Recently, a seven-day cultural festival of the northeast as part of the celebrations of 75 years of Independence under the Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav programme cocncluded at the National Museum, Delhi.
It is celebrating the rich heritage of North East India, under the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region & North Eastern Council (NEC)’s initiative titled “Destination NorthEast India”.
Importance of North-East Region:
Strategic Location: The NER is strategically located with access to the traditional domestic market of eastern India, along with proximity to the major states in the east and adjacent countries such as Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Links with Southeast Asia: With ASEAN engagement becoming a central pillar of India’s foreign policy direction, NE states play an important role as the physical bridge between India and Southeast Asia.
The India's Act East Policy places the northeastern states on the territorial frontier of India's eastward engagement.
Economic Significance: The NER has immense natural resources, accounting for around 34% of the country’s water resources and almost 40% of India’s hydropower potential.
Sikkim is India’s first organic state.
Tourism Potential: Northeast of India is home to many wildlife sanctuaries like Kaziranga National Park famous for the one horned rhinoceros, Manas National Park, Nameri, Orang, Dibru Saikhowa in Assam, Namdapha in Arunachal Pradesh, Balpakram in Meghalaya, Keibul Lamjao in Manipur, Intanki in Nagaland, Khangchendzonga in Sikkim.
Cultural Significance: Tribes in NER have their own culture. Popular festivals include Hornbill Festival of Nagaland, Pang Lhabsol of Sikkim, etc.
Historical challenges of the region:
Partition of the country- When the major road, rail and river routes connecting North East to the rest of the country suddenly got snapped.
The Chinese aggression of 1962 – When the Chinese army entered Arunachal Pradesh (called NEFA at that time) and returned of their own. This apparently created a feeling of fear in the minds of some private investors, and stalled the large-scale investment in North East.
The Bangladesh Liberation was of 1971- When crores of people from Bangladesh entered some states of North East as refugees which changed the demographic situation in some state of North East bordering Bangladesh.
Insurgencies: From the end of the seventies of the last century problems of insurgency started in states like Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Manipur, Insurgency affected the present day Nagaland and Mizoram in the fifties and sixties of the last century.
Low application of chemical fertilizers, Low credit flow from banks, Credit deposit ratio is less than fifty percent in the North East.
Inadequate availability of certified seeds and good quality planting materials, for all the farmers, Inadequate facilities for godowns, warehouses and cold storage etc.
Absence of modern well equipped markets or mandis in the region, except in some few places.
Resources and industry related challenges
Very low per capita consumption of power compared to the national average.
Non-availability of ores of industrially useful metals like iron, aluminium, copper, zinc
Non-availability of big reserve of good quality coal. Coal present in the North East often contains high percentage of sulphur which makes it unfit for use in industry.
Absence of big industries except four oil refineries and two petrochemical complexes.
Lack of Social Infrastructure
Inadequate number of polytechnics and higher institutions for engineering, medical and nursing studies etc.
Teachers’ Training is poor thereby leading to poor standards of education.
