List of 15 Most Influential Individuals in Barak Valley 2020: An Independence Day special

India is going through a challenging time. Millions are forced to unemployment, thousands are dropping below the poverty line.

More than 30,000 youth have returned back to Barak Valley from their respective place of work after losing jobs. In such a scenario, the 74th Independence Day of the country brings a new challenge, survival during the pandemic.

In the second edition of Barak Bulletin’s “Most Influential Individuals in Barak Valley” we list down 15 names whom we think will influence the democracy to grow and develop. At the same time, this is to say that a lot rests on these shoulders.

Padma Shri Dr. Ravi Kannan: For his distinguished service 3000 kilometres away from his native place, Dr. Ravi Kannan has been conferred with the fourth highest civilian award in India-  the Padma Shri. An oncologist who was heading the surgical department at the prestigious Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai, he moved to Silchar in 2007 to help the region fight the disease.

From promoting screenings to motivating youth in joining the battle against Cancer, Kannan is now an integral part of Barak Valley. His wisdom is utilised by political figures, administrators and young aspirants, not only in the field of medical science but across spheres. He played a pivotal role in finding Silchar a Cardiologist by introducing, Dr. Rakesh P. Gopal to the Silchar Medical College and Hospital management. Kannan is the voice of a Padma Shri and that also makes him a nationally reckoned person.

Dr. Rajdeep Roy: Famously introduced as Rajdeep Roy ‘Bangali’ by BJP President J P Nadda, Roy is not only an MP from Silchar, but at times, it seems like he is the only MP from Barak Valley. Throughout the COVID period, he played a leadership role in planning and execution throughout Barak Valley.

However, after All Assam Students’ Union made public the high-level committee’s report on Clause 6 implementation, Roy is no longer just an MP. The report if true is an assault on the fundamental rights of Bengalis across the state and not only Barak Valley. The chief minister gave an assurance to the people of Assam that he and his BJP government will implement Clause 6. At stake is the democracy of all the Bengalis living in the periphery of Assam and all eyes will be on Rajdeep Roy.

Keerthi Jalli: One of the brightest new age administrators, recipients of many National and State level recognitions, Keerthi Jalli, in a very short span of time has managed to establish herself as an officer par excellence. The higher authorities have trust in her and she is known as someone who has had more hits than misses. Jalli had phenomenal success in Hailakandi, though her tenure had a bumpy start with communal riots breaking in the district.

She was transferred overnight to Cachar to manage the pandemic. Apart from the pandemic, there are several other projects where DC plays a very critical role. Unlike Hailakandi, in Cachar she will have to deal with infighting in party politics which often delays developmental projects. Each MLA will debate to get the project in his or her constituency delaying the land acquisition and derailing the project. There are bridges built and ready but not inaugurated as the approaches are yet to be constructed. Mini Secretariat, Multi-Modal Logistics Park, Airport, there are projects worth crores of money and thousands of employment and most of it rests on the deputy commissioner’s chair. What also remains to be seen is her relationship with the political figures of Cachar and especially the heavyweights. Jalli is often compared to Laya Madduri, the former DC, who in a short while left a mark on people’s minds. She ordered a probe on the controversial privatisation of Gandhi Bagh and when the minister came to lay the foundation stone, Madduri skipped the event. When the Assam for Assamese sentiment was high, she publically sang, ‘Ekla Cholo Re’. No wonder her tenure did not last long. It is too soon to make a comment on Jalli’s way of functioning but her stature and records makes her one of a kind.

Sushmita Dev: A large section in Barak Valley Congress say that Himanta Biswa Sarma has more hold in Congress than any other local leaders. The only opposition today in Assam is no opposition. Sarma singlehandedly decimates Ripun Bora or other Congress leaders’ allegation using a 140 character tweet. In such a sorry state, Sushmita Dev remains as one leader in the opposition who is still heard and responded to. The national president of Mahila Congress and a spokesperson of the party still has her hold in Delhi and is respected by the ruling party as well as bureaucracy.

Paper Mill has long-defunct and a closure notice looms large on Silchar Doordarshan Kendra. The Mahasadak, that was a poll promise of the BJP has not made any progress in the controversial forest land. From the opposition, Dev has been raising these issues. It will also be her responsibility to get her party back on track in the upcoming Municipality Elections. Assam Accord that was signed by her party will be a point of discussion in the assembly elections in 2021. The stand Dev takes remains to be seen but she is still the most influential leader in Congress in Barak Valley.

Aminul Haque Laskar: The deputy speaker of Assam is one of the best performing MLAs in Sarabananda Sonowal’s government. He has got many projects sanctioned in Sonai constituency and those can not only generate employment but also expand the town. The only Muslim MLA in Assam Government, he has to balance his community’s sentiments and the party’s ideology.

