The Prime Minister who brought Delhi closer to Assam

A generation in Assam grew up with a quiet but persistent sense of alienation. It was taught, by experience as much as by politics, to believe that Delhi looked upon Assam and the North East with indifference. This was not entirely an imagined grievance. History gave it substance; policy often reinforced it. For decades, many in Assam felt that the region was remembered only in moments of crisis and forgotten in moments of national planning.

I belong to that generation.

From my early years in public life, I had seen how deeply this feeling ran in Assam’s collective mind. It shaped conversations, sharpened agitations and influenced aspirations. The belief that Delhi looked at Assam through the eyes of a stepmother had become part of our political vocabulary. It was not merely rhetoric; it was the emotional expression of a historical condition.

That is why the change of the last decade must be seen not only as a developmental shift, but as a civilisational correction.

When Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, something fundamental began to change in the relationship between Delhi and the North East. He did not treat the region as a remote frontier. He brought it into the centre of the national imagination. He spoke of the North East as Ashtalakshmi. He repeatedly emphasised Assam’s strategic and cultural significance. More importantly, he translated this recognition into action.

And that has altered not only infrastructure, but mindset.

The generation that once internalised alienation has now witnessed engagement. The generation that followed has grown up with a different confidence. Young people in Assam today no longer instinctively assume that Delhi is distant or apathetic. They see their state as part of India’s growth story, as a space of opportunity and as a region whose aspirations matter. This psychological shift may, in fact, be one of the Prime Minister’s greatest contributions to Assam.

The development story that followed must be read against this backdrop.

There was a time when Assam had to agitate simply to ensure that its own crude oil was refined within the state. The memory of the refinery movement remains alive in our political consciousness. For long, Assam’s resources flowed outward while local value addition remained limited. Today, that story is being rewritten. The Numaligarh Refinery expansion is moving ahead at full pace. Once completed, its annual refining capacity will rise from 3 million metric tonnes to 9 million metric tonnes. A new pipeline from Paradip to Numaligarh is nearing completion and fresh energy infrastructure is strengthening Assam’s industrial capacity. What was once a symbol of extraction is becoming a symbol of transformation.

The same is true of industrial revival. Jagiroad once stood as a reminder of decline. The silent Nagaon Paper Mill, the deserted quarters and the fading memory of industrial employment had all become part of Assam’s landscape of disappointment. But history can turn. On that very soil, Tata Electronics is now building a semiconductor facility with an investment of Rs 27,000 crore. Assam, which once saw its industrial dreams rust away, is now entering the global semiconductor map. Few stories capture the journey from neglect to aspiration more vividly than this.

Peace, too, has been central to this new chapter.

There was a time when violence cast a long and fearful shadow over Assam. Insurgency, bomb blasts, kidnappings and gunfire had made uncertainty part of daily life. In such an atmosphere, tourism and investment were impossible to imagine. But the peace accords signed in recent years—with Bodo groups, ULFA through the 2023 tripartite agreement and Karbi, Adivasi, Dimasa and other organisations—have changed that reality. These agreements have not merely ended old conflicts; they have opened the door to new confidence. Peace has restored possibility.

And possibility has brought investment.

Advantage Assam 2.0, with participation from 75 countries, received investment commitments worth Rs. 5.18 lakh crore. Leading groups such as Reliance, Adani, Tata, Vedanta and Jindal are now looking at Assam with seriousness and optimism. This would have seemed improbable not very long ago. Today, it is becoming routine. Assam is no longer waiting to be discovered; it is asserting itself as a destination.

Infrastructure tells the same story in concrete form.

For decades after Independence, the mighty Brahmaputra—Assam’s lifeline and defining geography—was crossed by too few bridges. For nearly 70 years, there were only three bridges over it. In recent years, that picture has changed rapidly. New bridges have been completed, more are under construction and the geography of connectivity is being redrawn. The recently inaugurated Kumar Bhaskar Varma Setu is one such milestone. Projects like the Dhubri-Phulbari bridge, the Jorhat-Majuli bridge and the third Saraighat bridge speak of an Assam that is being physically integrated with unprecedented speed.

Healthcare has seen an equally important transformation. Assam, which once had to struggle for institutions of national importance, now hosts AIIMS Guwahati. Medical colleges have expanded sharply, from seven in 2021 to fourteen now, with more under construction. The state has moved from scarcity to expansion, from dependency to capacity-building. In transport too, railway doubling, electrification, new Guwahati airport terminal, the upcoming tunnel under the Brahmaputra, the Kaziranga elevated corridor and the Guwahati Ring Road reflect a new scale of ambition.

But beyond these bridges, airports, factories and refineries lies a subtler change—the change in emotional distance.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s most lasting contribution to Assam and the North East may well be that he narrowed the psychological gap between the region and the national capital. He did so not only through policy, but through gesture and presence. When he wears Assam’s gamosa, it is not a routine courtesy. When he stays in Kaziranga, becoming the first Prime Minister to do so, it carries meaning. When he visits the North East repeatedly—more than 75 times—it sends a message that the region is not peripheral to India’s destiny. That message has been heard.

Today, Assam stands more confident, more connected and more hopeful. The old language of abandonment is steadily giving way to the language of opportunity. The emotional arc has shifted—from grievance to participation, from distance to belonging.

On 10 June, Narendra Modi will create history by becoming the longest continuously serving elected Prime Minister of India, surpassing Jawaharlal Nehru’s record. This is a moment of national significance. For Assam, it is also deeply personal. It is an occasion to acknowledge a leader under whose tenure the state has not only seen material progress, but also experienced a restoration of confidence in its place within the Indian Union.

I offer him my heartfelt congratulations on this historic milestone. I also pray to the Almighty to bless him with good health, long life and continued strength so that he may go on serving the nation with the same vision, conviction and dedication.

The writer is the Chief Minister of Assam; Views presented are personal.