Northeast India Pip Others in TV, Auto Growth in Past Decade

By Akshat Kaushal
New Delhi Apr 12 : It wasn’t the developing Bihar or the developed Gujarat that recorded the highest increase in the number of households with televisions, bicycles, two-wheelers and cars in the last decade; it was the long-ignored Northeast India.

Putting aside years of lack of growth that was fueled by a precarious law and order situation, these states are fast catching up with the rest of the country. Data from the Houselisting and Housing Census 2011 showed between 2001 and 2011, in most asset parameters, these states performed better than others. However, compared to other northeastern states, Assam continued to lag.

The census data showed the number of households with televisions in Mizoram rose from 20 per cent in 2001 to 55 per cent in 2011, a 169 per cent rise, the highest in the country. In 2001, Mizoram had fewer households with television than the national average. However, by the end of 2011, the number of such households in the state was eight per cent more than the national average.

A similar rise was seen in the case of Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura. These states registered growth that was more than the national average. Though 43 per cent of households in the rest of the country stopped using radios/transistors, Manipur saw a rise of 26 per cent in the number of such households. The state now has the highest number of households with radios/transistors.

The increase in households with four-wheelers was also impressive. Both Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh showed high growth in the number of households with cars, jeeps and vans. Between 2001 and 2011, these states recorded an increase of over 230 per cent, with Sikkim growing at 267 per cent - the highest rise. In 2001, the percentage of households possessing four-wheelers in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh was lower than the national average. However, by the end of 2011, it was twice the national average.

Nagaland recorded the second- highest increase (126 per cent) after Kerala in the number of households with two-wheelers. Mizoram and Tripura also emerged among the top five states that witnessed the highest increase in the number of households with scooter/motorcycles and mopeds between 2001 and 2011. However none of the northeastern states had more households with two-wheelers than the national average.

An interesting trend was while in the bigger states, people moved away from bicycles to automobiles, households in the northeast continued to buy more of these. Sikkim saw the highest rise of 110 per cent in the number of households with bicycles, followed by Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya. However, the rise in Sikkim and Mizoram was also because of a very low base over which the increase was measured.

RACING AHEAD
Households with televisions				Households with cars/jeep/vans
	2001	2011	Increase		2001	2011	Increase
Mizoram	20.44	55.1	169.55	Arunachal Pradesh	2.38	7.9	232.54
Nagaland	18.13	37.9	109.07	Nagaland	3.53	7.8	121.12
Manipur	24.2	47.4	96.12	Mizoram	3.39	7.3	115.53
Tripura	23.71	44.9	89.41	Tripura	1.09	2.2	102.40
Meghalaya	20.89	33.7	61.33	Meghalaya	2.69	5.4	100.68
Arunachal Pradesh	25.70	41.1	59.93	Manipur	3.06	6	96.10
Assam	18.30	27.5	50.28	India	2.50	4.7	87.89
India	31.59	47.2	49.39	Assam	2.05	3.8	85.38
Households with scooters/motorcycles/mopeds				Households with bicycles
	2001	2011	Increase		2001	2011	Increase
Nagaland	2.78	6.3	126.84	Sikkim	0.43	0.9	110.41
Mizoram	6.16	13.8	124.04	Mizoram	3.10	4.3	38.85
Tripura	3.93	8.2	108.89	Tripura	30.57	39.3	28.55
Arunachal Pradesh	6.77	14	106.9	Meghalaya	10.96	13.3	21.35
Meghalaya	2.89	5.4	86.78	Manipur	37.98	44.6	17.44
India	11.71	21	79.29	Arunachal Pradesh	17.42	19.5	11.96
Manipur	11.11	19.8	78.29	India	43.67	44.8	2.58
Sikkim	1.74	2.8	61.14	Nagaland	8.14	7.9	-2.97
Figures in %                                                                               Source: Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India

Assamese Doctor's Schizophrenia Documentary Goes Global

Guwahati, Apr 12 : A London-based Assamese general medical practitioner's documentary film "From London with love, a doctor's message home" has been selected for screening at New York International Film Festival to be held at Los Angeles, America from April 12 to 19. Dr Ranen Sarma's documentary film will be screened on the concluding day of the New York International Film Festival, 2012.

The organizers of the film festival decided to screen the documentary film as it focuses on true stories that reveal the sufferings of millions of schizophrenics in India and also shows people families how to cope with the challenge of schizophrenia.

The documentary film shows how the low-cost but effective 'shared care' treatment has been introduced by doctors to transform the lives of schizophrenics in Assam. The documentary film focuses on the symptoms of schizophrenia and gives basic tips on dealing with the disease, which mostly affects people in the age group of 15 to 30.

Guided by Sarma's principle, general health practitioners and psychiatrists at Barpeta in lower Assam, Misa in Nagaon district and Konwarpur in upper Assam's Sivasagar district are offering to treat schizophrenia patients for lower-than-usual fees. In the shared care policy, a general medical practitioner is constantly in touch with a psychiatrist on the condition of the patient.

The 'shared care' policy put forward by Dr Sarma in Assam is on the lines of a policy by the same name implemented by the British government in England. Sarma is hopeful that the new approach to treat the mentally-ill by a general medical practitioner and a psychiatrist in India will heal millions of schizophrenics in a country where it can take over 100 years for the government alone to treat the mentally-ill.

"From London with love, a doctor's message home" is a documentary film based on Ahir Bhairab (Songs of the Dawn). It is also the first Assamese drama to be filmed in England. The 26-minute documentary portrays the pain of schizophrenics, create awareness among the people and shows that mental illness is totally curable," said Pankaj Thakur, writer of Ahir Bhairab.

Ahir Bhairab, a film on schizophrenics, was also produced by Sarma and the film was a prize winner of the New York Film Festival. The film Ahir Bhairab has been accepted by the British Film Institute.