Assam is one of the poorer states of India. About 36 percent of its population of 27 million lives below the poverty line and per capita income (INR 13,925) is 40 percent below the national average. The state is marked by poor road infrastructure, tenuous communication, low agricultural productivity, and low levels of industrial activity… — Project Information Document, World Bank, 2005.
This is the kind of report that journalists regularly pull off the Internet and use in their articles. One can sit in Gurgaon and write a story on Guwahati without the botheration of traversing the country west to east. It is not necessary to go to Assam to write about Assam. But this has never been entirely adequate, because the numbers inevitably remain digits, and the stories remain nothing but a collection of visuals. Information, when it is printed or broadcast without firsthand reporting cannot generate depth of feeling. It fosters stereotypes.
This is especially true when it comes to coverage of the Indian Northeast. Violence in Manipur, student protests in Assam, the Nagas demanding autonomy — all of these are presented as if those who live in the seven-sister states have nothing better to do than agitate constantly — and harbour 'anti-India' sentiments.
It was only when this Delhi-based writer went out to Assam, to cover the state's assembly elections this April, that the numbers added up and the stories really hit. It was a humbling, learning experience. And over a fortnight spent in the state, I discovered that Assam is intrinsically much closer to heartland India than any South Indian state will ever be. Despite its geographical alienation, as a 'northerner' I found Hindi to be widely understood and often spoken.