G PLUS NOV 12 - NOV 18, 2016
Is the absorption of Hindu Bangladeshi migrants in Assam a good humanitarian act by the government? Conducting a series of College debates, G Plus intends to reach out to various colleges in the city to hear the youth speak out on the burning issues across the state and nation.
17
In Focus
Meet
Parthajeet and Sibani Sarma Entrepreneur duo
Venue: Gauhati Commerce College Date: 10th November, 2016 It is quite apparent that just like the previous congress governments, the BJP-led Assam government has also started the same conspiracy to build up and secure their vote bank. The BJP led Assam government is clearly acting like a most obedient subordinate of central government and its policy of preparing Assam as a breeding ground and a grazing field for Hindu Bangladeshis. Our CM, Mr. Sarbananda Sonowal, was the president of AASU earlier and then was a politician engaging in regionalism with the AGP. Being an AASU leader and an AGP member he had always maintained his stand for an immigrant-free Assam. But now, he is in tune with the central government’s call for Hindu Bangladeshi absorption. With this step Assam will go backward with its overall socio-economic condition. Prior to the Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi had promised that he would make the country free of illegal migrants. But he has taken a complete U-turn after BJP formed the government in Assam. As far as Assam is concerned, it just cannot absorb any more foreign nationals under any circumstances – be it Hindu or any other community. The pressure of absorption of Hindu Bangladeshis will create huge unemployment in the state. It will create tremendous language and cultural problems too. And it needs mention here should this step be taken and the act implemented, it will lead to large-scale deforestation and destruction of habitat. Humanitarian act or whatever, this cannot be permitted ever. When the government of India has failed to provide sufficient support to flood affected citizens of Assam, when Assam is struggling with the huge burden of unemployment issues, if government of India now makes it legal for migration of Hindus from Bangladesh it will be a curse on the whole socio-economic condition of Assam.
As India is called HINDUSTAN, I don’t feel bad if Govt. of India offers shelter for insecure Hindus residing in Bangladesh on humanitarian ground. Humanity is always at a greater position than religion. But if there’s no proper policy for this establishment, then the same migrant people can create a big issues on the employment front. At the same time, language can be a factor. In Assam, Assamese is the official language. Unfortunately though, in many places of Assam, Bengali has become the major language. If a huge volume of Hindu Bengalis from Bangladesh migrate to Assam, it can be a serious issue in this regard. Lastly, if the government of India is so keen to help persecuted minorities in Bangladesh, it may well take the Sri Lanka route of pressurizing the Bangladesh government and stopping such persecutions. The same had been done with the Sri Lankan Tamils. But using Assam for a dumping ground on this pretext is certainly not an acceptable solution.
With a deep understanding of the construction industry the couple are on a venture of a different kind that is set to be a boon the construction industry of the country. Originally from Guwahati, currently settled in Mumbai, the work of Parthajeet Sarma and Sibani Chakravarty Sarma has brought substantial change in how construction activities can be perceived and implemented. Parthajeet started his architectural practice after attaining a degree from Sir JJ College of Architecture in Mumbai and followed it up with an MBA. He worked with a few MNCs before starting out on his own. His venture called iDream Design created innovative designs and has worked on creating workplaces for various corporate houses across India. Parthajeet is also a Chevening fellow of Oxford University and not only acts as consultant to organisations at strategic levels, but spends ample time on internal R&D efforts, which has led to award winning products and services in the construction industry. Meanwhile Sibani, who is also an alumnus of Sir JJ College of Architecture, breathed life to a platform called Gallopper that helps in bringing perceptive changes by sharing of stories and innovative ideas. Today Gallopper, through its initiatives such as Gallopper Talks, has held several workshops around the country and with the help of social media, provides a platform for collaboration and networking among academia, civil society organisations and professionals from disciplines such as architecture, engineering and construction management. “The idea was to create a transparency in the industry. Throughout the history of the building and construction industry, people have used hearsay and their personal networks to make informed decisions. Our mission at Gallopper has been to make the industry more accountable and trigger an image makeover by bringing together significant people from the industry, holding discussions and sharing ideas,” said Sibani, co-founder of Gallopper. “We have come across several examples of people who have been working for several years but were known only in their social circuit. Through Gallopper, that social circuit has broadened manifold,” Sibani added. The duo had very different answers when asked about their influences and the reason behind being associated with construction industry. For Sibani the inclination came from her family. Her father was a civil engineer and several people in her immediate circle were working around the same business. After completing her schooling in Shillong, Sibani went on to pursue her graduation in architecture
that was followed by an MBA. She also worked in the banking sector and stuck to the job for three years in order to provide the financial support to the family while Parthajeet could follow his dream of starting his own venture. Later Sibani joined hands with iDream and gradually Gallopper came to life. Meanwhile, Parthajeet never planned the way things have turned out for him. The results did not come easy and the duo had to face their own share of struggle. To begin with the duo did not want to stick to conventional architecture. Parthajeet, after working for a few MNCs, decided launch iDream in 2003 as a pre-design consultancy company. “Technology has touched lives of people in developed nations and to a large extent in countries like India and innovation remains the key if one wishes to survive in such competitive markets. On the other hand, parts of countries like India have also remained backward because innovative technology has not reached these parts or are over budget which provides a big opportunity for entrepreneurs to use ground breaking innovation, based on technology and uplift such parts of India,” Parthajeet stated. His innovative work in off-site manufacturing in housing has won Parthajeet awards like the ET Power of Ideas, Sankalp Award and others. iDream has been associated with several venture capital funds, organisations such as MetLife, Tata AIG. iDream was also instrumental is boosting Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, as a cricketing venue by designing the facilities at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium. In his other avatar, where he revived his passion for writing, Parthajeet has penned down his thoughts in his maiden outing ‘Smart Phones, Dumb People?’ in 2011. Parthajeet loved writing from his school days. He was an active writer contributing to school magazines and newspapers, but somewhere along the way his writing skills were left on the back-burner once he took up a professional course and later started working. Through the book Parthajeet brought up the dichotomy of the world we live in – where many of our lives are ruled by smartphones and internet while there are also millions who go without easy access to basics like water and electricity. The entrepreneur has lined up another book titled ‘The Rich Labourer’ that is expected to hit the shelves soon. Parthajeet believes that holding seminars and workshops helps in opening up the mind but by putting the same in the format of the book will root the ideas in a more prominent manner.