By Aroonim Bhuyan, IANS
New Delhi : Insurgency or terrorism cannot be given as an excuse for the lack of economic development in Assam, says renowned US-based management guru Dipak Jain.
“I don’t think insurgency can be cited as a reason for the lack of development in Assam. What we need is a change in the attitude of the people,” Assam-born Jain, dean of the Kellogg School of Management, told IANS in an interview.
Elaborating, he said, “We people in Assam are too self-contented. We seldom venture out and we do not let others come in too.”
Jain’s long career in education began as a student in Tezpur, Assam. After earning his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and statistics from Darrang College, Tezpur, he earned his postgraduate degree with a gold medal from Gauhati University in 1978. He taught at the university for the next five years before leaving for Dallas in the US to pursue his PhD in marketing at the University of Texas.
When it was pointed out that people from Assam, especially students, are venturing out of the state these days, he said: “True, but that is more out of compulsion. However, I would say that coming out should not mean not returning. They should work outside, gather experience and then return home and use what they have learnt in the development of their home state.”
Stressing that the people of Assam should encourage investors from outside to put their money in the state, Jain, 50, said: “Today, we are living in a globalised world. Countries are seeking out other countries as partners in progress. There is a great movement of people across the globe. So, how can you develop without letting outside investors come in?”
Jain, who was here to deliver a lecture on ‘Branding India in the Global Context’ at the Foreign Services Institute (FSI), said the working conditions in Assam were much better than in many other parts of the world.
“Look at the climate. Isn’t it wonderful? And there is so much of human resource too.”
When told that the law and order situation in the state was acting as a deterrent to investors from outside, Jain said that it was a “much over-hyped issue”.
“Insurgency and terrorism in Assam has been over-hyped by the media. I keep going to Assam to meet my family. I never felt insecure in anyway. It is not at all as it has been made out to be,” he said.
Reiterating that insurgency cannot be a factor in keeping away investors, he pointed to Central American countries in this context.
“Look at the countries in Central America racked by insurgency. But have they stopped overseas investors from coming in? In fact, working conditions in those countries are much tougher than in Assam. As I said, it is all about the attitude of the people.”
Jain had been an advisor to the vice president of El Salvador at one point of time.
Asked if he would take up an advisory role for the Assam government, Jain recalled an interaction with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi during the latter’s visit to the US last month for the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in New York.
“We had a very good meeting. The chief minister is very receptive to new ideas,” he said.
The state government has to play a more active role in promoting the state to the outside world, said Jain.
“The government should hold events and invite investors from outside. If they are concerned about the law and order situation, they should be given security cover and taken on a tour of the beautiful state,” said the Sandy and Morton Goldman Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies at the Kellogg School.
Jain, along with four other Assamese residing in the US, has written to Gogoi, suggesting that a new set of educational institutions be set up in Assam.
“It is actually an initiative of Jugal Kalita, an Assamese residing in Colorado. We have suggested setting up new business management courses in Assam. It would be one of the best ways to harness Assam’s human resources,” Jain said.
Asked if he had any particular sector in mind that could be a thrust area, he said: “Tourism and establishing manufacturing bases. If developed and promoted well, Assam can be one of the best tourist spots in the world. And there is tremendous scope for establishing manufacturing bases.”
He also lauded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Look East policy.
“It is one of the best initiatives to be taken. Why look at the US and European markets when the Southeast Asian markets are so close by?”
When told that the Ministry of Development of the Northeastern Region has roped in Thailand as partner to help in the development of the region, Jain, who was appointed advisor to the prime minister of Thailand in 2003, said, “That is good. But don’t forget Vietnam. Thailand is already developed. Vietnam is still developing and its situation is similar to the northeast. There can be mutual synergies between the regions if a partnership is struck.”
“But, above all,” he concluded, “the people of Assam should learn to dream, to aspire. That is the best way to develop the state.”