THE SUNRISE STATES… Rising the growth potential of North-East India

-By College of Engineering, Pune

INTRODUCTION

NORTH EAST consist of seven states also known as seven sisters:

Assam, Meghalaya , Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh

These states are connected to the rest of India by a narrow strip of land known as siliguri corridor .

At present insurgent activity is present in Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura.

PRESENT SITUATION IN NORTH-EAST

POSITIVES Strategic location and

‘Look East’ policy. Natural resources Cultural heritage Youth population Education Index Agriculture Historical Ethnic

Commonalities Strong local communities

NEGATIVES Under-developed

transportation and communication

Ethnic violence Pressure on Land. Negative political culture. Insurgent Extortion networks. Economic backwardness. Porous International Border.

Problem : North-East is not connected to whole India

Solutions:

Connect North-East to India via road.

Konkan Railways were very hard to implement so we can connect North-East to rest of India.

If road or rail link is very difficult to implement then use foreign countries and expert.

Extend East-West corridor firther to Aizwal(Mizoram), Agartala(Tripura), Imphal(Manipur).

A separate Road/Rail link to connect Itanagar to East-West corridor.

Problem : North-East International Boundary Infiltration (Infiltration of Bangladeshi in Assam)

Solution: Serious Implementation of

Assam Treaty. If separate Bodoland is

demanded on the basis of development then separate Bodoland should be given.

More emphasis(security) on Bangladesh boundary to avoid huge Bangladeshi infiltration.

Armed Forces special provision Act (AFSPA) should be implemented whenever necessary.

Problem: No Facilities for tourism

Present Situation: North-East have a variety of natural

beauty. Nature have offered natural prosperity

beauty but tourism is not so nourished business in North-East

Solution: Increasing security for tourism. Creating a tourist friendly

environment. Publicizing tourist places in North-

East. Building world-class airports to

enhance international tourism.

ACT: Armed Forces Special Provision Act(AFSPA) Due to consistent infiltration and terrorist , this act is regulated in some of the states

Present Situation:

People of North-East think it is violation of their

fundamental rights.

Solution:

Local Soldiers from North-East regiment should be hired in AFSPA.

If there is a violation of Rights of people of North-East then in investigating team, local people should be involved.

Local police should be made enough strong to fight against infiltration and terrorism.

Problem : High Literacy compared to National Average of India but low employment

Though North-East has high literacy but very low job opportunity is available.

Large amount of hilly area, low availability of cultivable land so atleast Basin of Brahmaputra in Assam and plains of Brahmaputra should be utilized on full scale.

Instead of Literacy if computer Literacy is increased then an IT hub can be establised in North-East.

IT industry do not need strong infrastructure, raw material it just need a computer literate aspiring programming mind.

Higher educational institutes like IITs, NITs, IIMs should be established in more number also engineering colleges should be increased to increate a strong force of comp/IT engineers to build a strong IT industry.

Problem: China border dispute (Arunachal Pradesh)

Solution:

China border dispute should be solved peacefully.

Bilateral talks and diplomacy should result to a definite border between India and China

In the long run India should aim at matching China’s strategic challenge through viable nuclear and conventional deterrence and robust economic growth.

Problem: Mentality of Indian people towards North- East people of India

Solution:

There should be serious implementation of Panchayati Raj.

The democracy should be grass rooted.

With this the people their will start being reliable on Government of India.

As the common citizen of North-East will represent his/ her village then it will lead to Indianisation of North-East.

Recommendation Encourage civil society engagement in development

planning, peace talk and preventing violent extremism.

Support environmental monitoring, protection and research in North-East India.

Support scientific research in cumulative impact of existing and planned projects and international water diplomacy in wider region.

Attention should be paid towards improving tourist spots.

Identify the niche areas which can help develop human capabilities and infrastructure.

THANK YOU