Hello, Nagaland

One of the big problems of a nation of continental proportions like India is that the core can often lose sight of the periphery and vice ve...

One of the big problems of a nation of continental proportions like India is that the core can often lose sight of the periphery and vice versa. This, in turn, contributes to the alienation of the people residing in these regions, as the examples of J038;K and Nagaland have illustrated eloquently. It is therefore all to the good that Prime Minister Vajpayee8217;s three-day visit to Nagaland last week focused, above all, on furthering connectivity between that state and the rest of the country.

Two initiatives, specifically, demonstrated this. The first, of course, was the formal launching of a cellular phone service in Kohima. And, although it would take a few months to go on-stream, this will be the first BSNL service in the Northeast. Equally imp-

ortant is the prime ministerial assurance that Kohima will now be a direct beneficiary of the Rs 54,000 crore Golden Quadrilateral highway project, with the proposed four-laning of the Dimapur-Kohima stretch of the National Highway-39. This is the right way to go. The only way to counter the centrifugal tendencies created by militant outfits 8212; many of whom have their bases outside the country8217;s geographical boundaries 8212; is to evolve centripetal forces working to unite the country. Connectivity brings its own rewards 8212; in terms of improved trade and commerce links, improved employment opportunities, and in the better integration of people from different traditions and regions.

Of course, even setting up the infrastructure to further connectivity required some degree of understanding between the Centre and the state. What has helped breathe new life into the New Delhi-Nagaland engagement is the sincere attempt by the country8217;s political leadership to ensure peace in a region that has seen five decades of armed resistance. Observers have pointed out that although Vajpayee may have been the seventh prime minister to visit Nagaland, none of his predecessors had been greeted with the warmth that he was. What helped was, no doubt, his party8217;s alliance with the Naga People8217;s Front, which is now in power in the state, but there also seems to be a more general acceptance and trust that was not in evidence earlier. At the same time, the prime minister was the picture of caution on the vexed issue of Greater Nagaland, conscious no doubt of the implications a wrong or misinterpreted word would have in the states that neighbour Nagaland. As he put it, the only way the issue can be solved is by ensuring complete consensus on it involving 8220;all sections of society8221; in the region. How that will come about is still a moot question, but in the short term the combination of understanding marked by caution should stand the Centre in good stead in its dealings with Nagaland.