Biju Borbaruah founder of Asha Darshan

Biju Borbaruah , founder of  Asha Darshan

                                                                                           By   Ankur Bora

“Historically our people have been persuaded to believe that because they are poor, they lack not only capital, but also knowledge and skills to address their challenges. They are conditioned to believe that solutions to their problems must come from ‘outside’. In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground- a new leadership emerges that gives hope to each other.” - Wangari Maathai.

Biju Borbaruah  illustrates the power of what one woman can do - her grassroots Asha Darshan is working quietly and without recognition at building people’s capacities and confidence. I am profoundly privileged to introduce Ms. Biju.

 I have been involved with Asha for Education, a non-profit organization dedicated to the education of underprivileged children in India and also with Assam Foundation of North America (AFNA) , a United States of America based non-profit organization with a thirty two year history of supporting underprivileged people in Assam, a north-eastern state of India, and helping with charitable work in the US. I have been an office bearer of AFNA (www.assamfoundation.net ) and also have been closely involved with Asha for Education. I first heard about Ms. Biju from a volunteer Mr.Sanjeev Ranganathan when I was attending a meeting of Asha Austin in September 2006. Sanjeev was talking at length about the dedication of Ms. Biju in working in remote areas helping children and rural women. He also introduced me to the Annual report of Asha for Education held in Lucknow, India of December 1999. The report details the work of the remarkable lady working single-handedly in a male dominated, greatly under-developed and highly insurgency-prone area. This place was neglected by the government, was almost devoid of educational facilities, healthcare, local infrastructure, law-enforcement.   Biju chose to live, work and prosper within the local community. As I completed reading the report, I made up my mind to meet and visit her on my  next trip to India. It was on 3rd January 2008, while attending an event, in a school for underprivileged children supported by AFNA, I met Ms. Biju for the first time. During my interaction, I came to know about the life story of this amazing woman who with her sheer endurance, creativity and compassion is bringing hope and purpose to the lives of scores of individuals situated in the remotest rural India.

Ms. Biju impressed everyone with her simple and straightforward answers.She was no scholar, but no less than one, for she had learnt everything from roots and practiced what scholars preached. 

Ms. Biju was born on November 12th, 1974, at Simaluguri Bahupathar village of Likhimpur district, Assam, India. In 1991 Biju completed her 10^th grade high school exam. She got herself enrolled for further study. But due to financial restraint she could not study further. From the very beginning she was confronted with issues like corruption and the injustices imbedded in the male dominated society. In this process she discovered that womenfolk and the poorest suffered the most. In 1996, she joined a social development organisation. She started visiting villages organising and participating in several training programs. Soon Ms. Biju discovered the fraudulent activities of that organization- that in the name of serving the poor, large amount of funds were siphoning off. She decided to tender her resignation immediately. “It was hard for me to take it in at first, watching injustices being perpetrated in the name of poor”, she was telling me. Her first job was truly an eye opener for her and also a stepping stone to face the real world.

In the year 1998 , Ms. Biju joined an organization named ‘Tamalpur Anchalik Gramdaan Sangh’ (TAGS), founded by late Rabindra Upadhyay, a social worker and  the recipient of Padma Shri , India's fourth highest civilian honour. Ms. Biju started working with women of the area who did not have any source of income. She tackled this problem by creating Self-Help Groups (SHG) for income generation. Her vision was to start Schools along with SHG followed by Women's Cooperative Bank where women will be able to invest their savings   to expand their earnings. “My goal was to develop a citizen education program, during which people identify their problems, the causes and possible solutions.”  Biju was explaining to me, “My endeavor was - the participants discover that they are part of the solutions, that they realize their hidden potential and are empowered to overcome inertia and take action.”  

However, her endeavor was met with stiff test. The region is  home to many disadvantaged masses that are in constant struggle of finding survival methods and in many cases are required to travel to the Indo-Bhutan border in search of odd jobs for sustenance. Adverse political situation resulting in frequent insurgency activities and continuing violence compounded the hardships. During that period, the area was rift with unrest. Extortion, kidnapping and killing by the militants was part of the daily routine, no government official wanted to work in that region. The villagers were apprehensive, while some of them suspected Ms. Biju to be working with the police. Once she was ordered to meet the villagers. In presence of a large gathering she had to clarify their doubts and explain to them about her idea of SHG. Slowly there came a change in their attitude and Biju gained their trust.  They started to join her programme and began to support her work. It was a turning point for her, Biju and her team set themselves in right earnest

Ms. Biju made the local communities understand that while it is necessary to hold their governments accountable, it is equally important that in their own relationships with each other. They come to recognize that they are the primary custodians and beneficiaries of the environment that sustains them. It was during this time Biju came up with the idea that there should be a separate Trust to work in the area of education, women and child development. With this aim in mind on May 14, 2002 Biju got the Trust named Asha Darshan registered. Asha Darsan started work in 2001 itself by running Balwadis (Pre School and child care centres). New staff were recruited and appointed to look after the additional work and to support the villagers. The new staff trained women in maintaining records and keeping accounts. Under the guidance of the Mahila Shanti Sena, training was imparted on pig and duck rearing, making incense sticks, etc. Exposure visits to other places were also organised for the women. It is remarkable that Biju’s powerbase is “manned” by women. As of year 2014, Asha Darshan currently runs 11 schools with 40 teachers with around 1400 students enrolled this year. Currently there are 473 Self Help Groups with 10 to 20 women joining hands in each group. Asha Darshan effectively monitors the functioning of these groups and Women are trained in bookkeeping, responsible saving, and microcredit schemes. 

