Majuli the largest river island in the world and situated in the midst of the mighty Brahmaputa is nature’s boon to the people of Assam, North East  and India.A seat of Neo-Vaishnava culture established by the great 15^th century Saint Srimanta Sankardeva,it has had a profound influence on the cultural, economic and educational life  of the entire North East since last three to four centuries.As the  soul of Satriya culture it has played a pivotal role in binding together different enthnic groups of the region through the spread of religious and cultural ideologies of Neo-Vaishnavism since the 15thcentury as well as the world biggest inhabitant river Island. The simple but culturally and intellectually enlightened people of Majuli are always aware of Education, Culture and Socio-Economic development.

 

With a view to bring about all round development of this big island region with a population of around 2.25 lakhs, long neglected since independence , Majuli, a subdivision of Jorhat district  was declared  a District in June 2016.Infact it is the first River Island district in India.

 

With the development of communication and transport facility  in the last five years from Majuli to mainland regions  like Jorhat on the south bank of the Brahmaputra and Lakhimpur on the North ,there is a perceivable change in the minds of its population with respect to economic activity , education and means of livelihood which have brought in a sense of modernism.

 

NIELIT Majuli Study Centre was established in June 2018 with an aim to deliver up to date industry relevant training programs in the areas of Information, Electronics & Communication Technology (IECT) to the youths of this region and thereby make them eligible and confident to earn their livelihood in this changing environment. The centre has the state of the art facilty with labs and internet connectivity to deliver the best education to the youths of far flung areas of the island. Besides it will also cater to the modern technical educational needs of the neighbouring districts of North Lakhimpur, Dhemaji ,Viswanath Chariali etc. on the north bank of the Brahmaputa.

 

 

The NIELIT Majuli Study Centre has trained around 1000 students and youths  mainly from rural background since its inception in various long and short term courses in the field  of ICT and currently it is receiving overwhelming response to its online mode of learning due to the restrictions of COVID19.Courses like CCC , Digital marketing , basics of IOT , etc. have instilled confidence in the youths to gain their livelihood either in the public/private sector or through entrepreneurship.As an example, exposure to basics of IOT that would help youths to build their own LCD or LED display in the now world famous Annual Rash festival in Majuli has lit up their faces.

 

Efforts to bridge the digital divide by taking to doorsteps  such flagship programs like PMDISHA,Digital Payment systems, Jeevanpraman, etc. to the village level  have generated consciousness and resulted in ease  and comfort of life. Steps are on to make sale of agricultural and cottage industry products of cane and bamboo, pottery,sericulture and handloom, mask, etc  through the Digital Market system by creating entrepreneurship programs at field level.To leverage the skill set of village artisans and weavers, introduction of ICT resources in bamboo / cane crafts and also handloom design will go a long way in commercialising of such items an its preservation. Digitisation of Satra relics like century old paintings , statues,masks  and other artifacts of cultural heritance is also going on.

 

Also plans are afoot to setup a full fledge NIELIT Centre at Majuli which will cater to the modern ICT technical needs of the region including the three north bank districts of Dhemaji, Lakimpur and Biswanath.