East by Northeast

There was optimism and it wasn8217;t exactly misplaced. A series of proposals is set to touch the region directly. A slew of emerging fora 8212; the South Asia Growth Quadrangle SADQ, the South Asia Sub-regional Economic Cooperation programme SASEC, the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation MGC, BIMSTEC and the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Regional Economic Forum BCIM Forum 8212; envisage the Northeast as the economic gateway to east Asia.

8216;8216;All these might help radically change the economic and social environment of the Northeast,8217;8217; says Sanjib Baruah, senior fellow and head of CENISEAS, back in Guwahati on a sabbatical from his New York professorial job.

If there were any security apprehensions 8212; traditionally, the best excuse to scupper anything in the Northeast 8212; Congress policy wonk and MP Jairam Ramesh laid them to rest. He saw no contradiction between the Northeast connecting itself economically to southeast Asia while remaining politically linked to the Indian mainland.

In the new roadmap, Guwahati is seen as the centrepoint. A liberal air services policy, for instance, allows airlines of ASEAN countries to have unlimited flights to Guwahati, though Assam8217;s tourism department has been so slow to exploit the inbound business potential.

Assam8217;s capital is also a virtual mid-point on the India-Myanmar-Thailand Highway project being discussed among the three countries.

An ambitious railway project, called the Asian Rail Link, will also pass through Guwahati and the Northeast as part of the proposed New Delhi-Hanoi line. The feasibility study for a 200-km link between Jiribam in Manipur and Kalay in Myanmar is nearly complete.

As an ancillary benefit from the Asian high project, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will flag off the Guwahati-to-Batam Indonesia car rally on November 29.

Border trade with China is an important component of the new policy. For years, the Assam government has asked for the historic Stilwell Road 8212; which runs from Assam to China, via Myanmar and was constructed during World War II by the Allied powers 8212; to be reopened.

8216;8216;This road holds the promise of economic boost for the entire region,8217;8217; says Assam minister for power and forest Pradyut Bordoloi, from whose constituency Margherita this historic 1,800-km road runs to link Kunming in China.

But the future is not all perfect. India8217;s Look East policy has some grey patches, especially with migration from Bangladesh being a problem area.

External affairs secretary East Rajiv Sikri cautions: 8216;8216;If India8217;s map is likened to a human figure, then Bangladesh is the joint that connects the Northeast to the rest of India, playing an important role. But stiff joints, as we all know, adversely affect health.8217;8217;

How India treats the stiff joints is a big question. It may hold the key to the Northeast8217;s future.