Articles by B M

separate state and are prepared only to discuss the modalities of its formation. In the mean time every hundred-hour or three hundred-hour bandh raises the death toll. Entire hamlets are reduced to ashes. There is fear and suspicion clutching at everyone's throat in the affected areas. The tribal belts and blocks promised by the caste-Hindu Assamese leaders to the tribals before partition (which had been instrumental in weaning away the tribals from the influence of the Muslim League) had been given effect through legislation. But in practice these have been heavily breached again and again. The tribals are now a decided minority in most areas claimed by the Bodos for their separate state. It will be a superhuman task to re-group the mixed population and construct a state with a more or less homogeneous population. It is now too late probably to reverse epochal demographic trends and dispossess people who have struck deep roots in the land that theoretically belongs to the tribals alone. The Bodo grievance can best be solved through a package deal, which may in clude eviction of a non-tribal people who have encroached on tribal belts after a cutoff year, say 1979, creation of small autonomous regions where the Bodo population is comparatively numerous, but with obviously limited functions, special safeguards for their language and culture (Bodo had been granted the status of associate state language already under Hiteswar Saikia, though its implementation has so far been perfunctory) and, in my opinion the most important part, sharing power with the tribals at the highest level in the state, with Bodo members having permanent berths in the state cabinet and smaller tribes being represented on it by rotation. Portfolios like tribal development should be put in the hands of tribal ministers. In this way most of their fears and worries may be set at rest without drastic and meaningless re-organisation of the state, and the political and cultural hegemony of the Assamese may be tempered. It is most unlikely that the centre which likes to fish in troubled waters will be happy with such a set-up. But then there is the sobering thought that Assam may well turn into another Punjab.

B M In the ongoing North-South dialogue, the official Indian policy appears to be to opt out of the third world and, instead of playing a positive role in the G-77 and the non aligned movement, pretend to be a medium developing country and act as honest broker to the G-77 and the new world economic order.

Getting Caught in the Technology Trap THE presentation of the Defamation Bill and its passage through the Lok Sabha at breakneck speed has raised an unprecedented political storm such as the ruling establishment had not bargained for. This has forced the government to halt in mid- track in its search for desperate remedies for its vulnerable plight on the score of corruption charges. But looking for desperate remedies for its mounting political ailments has become the standard style of functioning of the ruling caucus. On the economic front too the hope entertained by it that, with a very good monsoon and bumper crops, the economy would bounce back to the growth path is turning out to be somewhat facile.

Decline of Technical-Professional Cadres Seeds of Current Unrest B M The key issue in the nationwide teachers' strike and in the earlier strikes and agitations by other professional groups, such as doctors, is that of the status of professionals in the scheme of things at the present stage of development of the Indian economy and society When development planning was launched in the country it was assumed that in course of time the technical and professional cadres would overshadow the generalist administrators. But now when the political authority is anxious to dilute the role of the state in the development process and to strengthen instead its administrative and security functions, it is inevitable that the technical-professional cadres should be expected to play second fiddle to the bureaucrats.

NEW DELHI Passing Power into Foreign Hands B M PUBLIC polemics in recent weeks between the industry minister, Vengal Rao, and the minister of state for public enterprises, K K Tiwari, on the one hand, and the energy minister, Vasant Sathe, on the other, on the question of foreign financing and turnkey construction of power plants as against fuller utilisation of indigenous power plants equipment and role of the private sector in setting up power projects have been interesting and revealing of the state of confusion in the government. While Vengal Rao was somewhat restrained when he declared that private enterpaise could not be relied upon to build power projects since it would not be able to raise enough capital for the purpose, K K Tiwari went hammer and tongs against Vasant Sathe for what he claimed was a "distorted version of government policies" and dubbed him as "minister to private enterprise". Vasant Sathe, on his part, declared that BHEL equipment would be used only if it was competitive with foreign supplies, presumably not only in respect of prices but credit back-up also, for power projects and went on to suggest that BHEL might as well as transferred to his ministry for better co-ordination and to end unseemly controversies.