influenced by his father Nilakanta Hazarika (school teacher) and mother Shantipriya Hazarika in singing with high moral value and character.  The eldest of ten children, Bhupen Hazarika (as also his siblings) was exposed to music by his mother. At the age of 10 years, he sang a Borgeet (Assamese devotional songs) which greatly impressed Jyotiprasad Agarwala, the noted Assamese lyricist, playwright and Assamese filmmaker. And in 1936, Bhupen Hazarika recorded his first song at the age of 10 years at Aurora Studio in Kolkata then Calcutta.  Later on Hazarika sang two songs in Agarwala’s film Indramalati, at the age of 12 years. It is pertinent to mention that Indramalati (released in 1939)   is the second Assamese language film, directed by the great Assamese poet Jyotiprasad Agarwala.

   Dr.  Bhupen Hazarika completed his matriculation in 1940; Intermediate in Arts (IA) from Cotton College in 1942 and then joined Banaras Hindu University for higher study and subsequently completed his B.A. (1944) and M.A. (1946). And already mentioned he was awarded a Ph. D in 1952 from U.S.A.

    From his early life, he was against the caste system as initially people talked about his caste, but he simply ignored them. It has to be agreed that one cannot great by caste. Greatness is proved only activities. Dr. Hazarika was singer, lyricist, musician, poet and film-maker and popularly known as ‘Sudhakantha’. His songs, written mainly by himself, are marked by humanity and universal brotherhood. While I was in Bangladesh I observed he was popular among the local Bangladeshis for his Bengali songs.

    Dr. Bhupen Hazarika composed music in the renowned films directed by Kalpana Lajmi, inter alia of which are ‘Rudali’, ‘Daman’, ‘Darmiyaan’ and also MF Hussain’s directed ‘Gaja Gamini’.

 Dr. Hazarika directed seven Assamese films, one Bengali and one Hindi film and composed music for 31Assamese, 14 Hindi, 15 Bengali and some Karbi, Bodo and Mising films.  The first film directed by Dr. Bhupen Hazarika was Erabator Sur which was released in Calcutta in 1956. He also published books for the children viz., Bhupen  Mamar Geete-Mate, A, Aa, Ka, Kha and a transcript autobiography — Moi eti jajabor.  He was the architect to set up a film studio in Guwahati, the first full-fledged film studio in Assam.

       Dr. Hazarika’s activities were rightly recognized time to time by conferring various awards such as Dada Saheb Phalke, Sangeet Ratna, Padma Bhusan, Asam Ratna, Srimanta Sankardev etc. In 2019 conferring Bharat Ratna to him albeit posthumously even then a very factual decision as Dr. Bhupen Hazarika was a versatile person in all respects and without an inch of doubt the decision is praiseworthy. It is pertinent to mention that Assam Assembly had passed a resolution in 2010 urging the Centre to confer Bharat Ratna to him. 

Dr Shankar Chatterjee

Former Professor & Head (CPME),NIRD & PR ( Govt. of India), Hyderabad,  India
Former Associate Professor, EritreaFormer Assistant Prof, Govt. Degree College, Tripura, IndiaFormer Senior Planning Officer, Govt of Assam, India 

Unemployment in India is always a serious issue particularly in rural India as the scope is limited in rural areas. So launching of Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) of the Government of India is a praiseworthy step. MoRD was impressed by the Rural Development and Self Employment Training Institute (RUDSETI) model which was established in the year 1982 at Dharmasthala, Karnataka by Dr D Veerendra Heggade jointly with Syndicate Bank and Canara Bank. MoRD in 2009 advised all the banks to establish one RUDSETI type institute in all their Lead Districts under the banner of Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) (www.nacer.in/index_more.html).
It is pertinent to mention that RSETIs identify, orient, train and assist rural youth to take up self-employment as a source of livelihood. The youths in the age group of 18-45 years, irrespective of caste, creed or religion are eligible to undergo training at RSETI, which is free of cost. RSETI has been doing a commendable job in training and settlement of rural youths. The total number of training programmes organised from inception to 31 March 2020 was 1,26,556 where the number of youth trained was 35,00,770 during the same period and 24,41,083 (69.73%) youths were settled. Further, the number of functional RSETIs was 585 where altogether 29 banks weresponsored (www.nacer.in/performance_glance.html).
Each RSETI offers skill development programmes in a financial year in various avenues and in each batch 25-30 youths are selected for training. The programmes are of short duration ranging from 1 to 6 weeks. And to get a general idea few trades are mentioned below:
• Agricultural Programmes – agriculture and allied activities like dairy, poultry, apiculture, horticulture, sericulture, mushroom cultivation, floriculture, fisheries, etc
• Product Programme – dress designing for men and women, rexine articles, incense sticks manufacturing, football making, bag, bakery products, leaf cup making, recycled paper manufacturing, etc.
• Process Programmes – two wheeler repairs, radio/TV repairs, motor rewinding, electrical transformer repairs, irrigation pump-set repairs, tractor and power tiller repairs, cell phone repairs, beautician course, photography and videography, screen printing, domestic electrical appliances repair, computer hardware and DTP.
• General Programmes – skill development for women
• Other Programmes – related to other sectors like leather, construction, hospitality and any other sector depending on local requirements.
The author time to time studied many youths who were undergoing training and also collected data after training that were settled and found earning was substantial. Few names as evidence can be mentioned here: a) Adapa Kalpana (female) , Dharanikota village of Amaravathi Mandal, Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh ( year of study in 2016), b) Ashok Kumar ( Male/year of study July 2018), Hajpurwa village of Warisnagar block, Samastipur district of Bihar, c) Arati Mishra (female/ year of study July 2018) Nirpur village, Samastipur block, Samastipur district d) In 2017, the author studied some youths of Amritsar district, Punjab. The youths were Jasbir Kaur (female), Harjit Kaur (female), Mandip Kaur (female), Navneet Kaur e) In 2019 the author studied by visiting RSETI at Aurangabad district of Maharashtra. Names of some of the youths are Chhaya Bhalerao (female), Kalpana Jagannath Surase (female), Umesh Bhanudas Dhepe (male), f) In Darrang district of Assam names of some of the youths who were contacted in 2018 are Mousami Saikia Gogoi (female), Poly Seal (female), Mira Medhi, (female), Sabita Koch (female) and many others.
In addition, the author visited many RSETIs and cases collected about the youths trained and post-training settlement and earning of income. and found training and post-training settlement was praiseworthy.
It is suggested that wherever feasible RSETI may be started at the sub-division level.

