BACKGROUNDS:

It is widespread to feel the cultural and racial differences and the marginalization as byproduct that we felt. Mainland Indians don't like a mongoloid to stand up above them even outside India (almost impossible in India). And why should they? - I don't look like them, I can't speak Hindi or Bhojpuri well .

We are a minority and in a majority-minority scenario, the minority will always be outcast and suppressed in good times and raped or pillaged in bad times. This is a natural law. And this is, introspectively the conditions we, the mongoloid people of NorthEast are in India.

Look in any sphere, whether it be in Parliament, in Colleges or University, in cities or in workplaces and this is the realization every mongoloid people of NorthEast are going through. Are we fated to this iron chain for all our generation? We will be if we stay as we are now. So what do we do. The only way we can break this iron chain is through

i. Mindset change to raise our level/standards
ii. Economic Development and Empowerment and
iii. Education

i. Mindset change to raise our level/standards

I chanced to watch quite frequently late doordarshan programme when I was in delhi showing the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh or some other other NortEast states dancing or running around half naked and I feel as if the doordarshan were doing an ad campaign of how barbaric and underdeveloped the mongoloids in the NorthEast are. Only what I could infer was a deliberate negative ad campaign by the national TV channel and nothing else. Just imagine how trap we are.

In reality we are no different from Korean or Chinese or Thais. It's the institutions, systems and the government policy that made them as they are. I talk with some Japanese college girls from Osaka some days back and they are like my sisters. You have them as co workers and they are friendly.

Look back to 1970's and Hong Kong is only a mid size port city and not the great international financial city of today. Shenzen city is an altogether story. So our approach whether its making roads, Infrastructure Projects, Hospitals or Education, we should take the International standards as benchmark and not some arbitrary Indian standards (Indian standards are mostly copied from British Standards). This frees us from the limitations and aims for the best.

The following two are inter-dependent because sustained economic development (item ii) can take place only when we have educated and skilled populations (item iii).

ii. Economic Development and Empowerment

There will be many theories on economic development but most of them will be equally difficult to implement. Another factor is the realization dawn upon us that the government of India has no real intention of developing us and the region. So we have to improve our conditions ourselves.

My suggestion is to look the models of two companies and study it and replicate in our conditions and constraints. The companies are Temasek Holdings (Singapore government investment arm ) and Dubai Holding (investment company that belongs to Dubai government)

A brief idea on "holding company"
A holding company is formed to start other company or have stake enough to control other company (e.g Temasek Holdings and Dubai Holdings each have more than 20 subsidiaries companies).

Holding company and Promoter
Holding company could be promoted by different legal entities. The promoter could be (i) wholly state government(s),
(ii) State government and private individuals (including social organizations) and (iii). Private individuals.

Holding company and the region
Lets see two instances concern with state government.
Instance one: Manipur government pools some funds and starts an investment/holding company to improve the economy of the state (at micro level).

Instance two: Manipur government promotes a holding company with participation of the other NorthEast states for development of the whole region as a whole (at macro level).

The idea of collective ownership is prevalent in the hills. We can borrow this concept while discussing the holding company that is promoted by the public for the public.

Machingtongba organizations like Apunba Lup or AMUCO with the sole aims of betterment of the region should take leadership role in the start up of this kind of company and raise capital from public as well as government (the public and the government, whoever contribute will become the part owner of the company). For this instance, we can study Berkshire Hathaway, in which majority owner is Warren Buffet.

The company should be run professionally. The composition of the board of directors is critical. Only persons with proven track records of social service, good qualifications and good integrity should be selected to the board.

These professionally run company could formed joint-ventures with Thai or any ASEAN companies in the field of tourism, sericulture, infrastructure development etc. This will help us tap the opportunities that has open up with the "Look east policy".

Because of the holding company and its many JV companies or subsidiaries we can hope to reap some benefit otherwise it will be the same old story of Indian company exploiting our region. The JV will also bring knowledge and know how transfer to our region. Other good results from this whole process will be huge job creation and eventually raising the standards of living.

iii. Education

We have the culture of studying school and college for the sake of getting a degree or certificates. This is a totally faulty and harmful culture that is detrimental to the well being of our society. Instead skilled and value based education, should be our goal.

To be continued ....