Himanta’s electorally formidable mama avatar is built on efficiently managed cash transfers, blended with language of kinship. He’s the benevolent but stern family head. He selects who’s kin & who’s not. But avuncularity has its limits
When money enters a household, via a woman’s bank account, mama’s gift recasts the recipients as baideo and bhonti (older and younger sisters), and their children as lora-suwali (male and female children). These are more than terms of address; they map a political relationship onto kinship. Female welfare beneficiaries are invited to join an extended household that embraces all castes and tribes in Assam. A needy citizen’s right (adhikar) to welfare, thus, becomes a gift (upohar).