The Northeast region of India is synonymous today with serious law and order problems mainly arising out of the politics of ethno-nationalistic aspirations of the people. Conjoined in this epithet and arising out of this monomaniacal preoccupation with ethnic identities is the problem of the perpetuation of a vicious cycle of acute poverty and underdevelopment in the region. There is a general tendency to blame the people of the region for these problems. To understand the various issues involved, the author takes a relook at the problem from an entirely new perspective not researched or seen earlier. From the analyses it transpires that various exogenous influences beyond the control of the people of the region, like the role of British India Northeast frontier policies, the influence and role of universal religions of Hinduism and Christianity, the unfair partition of the country that segregated the region from the mainland, the post independent Government of India policies and a host of other residual consequences arising out of these factors are some of the main causes.
Based on the findings, the book suggests a much more efficacious approach and possible way out of the impending disaster by looking at the problems and issues much more holistically from the regional and national perspective. The author postulates that a possible solution lies through reconciling and addressing both the problems of economic underdevelopment and ethnic divide simultaneously. In this effort, the author suggests, apart from other policy interventions, finding an appropriate institution capable of being both the catalyst for the economic development and the peacemaker capable of bridging the ethnic divide in the region. The Northeast region of India is synonymous today with serious law and order problems mainly arising out of the politics of ethno-nationalistic aspirations of the people. Conjoined in this epithet and arising out of this monomaniacal preoccupation with ethnic identities is the problem of the perpetuation of a vicious cycle of acute poverty and underdevelopment in the region. There is a general tendency to blame the people of the region for these problems. To understand the various issues involved, the author takes a relook at the problem from an entirely new perspective not researched or seen earlier. From the analyses it transpires that various exogenous influences beyond the control of the people of the region, like the role of British India Northeast frontier policies, the influence and role of universal religions of Hinduism and Christianity, the unfair partition of the country that segregated the region from the mainland, the post independent Government of India policies and a host of other residual consequences arising out of these factors are some of the main causes.
Based on the findings, the book suggests a much more efficacious approach and possible way out of the impending disaster by looking at the problems and issues much more holistically from the regional and national perspective. The author postulates that a possible solution lies through reconciling and addressing both the problems of economic underdevelopment and ethnic divide simultaneously. In this effort, the author suggests, apart from other policy interventions, finding an appropriate institution capable of being both the catalyst for the economic development and the peacemaker capable of bridging the ethnic divide in the region. |