On 28 January 2022 in the wee hours, our country lost a great Professor, an erudite scholar and kind-hearted down to earth person, popularly known as Professor R. Radhakrishna. Prof. Radhakrishna is a prolific researcher, respected teacher, able academic administrator, and notable institution builder. I had the opportunity to interact on many occasions for academic matters. I felt lucky enough when he included me in a Government of India Committee namely “Report of the Committee on Credit Related Issues under SGSY” (published in February 2009). He was an erudite scholar with immense knowledge in Social Science in general and Economics in particular. Undoubtedly, he was a down to earth human person and such a great personality seldom can be seen.

Prof. Radhakrishna did his post-graduation in Economics and Statistics from Andhra University and subsequently completed Ph.D. in Economics from Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (Pune University). ​He was a scholar par excellence  ​as his​ ​Ph.D., thesis on indifference surfaces won acclaim from world-famous E​conometrician​ Prof ​ Gerhard Tintner.

Prof. Radhakrishna held several important positions inter alia of which were Chairman, Commission on Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural Development of AP(2015-16); Chairman, National Statistical Commission, (2009-12); Director/Vice-Chancellor, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (2001- 07); Vice-Chancellor, Andhra University (1998-2001); Member Secretary, ICSSR (1994-97); Director, CESS (1985-1994); Professor of Economics, University of Hyderabad (1980-85); Professor, Sardar Patel Institute of Social Economic Research (1973-80) and Visiting Fellow, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, U.K. (1976-77). He served as an expert in numerous international organisations such as the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, 1997; Management of Social Transformation (MOST), UNESCO, 2004 and UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and Pacific, 2005. Professor was also a Consultant to several international bodies including Internal Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Vienna, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, UNDP, and FAO.

It is pertinent to mention that based on the recommendations made in the Committee on ‘Credit Related Issues under SGSY’, the Ministry of Rural Development; Government of India launched the National Rural Livelihood Mission popularly known as NRLM in 2011. He was also a member of the three important Planning Commission Expert Groups related to Poverty –a) Task force on projections of Minimum needs and Effective Consumption Demand, 1977-78; b) Expert Group on Estimation of Proportion and Number of Poor, 1989-93 (Lakdawala Committee) and c) Expert Group to Review the Methodologies on Estimation of the Poor, 2006-08 (Tendulkar Committee). He was also Chairman of UGC Committees to review Universities and ICSSR Review Committee to review its research institutes in north-west India.   

He was associated with many academic and research institutions in his lifetime. Some of which were Chairman or Board Member: Chairman, Madras Institute for Development Studies; Board Member, Madras School of Economics;  Chairman, Centre for Development Alternatives, Ahmadabad; and presently Chairman, Institute for Development Studies, Andhra Pradesh. Till his death, he was President of the Indian Society of Agricultural Marketing and Chairman, Indian Association of Social Science Institutions. He was President-elect of the Indian Society of Agriculture Economics (2019). He was the Conference President of the Indian Economic Association (2016), Indian Econometric Society (2008), Indian Society of Labour Economics (2002), Indian Society of Agricultural Marketing (1996), and Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils (1995).

He served in the editorial boards of several peers reviewed academic journals inter alia of which are Journal of Quantitative Economics, Asia Pacific Journal of Rural Development, Journal of Asian Economics and IASSI quarterly etc. He successfully guided 25 doctoral students. He published a large number of books and more than 100 original research papers in national and international journals. Some of his publications which were appreciated inter alia are ‘India’s Public Distribution System: A National and International Perspective (1998)’; ‘Empowering Rural Labour (1998)’; ‘India Development Report 2008 and Handbook of Poverty in India’: ‘Policy Perspective (2005)’. In recognition of his huge academic contributions, he was awarded VKRV Rao Prize in Economics in 1985, and Telugu Atma Gaurava Puraskaram for his eminence in Social Sciences by the Government of Andhra Pradesh in 1998. He was Jawaharlal Nehru National Fellow (ICSSR) during 2009-11.

