Assam marches ahead triumphantly amidst despondency elsewhere

Gautam Ganguly

(gautamganguly2012@gmail.com) 

The country was almost in the midst of pandemonium a few days back. Consequent upon the Delhi High Court’s order to let off on bail Kuldip Singh Sengar, an ex-MLA and a convicted rapist of a hapless minor girl in the obnoxious ‘Unnao rape case’ in Uttar Pradesh, the entire country was shaken to the hilt.  More disturbing was the deplorable attempt by a section of political  spokespersons to suppress the heinous incident by offering ridiculous defences in favour of the hated criminal and the High Court order.  Massive public outrage across the country was witnessed, accusing political influence in such unfathomable order.  Fortunately, the Hon’ble Supreme Court immediately took suo moto cognisance and set aside the blatantly wrongful high court order much to the relief of sane, apolitical Indian citizens.  Within days of the Sengar case, the country was embarrassed at the gruesome murder of Angel Chakma, an MBA student from Tripura studying in Dehradun, for his alleged ‘Chinese’ look despite his contradiction that he was an Indian! Further, in a classic instance of a typical lackadaisical attitude, the Uttarakhand government gave a lame excuse in their bid to protect the killers of Angel Chakma. Then came a horrendous attack on peaceful celebrations of holy Christmas. Attacks against Christians were mostly witnessed in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, etc., leaving a large section of unbiased, independent-minded Indians bewildered.  Such monstrous  attacks on peace-loving Christians were unprecedented in Independent India. In the midst of many such distasteful incidents across the country, Assam marches ahead harmoniously amidst visible development schemes being implemented at breakneck speed.  A well-administered, controversy-free Assam stands as a beckoning light to other Indian states. As a perfect sequel to the tangible, people-benefiting schemes being implemented by the government of Assam, the Prime Minister during his last visit to the state had inaugurated newly constructed Terminal 2 of Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport on December 20. The new terminal has been designed to be a majestic infrastructure that gracefully blends cultural heritage with contemporary architecture, embodying the essence of northeast India.  It is being said that the new terminal is poised to become a gateway reflecting the growing importance of the Northeast in the country’s strategic tourism and trade ambitions. The new terminal is an architectural brilliance, observers say.

In its bid to reduce traffic congestion, thereby providing relief to beleaguered commuters of Guwahati, spectacular flyovers have been constructed in record short time. In September 2025, the Jayanta Hazarika flyover (Panikhaiti) and another at Panbazar were opened. The state’s longest flyover, named Nilachal Flyover, which stretches over 2.63 kilometres, connecting Maligaon Chariali to Kamakhya Gate, has come up.  Further, the 2.28-km-long Shraddhanjali Flyover has been completed in 19 months, connecting Commerce College Point, ensuring smoother transportation much to the satisfaction of harassed city dwellers.  Bhootnath to the Machkhowa adjoining road is a connoisseur’s delight besides easing out. Another outstanding upcoming project is ‘Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu’, a six-lane bridge over the Brahmputra connecting the Bharalumukh area to North Guwahati, connecting the two banks. 

Ceremonial distribution of appointment letters has been the hallmark of the present government, thereby ensuring a merit-based, transparent recruitment procedure.  Recently, more than four thousand appointment letters were formally distributed ceremonially on 19 December, 2025. A whopping 154,030 numbers have been provided with government jobs since the present CM took office in May 2021, thereby fulfilling the election promise to provide one lakh jobs. The present state government has created more jobs and transparently published appointment numbers than any other state government. Most importantly, even the worst critics acknowledge the merit and fairness of these appointments. 

It is heartening that, as per the Reserve Bank of India, Assam has achieved 45% GSDP growth during financial year 2020 to 2025 against India’s 29%.  Financial experts and analysts across the country have opined Assam’s economy as ‘stable and progressing well’. Assam’s economy has reached approximately 3.5 lakh crore in 2025 and emerges as India’s fastest-growing state economy over five years. During 2023-24, GDP of Assam soared to an unprecedented Rs 5.65 lakh crore, marking a remarkable 14.7 per cent growth. Assam is swiftly emerging as an economic powerhouse. Initial estimates indicate a GDP of Rs 6.38 lakh crore this year. Another feather in the cap is that the government of Assam ensures payment of salary and pension, inclusive of dearness, promptly every month without any backlog.  

Swahid Smarak Kshetra is a significant martyr memorial complex situated at Boragaon to honour 860 martyrs who sacrificed their precious lives during historic Assam agitation. It is a monumental 55-metre-long tall statue. The memorial, besides providing aesthetic pleasure, evokes emotional outbursts. 

To meet the widening gulf of doctor–patient ratio, the government of Assam had started working towards a solution by establishing government medical colleges.  With the establishment of a number of medical colleges, including AIIMS Guwahati, in various places like Nagaon, Nalbari, Kokrajhar and Dhubri in the year 2023, Assam now boasts of thirteen medical colleges, and 1,550 medical graduates are being produced every year. It’s a qualitative leap from a meagre 391 medical graduates in a year, ensuring better medical facilities for people. 

Assam’s greatest achievement is that it is the only state government in the country to arrest those who vandalised the Christmas celebration. In the Nalbari district, four ruffians were arrested on 25th December, thereby upholding the sanctity of the secular character of our holy constitution.