In the initial days of Coronavirus, Tablighi Jamat emerged as the viral vector. The first patient to test positive in Assam for COVID19 happened to be connected to the Jamat. Muslims were often blamed for the outbreak of the pandemic in the State. He remained quiet, calm and hardly ever countered with a strong statement. Under him, BJP progressed leaps and bounds in Sonai constituency. Both Hindus and Muslims vote for him and he is always there at the grassroots in both joy and sorrow. The report made public by AASU suggests SMCH will be renamed as Moinul Haque Choudhury Hospital, SM Dev Civil Hospital as Phesai Mia Hospital. Experts feel it is an attempt to divide the Hindu and Muslim Bengalis in Barak. Laskar remains an influential voice in Barak Valley and Assam for both his community and constituency.

Independence Day Special: Barak Bulletin’s List Of 15 Most Influential Individuals 2019

Megh Nidhi Dahal: In Hailakandi, it is the deputy commissioners who play a vital role in development. An aspirational district, Hailakandi has been a top performer according to NITI Aayog under Adil Khan and Keerthi Jalli. It has recently won an allocation of Rs 6 crore for extraordinary performance. Both Khan and Jalli have left big shoes for Dahal to fill.

When Jalli was transferred to Cachar, Dahal was trusted as the DC of Hailakandi. Securing 63rd position, Dahal is an IAS topper of 2014. He had to tackle thousands migrating back to Hailakandi in the middle of a pandemic. The district did not have hotels to build quarantine facilities. Dahal and his team used every possible resource available and turned them into quarantine centres. Later the administration started treating COVID patients in multiple hospitals. Apart from his acumen as an administrator, his story- one that every youth can relate to makes him even more influential.

Dahal hails from Sikkim and is a software engineer. He had landed himself a good job that paid him a decent salary. He even moved abroad. But then, his father wanted him to be an IAS officer and he wanted to give back to society. So, he decided to resign and prepare for UPSC. He cracked it and is a DC today, moreover, he is the pride of Sikkim. There are many youths in Barak Valley who can draw inspiration from Dahal.

Pinak Roy: At the helm of Rising Youth Society, Pinak Roy and his team are a group of people associated with the NGO. After the lockdowns were announced in India, the NGOs started delivering food, helping needy and providing aid to the stuck daily wage workers. The Rising Youth Society also did the same. But then things changed. COVID cases headed north and the number of people dying with coronavirus infection kept increasing.

That is when Pinak Roy and his team pitched in with an effort that no one else dared too. They went to Narshingpur and cremated Shanti Bala Nath whose son was in COVID ward and her body was left abandoned as she had tested positive for COVID19. After that, they took Narayan Mitra’s dead body to Cachar Dimasa border for cremation. As more people die, it is Pinak and his team who risk their lives and cremate bodies. They are often heckled by the locals due to the stigma attached to the disease. They just don’t give up, Pinak and his team are true followers of the saying, “Service to mankind is service to God.”

Dr. Babul Bezbaruah: When he took over as the principal of Silchar Medical College and Hospital the affairs at the public organisation was murky at best and fraudulent at worse. Torn by corruption from Mess to Accounts to Blood Bank there were more pirates than doctors. Bezbaruah, in the last two years, has managed to establish himself as a non-corrupt Principal cum Chief Superintendent. He has also encouraged change and made efforts to improve the infrastructure and the part-time arrangement with cardiologist Dr. Rakesh P. Gopal is already on its way.

However, SMCH is still far from a half-decent hospital, especially during an emergency. In the absence of a neurosurgeon people who suffer brain stroke die without any treatment. COVID19 has also exposed the loopholes in infrastructure. The mother of a 26-year-old has to do rounds of SMCH to know her son’s cause of death. Amidst all of that, it is also true that with limited resources, Bezbaruah and his team have kept the ship afloat. The hospital is combatting COVID and hundreds have recovered so far. At the helm of SMCH, Dr, Bezbaruah is a man of influence.

Subhashish Choudhury: He is controversial, he is unapologetically Hindu and takes offense in anything that does not fit into his form of nationalism. But he is fearless. A member of Hindu Chatra Sangstha, Subhashish Choudhury does not shy away from questioning the government or heavyweight political leaders. He influences his generation to question the barbaric murder of Bengalis in Tinsukia’s Dhola.

Demonstrating against detention camps, against the implementation of Clause 6. Choudhury, unlike his generation, has not restricted himself to Facebook activism. He has a voice and he has the willingness to debate, discuss and be a part of the discourse. He goes beyond just chanting ‘Jai Shree Ram’ and argues with facts, figures and analysis. His emergence into popularity is also a lesson for the student leaders in the left who are few and far and hardly ever noticed. Choudhury can influence the students to hit the road and march against the ruling party if necessary.

Kamal Chakraborty: A messiah for the D-voters and those who are locked in the detention camps. Kamal Chakraborty is a social worker who goes out of his way to help people stranded in Citizenship and NRC tyranny.

He went to the remote of the remotest villages in search of the relatives of the ones locked inside the detention camps. After searching them he knocked several doors to get a guarantor to sign a bond. He was rejected by many while some encouraged his efforts and agreed to support. The bottom line is what RSS and Hindu Organisation did not do for the Hindus inside detention camp, Chakraborty did. The same goes for Muslims and Muslim organisations. Today if someone has a problem in understanding the issues related to Citizenship, Foreigners Tribunal or NRC, they search for their Messiah- Kamal Chakraborty.

