ASSAM Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has the habit of turning serious issues into gaffes. Speaking about the mounds of garbage in and around Guwahati, Gogoi said garbage is a sign of development. At the beginning of this year Gogoi said he would introduce a local time zone for Assam which would be 60 minutes ahead of Indian Standard Time (IST). While this is not a new proposition as there have been suggestions earlier too that the Northeastern region of this country could save daylight hours by setting a new time zone, what is new is the proposal that Assam alone would follow this new time zone. In the Northeast the sun rises early during the summer months and also sets early in the winter. In the rest of India, particularly in western India the sun is up until 8.00 pm in the summer months while in the Northeast it sets by 6 pm. In winter it gets dark by about 4.30 pm, after which most people are home bound. Since the IST corresponds to 82.5 East longitude where Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh is located, the region east of the line has fewer daylight hours than in the west. The tea gardens of Assam have a different timing which is at least two hours ahead of IST. Gogoi argues that the new time zone would help save energy and increase productivity.
While no one will fault Gogoi for his proposal, it also shows him up as a state level leader instead of a veteran politician who could think collectively for the region. But perhaps Gogoi is not bothered about what happens to the rest of the six states. Assam is as far as his vision lies. Anything beyond that is none of his concern. Gogoi has not considered how Assam’s new time zone will affect the other neighbouring states in the region. The ramifications of introducing a new time zone within the country are many. How will the Indian Railways adjust to this new time zone without a collision? Some have argued however, that if the Northeastern region has a different time zone it would intensify the sense of distance that the region feels vis-a-vis the rest of India. The Central Government has to take a considered view of this matter even if Gogoi forces the issue because the entire administrative framework would have to be readjusted. But that is no reason to put off the matter indefinitely. The Northeastern states could gain immensely by pushing the clock ahead by one or even two hours. Governments would gain from more work output from their employees provided they strictly implement their arrival and departure timings. Students too might gain an extra hour for recreation in the evening. Some researchers including those from the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bangalore have proposed that the IST be set forward by half an hour so that it is six hours ahead of Universal Coordinated Time. This will mean advancing the point of reckoning at 82.5 degree East to 90 degree East, which will fall at a longitude along the West Bengal-Assam border. This would address the demand for a new time zone without complicating things too much and adjusting to the timings in other states.