His compendium of books published by Academic Foundation in 2017 is on the themes of Indian Economy, Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition; Growth, Poverty and Well-being; Econometrics of Consumer Behaviour; and Inflation, Consumption and Welfare was highly appreciated. 

Prof Radhakrishna will be remembered generations after generations by the academicians, research scholars, and others who are in the field of Social Science in general and Economics in particular for his immense contribution in the fields of Economics, poverty, agriculture, food security, employment and rural development.

(The author is grateful to Prof. E Revathi, Director, Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad for providing necessary information about Prof. R. Radhakrishna)

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was a great patriot and selfless leader and popularly known as Netaji. His immense contribution to the freedom movement was highlighted in Congress’s marginal way.  This year, it’s Netaji’s 125 birth anniversary, and rightly the Government of India has declared that the Day will be celebrated as the Parakram Diwas. Yes, he was Parakram, extraordinarily brave. It is pertinent to mention that this year the Republic Day celebration has also been set to begin from 23 January instead of 24 January, a great gesture to Netaji. 

    Netaji was born on 23 January 1897 in Cuttack of present Odisha.   He is still respected not only in India but also in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Many Pakistani and Bangladeshi academicians told me and praised him when I was in abroad as a faculty member.

      Netaji Subhas with heart and soul was Indian and never tolerated any foreigner talking against Indians. In this context, an incident may be cited. He thrashed a British Professor E.F. Otten in the Presidency College of Calcutta in 1916 for Prof Otten’s racist remark against Indians and for this Subhas Chandra had to suffer also, however with the intervention of Indian scholars and other stalwarts the matter was resolved.

We all read about the Indian National Army/Azad Hind Fouz’s contribution under the leadership of Netaji Subhas which consisted of all religious groups and castes. Netaji was the key person to form the Rani of Jhansi regiment (women regiment) of the Indian National Army, under the commander Lakshmi Swaminathan. I believe also many have told me India would not have been divided if Azad Hind Fauz came to power. 

The Congress Government after independence always highlighted a few leaders’ contributions towards the freedom movement but not much about Netaji’s contribution. There is a controversy whether a great leader of independent India wrote a letter to Mr. Attlee, describing Subhas Chandra Bose, as a war criminal.

 Anyway the British acknowledged Subhas Bose’s contribution.  Clement Richard Attlee, who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955 agreed Netaji was the toughest challenge the British Empire faced.  In 1956, Clement Attlee came to India and stayed in Calcutta (now Kolkata) as a guest of the Governor, P.B. Chakraborty who was at that time Chief Justice of Calcutta High court and acting Governor of West Bengal. He asked Sir Attlee “… since Gandhi’s Quit India movement had tapered off quite some time ago and in 1947 no such new compelling situation had arisen that would necessitate a hasty British departure, why did they have to leave?” As stated by Chakraborty “Mr. Attlee cited several reasons, the main among them being the erosion of loyalty to the British crown among the Indian Army and Navy personnel as a result of the military activities of Subhas Chandra Bose”. 

Netaji was a good writer also. His book “The Indian Struggle, 1920–1942” is a two-part book that covers the 1920–1942 history of the Indian independence movement to end British imperial rule over India. The book was banned in India by the British government but in 1948 after independence it was published. 

Gandhiji and Netaji’s role in the independence of India was immense but many believe that Gandhiji was later on very much mentally disturbed as his eldest son Harilal was ‘derailed’. It is pertinent to mention that “in June 1935, Mahatma Gandhi wrote a letter to Harilal, accusing him of “alcohol and debauchery”.  Mahatma Gandhi stated that Harilal’s problems were more difficult for him to deal with than the struggle for an independent India” (wikipedia.org/wiki/Harilal_Gandhi).                   

                 On the auspicious occasion of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s birthday, I offer my Pronam to this great soul. 

