North by Northeast

The Centre has  neglected the country’s Northeast states far too long. Will the foreign minister’s recent interaction with people bring any substantive change?

Pranay Sharma Shillong

It took some personal courage, determination, and political acumen for Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee to break the jinx and keep his date with the Northeast. On June 16, he finally made it to the picturesque Meghalaya capital, Shillong, to participate in the 'interactive session' with the civil society of the Northeast to find ways on how best the seven states in the region could play a role and benefit from India's 'Look East Policy'.

Mukherjee's trip to the Northeast had run into trouble from the very beginning. In April this year, soon after the 'Public Diplomacy' division of the ministry of external affairs organised the 'interactive session', the minister met with an accident in his home state, West Bengal. Finally, when it was re-scheduled for June 16, the rain-gods decided to play spoilsport. The heavy rains—both in Delhi and Shillong—made flying difficult. But even after the special aircraft carrying the minister and his delegation reached Guwahati, it was made clear that the weather would not permit him to take the helicopter to reach the hill-station where hundreds of people from different parts of the Northeast had already assembled for the 'interactive session'.

It was then the minister decided to go by car—a three-hour ride on normal days — to Shillong. The journey was not incident-free either. Soon after the minister's entourage began the climb, the escort jeep in front that was carrying four Assam policemen, took a tumble and fell into a roadside ditch. It was sheer luck that none of them had any serious injuries; the minister ensured that they were taken off duty and sent back to the barracks to rest.

It was late afternoon by the time Mukherjee reached Shillong and entered the convention hall of the Pine Wood Hotel to interact with the large number of NGOs, teachers, professionals, journalists, and lawyers from the Northeast. The minister made it clear why he was there. The prepared text of his speech on 'Geography as an Opportunity', said as much. But then, the assembled gathering also had much to tell him. They took the opportunity to list out their grievances against Delhi—the neglect and indifference, the lack of a comprehensive policy to engage in a sustained and meaningful way with the people and efforts to meet their aspirations.

Pranab Babu listened patiently. And when he responded, he spoke from the heart, not from any prepared text. He admitted that most of the grievances were legitimate and the time had perhaps come for a fresh beginning to be made for a more durable and mutually beneficial engagement between Delhi and the people of the Northeast.

Most went back from the minister's 'interactive session', with a little more hope and encouragement than they had come to Shillong with. The first Big Step had been taken. But what would be the next one?

Delhi has been flirting with the Northeast for years. The 'on-again off-again' attraction and interest it has shown towards the region has not turned into a serious affair in the last 60 years. The closest it came to developing a meaningful relationship was perhaps in the early 1960s in the wake of India's border dispute with China. But the outcome of the Sino-Indian conflict strengthened the hands of 'conspiracy theorists' in the Indian establishment. The fear that better roads and infrastructure in the area could in effect help an invading army from across the border in the event of another war, ensured the Northeast remained one of the most under-developed areas of the country.

There are complaints from the people of Northeast that Delhi always uses the broadest brush to deal with the region. The seven states — Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, and Tripura — are clubbed together as the 'Seven Sisters' for convenience, as if they constitute a monolithic entity without diverse cultures, languages, political aspirations, and social norms.

Though there is a common refrain of 'neglect' from the people, it does not refer so much to money and lack of funds as to lack of transparency in decision-making. It is about the lack of accountability of the politicians and senior bureaucrats to the money that is given but seldom used for development and the people. It is about the scant regard to human rights in the name of tackling insurgency. It is about not being counted as stakeholders in India's future.

Northeast is perhaps one of the most sensitive and important regions in the country. It shares boundaries with Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, and Myanmar. It is rich in bio-diversity and natural resources. Though much of the region has been on the boil for long years in the past six decades, it has always finished a poor-second to Kashmir in terms of getting the attention and focus of both the national and international media.

The lack of required numbers for representation in a parliamentary-democracy has perhaps also added to its woes. Barring Assam which has 14 Lok Sabha seats, the remaining six states have either one or at best two seats in the lower House of parliament. Political, ethnic and tribal rivalries have kept the leaders of the region from evolving a 'common minimum programme' on the basis of which they can bargain for a better deal with Delhi.

Successive governments in Delhi had opted to use the time-tested British policy of dividing the 'plains and hills' people in the respective states and encouraged inter-rivalries to take precedence over other important matters. The Northeastern states have played along and given too easily to Delhi's machinations. To varying degrees, both sides are to be blamed for the condition the Northeast finds itself in today in terms of Delhi's priority list. But will things change now?

If one is looking at the Northeast mainly as part of India's 'Look East Policy', the question that needs answering is: How serious is Delhi in its engagement with the Southeast Asian nations? The policy, initiated during P.V. Narasimha Rao's Prime Ministership in 1991-92, has popped up on the Indian foreign ministry's radar screen in phases. South Block claims it is serious about its policy to integrate the Indian economy with that of Southeast Asion nations. The potential of this engagement is immense. It can lead to overall development of India's Northeast, bring in investment and build infrastructure, and revive many of the traditional trade routes of the region that were snapped because of the partition of the sub-continent.

The Northeast could become the much-touted 'bridgehead' between India and Southeast Asia. It could help in turning relations with Bangladesh, Myanmar, and other countries in the region into mutually gainful ones. It could lead to free movement of people from and to the Northeast and across the borders to neighbouring countries, contributing significantly to the economy and culture of the region. As they say, the potential of this engagement could be limitless. But how much will be done?

The history of Delhi's engagement with the Northeast has been riddled with missed opportunities. Many seminars and workshops have been organised on the subject. They have produced many fresh ideas and proposals and reams of papers. But most of the time, the end-result has been one of disappointment. The Public Diplomacy division has now again entered the area and opened up Pandora's box.  But will it let all the virtues escape once again? Or will the Big Step taken by Pranab Mukherjee earlier this month be followed by others that may not be equally big, but could at least sustain Delhi's interest in and engagement with the Northeast in the future?