Ethic conflicts and insurgencies in North-East india can be better managed by improving relations with the neighbouring countries. Substantiate the statement with suitable examples.(UPSC CSE Mains 2015- Political Science and International Relations, Paper 2)
The North East region of India comprises eight states – Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura – each with its own distinct history and identity. The region shares its borders with Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh and has been one of the most sensitive regions in India. Since 1947, the history of this region has been marred with insurgency and under development. India has been making continuous efforts to end insurgency and violence in the region. Several efforts have been made for the overall development of the region.
India has identified three core objectives for the North East Region:
- to preserve its dialects, languages, dance, music, food, and culture and to create attraction for it all across India;
- to end all disputes in the North East and to make it a peaceful region,
- to make the North East a developed region and bring it on par with the rest of India
In this regard, various border dispute settlement agreements and peace accords have been signed with relevant stakeholders. Further, with the help of the armed forces, satellite camps of insurgent groups operating from foreign soil have also been neutralized at scale. Long pending disputes between various states in the Northeast had been a major concern in the development of the region. Many decades-long disputes are finally getting permanently resolved through the proactive efforts of India. This has given a push to integration and trust and has paved the way forward for long-term peace and progress.
The government is committed to the all-round development of the Northeast region and making it an economic hub connecting Southeast Asia under the Act East Policy. ‘Act East Policy’ announced in November 2014 is the upgrade of the ‘Look East Policy’ which was promulgated in 1992. The Objective of ''''Act East Policy” is to promote economic cooperation, cultural ties and develop strategic relationships with countries in the Asia-Pacific region through continuous engagement at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels thereby providing enhanced connectivity to the States of North Eastern Region with other countries in our neighbourhood. The Act East policy is playing an instrumental role in bringing a paradigm shift and marking a significant change in the potential role of the North-East region.
India has been extremely responsive to the needs of this region, by making enhanced connectivity, improved infrastructure and people’s welfare part of its core development agenda. From being on the margins of the India story, the Northeast is quickly becoming one of the country’s growth engines.
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