January month is popular across the world for various reasons. January is celebrated across the world as the English New Year. Also all over the Ramakrishna Missions in the world, this day (1 January) is celebrated as Kalpataru Day. In the world, many Orthodox Christians celebrate 7 January as Christmas by following the Julian calendar. When I worked as Associate Professor in Eritrea I had observed they celebrate 7 January as Christmas.
Across India on 14/15 January is celebrated in different names. In Assam, the celebration is known as Magh Bihu; Lohri is celebrated in Delhi/New Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu; and Makar Sankranti in other parts of the country. It is pertinent to mention that the celebration is the same only the name of the celebration differs. On 26 January 1950, our constitution came into effect so we became a Republic. Also in this month, two great persons were born in India. They are Swami Vivekananda and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Swami Vivekananda and master were born on 12 January 1863. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was born on 23 January 1897. Anyway, in history, we have read the contribution in the freedom movement of India to only two families’ names as if only for the two families we have got independence, but my salute to all who contributed to the freedom movement in India.
A few lines about Swami Vivekananda are presented here as his birthday tribute.
As mentioned already, Swami Vivekananda was born on 12 January 1863 in Kolkata then Calcutta. His real name in school/college was Narendranath Dutta and his pet name was “Biley”. By this (“Biley”) name parents used to call him. Although he is considered a key personality in the introduction of Vedanta philosophy and Yoga to Western countries mainly in the USA and Europe, humanity was his only consideration. Swami Vivekananda was intelligent from childhood. He was the only student to have received first division marks in the Presidency College entrance examination. He was a positive and broad-minded person with a feeling for all human beings irrespective of caste, creed, and religion. This paragraph will say many things “All power is within you, you can do anything and everything. Believe in that; do not believe that you are weak. You can do anything and everything, without even the guidance of anyone. Stand up and express the divinity within you. Arise, Awake, and Sleep no more. Within each of you, there is the power to remove all wants and all miseries. Believe in this, and that power will be manifested”.
Love and affection towards others are reflected from his saying, “All expansion is life, and all contraction is death. All love is expansion, all selfishness is contraction. Love is, therefore, the only law of life”. His positive feeling towards different religions is realised by this discourse, “The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist, nor a Hindu or a Buddhist to become a Christian. But each must assimilate the spirit of the others and yet preserve his individuality and grow according to his own law of growth”. He further said, “Feel like Christ, you will be a Christ; feel like Buddha and you will be a Buddha. It is the feeling that is life, the strength, the vitality, without which no amount of intellectual activity can reach God.”
His patriotic fervour can be understood through this line, “The soil of India is my highest heaven, the good of India is my good and repeat and pray day and night…….O Thou Mother of Strength, take my weakness, take my unmanliness and make me a man!”
Vivekananda passed away on 4 July 1902 but no Indian can forget him as his thought-provoking lecture in Chicago in 1893 at the Parliament of the World’s Religions conquered the hearts of millions of the people of the World. In 1984 the Government of India declared this day (12 January) as National Youth Day and since 1985 the event has been celebrated in India every year.

This interesting incident has taken place in the state of Andhra Pradesh. We all know many people do not repay even bank loans or loans for various reasons including intentionally. According to the Economic Times, 9 February 2021 (online edition) in India ‘top 100 wilful defaulters owe Rs. 84,632 crore to banks as of March 2020’. Further, the total size of the top 100 wilful defaults rose 5.34 percent in the financial year 2020 from Rs. 80,344 crore as of March 2019, according to the Reserve Bank of India. Even in the case of self-help groups, the huge amount of loan is outstanding. “A loan of over Rs 1.12 lakh crore is outstanding with self-help groups (SHGs) under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM, which is a Government of India Yojana for the rural Below Poverty Line (BPL) families) as of June 30, 2021, while the loan repayment rate by SHGs to banks is 97.17 percent”, (The Economic Times, 30 July 2021, online edition).
  But here I am presenting an interesting case that portrays honesty and sincerity to repay a small amount of money. Nemani Pranav, now 21 years old, and his younger sister Suchita presently live in the USA and continue their study. In 2010 (that is 11 years ago) they with their father, Mohon went to a Sea beach located at Kakinada district of East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh. At that time Pranav was only 10 years old and his sister was younger than him. When they were roaming along the Sea beach and enjoying the tides they saw a hawker selling groundnuts. Both the children desired to eat fried groundnuts.  The hawker Ginjalla Pedda Satyaiah sold a few packets of groundnuts. We know in those days the handmade paper bags were used for selling the items. When the children started eating, the father found he forgot to bring the money bag. As a result, no money was with him to pay the hawker. Anyway, Mohan took the address of the hawker  Satyaiah and a photograph in his camera and promised to pay back the money. In the meantime, Mohon passed away and both his son and daughter went to the USA. But they remembered the incident of not paying money to the hawker. So by staying in the USA they contacted a local influential person who was kind enough to find out the address of the hawker in a small village in present Andhra Pradesh. Both brother and sister came from the USA to meet Satyaiah. By this time, Satyaiah also passed away but they handed over Rs. 25, 000 to their family members on 30 December 2021. They felt happy that at least they could repay the money (they paid more money which I assume) to the family for eating the groundnuts. 

I salute to the children for honouring both father and the hawker. Here the proverb is applicable, “Honesty is the best policy”. I believe that is why with their skills they  could pursue their study in the USA.

(Necessary inputs have been collected from Bengali newspaper Anandabazar Patrika,online edition, 5 January 2022)

