Assamese diaspora vests hope in 'Sarba da', wait for reason to return

Guwahati: An Assamese today is quite the globetrotter, mulling over business ideas in some corner of the globe or researching world history overseas. He or she might have missed voting in the recently held assembly election, but excitement about the new government runs high among many.
BJP's landslide victory, which overthrew a 15-year-old Congress government, has evoked strong reactions from the Assamese diaspora.
"Many of us left our home state due to unavailability of the right opportunities," said Gitartha Ojha, who lives in Dubai. "The election verdict shows how desperate people were for growth and development. Narendra Modi and his team had weaved their magic in Gujarat. Hopefully, Assam will see the same and give us reason to go back," added Ojha, who reckons there are more than 400 Assamese families living in the UAE at present.
While many settled for greener pastures abroad, ideology and sentiments still rule the roost when it comes to asserting their Axomiya identity.
In a region that has been historically unhappy with the politics of 'community and indigeneity', the raging issue of illegal migrants sneaking past the porous Assam-Bangladesh border has always brought the Assamese together, irrespective of their location or belief systems. One of the biggest poll strategies for the saffron party, therefore, was to tap the issue of identity and introduce an erstwhile youth leader who could 'protect' Axomiya culture. This comes as an assurance to those living away from their homelands as well.
"Any Bangladeshi crossing the porous border is provided ration and voter ID cards. This is pathetic. BJP will not sell our motherland for vote bank politics," said Partha Bora, who belongs to a small Assamese community in Nagoya, Japan.
"We hope Sarba da will prioritize the foreigner issue, flood problem and unemployment. Instead of taking instructions from Delhi-based politicians, we hope the new government will establish itself as a force to be reckoned with," said Somesh Barkataki, a resident of San Francisco (SF), USA.
The SF Bay area has a substantial population of Assamese who hold regular Bihu celebrations.
For many, however, this win came about primarily because of Himanta Biswa Sarma, a protégé-turned-rival of outgoing chief minister Tarun Gogoi.
There are, of course, small arguments spilling over on the internet on the reasons for the Congress party's abysmal performance. While Singapore-based Manishankar Biswas said it was the 'blatant nepotism' of the Tarun Gogoi government, Rakesh Sarma, a PhD scholar at Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, attributed BJP's victory to Himanta Biswa Sarma's entry into the saffron party.
"There is a lot of positive energy among the Assamese here about BJP's win. It makes me enthusiastic as well," said Partha Bijoy Baruah, a student of Texas A&M University.
But if there is something the majority don't seem to argue about, it is about 'those from outside intruding upon our land'.
"This is something all of us will be keeping our eyes on. Let's see what policy the BJP adopts to tackle this thorny issue," Partha said.
Another fellow Assamese from the same university said the new government brings along with it hopes that the stalemate in governance will end. "The BJP government should allow legal non-immigrant visas for labour purposes," said Pulakesh Upadhyaya.