“Assam Assembly Election 2026: Reading the Tea Leaves”, Open the magazine, April 02, 2026
“MARIANI HAS A SINGLE ROAD GOING to Jorhat, the main city in this part of Upper Assam. When a train crosses the railway track, all road traffic comes to a halt even if the train passes in a few minutes. But on the last Thursday of March, it was a procession of Hindu deities led by an impersonation of Lord Hanuman that blocked the road. At the head of the procession was Rupjyoti Kurmi, the scion of a political family, his head daubed with the ritual saffron vermillion. The crowd behind him roars “Glory to Lord Rama.”
Mariani is not your typical Hindutva territory. One can see the hills of Nagaland from the town. The constituency abuts Mokokchung district of Nagaland and a large portion of its south-western periphery is dominated by Christians, mostly belonging to the Tea Garden Labourers (TGL) community. But what is interesting about the Ramnavami celebrations that Kurmi was leading is the participation, with gusto, of the TGL community. It is not a traditional North Indian celebration as is the wont in many towns of Upper Assam where people from that part of the country live.
That provides a clue as to which way the wind is blowing in Assam. Just days later, Assam’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced an increase in the amount of money that will be given under the Orunodoi Scheme that provides Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to women. Mati, beti and roti is no longer a formulaic slogan and Sarma’s political popularity with women is a mass phenomenon, visible to any observer of Assam’s politics……”
Read full article at openthemagazine.com