On 15 December 2021, I had the opportunity to visit Kaziranga National Orchid and Biodiversity Park which is located in Golaghat district, Assam. Kaziranga is world famous for one horned rhino. It is known to all that tourists from different parts of the world visit the Kaziranga National Park to watch one horned rhino as well as many other animals’ and birds. Also pristine beauty can be seen in the place. Kaziranga is 230 Kilometres away from Guwahati and takes around 5 hours to reach by car. The surface road is very good. In Kaziranga there is an Orchid Park which is also an important place to visit as many things can be learned from the Orchid Park. In this article, a few points about the Orchid Park are highlighted so that readers can get an idea in this regard. Also those who are interested can take up research study. As already mentioned, the author visited the Orchid Park on 15 December 2021 and Mrs Sumitra Rabha local facilitator has explained each and every plant in general and special orchids in particular lucidly. It is pertinent to mention that Orchids in the world can be divided into two groups – monopodial or sympodial based on their habit of growth. Monopodial orchids such as Phalaenopsis, Renanthera and Vanda have a main stem which grows year after year as Cattleya, Cymbidium have a main Stem which terminates growth at the end of each season. A new shoot then grows from the base forming its own bulbous stem called pseudo-bulb which eventually flowers. The pseudo-bulb or thickened stem are very useful devices for the storage of food and water and function like bulbs. In addition to the epiphytic orchids, there are also ground orchids or terrestrial orchids which grow like ordinary plants with their roots in soil. Most of the temperate zone orchids are terrestrial and tropical orchids are epiphytes (orchidsasia.com/orcintro.htm). Orchids constitute 9 percent of our flora and are the largest botanical family of higher plants in India. It is estimated that about 1,300 species (140 genera) of orchids are found in India with Himalayas as their main home and others distributed in Eastern and Western Ghats. The following is the distribution of orchids’ species in different regions of India.
a) In North-Western Himalayas 200 species are found
b) In North-Eastern India 800 species are observed
c) In Western Ghats 300 species exist.
It is pertinent to mention here that in North-east India due to different climatic conditions the largest group of sub-tropical orchids are found. Some orchids endemic to Indian species are so ornamental and in demand that they have been over exploited. Some species in general like Arundina, Cymbidium, Coelogyne, Dendrobium, Paphiopedilum, Renanthera, and Vanda are almost extinct. The provisional list of 150 endangered plants of India includes many orchids like Acanthephippium sylhetense, Anoectochilussikkimensis, Aphyllorchis montana, Arachnanthe clarkei, Arundina graminifolio,Cymbidium macrorhizon, Dendrobium densiforum, Didiciea cunninghamii, Eriacrassicaulis, Galeola lindleyana, etc., (orchidsasia.com/orcintro.htm).
The Orchid Park in Kaziranga is spread over to an area of six acres located at Durgapur village in Golaghat district and is considered as the largest Orchid Park in the Northeast. In the Orchid Park, there are more than 500 varieties of wild orchids, 132 species of sour fruits and leafy vegetables, 46species of bamboo, 12 species of cane and many other plants. Some of the names of flowers/orchids which attracted me to mention here are in Assamese called ‘Baghar Dari’(Tiger beard) botanical name is Black Bat flower/Devil flower (this is simply flower not Orchid) and Dancing flower and some of the Orchids are Kopu phool (Assamese), botanical name is Rhynchostylis retusa (also called Foxtail Orchid). Kopu Phool/ Kopu flower (Foxtail Orchid) is the state flower of Assam. In addition, other varieties of Kopu Phools which can be seen in the Park are Aerides odorata (Assamese name -Bhato thuthiya kopu), Cymbium aloifolium (in Assamese Mota kopu) and Dendrobium aphyllum (Assamese name Halikithutia kopu). And some other botanical names of Orchids as observed in the Orchid Park are Coelogyne fimbriata, Phalaenopsis mannii, Phalaenopsis labbii, Phalaenopsis malipoensis, Eriabi flora etc.
So, I request the readers please visit Kaziranga National Park for watching the rhinos and other animals and birds, also visit Orchid Park.
I thank Thomas Cook Ltd which is an Indian travel agency, headquartered in Mumbai, for arranging the tour meticulously.

Dr. Bhupen Hazarika was a genius person, a great human being, a legendary music maestro, lyricist, writer, composer, film director, and producer. He is popularly known as the “Bard of Brahmaputra”. Although he left for heavenly abode on  5 November 2011 in Mumbai at the age of 85, he is the heart of millions in the  world through his melodious songs as well as versatile activities. He was an erudite scholar  also as he won a scholarship from Columbia University, New York and completed his Ph.D. in Mass Communication. He completed his doctoral degree on thesis “Proposals for Preparing India’s Basic Education to use Audio-Visual Techniques in Adult Education’. And later on from Chicago University, USA, he received the Lisle Fellowship.    

  Born at Sadia, in upper Assam on 8 September 1926, Bhupen Hazarika was influenced by his father Nilakanta Hazarika (school teacher) and mother Shantipriya Hazarika in singing with high moral value and character.  The eldest of ten children, Bhupen Hazarika (as also his siblings) was exposed to music by his mother. At the age of 10 years, he sang a Borgeet (Assamese devotional songs) which greatly impressed Jyotiprasad Agarwala, the noted Assamese lyricist, playwright and Assamese filmmaker. And in 1936, Bhupen Hazarika recorded his first song at the age of 10 years at Aurora Studio in Kolkata then Calcutta.  Later on Hazarika sang two songs in Agarwala’s film Indramalati, at the age of 12 years. It is pertinent to mention that Indramalati (released in 1939)   is the second Assamese language film, directed by the great Assamese poet Jyotiprasad Agarwala.

   Dr.  Bhupen Hazarika completed his matriculation in 1940; Intermediate in Arts (IA) from Cotton College in 1942 and then joined Banaras Hindu University for higher study and subsequently completed his B.A. (1944) and M.A. (1946). And already mentioned he was awarded a Ph. D in 1952 from U.S.A.

    From his early life, he was against the caste system as initially people talked about his caste, but he simply ignored them. It has to be agreed that one cannot great by caste. Greatness is proved only activities. Dr. Hazarika was singer, lyricist, musician, poet and film-maker and popularly known as ‘Sudhakantha’. His songs, written mainly by himself, are marked by humanity and universal brotherhood. While I was in Bangladesh I observed he was popular among the local Bangladeshis for his Bengali songs.

