During an interaction with students from various educational institutions of Northeast on 26
th February 2014 at the Don Bosco University in Guwahati, the students of IIM Shillong got a chance to interact with Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi by means of a video conference.
The students attended the talk where in Gandhi promised to overhaul the education and industrial sector in the North East so that better opportunities are created for the people of the region. Gautam Jain, a student of IIM Shillong raised a few concerns saying, “The main thing disconnecting this region is the transport and connectivity and it is the main reason that is hampering all other sectors. At IIM Shillong we have discovered various indigenous business methods – there are many business opportunities present in the North East, but since there is no connectivity either by means of railways or roads, it is hindering the development of the North East. Also, while there is an IIM and an IIT established in this region, there is a need to focus on primary and secondary education as well.”
Placing emphasis on the development of Northeast, the Congress vice-president said that the region needed better connectivity and the people of these states must feel comfortable in other parts of the country. He assured that the issue of poor connectivity in the North East would have to be aggressively addressed to properly utilize the productivity of the people.
"The reason for the energy of the North-East people not being properly utilized is because of poor connectivity in the region", Gandhi said in response to the query raised by Jain.
He also spoke about the incidents like that of Nido Taniam from Arunachal Pradesh, which has proved to be a barrier for movement of people.
“They don't want to move because they are scared. We'll have to reduce those barriers as well," said Gandhi, "We'll have to remove all the barriers and create a North East which is connected so that groups can move, people can move. The productivity that you have can actually be used to take these states forward."
As managers of tomorrow who will hold respectable positions in various companies in India Inc. the students of IIM Shillong were fortunate to have interacted with Gandhi. It was an interaction that allowed them to participate by understanding the issues concerning the development of the region as well as strive to provide plausible solutions to the same.
