Assam Police officer Kuladhar Saikia was investigating a
brutal killing of five innocent men in the name of witches. Among the suspects
was a young boy, who apparently joined the villagers in fatally hitting his own
father. The incident stirred the conscience of everyone present; Saikia
realized that something beyond traditional policing was needed; after critical
and objective analysis of these phenomena, a new approach to Community policing
was conceptualized, which, later transformed the lives and economies of
hundreds of isolated and backward communities across Assam.
I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Saikia in the year 2008,
I myself as an executive of Assam Foundation of North America (AFNA) and
Friends of Assam and Seven Sisters (FASS) had been exploring ways and means to engage
and nurture such projects. Saikia, was curious about everything I was doing and
he made me feel instantly at ease. We sat and talked about everything, the
conversation just flowed. I absorbed wisdom just by being around him, observing
someone who has no pretention whatsoever, who is ruled purely by a desire to
help his fellow human being.
Kuladhar Saikia wanted an action agency, an institution
devoted to change and amelioration rather than simply theoretical and academic
analysis. What he understands better than most and what he practices more than
anyone else is the simple truth that people are better off when they are infused
a sense of empowerment. From all of his years serving the police service,
Saikia knew that that the police force bear a special responsibility for those
less fortunate, for those who suffer and who are deprived. He believes, quite
sincerely, that the crimes and the violence will ultimately not be won with
guns and force, but with trust and mutual cooperation. This was the birth of
Project Prahari which was launched in 2001. Prahari encourages sustainable
development by participation – to reconnect the individuals with community, the
communities with development agencies or NGO and NGO’s with Government. With
the initial success at Kokrajhar, the project has spread to other villages
after Shri Harekrishna Deka, DGP, Assam Police declared it to be a state level
initiative. Saikia’s efforts for building relationships, empowering communities,
soon struck a powerful chord and some of these men in uniform, hitherto unrecognized
and untapped, became galvanized. The police force, acting as a change agent,
began availing its infrastructure and manpower resources, thereby facilitating
government agencies, NGOs, financial agencies with the villagers. Now, every
police district under this project, is selecting a village, which may be either
crime infested or communally sensitive or terrorist prone. This change has brought
a paradigm shift in police – public relationship. There is greater and more
open interaction between the community and the law enforcement agency -
resulting in less crime, loss of support to extremists and surrender by
fugitives with the promise to work for peace and prosperity of the community.
Saikia fondly shared with me some of the initiatives of
Project Prahari – In a remote village in Bongaigaon, children had to cross a
bridge to reach their school in the other side, they often run the risk of
failing in the river especially during flood, when in the name of bridge, there
was a lone bamboo hung precariously. The Bongaigaon District Police decided to
mobilize the villagers and the co-operation resulted in construction of a
structure across the river facilitating secure communication and symbolizing
the bridges of friendship. There were countless such stories, the booklet that
I received from Saikia listed some of these activities, spreading across 47
villages in Assam, in the fields of health and hygiene , capacity building ,
empowering women, creating marketing outlet and campaigning against social
prejudices. Kuladhar Saikia had done all this with charm, grace, patience and
unfailing humility. He had taken the time to learn local culture – courtesy,
hospitality, respect for women and elders and to understand the role local
custom plays in people’s lives. I learned from him that in my own way I, too,
could make a difference. One has to build the relationship first, gain the respect
and trust with villagers and then involve people in shaping their own future. Those
life lessons remain the guiding lights as I embarked my own journey in America;
it was a decade when our paths crossed again.
Birubala Rabha is an inspiration to many of us and we, a few
of non-resident Assamese, have been trying to promote her cause for the enactment
of an anti witch hunting act. It’s, however, turned out to be a daunting task,
when we received a communication from Kuladhar Saikia assuring his support “Regarding the anti witch hunting Act in
Assam, I was involved in draft preparation of the Act. Recently State Social
welfare board has formed a coalition with Prahari to work jointly” I was
overjoyed, to have that kind of validation, and from Mr. Saikia, was monumental.
We were also informed about the progress of Project Prahari, presently more
than 100 villages have been under this project and Government of India highlighted
it as a successful women empowerment model in UN General Assembly. Prahari is also
being taught in some of the management schools in India and Singapore and the
prestigious Harvard University has made available the project as a success
story on Change Management.
The project Prahari serves as a reminder of the power of a
good idea and the strength inherent in one person’s passionate determination to
preserve against enormous obstacles. It has raised a beacon of hope that called
out to every village and town in Assam where women yearn for emancipation, young
men hope to engage in developmental activities, where father and mothers dream
of a better future for their children. If this is what the weakest, the most
improvised, the lowest rung are capable of achieving, truly, is there anything
we cannot do?
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