Time to ‘Act East’: Northeast staring at new possibilities but challenges remain

Inhospitable terrain that characterises most of the Northeast and inappropriate connectivity with the rest of India, and, indeed, within the region itself, has always hindered not only the economic development of the region, but has also contributed to the socio-political apartness that bedevils the borderland’s association with mainland India. Indeed, were stock-taking exercises to be undertaken in order to unravel even the reasons for unrest, strife and insurgency in the region, the resultant that would entail would have it that the severance of the pre-Independence umbilical cord has been an important motivation. The lack of connectivity has also kept the rest of India from full-bodied investment in the enchanted frontiers, as also from undertaking occasional visitations that would have brought the heart of India closer to its captivating appendages. Therefore, even as 90 percent of the country’s meritocracy governs the Northeast by fiat from New Delhi, neither caring to visit the frontiers that they are hell bent on protecting, nor to understand the woes of the region, the nonchalance translates into dissonance, and finally to anger. The angst has, of late, been perceived in Manipur and there is a real fear that there would be a domino effect to neighbouring states including Mizoram and Nagaland and finally Assam. Indeed, the physical development of the Northeast could have not only brought in keen business linkages with the rest of India, but would have projected it both as an attractive investment and tourist destination and lowered the barometer that registers the security calculus. For most parts, the region has been viewed as a defence zone that has to be closely guarded and militarised. The experience of 1962 seems too recent for the mandarins in Raisina Hill and the politico-military leadership of India are afraid of a rerun of the unfortunate border war. But, gratefully, the perception seems to be changing and the accent seems to now be on enhancing infrastructure and connectivity in and with the Northeast. New Delhi is sketching a plan by which all Northeast state capitals would be brought under a comprehensive railway and air network by the year 2030. While the focus on improving the road network in the region would be in the almost inaccessible bordering areas of Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur, railroad connection with an ambitious blueprint of Rs 17,000 crore to link all the state capitals within a period of six years has been earmarked. Indeed, apart from tenuous connectivity between a few places in Assam and Nagaland, the rail network continues to be almost barren. The story is not dissimilar in the air sector — the reportedly not-fully-serviceable Pawan Hans helicopter crash in the inaccessible ravines of Se La that took the life of former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Khandu Dorjee added to the problem and the helicopter service from Guwahati to Tawang, for instance, continues to be sporadic. But, there has been some positive movement in the aspect as well, with the government setting up a green field airport in Itanagar, even as others are in the anvil for places such as the capital of Nagaland, Kohima. The air network in the region would also receive a fillip if the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region’s (DONER) plan to launch a dedicated regional airline for the region were to ever get off the ground. Indeed, despite subsidies from the government there has been little to no response from private airliners for the project. At any rate, DONER’s proposed roadmap has suggested in its “Vision Document” the need for air connectivity and has identified specific goals for key sectors for both infrastructure and connectivity. The ministry has sanctioned Rs 703 crore to the Northeast for the improvement of the arterial roads and has finalised another project at an estimated cost of Rs 1,500 crore to build 522 km of roads in the region. But the icing on the cake involves the next Niti Aayog plan, which has a definite focus on better connectivity in the Northeast, with a superior accent on developing better linkages with the neighbouring countries that border the region. This had been on the anvil for a long time, ever since the then Planning Commission deputy chairman, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, had declared this in Guwahati on 4 July 2011. Future plans for the region have stressed on connectivity in the Northeast. The current plan is expected to look beyond the earlier plans and take forward the connectivity ramification to a chequer board that involves linkages between the Northeast and the neighbouring countries. The focus is reportedly to put the Northeast at the centre of the country’s Look East Policy — a policy that has largely been on paper than on the road. Indeed, in the words of the late BG Verghese, the “Look East” would never achieve fruition unless one actually “Acts East”. But the situation in Myanmar after the military takeover of 1 February 2021 has acted as a dampener and New Delhi would do well (a) to cultivate the junta and (b) search for alternate routes via Bangladesh. There has been, however, enthusiasm with the plan for a rail link to Chittagong port in Bangladesh, and upgrading the Guwahati airport in order to help the region to connect the abutting countries together. The much-talked-about transit rights via Bangladesh to the Northeast are also on the cards. It would amount to a coup of sorts and bring back the enchanted frontiers back into the heart of the heartland where it rightfully belongs. However, there have been some apprehensions expressed in Bangladesh that the transit route would be utilised to transport weaponry from mainland India to the boundary with China. This concern — voiced in the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (to the then Indian visiting foreign minister) — was certainly a proxy from Chinese concerns in Dhaka that are attempting to raise strategic questions about genuine and bona fide Indian trade and other such deployment to the Northeast. But, the fact of the matter is that India has made it clear that Bangladesh has nothing to fear from giving India transit rights to access its land-locked Northeast. Indeed, New Delhi has reportedly gone on to state that were Bangladesh to give connectivity to India through its territory; it is Bangladesh that stands to gain in terms of market access to the Northeast. The writer is a conflict theorist and author of several bestselling books. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.