The Akhil Gogoi Factor

By Teresa Rehman

------Overnight, an average looking man with disheveled hair and beard, dressed austerely in an unironed shirt and trousers and a pair of chappals has become a household name in the murky landscape of Northeast India – a region often in the news for violence and bloodshed. Assam’s farmer rights activist Akhil Gogoi had an almost cinematic ingress into the public eye. His recent bare-knuckled tirade against alleged corruption by a heavyweight Congress leader has turned him into a dare-devil whistleblower against deep-rooted corruption in the political circles.

Gogoi became a readymade saleable package, more of a phenomenon that local media could not stop shrieking about. As soon as he steps out from a public meeting he is swallowed by a group of zealous mediapersons. The unassuming man is now being featured in blogs and youtube. His name has almost become a euphemism for ‘someone who fights against corruption’. Gogoi seems to have divined a mammoth common nerve in the society: the empowering potency of being shown you can choose otherwise and is the basis for the making of ‘the Akhil Gogoi factor’.

His decision to wage a war against corruption has triggered animated political, civil society and media debate. His diatribe has uncorked a dormant emotion in society and now its common to hear disgruntled people say, “Let’s put Akhil Gogoi on the trail” or “Only Akhil Gogoi can do something”.

A facebook group titled “Supporting Akhil Gogoi” in May 2010 had garnered as many as 1550 members. Aryama Dutta Saikia, who initiated the facebook group rues, “Our Supporting Akhil Gogoi page on Facebook has been temporarily blocked. It’s surprising because one needs more than 100 "reports" for an FB page to be blocked.”

To challenge corruption in a system where it is already widespread and deep-entrenched may appear futile. Gogoi seems to have filled a vacuum which the younger generation in Assam like Saikia needs to be filled. Saikia rues, “For years, we have been complaining about corruption and saying "Why doesn't someone do something?" We waited and waited and waited. But, that miraculous "someone" did not come to our rescue. In fact, every time a common man such as a Manjunath or a Satyendra Dubey emerges, the opposing forces drown his voice. It is unrealistic and unfair to expect one Akhil Gogoi to eradicate corruption in Assam.”

The group led by Saikia have also been organizing candle-light ‘anti-corruption’ vigils in different parts of the state as well as in Delhi. “Most of us secretly harbor fantasies of being a hero, exterminating corruption and making a difference in the society. Well, in Assam, Akhil Gogoi and his organization, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS), are doing exactly this,” says Saikia.

Riding high on his huge popularity, Gogoi who was born into a cultivator’s family is now furiously presiding over farmer’s meetings all over the state. The peasant leader called upon the public to be alert against misuse of public fund by public servants and racketeers who pilferage funds meant for social welfare. He was also honoured with the second Manjunath Shanmugam Integrity Award in 2008 for his fight against corruption.

He also received the National RTI Awards in 2010 by the Public Cause Research Foundation (PCRF) for his for his role in exposing corruption in various schemes like the Indira Awas Yojana and the Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana. He is credited to taking RTI to the masses and holding the government accountable for its actions.

Gogoi has been working relentlessly for the cause of farmers in Assam since 2002 as the general secretary of the KMSS. KMSS is now a part of the National Alliance of Peoples Movement led by activist Medha Patkar and enjoys huge popularity in rural areas of Assam. In fact, Patkar joined him at a huge farmer’s rally in the heart of Guwahati city demanding an immediate halt to mega river-dam projects in Arunachal Pradesh and other northeastern States.

But Gogoi is more importantly credited to ushering in a modern-day nascent farmer’s movement in the state. History is strewn with tales of peasant’s movements and how the ruling class tried to throttle them. Assam too, had witnessed the Peasants’ Revolution of Sarukshetri in the erstwhile Barpeta subdivision of Kamrup district where ‘Raijmelah’ or the protest meeting was held in January 1894. The triggering factor for this movement was the proposed resettlement of land and abnormal hike in the land revenue. The Raijmel is a significant occurrence as it stirred the movement against the British rule in the early 20th century. The British rulers then tried to ruthlessly crush the movement in all possible ways.

Gogoi too had to face the wrath of the state – he has been from time to time branded ‘Maoist’, a ‘land-grabber’ and an ‘absconder’ by the state. With rumours of Gogoi having a threat to his life, the state government took no chances and gave him security cover in the form of a lone security guard. This is interesting in the light of the fact that the Centre is contemplating enacting the Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Informers) Bill 2010 to protect whistleblowers who raise the alarm over corruption in government ministries, offices and agencies. The proposed law seeks to empower anyone who wishes to make a complaint of corruption or disclosure against a central government employee or any other central government-backed institution to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC).

But critics are cynical if this fearless crusader will be able to sustain this confection of positive energies – something which propelled him from an ordinary man to an extraordinary icon. Some feel that he’s been hopping from too many issues – farmer’s rights, corruption by politicians, protest against big dams and so on.

But it can said without any doubt that Gogoi is one of the most remarkable stories to emerge from contemporary Assam. In the days to come, maybe he will have to continue to reinvent himself and evolve into someone different while still keeping the essential DNA of his crusade for people’s ideology intact.
ends

Media Reporting on Development - IDS announce winner of new journalism competition

The winners of a new journalism competition sponsored by the Institute of Development Studies have been announced.

First prize is awarded to Nilanjana Bhowmick with an article originally published on Time.com entitled, ‘India Under Pressure to Do More to Stop Child Labour’. The piece focused on the employment of children as domestic workers when they should be in school.

The competition, run by the Institute of Development Studies with assistance from the Communication Initiative, is aimed at journalists operating in low income countries whose writing focuses on poverty alleviation, democracy and governance, rights, health, and other Millennium Development Goals.

James Georgalakis, Communications Manager at IDS and one of the panel of judges, said:
“The winner produced a very well crafted piece of journalism that conveys the complexities of the issues whilst staying grounded in the experiences and words of real people directly caught up in the situation. Nilanjana Bhowmick engages the reader immediately and provides real voice to those affected by child labour and to civil society organisations. This is a really excellent example of development journalism on people’s rights and the need for political and social change.”

The two runners up were:

* Bamuturaki Musinguzi with ‘Evicted from Forests, the Batwa are destitute’, published in The East African. The article focused on the plight of the Batwa Pygmies or ‘Twa’ who have been driven out of their traditional home sin the forests of Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.
* Teresa Rehman with ‘Young girls face trafficking as lack of rain drives worsening rural poverty’ published by Reuters Alertnet. The article examined the unforeseen effects of climate change in India, as poverty drives the illegal trafficking of young women.

A special mention also went to:

Manshi Asheri with ‘Towering blots on the peaks’ which looks at the effects of hydroelectric constructions in India and was published in The India Tribune.

Journalists were asked to submit pieces that were provocative and original, and that demonstrated alternative narratives on development. Particular weight was given to pieces which showcased the voices of those affected by or engaged in development.

The competition forms part of an ongoing programme of work carried out by IDS to support and encourage quality development journalism both in the UK and elsewhere. In recent months IDS has sponsored the Special Award at the One World Media Awards and hosted a debate event examining the difficulties of covering development stories as a European journalist.