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| Photo source: IBN Live |
Northeast
India’s connectivity to rest of the country and to its five neighbouring
countries has remained a most challenging policy concern in post-colonial India.
The scanty connectivity network has heavily constrained the inflow of India’s
development outcomes in the region, has denied the entry of many modern institutions,
and thus kept the region at the periphery of India’s modernity. Railway for
example which was established in this far flung region by the colonial rulers
solely for their own economic interest has hardly seen any further expansion in
post-colonial period. For almost four decades after independence, the issues of
internal conflicts and security have largely dominated Northeast policy frame. The
reshaping of such policy domain catering to the needs of development started
only in 1990s with India’s Look East Policy. Thus at policy level building and improving
all kinds of connectivity became the most important agenda for establishing
intra-state, inter-state and cross-border accessibilities. This policy
initiative later found a concrete base in the year 2008, when India’s outgoing
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had visited the region and promised
development with extensive infrastructure base. In the same year the historic vision
document of North Eastern Region 2020 was formulated by incorporating the
voices of mammoth 40,000 people of the region to bring a policy roadmap for
region’s development. Connectivity was placed as foremost policy issue, and expansion
of railway net was promised by the government to facilitate economic boost
through the movement and mobility of people and product.
Three
key railway projects were identified by UPA II as ‘critical’ for the region.
Such projects also include the first rail connectivity in two most remote Northeastern
states, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh with new broad gauge lines in Dudhnoi-Mendipathar and
Harmuti-Naharlagun. Both these projects were actually initiated long ago in
1990s with emergence of Look East Policy, but were heavily disrupted for
various issues like law and order problems and more importantly for strong
local resistance. Dudhnoi-Mendipathar
and Harmati-Naharlagun, each 20-km lines in the Garo Hills of Meghalaya and in
Arunachal Pradesh initiated with the costs of about Rs 180 crore and Rs 407
crores respectively, which were later revised.
Finally
one such visionary project has been completed and with Harmati-Naharlagun rail
line being open, far eastern landlocked Arunachal Pradesh is placed in the
railway map of India. Such railway line at last makes Arunachal accessible to
rest of India and opens up multiple avenues and opportunities for the state, primarily
in terms of economic development. The people of Arunachal so far have been
struggling to survive through various dangerous means and through both legal
and illegal cross-border economic activities, as it was cut-off from rest of
India. But before all such expectations are being met, the local youths of the
state have resisted vehemently to stop this railway service. It is interesting
that at macro level, people of Northeast deeply feel that connectivity is
seential to make the region vibrant and self-reliant, and the voices of 40,000
people reflecting in the vision document endorse it firmly. But when such
vision is translated into reality, the local xenophobia resurfaces with all
forces and vehement protests by the youth population not to make such connectivity
functional. The youths are apprehensive of large scale infiltration and influx
from rest of India and illegal immigration from neighbouring nations. Thus they
demand for proper implementation of Inner Line Pass. The same is the situation
in Meghalaya. The issue of Inner Line Pass has also created internal conflicts
and violence, and destabilized Meghalaya once again in the year 2013. Such
reaction and resistance to such positive policy initiative show that the region
is still stuck to the dual issues of identity and migration.
Does
such inward looking mindset reiterate that people of Northeast are not yet ready
for embracing the idea of development? Can issue of xenophobia any longer delay
the solution for of human poverty, livelihood opportunities and economic growth
in the region? Even if the region has to tap its unexplored potentials for
indigenous growth of economy, the support of modern institutions are essential
as economy cannot grow in isolation. Unless its regional economy becomes
prosperous enough to provide opportunities to its youths, they would continue
to migrate to rest of India and the irony of the situation continues. At
regional level Northeasterns are intolerant against the outsiders and migrants,
and at national level, many of the innocent Northeasterns become victims of
violence and racism.
Connectivity
and people-to-people contacts can bridge such cultural gaps, lack of understanding
and intolerance. An open Northeast frontier through such policy ventures will
allow to create space for interaction and tolerance and will be beneficial for
all the stakeholders in the long run for peace and stability. In today’s global
inter-connected world, no place can grow in pristine isolation, rather a
cooperative and integrated development is need of the hour. Let North-East
Frontier Railway and state governments have dialogues with local youths to find
solution and make such huge investment on railway connectivity justifiable both
economically and strategically.
Rakhee Bhattacharya
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