    Dr. Bhupen Hazarika composed music in the renowned films directed by Kalpana Lajmi, inter alia of which are ‘Rudali’, ‘Daman’, ‘Darmiyaan’ and also MF Hussain’s directed ‘Gaja Gamini’.

 Dr. Hazarika directed seven Assamese films, one Bengali and one Hindi film and composed music for 31Assamese, 14 Hindi, 15 Bengali and some Karbi, Bodo and Mising films.  The first film directed by Dr. Bhupen Hazarika was Erabator Sur which was released in Calcutta in 1956. He also published books for the children viz., Bhupen  Mamar Geete-Mate, A, Aa, Ka, Kha and a transcript autobiography — Moi eti jajabor.  He was the architect to set up a film studio in Guwahati, the first full-fledged film studio in Assam.

       Dr. Hazarika’s activities were rightly recognized time to time by conferring various awards such as Dada Saheb Phalke, Sangeet Ratna, Padma Bhusan, Asam Ratna, Srimanta Sankardev etc. In 2019 conferring Bharat Ratna to him albeit posthumously even then a very factual decision as Dr. Bhupen Hazarika was a versatile person in all respects and without an inch of doubt the decision is praiseworthy. It is pertinent to mention that Assam Assembly had passed a resolution in 2010 urging the Centre to confer Bharat Ratna to him. 

By working as an academician in an organisation of the Government of India I have the opportunity to visit across India including many many rural areas and also many foreign countries (now I am retired on superannuation). Here​,​ I will present a few facts based on the Bihu​s​ of Assam.  Three Bihus are celebrated in Assam​ ​- Bhogali or Magh Bihu ( mid-January​-​ 13/14/15 , date varies as per Assamese calendar); Rongali or Bohag Bihu is ​celebrated  in April 14/15, Kongali or Kati Bihu is observed in  mid-October. This year 2021, the date of Kati Bihu is on 18 October. It is pertinent to mention that all three Bihus are connected to agriculture. Rongali Bihu is the celebration of the end of the Assamese  Year and the beginning of New year. Bhogali Bihu is a harvesting festival so a lot of foods are prepared by the Assamese ladies. On the other hand, Kati Bihu is also called Kongali (“Poor”) as the granaries are usually empty and there is not much to eat at this time of the year, so it is not a joyous celebration. ​It may be mentioned here that during Ronagli Bihu days beautiful dances known as Bihu dances are performed​ by the males and females irrespective of age​. The people wear new dresses and ladies wear the famous ‘Mekhla-Chadar’.   During Kati Bihu earthen lamps (in Assamese it is called Saaki) are lit in the courtyard particularly near the sacred Tulshi plant , paddy fields and bhoral ghars (place of granary​).  In the paddy fields, the farmers lit up a special kind of lamp, known as ‘Akash Banti’ or ‘Sky lamp’.

I wish to mention here people of Assam in general and Assamese in particular are sociable and hospitable. They will at least invite for lunch or dinner if one visits as a guest or for official work to the State​ and any Assamese person is assigned to receive the guest as liaison ​. If the Assamese family is from the upper ​region of Assam viz., Sibsagar, Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Golaghat, Makum, Digboi etc., duck meat is usually offered along with other sumptuous foods including fish. In the lower region of Assam viz., Guwahati, Nalbari, Kamrup, Barpeta etc., along with other items pigeon meat ​is ​prepared with black-pepper ​and served plus fish.  If the guest is vegetarian, a lot of vegetarian dishes are prepared with local vegetables and milk. Another important item is ‘Khar’. It is an indigenous product normally prepared at home, an alkaline-based delicacy and used to prepare vegetable curry and ​d​als (pulse preparation). ​After food, ​ each guest is ​presented with a hand-made towel, locally known as ‘Gamocha’.  It may be mentioned that weaving is another important a​ctivity of the cultural life of Assamese people. Most of the Assamese ladies know weaving and in each rural household ​at least one ​loom can be found. They make ‘Sarees’, ‘Mekhla-chadar’, ‘Gamocha’ etc.  

Before I conclude, I wish to mention that Assamese people observe all the pan-Indian religious festivals, but their most important celebrations are Bhogali and Rongali Bihu which are celebrated irrespective of caste, creed and religion. And few other festivals inter alia are Ali-Ai-Ligang, Baikho, Rongker, Rajini Gabra Harni Gabra, Baishagu, in addition to Durga Puja.​ I suggest  please visit Assam  and other North-eastern States. Pristine beauty can be seen in the region. 

In the music world of India when names are discussed one of the great names is Sachin Dev Burman who is popularly known as SD Burman. He was born on 1 October 1906 in Comilla of  present-day Bangladesh and passed away on 31 October 1975 in Mumbai.  He was born in a royal family in Tripura.  Mother was Royal Princess of Manipur Rajkumari Nirmala Devi and father was Mahamanyabar Rajkumar Nabadwipchandra   Dev Burman. Sachin Dev Burman married film lyricist and musician Meera Das Gupta on 10 February 1938. They were blessed with only one son, a great music director popularly known as RD Burman. 

