Ideas & Methodology For Bringing North-East To A Level It Deserves

Presented By:Suraj Kumar

Aman Kumar RahulAshutosh CupsimayChiranjeeb Mishra

Saiman Swain(Trident Academy Of Technology, Bhubaneswar)

North East India is the region situated in the eastern-most part of India comprising

of the eight states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,

Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. The entire region is connected to mainland India

through a narrow strip of land referred to as The Siliguri Corridor or Chicken’s

neck that was created in 1947.

The North Eastern states occupy 8% of India’s geographical area but contribute to

only 2.3% of the country’s GDP.

The rail network in the North East form only 3.7% of the national rail network.

At current trends it is predicted that in the ongoing decade of 2011-2021,there will

be only 2.6 million jobs for 17 million job seekers in the North Eastern Region.

The North East shares land border with five countries but its contribution to

national exports is less than 0.004%.

The region’s average literacy rate stands at 79.64% vs. the national average of

74.04% according to the 2011 census.

The Institute of Conflict Management estimates that 5283 people have been killed

due to insurgency related events in the North-East since 2005.

Sector North-East India India As A Whole

Population

(2001 Census)

3850018(3.75%) 1027015245(100%)

Density ( Persons/sq. km)

(2001 Census)

151 312

Avg. Literacy Rate

(2011 Census)

79.64% 74.04%

Geographical Area (sq. km) 262179 3287263

Forest Cover (sq. km) 173219 692027

% Forest Cover 66.1% 21.1%

Major Crops % Share 11.4% 100%

Major Issues:

Insurgencies & distrust prevailing in all the North Eastern Region(NER)

Media exposure

Infrastructural deficit

Paucity of roads, poor transportation & communication facilities

Absence of established industries & businesses

Perennial havoc & utter destruction caused in Brahmaputra valley

Infiltration of people from neighbouring countries

Lack of development & poverty giving rise to dissatisfaction, which in turn has risen the extremist activism

Step-motherly behaviour from fellow citizens of the country

Minimal media coverage of ongoing activities in the province

Geo-topographical constraints

Causes:

The region accounts for one of the largest concentrations of tribal people in the country - constituting about 30 percent of the total population. The region is characterized by extraordinary ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic diversity, with more than 160 Scheduled Tribes belonging to 5 different ethnic groups and over 400 distinct tribal and sub-tribal groupings speaking about 175 languages, and a large and diverse non-tribal population as well.

This diversity among the homo sapiens further widens the gap for development. Since people are thinly connected with the mainland, they consider themselves to be separate entity, like Jammu & Kashmir.

There have been no efforts for cultural & social unification of these regions with other parts of the country. People of the mainland are normally unaware of these states, their people, culture, sorrows and agonies. They are nearly a neglected lot. Their retaliation through extremism or revolutionary outfits, therefore, invokes a little surprise.

India’s Northeast has been the theatre of the earliest and longest lasting insurgency in the country. According to one estimate, there are about 65 major militant organizations presently operating in the region.

According to us, the insurgency is mainly to do with the Northeast being treated separately from the rest of the country. People were never really treated as part of the mainstream, be it by the government or by the basic attitude of the citizens of the rest of the country.

To some extent, we can solve the insurgency problem by mainstreaming the Northeast and making the area equip itself economically.

ULFA (United Liberation Front of

Assam )

NDFB (National Democratic Front

of Bodoland)

KLNLF (Karbi Longri N.C. Hills Liberation Front)

PLA (Peoples Liberation Army)

UNLF (United National Liberation

Front)

PREPAK (People's Revolutionary

Party of Kangleipak)

NSCN (National Socialist Council

of Nagaland)

ANVC (Achik National Volunteer

Council)

Overview of the proposed solution :

• Setting up various govt. & private sector organizations incorporating the local skill sets

• Jobs vacancies in the field of security

Creating Job Opportunities

• Utilization of per capital funds lending from the centre

• Encouraging entrepreneurship

• Boosting travel & tourism business

Implementation Method

• Preventing the skillful youths fleeing away in search of job to other parts of the country

• Establishing economic resurgenceConsequences

Most of the insurgent groups target those young people who need a sense of purpose, who need some sense of belonging, who probably need money but don’t have any way out although they are highly educated & qualified. Just because of the lack of opportunities, these group of youths get recruited by those extremist groups and represent themselves as activists.

Utilizing those central funds and with productive interference of state govt., many big industries can be lured to set up plants in the region, assuring them safety and skilled manpower.

Indulging investment

• Industries setup needs govt.’s goodwill in allocation of land and clearance

• Security concern should be met first by the state’s armed forces

Equality of work

• Vacancies should fill both the genders, irrespective of their castes & tribes

• Flexibility of adaptation to local ethics & work culture

Development

• Self competency

• Achievement of goal within stipulated time

The government will have to give

some incentives to break the

economical barrier. The government

will have to treat the Northeast as a

special zone, even at the cost of

incurring losses. We have to create an

incentive for industry.

We also have to improve the

infrastructure and connectivity of the

Northeast. We are not very accessible

to the rest of the country because of

the terrain.

The engineers & doctors who go on

quotas to central university to study

should also return back to serve the

region and not stay back there in view

of the fascinating glittery of

metropolitan cities.

Sectors like Tourism & Travel, Music

and Sports shall be considered as

another most important area which

will help in upliftment of North-East.

These sectors shall be furnished with

every possible support needed, because

North-East has immense talent &

potential in these fields.

Role models like Mary Kom, Sunil

Chetri, Zubin, who have established

their and also North-East’s image in

the eye of the country, should take

initiative to bridge the gap between

NER and the mainland India.

North East India is endowed with vast number of resources which, if put into use judiciously by encouraging micro level rural entrepreneurship and integrating it with local as well as international markets, can provide employment to all and also guarantee better living conditions.

Almost all states of NER share border with other countries providing scope for trade through land.

Resources:

1. Tea Plantation

2. Rubber Plantation

3. Mushroom Plantation

4. Handloom Industries

5. Hydro Electricity

Projects

Economic bankruptcy means fewer avenues for sustenance leading to frustration and

retaliation. Dwindling resources and mounting hardships are compounding it. Local

disturbances, hooliganism and terrorism, all are offshoots of such conditions and have

led to a state of anarchy. Today the whole country is in the thick of it. Sooner we

address these frightening indicators, sooner we can save our country.

North-East states can however, draw solace from the fact that the kind of political

system and bureaucracy that is ruling them is no worse than in other states or the

centre. The plight of rest of the nation is also no better. Treatment meted out to rest of

the country and its people is no better than meted out to them. But we agree that the

plight of some of these states is even worse than the rest of the nation. It is indeed

pitiable. But we assure them of unbound development through industrialization,

making use of their rich natural and cultural resources and tapping these for optimum

benefit. We also assure to bring them into the nation building and share their sorrows.

These states are rich in traditional art and culture. Tourism has a very high potential

and so also generation of power. These two areas alone shall put them on top of the

Indian map and we shall do that. Future will be glorious and dignified. Extremist,

separatist or terrorist activism will become culture of the past. The disgruntled youth

will become part of the nation building and contribute their mite in achieving the

desired goals for themselves and their fellow beings. What has never happened before

shall happen now.

India’s North-East Diversifying Growth Opportunities (PWC 2013)

Human Development Report of North East States (Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region. 2011)

Excerpts from Agatha Sangma interview (Tehelka Archive)

Article on rural entrepreneurship development in North-East India (coolage.in)

Wikipedia

mdoner.gov.in/north-east-report

northeastindiadiary.com

Population and Development in North East India - Google Books

Manthan Theme Resources