Spending the weekend in cold Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya, while enjoying warm interaction with promising scholars of the Northeast, was useful in understanding a complex region. It comprises seven ‘sisters’ and one ‘brother’, the siblings being Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya and the ‘brother’ – Sikkim.
The occasion was the national seminar on ‘India’s Northeastern States and Eastern Neighbours’, organized by Asian Confluence, an upcoming think tank, in collaboration with Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA). Participants were experts from well-known institutions of the region, Kolkata, and New Delhi.
Scholars began by displaying many different viewpoints. Northeast does not have a common identity, some argued – to the dismay of others. Northeast has not integrated with India, argued an expert, maintaining that it was time for India to practice ‘reverse integration.’ India’s Act East policy was ‘mainly’ about assisting the development of Northeast, said one, whereas another opined that no relation existed between the two until recently.
Throughout the dialogue, voices of experience were heard and the process of synthesis advanced. Consequently, broad agreement emerged on several key points.
First, the region is of immense strategic and economic importance. It is also imbued with huge complexities. Therefore, it merits careful handling by policymakers in Delhi.
Second, its challenges of security, governance and development are inter-linked. The responsibility for finding optimal resolution lies with both the central and provincial authorities. They should adopt a joint team approach and eschew mutual blame game.
Third, role of the ‘Third Space’ – i.e. civil society, media, and academics – was much emphasized in prioritizing problems and designing solutions.
Fourth, Northeast’s connectivity (of various kinds) with neighbouring countries, especially Bangladesh and Myanmar but also Nepal and Bhutan, should receive high priority. The impression that rhetoric exceeds achievement is widespread. This must change to augment credibility of PM Modi’s Act East policy
A final, practical takeaway was this: caring Indians should visit and connect with Northeast at the people’s level and do their bit for nation building.
(The author is a distinguished diplomat with considerable experience of work in Southeast Asia.)