The North East is much more than a geographical concept, a track of land which is part of India. There is much more to it than is understood by most of us. There is a lack of awareness on the streak of individuality which marks the terrain. For, it has its varied culture, socio-economic problems, racial variations and ethnic diversities. Collectively, it provides a colourful spectrum of the rainbow that India is. Yet, within this spectrum, there are seven different strands-Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.
It is this spectrum which is under analysis in this book Assam has a heary tradition, a long history, an exotic scenario. The people are, by and large, peace-loving, content to live in their native settings, eyeing a living from land, letting life drift on without tension. Yet the land was under pressure from immigrants, most of them illegal. The resultant tension created a problem, the like of which Assam had never faced. Mercifully, an accord has been hammered out between the Government of India and the Assam agitation leaders and normalcy is returning to the State. The State is now getting back on the rails. There are problems in Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur where there is growing feeling that the people are yet to be drawn into the main-stream of India. There is also militants who are out to accentuate differences and to exacerbate feelings and to sow seeds of dissension. However, such elements are getting isolated.
The turmoil on the surface does not, in reality, indicate any deep fission. The people, by and large, have time only for work or play......work in the fields, raising the crops, work in foraging for fuel, and play which includes dancing and singing and roaming around enjoying the pristine glory of nature, getting close to the flora and fauna of the area, thanking one's stars for letting the area look green and verdant and colourful all through the year, there are developments coming to the area. Modernity is slowly but surely making its presence felt. But there is a great deal of attention to avoid modernity ruining the native grace and poise and richness. Every bridge that is erected, every factory that is set up takes note of the ecological factor. Education is being taken to remote corners where thick forests make transport highly difficult. Roads are being built, communication channels improved, contacts being maintained to remove the sense of isolation among the people of the area.
The strategy of development, which is seen in action in the North East, is indeed impressive. More funds are being pumped in to hasten the pace of progress.
It is in this context that the present book gains significance. It is the aim of the authors to throw some light on the area, to provide an arm-chair trip through the exotic land, to introduce the readers to the variety that makes the whole of the North East such an inspiring part of India, to bring to them the efforts which are being made to modernise the area without changing its basic character and to remove prevailing air of remoteness about the place. The authors hope that they have succeeded in this objective.
The authors are grateful to the contributors for their articles and also to various newspapers and journals and to the Publications Division, Government of India for permission to reproduce material from their publications.
The authors are also grateful to Prof. K. Swaminathan and S/Shri V. Narayanswamy, J.P. Uniyal and R.K. Murthi who had been kind enough to give many useful suggestions.
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