SD Burman was very interested in music albeit he completed his bachelor degree from Calcutta University and joined service in Agartala but he left the job and went to Calcutta /Kolkata. There he was trained by great personalities in the field of music such as Ustad Allauddin Khan, Ustaad Faiyaz Khan, Bishmadev Chattopadhyay, Krishna Chandra Dey and many other stalwarts. SD Burman had innovative ideas so he blended folk songs with normal songs. He started working as a radio singer on Calcutta Radio Station. His first record was released in 1932 (Hindustan Musical Product). At a young age he was endowed with many laurels. For example, in 1934, he participated in the All India Music Conference, in Allahabad University, where he sang  his Bengali Thumri, in presence of great personalities like Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit and the inimitable Abdul Karim Khan of Kirana Gharana. Later on in the same year, he was invited to Bengal Music Conference, Kolkata, which was inaugurated by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, here also he presented his Thumri, and was awarded a Gold Medal. His compositions were sung by the leading singers of the era, including Lata Mangeshkar, Md. Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Geeta Dutta, Manna Dey, Hemant Kumar, Asha Bhosle, Shamshad Begum, Mukesh, Talat Mahmood and others (wikipedia.org/wiki/S._D._Burman). 

He was conferred many awards and laurels. On 1 October 2007, on his 101 birth anniversary, the Indian Postal Service released a commemorative postage stamp, in Agartala, where an exhibition on his life and work was also displayed. Tripura Government introduced “Sachin Dev Burman Memorial Award” in music. He was awarded seven times ‘Filmfare Award’ (ibid).

1)      1954: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: Taxi Driver

2)      1973: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: Abhimaan

3)      1959: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: Sujata: Nomination

4)      1965: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: Guide: Nomination

5)      1969: Filmfare Best Music Director Award : Aradhana: Nomination

6)      1970: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: Talaash: Nomination

7)      1974: Filmfare Best Music Director Award: Prem Nagar : Nomination. Also he was given Sangeet Natak Akademi (Academy of Music and Plays) award, 1957; Padmashree award, 1969;

SD Burman in addition to composing, had also lent his voice (sang songs) to 14 Hindi and 13 Bengali films. He composed music for over 100 movies in Hindi and Bengali. Some of his classics include ‘Kora Kagaz Tha Yeh Man Mera’, ‘Chanda Hain Tu Mera Suraj Hain Tu’, ‘Badi Sooni Sooni’ etc.(indiatoday.in/1 October 2018).  

Before, conclusion few facts based on the website starsunfolded.com/s-d-burman are presented here:

Ø  It is believed that famous cricketer of India Sachin Tendulkar’s grandfather was a great fan of SD Burman so he decided to keep his grandson’s name as Sachin. 

Ø  SD Burman was a football referee also and played cricket for YMCA club.

Ø  Also he was fond of tennis but his Guru asked him to select either tennis or singing so he selected singing. 

Ø  When he went to Bombay/ Mumbai during that time he met actor Dev Anand and together they worked for the movie Baazi which was a great hit and brought him in the limelight.

SD Burman although passed away on 31 October 1975 but he will be in the heart of millions of Indians generation after generation.  

All Indians whether in twentieth century or twenty first century know the supreme sacrifice made by three great and selfless patriots of integrated India – Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar who were hanged to death by the British rulers in Lahore jail (presently in Pakistan) on 23 March in 1931. For the sacrifice made by the great persons for our independence we are enjoying our lives in a free country.
Anyway, unfortunately, Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar were killed by the British rulers on the same day as mentioned already but their dates of birth were different. Bhagat Singh was born on 28 September 1907 at Banga village, Jaranwala Tehsil in Lyallpur district of Punjab presently in Pakistan. Sukhdev Thapar was born on 15 May 1907 in Ludhiana, Punjab. Shivaram Hari Rajguru popularly known as Rajguru was born on 24 August 1908 at Khed located at the bank of river Bheema near Poona.

They were hanged for the killing of John P Saunders, a British police officer. It may be mentioned that any sort of killing is undesirable but during British rule in India they (British) treated Indians with imperialistic attitude, the reason is obvious as British came thousands mile away with the attitude of exploiting our resources including human resources. Because of the independence movement and sacrifice made by then Indians also post the effect of the Second World War; they left India by partitioning then India based on religion. Same British did not rule Eritrea (a country located in North-east Africa) for more than a decade. As I worked as senior faculty in Eritrea so I know in this regard in depth.
A few points about the killing of John P Saunders by Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev may be mentioned here. In 1928, the British Government set up a commission headed by John Simon to report about the political situation in India. The political parties of India boycotted the Commission and in many places protests erupted because the Commission did not include a single Indian as a member. When the Commission visited Lahore on 30 October 1928, Lala Lajpat Rai led a non-violent march in protest and the protesters uttered “Simon go-back”. Then the superintendent of police, James A. Scott, ordered the police (most of the police personnel were Indian) to lathi (baton) charge among the protesters and it is believed that Scott personally assaulted Lala Lajpat and later on Lajpat died. This incident created severe anger among Indians. As a sequel, Bhagat Singh and Shivaram Rajguru killed Assistant Superintendent of Police John Saunders on 17 December 1927. They were supported in this act by Sukhdev Thapar and Chandrashekhar Azad. However, their original target was not Saunders but James Scott who ordered lathi-charge. Because of the slow pace of the legal proceedings, a special tribunal, consisting of Justice J Coldstream, Justice Agha Hyder and Justice G.C. Hilton was set up on the directives of the Viceroy, Lord Irwin on 1 May, 1930. The tribunal delivered its 300-page judgement on October 7, 1930. The tribunal confirmed the involvement of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru for killing Saunders and on 23 March 1931, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged in Lahore Jail.
Before their death, they chanted, ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ and ‘Down with British Imperialism’. A famous quote of Bhagat Singh is, “They may kill me, but they cannot kill my ideas. They can crush my body, but they will not be able to crush my spirit”. At the time of execution, Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev Thapar were just 23 years old and Shivaram Rajguru was only 22.
On the auspicious occasion of the birthday of Bhagat Singh on 28 September 2021, I offer my great salute to this great patriot. Also my great salute to Shivaram Hari Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar

On occasion of Grandparents’ Day or National Grandparents’ Day which   is celebrated in various countries, I offer my respect to all the grandparents of the world in general and offer my Pronam to my grandparents in particular.   It is celebrated to express the bonding between grandparents and grandchildren.

I had the opportunity to see my maternal and paternal grandparents (all four). So,  I feel lucky that  I got their blessings, their love , their affections which was altogether a different feeling to me . Many things I have learnt from them which are still in my mind and heart. Yes it is unfortunate that in many countries including in our country  father or mother  or both are kept in old age homes thus child/children miss the grandparent even grandparents.                               

I have recently seen a video where a teenage girl  met her grandma in an old age home. Her parents told the girls she had gone to another relative’s home but from school a programme was organised in that old age home. And incidentally when she met her both became highly emotional, a touchy video. This is a simple case of selfishness. Anyway, about the Grandparents Day few points I am highlighting based on the secondary sources – i) wincalendar.com/in/Grandparents-Day, ii) ndtv.com/india-news/grandparents-day-2021 and iii).aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/research/surveys_statistics

Grandparents’ Day is celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Labour Day, which is also the second Sunday of September. This year, it is being celebrated on 12 September, 2021. The fact behind the Grandparents’ Day is that a 9-year-old boy, Russell Capper, sent a letter to President Richard Nixon in 1969. The letter reportedly requested the President to set aside a day to celebrate the presence of grandparents. In 1973, the first Grandparents Day was announced in West Virginia and in 1978, a bill to proclaim National Grandparents Day was signed by US President Jimmy Carter. According to President Carter, “The elders of each family have the responsibility for setting the moral tone for the family and for passing on the traditional values of our Nation to their children and grandchildren”.

A few facts about grandparents may be highlighted here. Since 2001, the number of grandparents has increased by 24 percent (56 million to 70 million).By age of 65, almost all (96%) are grandparents. In 2030, one in every five residents will be 65 years plus. So the number of grandparents will be  more. Most grandparents have on an average, four to five grandchildren.

Lastly, I wish to mention our grandparents are part of our family and they will not be around forever with us. We need to cherish the moments we can with them and create lifelong memories as they are our assets as long as they survive.

 For the welfare of the people the Union Government or State Government has to incur expenditures. The expenditures are important for the development of an economy. There are two types of expenditures incurred by the Government – one is Productive and other one is unproductive. In general productive expenditures increase productive capacity in the economy and bring income to the government. Some examples are expenditure on infrastructure development, public enterprises or development of agriculture etc. which increase productive capacity in the economy and bring income to the government. On the other hand, unproductive expenditures means which do not create any productive asset or can bring income or returns to the nation. As examples few are interest payment, donations to clubs, and allowances to religious leaders etc. Unproductive expenditures arise because of many factors, including uncertainties, the lack of a well-trained civil service, inadequate checks and balances in the political and budgetary process, and corruption. In this article, few cases are presented with supporting data about the unproductive expenditures in West Bengal.  

  In West Bengal unemployment is serious now. The data collected from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) speaks the truth. In January 2016 West Bengal had an unemployment rate of 9.0 percent against the all India average of 8.7 percent. In May 2021, the unemployment rate in the State was 19.3 percent against the all India average of 11.9 percent. And in the month of June 2021 the same (unemployment rate) in West Bengal was 22.1 percent against all India average of 9.2 percent (unemploymentinindia.cmie.com). On the other hand the State Government has been spending more and more on unproductive expenditures. The Government of West Bengal had given more than Rs 1,300 crore to various clubs across the State which is purely an example of unproductive expenditure; of course, it may fetch an easy vote. “In 2012, one year after coming to power, the State Government had given an amount of Rs. 2,00,000 to 26,000 clubs across the State. Since then, these clubs have received grants worth Rs. 1,00,000 every three years” (NEWS Click, 14 Mar 2020). In the month of August 2021, a very unfortunate incident took place in West Bengal. The teachers who are great assets to the society were dealt badly by the concerned authority as sequel five women teachers consumed poison as suicide attempt. Why teachers were badly treated in a State which is considered as ‘Culturally advanced’. Another example of unproductive expenditure is allowances to the religious leaders. Recent case of unproductive expenditure is the launching of Lakshmi Bhandar Scheme. The Scheme provides basic income support to the female heads of the family. Through this scheme, the Government is going to provide Rs 500 per month to general category families and Rs 1000 per month to SC/ST families.

With so many unproductive expenditures involving huge amounts of money, I am worried about the future of West Bengal in the economic front as with the huge unemployment rate both in absolute number and relative terms the people of the State may suffer from law and order issues in the near future.