Why Assam is a Prime Destination of Investment

Arup Baisya

The ultra-nationalist Hindutva sentiment, propagated by extremist ideologies, requires a corresponding economic rejuvenation at the national level to support its agenda, which relies on aggressive centralised state power. For this reactionary project to progress, Assam is viewed as a prime destination for investment. This scenario facilitates super-exploitation and generates super-profits through destructive methods. This investment model, often referred to as a “round trip investment,” allows funds to be recycled back to both foreign and national corporate investors, resulting in the transfer of super-value as super-profit.

Assam has been selected due to its immature capitalist development, which provides a necessary supply of skilled workers, as well as cheap labour and natural resources for capital investment. The remainder of capitalist development will occur through destructive and coercive means, which involve displacing peasant communities from their bond with the land and their communal belief systems. This process includes seizing natural resources at minimal costs, including grabbing the land of the peasant masses at throwaway prices, often using the coercive power of the state. The cultural void created by the destruction of the local natural economic foundations is intended to be filled by Hindutva ideology, which promotes the centralisation of power in Delhi. The current political regime, led by the BJP and its allies, presents itself as a force for nation-building, claiming its actions represent development and progress for the state of Assam.

This situation doesn’t reflect a natural process of creative destruction in capitalism, and the destructive nature of this new investment drive cannot absorb the excess labour created by displacing many workers from their traditional means of survival. Consequently, the centralised political force and the Hindutva ideology will find it difficult to assuage the anger of the toiling masses to bring back stability in the system. As a result, social turmoil would escalate alongside the instability within the system. The working masses from all communities are becoming increasingly restless, raising the possibility of left and revolutionary movements emerging.

The social landscape of Assam has changed significantly due to the large number of workers in the organised sector of the tea industry, as well as a substantial presence of workers cutting across all communities in the informal sector. This situation has fostered an environment that is conducive to the emergence of left and revolutionary movements, which can channel the progressive aspirations related to local languages and cultures.
The peasant base that once supported middle-class sub- or little nationalism in Assam has lost its vital energy. During the 1970s, the peasant struggle for equitable distribution of agricultural produce was defeated, and the peasant masses turned into an objective force behind the rise of reactionary chauvinism in the 1980s. With the natural decline of a prolonged period focused on the middle-class dimensions surrounding local language, ethnicity, and culture–coupled with the inevitable rise of obscurantist and chauvinist sentiments that gained strength in the 1980s–middle-class regional politics became marginalised. This marginalisation has created space for subversive activities to emerge.

Geographically, Assam vis-à-vis NE is adjacent to the China border. The US has a political agenda to contain China’s rise. These contending imperialist powers might use this space left open by the marginalised middle-class regional politics by promoting subversive activities to pressurise the Indian Government to take sides. Therefore, left and revolutionary movements in Assam must incorporate a direct anti-imperialist agenda into their progress, building strength progressively.

China has recently launched a significant dam project in Tibet, close to the Arunachal Pradesh border. The local BJP government in Arunachal Pradesh has expressed concern that China did not consult the Indian government regarding this project. However, the Indian government’s response has been notably silent. This lack of action may stem from India’s considerable trade deficit with China, as well as the waning influence of the US as a superpower, which might not be sufficient to support India in this context. The dam has the potential to control water flow across the region, impacting areas such as Assam and Bangladesh, and could lead to negative environmental consequences for the Himalayan region. This situation creates uncertainty for those in power, resulting in indecision and leaving room for leftist and revolutionary groups to advocate for the interests of the state of Assam.

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Frontier
Vol 57, No. 39, March 23 - 29, 2025