In November 2003 the political situation changed drastically. Due to ethnic conflict between the local population and those who were from outside Assam social unrest erupted in different places in Assam and the situation became volatile. The newspapers started reporting cases of assault, arson etc. To counter this situation Ms. Biju organized peace rallies in different villages. Her slogan was, “we are all brothers, give up violence, participate in creative development” After the rallies her support base increased. It is remarkable that in such an unfavourable and hostile social environment a single woman chose to translate her dream into reality thereby sharing her dreams with dozens of other helpless women and pulling them along with her towards a better life.

I met Ms. Biju several times on my visits to India with my recent in January 2014 in Assam. Biju possess qualities that not only appear on balance sheets but also do make a significant impact on the lives of people and communities. She told me about the unbridled deforestation which is creating a crisis of identity for the simple and often insulated ethnic tribal population. “These people are dependent on land for sustenance and I am, through our Self Help Groups, raising awareness about the importance of natural resource management”. Biju was showing me the beautiful hand woven products from the weaving center. In order to give practical training and make the students (especially the girl students) self -reliant with skills and experience necessary for their future family life, she introduced sewing and embroidery classes At present the training of these activities take place in the office building of Asha Darshan.

I have continuously been in touch with Ms. Biju either through telephone or email. On 13^th April , this month, a volunteer of AFNA Ms. Karobi Gogoi, visited the organization and provided a visit report- “Asha Darshan promotes livelihood programme by facilitating livelihood-related activities like weaving, tailoring, poultry, piggery while providing training in making of soft toys, jewellery, pickle, detergent, table-cloth, door-mat etc. Besides these, improvised weaving looms for the differently-abled has also been carved out, improved techniques and technologies have been introduced in some of these activities to reduce drudgery, to enhance quality and productivity thereby augmenting the income of the people. To preserve and conserve the rich biodiversity of the region, they are planting fruit-bearing trees since the area is conducive for plantation. Biju’s constant supervision, her strong grit and determination, her dedication and devotion to serve the downtrodden and marginalized sections of the society is evident in all the schools and centers.”

reference letter Gandhian Natwar Thakkar

One of the remarkable achievements of Ms. Biju is putting corruption under the spotlight so that society and policy makers can engage in dialogue and develop solutions. Against the ever present corruption her organization is raising its voice; the empowerment of local communities will allow them to have a greater influence on the future aid projects, making them active citizens of aid and not just passive subjects of aid. Ms Biju has come a long way, since her maiden attempt in year 1996.  Her courage and tenacity are worth emulating. Women can play an important role to promote peace and contribute to conflict resolution. There is the need for a serious awareness creating/sensitization program to let the world know that peace building and conflict resolution is a duty for all. Door to door, neighbour to neighbour approach will yield a much desired goal of women participation in peace and conflict resolution. The endeavors of Asha Darshan were continually directed at building people’s capacities and confidence, and the courage and motivation to fight injustice. It is estimated that more than fifteen thousand people are involved in this programme, running under the able guidance of Biju. Biju Borbaruah  and her team may be our best hope and let’s pray for their success.  

Contact details of Biju Borbaruah :

Asha Darshan Tamulpur, District, Baksha, Assam, India

Pin- 781367

Mobile: +91-94351-98562

email:  bijuassam@rediffmail.com  

You Tube Video

Bhal Manuh - Biju Borbarua by Prodyut Bora

Further References

From Wahid Saleh                                                    
Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau
Awardee Pravasi Bharatiya SammanAwardee Pravasi Community Service
Awardee Global Visionary Award

                       Biju Borbaruah, the remarkable lady from Tamulpur, Assam

It is an honour and a privilege to write about Biju Borbaruah, the unique Gandhian of

Tampulpur, Assam. It was in the Annual report of Asha for Education held in Lucknow in

December 1999 where I for the first time came across the name Ms. Biju Borbarua, the

remarkable lady who working single-handedly in a male dominated, greatly underdeveloped

and highly insurgency-prone area neglected by the government almost devoid of

educational facilities, healthcare, local infrastructure law-enforcement etc. decided to bring

socio-economic change in Tamulpur region of Baksa district, along the Indo-Bhutan border

of Assam, India. Biju chose to live, work and prosper within the local community.

It is estimated that More than 15 thousand people in whole are involved in their programme that is running under the guidance of Biju Borbarua. It is quite a remarkable achievement

taking into consideration that it taking place in one of the underdeveloped rural areas of India.

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