1. Realizing the growth potential of North-East.
Team details :
Manoj Sharma
GLAITM, Mathura
Madhur Gautam
GLAITM, Mathura
Shubham Mishra
GLAITM, Mathura
Tushar Jain
FETRBS,Agra
Achintya Sharma
AKGEC, Ghaziabad
Team name: the inconceivable
2. “Though North-East is naturally very valuable, yet it is India’s lost paradise.”
Problems faced by North East
a) Insurgency
• About 120 insurgent groups are active
Northeast. Groups like the ULFA, NSCN-IM
aim at establishing independent states.
• Between 1992 and 2010 the northeastern
states of India recorded at least 19,379
fatalities.
b) Threat of war
• South Tibet, governed by Arunachal Pradesh,
is claimed by China.
• Sino-Indian relations degraded during the
Sino-Indian War of 1962. The cause of the
escalation into war is still disputed by both
Chinese and Indian sources
3. c) Geographical problems
•The inaccessible terrain has made rapid industrialization
difficult in the region.
• region's high rainfall averaging around 10000 mm and
above creates problems of eco system, high seismic
activity and floods.
d) Collapsing economy
• literacy rate is about 68.5% but there is huge
unemployment.
• interrupted power supply and expose wires.
• rock-strewn and dug-up roads and lack of infrastructure.
e) Identity crisis
• geographical-cultural condition of "in-betweenness"
is an important factor in the area’s crisis of identity.
4. Snapshots of solution proposed
Solution to above mentioned problems must be divided into two parts:-
• Immediate measures.
These measures must be taken immediately by the Indian government
• long term measures.
These must be taken hand in hand with the immediate measures so as to achieve long term goals.
• Immediate measures
• Long term measures
Measures taken together
Goal achieved
5. Immediate measures
1) Improve law and order 2) Invest in infrastructure 3) Improve interaction
There are three immediate measures that the Indian government needs to take :-
Note – In 1947 Indian independence and partition made North-East a landlocked region,
exacerbating the isolation that is being recognized lately, but not studied yet. So this
must also studied.
6. Improve law and order
India has to clamp down on
extortion and make it clear
that the collection of takes
and exertion of force is a
prerogative of government.
As Max Weber had
reminded us, the state must
have a “monopoly of
violence” – meaning, if
anybody has the right to
use force, it is the state.
Invest in infrastructure
Roads, railways, financial
services and electricity
provision all need more
money and all lag behind
other points of India.
Tourism and other important
points e.g. local markets,
medicines, petroleum, etc.
must be taken into
consideration while
planning for infrastructure.
improve interaction
If the region remains cut
off from the rest of India,
there is every possibility
that it will erupt into
internecine warfare of a
kind not seen in India
before. And that will be
extremely unfortunate for
a region that has so much
potential. Through
interaction only the
insurgencies could be
checked properly.
7. Growth potential of North-East
• With 98 percent of
its borders with China,
Myanmar, Bhutan,
Bangladesh and
Nepal, Northeast India
has better scope for
development in the era
of globalization.
• Plans should be
made so as to increase
trade between the
linked countries that
could be in the terms
of international fares.
Increase in
trade with
border
countries
Development
of ayurvedic
research
centers
• The region is rich in
medicinal plants and
many other rare taxa.
• Out of the nine
important vegetation
types of India, six are
found in the North
Eastern region.
• As this region is rich in
flora and other
medicinal plants it could
be projected as a centre
for ayurvedic research
by opening up training
& research centers .
setting up markets
for local products
to generate
employment.
• The region has over 160
Scheduled Tribes and over
400 other sub-tribal
communities and groups.
• The vast human potential
of this region risks being
wasted.
• Local products by these
groups must be given
national and international
platform through PPP model
so that the pit of slow
industrialization could be
filled and employment
could be generated easily.
8. Long term measures
There is an urgent need to overhaul and redesign the whole system of planning and executing
the economic packages for each state of the region.
• Enabling processes that build trust, cooperation and associationalism.
This can be understood at four different levels :-
The first being
at the level of
emotional and
psychological
connectivity with
the rest of India.
Second, at the
level of inter-
state ties within
the region.
Fourth, at the level
of integrative
behavior that would
motivate people to
come forward for
greater common
good.
Third, at the
level of value
consensus that
defines, shapes
and regulates
inter-group ties.
9. The centre should work out future policies by involving the civil society groups to
the maximum.
The civil society, already active in Nagaland, is crucial in creating a democratic
space in Naga society which has been seeing protracted conflict for decades now.
The civil society will prove to be instrumental in facilitating the current political
dialogue between the state and the rebel groups.
More than 90 per cent of the two million Naga population are Christian. The church is the
point of convergence for almost all the tribal and non-tribal identities in Nagaland.
Therefore, it can encourage collective action for reconciliation in the state in the same
manner as it did in July 1997 at the Atlanta Peace meeting, where the NSCN leadership
accepted initiatives to start an “unconditional dialogue process.”
• Encourage maximum Involvement of civil society groups .
Take an example of Nagaland.
10. The Government of India now needs to take “conclusive political measures” in the
regional security perspective. Temporary compromises such as periodic extension
of ceasefire are always susceptible to breakdown. At this juncture, the role of Naga
civil society and local community groups is extremely important who by building
pressure groups can push the government and various insurgents factions to end the
stalemate.
Benefits of involvement of civil society groups.
• Setting up IT sector instead of core sectors to generate employment and tackle identity
crisis:
• The inaccessible terrain has made rapid industrialization difficult in the region.
• so instead of core sectors, IT sector could be an alternative solution.
• IT sector requires small area as it can be implemented by few multistory buildings.
• IT sector could be helpful in solving the identity crisis and it can bring N-E on the IT map.
• Through this huge employment could be generated.
11. These measures will be able to impact 38 million people every year
through a network of small local groups as volunteers
The region has over 160 Scheduled Tribes and over 400 other sub-tribal
communities and groups, and through this their life can change and peace can be
established across the region.
Employment rate can be increased by the above mentioned methods and problems
of insurgency can be checked.
And the problem of negligence could also be rectified.
• Jhum cultivation must be stopped.
Jhum cultivation, a traditional system of agriculture is often cited as a reason for loss of
forest cover of the region.
This type of methods must be stopped in slower steps by educating people through
programs and other way.
Impact
12. Appendix
References
• PROBLEM IN NORTHEAST INDIA: A CASE STUDY OF NAGALAND.
By SIDRA TARIQ
• Wikipedia- en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/northeastIndia
• Wikipedia- Insurgency in Northeast
India
• BBC news – India’s troubled Northeast by Kaushik Basu