By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 21: North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong, on Tuesday commemorated the 125th birth anniversary of Dr Harekrushna Mahtab, one of India’s most distinguished politicians, freedom fighters and literary figures.
According to a statement here, the event featured an invited lecture by Prof. Ashwani Kumar from the Centre for Public Policy, Habitat and Human Development, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, on the theme ‘Grassroots Governance and the Rise of Maternal Welfare in India’.
In his opening remarks, Prof. Bhagirathi Panda highlighted the multifaceted contributions of Dr Mahtab, describing him as “an Indian freedom fighter, politician, and writer, notable for serving as the first Chief Minister of Odisha and playing a key role in integrating princely states.”
He further recalled Dr Mahtab’s instrumental role in the industrialisation of Odisha through projects such as the Hirakud Dam and his contribution to literature, having received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983 for his work Gaon Majlis.
On the other hand, in his thought-provoking lecture titled ‘Grassroots Governance and the Rise of Maternal Welfare in India’, Prof. Kumar explored the intersection of governance, gender and social welfare, contextualising India’s maternal welfare evolution within global and local frameworks.
He began by emphasising the importance of humility and gratitude in governance, quoting poet and Nobel laureate Octavio Paz to underscore the moral dimension of social policy:
Prof. Kumar traced how Dr Mahtab’s vision of grassroots governance inspired transformative welfare measures in India, particularly in the domain of maternal health and women’s empowerment.
He highlighted programmes such as Subhadra Yojana, Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), and Mission Shakti in Odisha as models demonstrating how locally grounded governance can foster social justice and equity.
He noted that the reservation of seats for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) has been a transformative mechanism for embedding maternal welfare within governance.
Prof. Kumar also discussed the growing integration of maternal welfare and women’s empowerment in Northeast India. He cited Meghalaya’s inclusive socio-economic model launched in October 2025, which supports new mothers through nutrition, neonatal care and locally driven enterprises.
During the event, initiatives like “She-Rise” in Laitkroh, East Khasi Hills, which manufactures reusable sanitary pads, were highlighted as examples linking women’s health, entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability.
He concluded that India’s evolving maternal welfare state reflects a unique synthesis of participatory governance, gender justice, and cooperative federalism, making the country “a laboratory for innovative welfare practices grounded in local knowledge and community participation.”
Meanwhile, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of NEHU, Prof. Sumarbin Umdor, reflected on Meghalaya’s socio-economic transition following the Supreme Court’s ban on timber logging in the late 1990s, which disproportionately affected rural livelihoods.
He emphasised that “the challenges of that period underscored the importance of women’s employment and maternal welfare as key components of inclusive development.”
