The first decade of the 21st century is characterised by the rise of many social,political and economic changes in the n-e region. The tide of international political happenings and impact of globalisation has touched the region. It is very important to note here that NE region despite many setbacks, now has been integrated as a part of this global village.

Due to her topography and geographical location ,this part of Asia is known very little to the outside world. In fact NE has been put aside in all major national and international platforms. Many black and white events in the region has led to the awakening of many groups of people. Especially the IT revolution has played a great role in this respect.

At present, transport bottleneck, poor communication links, lack of proper Media attention and poor infrastructure developement are posing main problems to its developement.

Here,I would like to attract the attention of our intellectuals as far as Media is concerned. Any information gap on the part of outsiders may be National or International will create problems in any move towards political settlement in this region.

Manipur, which is the most easternmost state of india also borders Myanmar in the East. The state has remained the most volatile of all the eight states in NE. The present political confrontation in the state arising out of Nagalim demand and other similar demands by many ethnic groups in the state has worsened the situation.

Manipur has a great beauty of nature including the cervus eldi eldi(sangai), the only floating national park in the world, the Keibul Lamjao, the Shiroy Lilly and the Loktak lake are some of the gifts of mother nature. The five hill districts are mostly inhabited by the Naga tribes and the Kuki-Chin tribes while the valley is inhabited by the Meiteis and Meitei Muslims besides many tribes.

Manipur is thus gifted with more than 35 ethnic groups, many languages, religions and scenic location encircled by the nine ranges of hills. But when it comes the socio-politico and economic matters , Manipur is not better than the hell. Who is responsible for this? The role of the Meiteis in NE is really great. The Meiteis have to play an important role in any future political developement in this region. The Meiteis are spread beyond the political boundary of Manipur since time immemorial. The Manipuris living in Asom, Tripura, Meghalaya, Bangladesh, Myanmar and other states of India has to work hand in hand with the local inhabitants of the respective states or coutries.

The Manipuris in Asom, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Tripura must be given proper attention to face the threat to their existence. Many of our kiths and kins in Myanmar, Bangladesh are brutally exploited. To save the Manipuris, Tripuris, Cacharis and other ethnic groups in NE as well as in the neighbouring countries will be in the interest of our own survival.

The international Manipuri Associations like IMA, EMA and NAMA must work for the future course of developement in NE. The Japan Govt. funded projects like sericulture, mushroom plantation and the maternity n child hospital are not implemented properly due to many reasons.

After the completion of old Kangchup Water Treatment Plant and recently sanctioned Solid Waste Management Plant under the French Govt. is a great boon. Because of Loktak Electricity Project, this lake which is also a Ramsar site has been threatened leading to many ecological disturbances. Canada has funded 40 crores to LDA for safeguarding the ecosystem of the lake.

The Indo-Myanmar trade must be revised to suit the changing global and regional needs. Our nearness to the golden triangle has posed a great threat to social stability, political developement and economic well being. A large numbers of youths are becoming the victims of drugs, cocain and many other psychotropic tablets like SP, N-10 etc.

HIV/AIDS is now the biggest problem which is again enhanced by immoral trafficking like prostitution. The Manipuris with full cooperation of other Ethnic groups must try to solve the besseting problems of Economic Underdevelopement, AIDS menace, environment protection and low literacy in this region.

If the Manipuris living in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Asom, Tripura and other states work together to form a chain of trading chambers, we can have a good economic future(give some thoughts...pliz.).

In this years of uncertainties, we need to be diplomatic to make the balance of power as our forefathers did hundreds of years before. The total militarisation of NE is a very unfortunate developement. We, the North Easterners must shout together against ill designs of India like AFSPA, RAP and Military rule. Any ill treatment of towards any group(s)in our region must be considered as a threat to our unity, peace and developement.

We need to extend our selfless cooperation for mutual benefits, equal developement and ever lasting integrity of our people. Competition in every fields is a good sign of progress, but every efforts should be put for avoiding anymore ethnic clashes. For a peaceful life in our homestead, a peaceful neighbourhood is important. Thus we must go to the extend of helping Myanmar returning to democracy and also a stable Bangladesh.

The NE is now a meeting point of all the major religions of the world, viz., Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sanamahism and Judaism. The present Ethnic conficts if mix with religious element with destroy our civilisation. Here the church leaders, Islamic forces, Hindu institutions and the Sanamahi revivalist must try to retain our secular outlook.

