"Bikini Show" of a kind

Chief Minister, Nabam Tuki rattled many firsts in the state during the course of his “38-Points” Independence Day speech. One would commend his performance with a caveat-- provided statistics are true; but history of arm-chair research and consequent data output in Arunachal Pradesh entails one to doubt couple of points. For instance, staggering 134% [point not 11] jump recorded in mobilizing internal resources in the annual plan financing in 2012-13 conceals more than what it reveals. Financial jugglery behind “state-share” is an open and accepted practice that has been fine tuned over the last decade or so. Yet, given the linear correlation between annual operating plan and state’s share, there’s little choice but to play the game by the established rule.

Nevertheless, one could not help but remember what Aaron Levenstein, a famous management guru, who once quipped- “Statistics are like a bikini. What bikini reveals is suggestive, but what it conceal is vital.”  

Pointers to Levenstein’s quote are Tuki’s tangential succinct reference of “big-ticket” projects including Trans-Arunachal Highway, dams, PMGSY, railways etc. The very fact that he refused to dwell on pet projects, which are sanctum sanctorum of UPA-I & II’s “Prime Minister Package” is suggestive of the ground realities that development is yet to gather required pace. For instance, Trans-Arunachal Highway Project is in limbo, with just about 100 out of 1559 kms completed in almost 5 years!

On a day when the Chief Minister addresses the entire state which is a rare occasion, one expected the leader of the ruling party to talk on broader pictures, larger vision plans and its progress, yet he desisted and instead talked about laundry lists of activities which hardly have bearing on larger and core of today’s Arunachal- the youths.

Although Tuki revealed a startling meteoric employment figure of 17,327 [point no 16] vis-à-vis target of 10,000 during the same period yet one gets the sense that he has concealed many vital statistics in that innocuous odd number, not a rounded one. Credibility of “17327” number is at stake: Did he realise that he was talking of employment rate of little over 1400 per month? Which departments offered such employment? Which schemes absorbed so many of them?  As one keeps pointing out the shrouded numbers, there’s innate hope that Tuki did cross check the authenticity because little that one knows of “mass employment” that came the youth’s way was provided under Prime Minister’s Skill Development Programme and under Minister of Social Justice, Government of India. These figures were in couple of hundred over the 12 months period. Have “hydro-power developers” started employing in 233 hydro-projects?

Like one keeps saying youths are running out of patience and are turning more and more insolent; brazenly defying law and imposing bandhs on government is just symptomatic of things to unfold. There's need for government to walk the talk on youth programmes and policies, no just talk. Even on youth's part, there's a need to take initiative, not just be complacent complainants.

‘Rome rose to the pinnacle of glory when Romans gave their best and Rome collapsed once Romans started taking away’, Edward Gibbon, the famous British historian had aptly reasoned on the “Rise and Fall of Rome”.