Restoration of communication links between North Eastern Region (NER) and its neighbouring countries, besides the need for hard political decisions by Government of India are major hurdles standing in the way of growth of trade and commerce with South East Asian countries. When the Chief Ministers of the North Eastern States briefed the External Affairs Minister their foremost demand was development of the traditional communication links including road and waterways. Access to the bustling markets of the South East Asia is the only way to economic recovery.

Several of the Chief Ministers pointed out that denial of the historical linkages with neighbouring countries led to their economic downslide.

A factor brought to the notice of the Central Government by Minister DoNER, Mani Shankar Aiyar in his ‘Concept Paper’. “Ninety-eight per cent of the frontiers of the Region are with countries with which we have had difficult relations over most of the past six decades.”

“Imprisoned within this enclosed space, NER has slipped to less than half the current average all-India growth-rate. All that the Government of India is doing within the Region is proving inadequate- and will continue proving inadequate—unless we are able, through an imaginative leap in foreign, defence and internal security and international trade policies to spring the Region from the geo-political trap in which it has fallen since partition of 1947,” his paper said.

Since NER was cut off from rest of the country in the aftermath of the 1965 war with Pakistan, a prison from which not even the liberation of Bangladesh has succeeded in liberating NER, in deed, in may ways, making even worse than the situation that prevailed at least till 1965,” he opined.

In consequence, Assam, which at independence comprised most of what we now call NER, and used at the time to have the second highest per capita income in the country, has now slipped down the ladder to near the nether regions, he cited to buttress his claim.

It was further pointed out in the paper how dramatic improvement of connectivity between main land China and Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) led to its prosperity. The improvement in connectivity is vividly demonstrating to the people of the sensitive border areas of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh how much they are losing out on account of New Delhi’s perceived insensitivities.

The progress of Yunan and East Asian miracle also impacted on the thinking and mindset of the Region. While the welcome steps taken by Government of India like earmarking 10 percent of the Budgetary support has had a demonstrable effect on sensitising NER’s appreciation of the sincerity of Centre’s efforts, this has not yet done much to reduce the geo-political isolation of the Region from much of India and almost all of its immediate neighbourhood, he said.

Given the enormous potential of the Region, both in terms of its natural resources and its human resources skills, if the Region is enabled to break out of its prison, it could well become the arrow-head of sustained double-digit growth for the country as a whole, Aiyar’s paper said.

The paper called for hard political decision vis-à-vis opening trade with TAR. A political decision is required, with, of course, the required Central Government investment, for a time-bound programme to develop the transport infrastructure along and up to TAR so that it is restored as the natural economic hinterland of NER. All-India trade would transit through NER.

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