Indians are obsessed about maps. Wherever they go they make sure that world maps show India's territory in its entirety. That includes whole of Jammu and Kashmir, 37% of which is with Pakistan and 20% with China, and whole of state of Arunachal Pradesh which is claimed by China. The moment Google or any major website or search engine shows any change ,like showing Arunachal in China, Indian's go ballistic. They go out of the way to change the " error". Sometimes even Indian websites , officials, schools make these same mistakes and invite the wrath of the hypernationalist Indian media. They become subject of scrutiny and national debate. Their patriotism is doubted. How could they give away part of the sacred soil of India?. Never mind if some of this soil is not with us anyway. This hyper reaction is owing to lack of understanding of Indian history correctly and living in fantasized world rather than in real world. Indians fail to understand ground reality. As much as it is true that Pakistan cannot take our part of Kashmir it is equally true that India cannot take away what is theirs. But still whole of Kashmir continues to be shown in India's map. What for?.
Now let's take the whole of northeast for example. The Indians are very sensitive about this region. So much is their love for northeast that they have kept most part of it under military occupation since independence symbolised by the draconian armed forces special powers act which gives sweeping powers to the army. If that is not enough India has done everything possible to separate this region and its people from the rest of the country and fester sepratiism their. The infrastructure in northeast is worst than in Sub Saharan Africa. Connectivity and communication between northeast and rest of country is non existent. This is especially true of easternmost States like Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. Human rights violations are rampant. Add to that millions of Bangladeshis and north indians migrate to this region changing the demographics of northeast completely. As a consequence northeast is the most least developed region in India. Threat of China looms large. Projects are halted, even critical border roads, due to environmental concerns. This all in a region that historically was never a part of India. This might sound unpatriotic but is a reality only an ardent student of Indian history will acknowledge.
Let's take a look back in the past. Indian subcontinent stretching from Baluchistan to Dhaka was one entity only thrice before the partition of the country. The first was under the Maurya empire. The second under mughals and third under British. In neighter of these periods was whole of northeast under Indian rule prevalent at that time. The Ashokan empire never extended up to northeast although in the west it went beyond Afghanistan. The Mughals tried to take Assam several times but never went beyond Dhaka. As far as the British were concerned Assam was occupied but rest of of northeast only remained princely states with high degrees of autonomy. When India became independent it used all methods including point blank coercion to get the princely states of Northeast to accede to India. Hence the lingering dispute. If India were to claim British India's empire as its legacy then Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet and Burma all can be claimed by India today as its unalienable part. Will we do that?.
The reality is that northeast is ours because we annexed it in similar way as China did with Tibet or Xinjiang. But India needs to create its own lasting legacy in Northeast by integrating it with the rest of the union. We need to make northeasterners as much a part of India as rest of us are. For this we need to welcome the people of northeast into rest of the country. Racist attacks on them in the rest of India must stop and culprits must be brought to justice. Infrastructure and communication in Northeast must be improved. Roads, railways and highways need to be developed. Private sector investments need to be encouraged. International airports need to be built. Pending projects need to be fast tracked. This will create millions of jobs and wean people away from insurgency. Also a favorable opinion of India will get created. The draconian AfSPA can be removed once situation becomes normal. One of the ways of doing so is to declare Northeast as a " Special Economic Zone." This will go a long way in developing the region through Indian and foreign investment. Attract tourism. This will open up the region to the rest of the country and globe. It will improve infrastructure and create jobs. Hydropower potential of northeast can be explored further. Dams can be built. Power can be genrated . Hospitals and schools need to be built. The problem of illegal immigration via Bangladesh need to be tackled.Ultimately every human being wants food, clothing, shelter, health and education. India will do well to remember that Northeast was called a" Jewel in the crown" of British India. It can continue to be crown of modern independent India if we implement sensible policies. If we separate their will be separatism.
Now let's take the whole of northeast for example. The Indians are very sensitive about this region. So much is their love for northeast that they have kept most part of it under military occupation since independence symbolised by the draconian armed forces special powers act which gives sweeping powers to the army. If that is not enough India has done everything possible to separate this region and its people from the rest of the country and fester sepratiism their. The infrastructure in northeast is worst than in Sub Saharan Africa. Connectivity and communication between northeast and rest of country is non existent. This is especially true of easternmost States like Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. Human rights violations are rampant. Add to that millions of Bangladeshis and north indians migrate to this region changing the demographics of northeast completely. As a consequence northeast is the most least developed region in India. Threat of China looms large. Projects are halted, even critical border roads, due to environmental concerns. This all in a region that historically was never a part of India. This might sound unpatriotic but is a reality only an ardent student of Indian history will acknowledge.
Let's take a look back in the past. Indian subcontinent stretching from Baluchistan to Dhaka was one entity only thrice before the partition of the country. The first was under the Maurya empire. The second under mughals and third under British. In neighter of these periods was whole of northeast under Indian rule prevalent at that time. The Ashokan empire never extended up to northeast although in the west it went beyond Afghanistan. The Mughals tried to take Assam several times but never went beyond Dhaka. As far as the British were concerned Assam was occupied but rest of of northeast only remained princely states with high degrees of autonomy. When India became independent it used all methods including point blank coercion to get the princely states of Northeast to accede to India. Hence the lingering dispute. If India were to claim British India's empire as its legacy then Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet and Burma all can be claimed by India today as its unalienable part. Will we do that?.
The reality is that northeast is ours because we annexed it in similar way as China did with Tibet or Xinjiang. But India needs to create its own lasting legacy in Northeast by integrating it with the rest of the union. We need to make northeasterners as much a part of India as rest of us are. For this we need to welcome the people of northeast into rest of the country. Racist attacks on them in the rest of India must stop and culprits must be brought to justice. Infrastructure and communication in Northeast must be improved. Roads, railways and highways need to be developed. Private sector investments need to be encouraged. International airports need to be built. Pending projects need to be fast tracked. This will create millions of jobs and wean people away from insurgency. Also a favorable opinion of India will get created. The draconian AfSPA can be removed once situation becomes normal. One of the ways of doing so is to declare Northeast as a " Special Economic Zone." This will go a long way in developing the region through Indian and foreign investment. Attract tourism. This will open up the region to the rest of the country and globe. It will improve infrastructure and create jobs. Hydropower potential of northeast can be explored further. Dams can be built. Power can be genrated . Hospitals and schools need to be built. The problem of illegal immigration via Bangladesh need to be tackled.Ultimately every human being wants food, clothing, shelter, health and education. India will do well to remember that Northeast was called a" Jewel in the crown" of British India. It can continue to be crown of modern independent India if we implement sensible policies. If we separate their will be separatism.
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