From An ULFA Rebel To A Bamboo Crafts Producer: Let's Have A Look At Dwipen Khataniar's Journey

Guwahati: Dwipen Khataniar, who had once served as a leader of the ULFA has now become a producer of bamboo crafts.

The former ULFA leader had come up with the idea of producing crafts made of bamboo during the lockdown imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Khataniar has now become a reputed bamboo artisan who is respected and admired by many.

A resident of Pathsala in the district of Balaji in Assam, the former ULFA leader now spends most of his time making decorative crafts out of bamboos at his home. Khataniar had joined the ULFA in 1984 and served as a well-respected leader before surrendering in the year 1993. 

Prior to making bamboo crafts, Khataniar had been earning his livelihood through a small business which he started after returning to the mainstream.

However, the business went downhill after the pandemic struck and he suffered great losses in his business.

Khataniar had no choice but to look for a different means of livelihood to survive. It was then that he came up with the idea of making crafts out of bamboos which soon turned into a flourishing business.

The bamboo crafts produced by Khtataniar range from flower pots to idols of Lord Ganesha, the tricolour to paintings of Mahatma Gandhi. All these products soon made Khataniar a known face in the bamboo craft industry.

Now, Khataniar's gallery comprises a rich collection of art and craft that includes the portrait of many prominent figures.

Speaking to the reporters, he said, "Northeast has huge reserves of bamboo and instead of plastic material, we should use bamboo products to beat plastic pollution."

"If we work together, we can make Assam an advanced state by making our products popular outside the state. We need to produce what the people from outside the state demands," he added.

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