TODAY -
Lift The Siege
Times of India Editorial | Nov 9, 2011, 12.00AM IST
Manipur is blockaded again. With only two national highways- NH 53 and NH 39- serving as lifelines to the outside world, choking off the landlocked state has become a common form of protest. With supplies of essential commodities, drugs and fuel running dry, the 27 lakh inhabitants of the state are being held to ransom by narrow ethno-politics.
The current blockade was initially to press for the creation of a Sadar Hills district dominated by the Kuki tribe. However, this was unacceptable to Naga groups. Seen as a direct challenge to the idea of Nagalim that lays claim to all Naga-inhabited areas in the northeast, the United Naga Council issued its own counter-blockade in mid-August.
The crisis in Manipur is symptomatic of larger issues plaguing the entire northeast. Seen through the prism of cultural otherness, there has been a failure to appreciate the local dynamics of the region. This is at the core of the stepmotherly treatment that northeast groups have long accused New Delhi of.
There is an urgent need to develop better connectivity with the northeast. The region has massive investment potential across various sectors such as tourism, textiles, hydropower, fisheries, etc. However, this can only be realised if the facilitating infrastructure- roads, railways, airports, security- are in place. In this regard, boosted economic relations with Bangladesh and Myanmar are critical to enhanced trade and transit as well as breaking regional monopolies. It's high time the northeast is given a stake in India's growth story.
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* This Post is uploaded on November 09 2011
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