New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has strongly asserted that the state’s development trajectory was significantly hindered by its past political leadership since its formation. Speaking at the 10th Governing Council meeting of the NITI Aayog on ‘Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @ 2047’ in New Delhi, Sarma declared that Assam is now “reclaiming” its position as the ‘gateway to Southeast Asia’ under the Narendra Modi government, shedding its status as a “prisoner of history.”
The Chief Minister painted a vivid picture of Assam before Independence, highlighting its prosperity with a per capita income surpassing the national average. He noted the global recognition of Assam’s premium tea exports and its robust connectivity to the world economy, citing railway lines connecting Dibrugarh to Chittagong by 1904 and the Brahmaputra serving as a vital waterway to ports like Chittagong. However, the partition of India, he lamented, severed these crucial arteries overnight, leaving Assam with only the vulnerable ‘Siliguri Chicken Neck’ as a lifeline to the rest of India.
Sarma specifically pointed out the allocation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts to East Pakistan, despite its over 97 per cent non-Muslim population. He recounted how Chakma leaders hoisted the Indian flag in Rangamati on August 15, 1947, hoping to join India, only for their hopes to be dashed by Chittagong’s allocation to East Pakistan. He claimed that Pandit Nehru’s “tacit acceptance” of this decision dealt a significant and lasting blow to the North East’s access to global trade. Further, Sarma contended that during the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, then-PM late Indira Gandhi missed an opportunity to negotiate a broader and more secure geographical corridor for the Northeast, stating that “the region was let down by the political leadership of the time.”
Today, Sarma affirmed, under the “visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Assam and other North Eastern states are no longer seen as “prisoners of history.” He asserted that Assam is “reclaiming its rightful role as a gateway to Southeast Asia,” through the revival of inland waterways, restoration of connectivity, and building of infrastructure to reposition the state as a dynamic economic frontier for ‘Viksit Bharat’. To fully unlock the region’s promise, he urged the implementation of dedicated transport and logistics corridors, revival of inland waterways and critical railway infrastructure, provision of freight subsidies and long-haul incentives for industries, and assurance of affordable and reliable power with appropriate cost equalisation mechanisms. “Let us correct the failures of past political vision with bold policy clarity today,” he urged.
Highlighting Assam’s progress towards ‘Viksit Assam for Viksit Bharat’, Sarma stated that the state currently boasts a GSDP of USD 68.7 billion, with a 19 per cent growth in the last fiscal year and a 17.8 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the past three years. He identified tourism, textiles, pharmaceuticals, electronics, hydrocarbons, agriculture, and infrastructure as key sectors, adding that the state is also investing in future-oriented domains such as new-age skills, green jobs, and the circular economy.
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