Outlook

Faced with near-bankruptcy, the Assam government has initiated far-reaching austerity measures in government spending, coming down hard on facilities for officers and banning fresh recruitment in government departments.The 19-month-old Tarun Gogoi government, struggling hard to pay salaries to its 5-lakh strong workforce, has ordered 10 per cent cut on fuel…

Terror stalks the whole of Northeast and Tripura is no exception. But it’s the Left Front (LF) government in the state, perceived by the tribal militants as a representative of the outsiders (particularly the Bengalis), which has to bear the brunt. Less than a fortnight ago LF leaders from Tripura…

There has once again been an outbreak of xenophobia in Assam and the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) is its carrier. Enraged students and unemployed youth have gone on an aggressive jobs-for-locals-only drive over the past fortnight. In two incidents last week, activists of AASU and the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva…

Those who strayed from the flock are proving the biggest stumbling blocks for the Congress as it makes an all-out attempt to win Meghalaya and retain Nagaland, which go to polls on February 26. In Meghalaya, former Lok Sabha speaker Purno Sangma, a staunch Congressman till he formed the NCP…

Things may have quietened down a bit on the north-eastern front but for Sonia Gandhi and her party it’s 1-1. The Congress has lost Mizoram, which was perhaps expected, but has won Meghalaya. And though the party has failed to win a simple majority in the state, Sonia has had…