If not carefull, NE will become second Palestine or Darfur or Northern Ireland. Our people cannot trace our origin from the Gita or the bible. We must work to retain our link with tradition and our point of origin. Once we forget this, there will be no going back which will throw us to the hell of fire. We can adopt any religion as one wishes, but the greatest religion of humanity must not be given up in total. We learn different teachings of different religions and also need to apply the same in our real life situation.

Economic Globalisationhas opened up the ways towards developement and progress. The Indo-Myanmar trade posts in Manipur and Mizoram have to be well formulated. Unstable political condition in Bangladesh has led to large scale influx of Bangladeshis in NE which poses direct threat to the social, political and economic future of NE people. The coming of the IT revolution, mobile telephone service and the Trans Asian Highway and also the linking of Imphal-Jiribam Railhead have some prospects in economic regeneration.

The opening of the Eastern Gate should not lead to AIDS and Drug menance only. The N-Easterners must work hard for human resource developement and sustainable developement of the region. Education has to be given top priority in every ways. Business studies, management, IT sector, engineering, Linguistic studies must be emphasised. The Trans Asian Highway will open the box of uncertainty.

So as to meet the necessary developements, we need to follow some good plans and policies. The Govt. of India is now focussing on the infrastructure developement of NE, like four laning of the highways connecting the state capitals of all the NE states. The govt. is proposing a port in Myanmar's Settwe Region which will connect Mizoram throug the river Kaladan at the cost of $100 million.

Trade volumes in terms of thousands of million will pass through the region after the Trans Asian Highway is constructed. We must be ready to exploit the advantages for our economic emancipation. When the goddess of wealth is knocking at the door, we will gain nothing if remain still dormant(sleeping). We have to forget every ethnic or linguistic differece to bring integrity of our people as a whole.

Here mention may be made of the two NHs 39 & 53 which pass through Manipur. The Indo-Myanmar road(NH39) is the lifeline of Manipur. The NH 53 being repaired to meet the rising needs of our people. The 52 days blockade of these highways by the Naga NGOs should be remembered. The fate of the Palestinians when Israel blockaded the only crossing linking Gaza and West Bank is very similar. Isaeralis cannot have a peacefull life by demolishing the houses of civillian Palestinians by bulldozer in the name of fighting the Hamas group.

The NH39 which passes through Nagaland is really a "naga highway" where they can do anything. It is a with the brand name "no movement without the payment of taxes" even though highway maintenance is in the union list. The Govt. of India has given it to anti-people elements for tax collection. Who cares if the interest of the stronger side is fulfilled???? Might is right holds true.

"In the garden of nature(NE), many flowers with different colours bloom, red(assamese), blue(nagas), green(meghalayans), white(manipuris), black(tripuris), pink(mizos), grey(arunachalis)and yellow(sikkimese). They all have different colours, different scents, and different looks.

But as they had been planted there itself by the mother nature, don't try to uproot any one of them. Let's make it more colourful and attractive as all white or all green won't be nice to see at all".

United we stand;divided we fall. The indegenious people have great relationship with nature especially the forest, water resource, agricultural land etc. Any developement projects which will pose a threat to the existence of our civilisation must be fought with. The Loktak Project has done much more harms than benefiting our people, the Tipaimukh Dam will also submerge a large tract of agricultural land and forest which lessen our means of survival.

Any environmental destruction plus snatching of our land or resources in the name of developement must be opposed wholeheartedly. Any threat to the environment is a direct threat to the indegenous people. This is a global phenomenon with the burning issues like Global Warming, Climate Change and spread of diseases as a result of it.

The shifting of developemental projects from one part to another is also a great problem in NE due to ethnic conciousness and the slogan like no developement at our cost for other community. For example, the recent police killing of civilians and students in Tura district of Garo hill in Meghalaya over the shifting of Meghalaya board of education to Khasi hill.

Similarly, in near future , some communal minded ethnic elements may raise their head shouting against developement at their cost like Tipaimukh Dam or RIMS shifting or any similar cases. It is not a big problem right now but a demon waiting for a big bite.

We must stand united against any such move and also must fight any developement which means uprooting our habitation. The Govt. led policy of exploitation of natural resources in indegenous land is against humanity.