Kavita Devi: She is an Olympic dream for Barak Valley and entire India. In the recently concluded South Asian Games, Kavita Devi has secured a gold medal for the country in Fencing. She hails from Lakhipur in Cachar district and has been performing well in Fencing for a while now. Her dream is to represent the country in Olympics and win a medal.

In this game, the weapon breaks every now and then. It costs around Rs 35,000 to Rs 50,000. The mask also got changed and the new one is far costlier. Kavita Devi had to face many challenges in her life to grow in the sport she plays. It is an extremely rare trait and much like Dipa Karmakar of Agartala, she can influence a generation to take up the sport.

Ratnadeep Deb: There are many skeletons hiding in the cupboards of important offices and Ratnadeep Deb exposes them like no one else. The Dainik Prantojyoti correspondent’s report on medical college is one of the main reasons why the corruption got exposed and the superintendent got jailed.

At a time when not many dare to take on the strong establishment, Deb continues to report on scams in LIC, SMCH, University, and many others. While Prantojyoti is often criticised as BJP’s mouthpiece given the owners’ close relationship with MLA Dilip Paul, Deb’s reports continue to expose the loopholes that the ruling party is unable to fulfill.

Sumit Sattavan: An ADC who does not even hail from Barak Valley in the list of 15 most influential people in Barak Valley is ought to surprise many. An IAS officer of 2015 (Assam – Meghalaya) batch, Sattavan is also in charge of the Silchar Municipality Board. While DC changed in the middle of the pandemic, he remained on the ground throughout. From dealing with migration in the early days of lockdown to waterlogging and flood caused by the incessant rainfall. Sattavan’s last few months have been nothing short of war.

Back in Jaipur, his wife delivered their first child and he is yet to meet them. The DCs and ADCs are top officials out of the reach of common people. Sumit Sattavan has changed that perception. Holding sanitisers and wearing PPE kits he went to sanitise the locality of a COVID positive patient to motivate the workers. Late at night or early in the morning, he has always made himself available to approve travel passes necessary to ply through Meghalaya. He made his phone number public to know the grievances and act on them. There are many ADCs in Cachar Administration too, but it is his act on the ground that has set him apart. Today, if any resident of Cachar faces any problem anywhere in the district, the first name they think is Sumit Sattavan- that is his influence.

Debjyoti Sujon Deb Roy: Rose to popularity as a journalist, Sujon Deb Roy is more of an emergency service in Karimganj. Since his young age, he was active in politics. But lately, his social work has been making headlines. Part of the Robinhood Army NGO, Sujon Deb Roy uses Facebook to reach out to the people with his ideas, views and opinion. People reach out to him too with their issues and he helps them out of it.

A half-burnt body of a COVID victim was spotted in Longai Crematorium, locals called Sujon Deb Roy and he went wearing a PPE Kit and cremated the half-burnt body. He spotted a mentally imbalanced woman and then traced her family in Bangladesh. After five years, the woman met her son again. There are hundreds of such instances. People say Deb Roy is doing all of it to place himself as a candidate in the upcoming elections. Though his early days in politics was with Bajrang Dal, Sujan Deb Roy has moved towards the centre. Today he works with both right and left. In Karminganj, many young ones say they want to become Sujon Deb Roy, they want to join the Robinhood Army. That’s what gets him on the list.

Sucheta Bhattacharjee: The centre administrator of One Stop Centre – Cachar, Sucheta Bhattacharjee is a fearless woman who helps other women to get over their traumatic past. Women who are the victim of domestic violence, sexual harassment, or trafficking, often take the path of killing themselves. Bhattacharjee and her team identify such vulnerable women and counsel them to lead a normal life.

Last year, a team from Nepal visited India and rescued many trafficked minors and women from the red light area in Silchar. Bhattacharjee helped the Nepalese women too. Not much in the limelight, but Sucheta Bhattacharjee is leaving subtle reflections of her work in the society.

Editor’s note:

Compiling the list this year was tougher compared to 2019. The news team grew in size so there was more debate, there are a few organisations who are doing a phenomenal job but they aren’t individuals so there was a dilemma. A disclaimer, nobody has commissioned us to prepare the list. We all grew up reading Forbes, Time, Indian Express having their list of most powerful so we had decided to have our own list since last year.

In the process, we realised that we need to also make lists of the most powerful organisations. The Commoners, Smile, Friends of The Earth, the way these organisations are working in this pandemic, it has to be said – hat’s off.

A special mention to Sayantan Chakraborty, the true “Immortal Boy” who is not there with us but it is his influence in the form of Thousand Sayantans’ that keeps working to improve the healthcare infrastructure.

This list is an addition to our list last year, so, Subimal Bhattacharjee, Joydeep Biswas, Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha, Arijit Aditya, Rahul Singh, Chitrabhanu Bhowmick, Ahmed Ali, Taimur Raja Choudhury, Mohitosh Paul continue to remain as influential as they were last year.

This is our list, and we are sure that you have yours. Please do share it with us. We will come up with another list next year.