Sparing the rod

Unlike many, Saikia did not believe that children should be seen not heard. ‘‘They must not only be obedient but also naughty.’’ Saikia, who was also the editor of Sofura, the highest circulated children’s magazine, had earlier announced setting some of his awards money aside for projects for children.

His list of awards is long: eight Rajat Kamals for feature films, one Sahitya Akademi award, Rs 1 lakh from the Assam Valley Literary Award instituted by the Magor Educational Trust and another Rs 1 lakh from the Sankaradeva Award instituted by the Assam government.

About 50 per cent of the work on the institute is complete. The four storey building stands on the land Saikia had earlier donated for his dream project—Aarohan. It’s received Rs 13 lakh from the state’s MPs. Another Rs 10 lakh has come as public donation, mostly from Saikia’s readers. For the project, the state government has also set up a monitoring committee with chief secretary J P Rajkhowa as chairman.

As vice-chairman of Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra, a sprawling cultural complex set up in Guwahati under the provisions of the Assam Accord, Saikia had contributed tremendously in giving new life to Moina Parijat, a movement that trained children in leadership qualities. He received UNICEF support in his efforts to revive the Moina Parijat movement.

‘‘All-round development of children is what is lacking. Homework, a heavy schoolbag, and lack of open space are already crippling children, especially in Assam which has passed through a difficult phase owing to insurgency and violence,’’ he had recently said.

Saikia wanted Aarohan to facilitate on line chats between Assam’s children in different parts of the world which would give them more exposure.

Saikia’s efforts to improve the conditions of Assamese children was a much-needed move. Over 3000 children have been directly affected by insurgency over the past 15 years. The state also has a large number of children who don’t go to school. The Sarva Siskha Mission puts the number at 14 lakh. The rate of immunisation in Assam is also below the national average of 80 to 90 per cent. Assam’s infant mortality rate is 72 per 1000 births—higher than the national average of 68 per 1000 births.

‘‘Working with UNICEF in the Moina Parijat project, Saikia always considered it alarming that there was a massive violation of child rights in the state. In fact, when we organised Moina Parijat workshops during the past four years, Saikia always insisted we emphasise on the rights aspect of the children,’’ says Goutom Sharma, secretary of the Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra, who is also a member of the Trust set up two years ago.