The Road to East: From India’s Moreh to Myanmar’s Mandalay

Sixteen years after India, Myanmar, Thailand agreed to build a 1,300-km highway, to bind the three countries together, and bring Delhi closer to ASEAN, two crossings were opened on August 8. The Indian Express travels down a road hiccuping its way through a country central to the region’s power games and churning with change. (Express Photo by Neeraj Priyadarshi)

The Road to East Trilateral highway that connects India, Myanmar and Thailand

The Indo-Myanmar friendship bridge joining Moreh with Tamu in Myanmar, the first of 69 bridges on the newly constructed India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway. The stretch is scheduled to be completed by 2021, which aims to boost trade and commerce in the ASEAN free trade area. (Source: Express Photo by Neeraj Priyadarshi)

The Road to East Trilateral highway that connects India, Myanmar and Thailand

Old wooden bridges between Moreh and Tamu in Myanmar are a part of the stretch. Local people on both sides, and traders from as far away as Mandalay in Myanmar (468 km) and Imphal (110 km) and other parts of the Northeast have been trading with each other at this point for centuries. (Express Photo by Neeraj Priyadarshi)

The Road to East Trilateral highway that connects India, Myanmar and Thailand

A traditionally dressed shepherd is seen on the stretch. A joint estimate in December 2017 by the World Bank and Myanmar government stated that 32 per cent of the people were poor, with 38.8 per cent of them living in rural areas in comparison to 14.5 per cent in cities. (Express Photo by Neeraj Priyadarshi)

The Road to East Trilateral highway that connects India, Myanmar and Thailand

Commuters and market goers seen on the India's side of the border close to the India-Myanmar friendship gate at Moreh, Manipur. (Express Photo by Neeraj Priyadarshi)

The Road to East Trilateral highway that connects India, Myanmar and Thailand

The Shwedagon Pagoda in the Yangon metropolis at night. (Express Photo by Neeraj Priyadarshi)

The Road to East Trilateral highway that connects India, Myanmar and Thailand

Since the violence broke out in 2013 between the Buddhists and the Rohingya Muslims, seven out of the 14 mosques in the city of Meiktila have been shut down. Three madrasas and an Arabic university were also shut. (Express Photo by Neeraj Priyadarshi)

The Road to East Trilateral highway that connects India, Myanmar and Thailand

A monk enjoys a game of soccer at a village between Tamu and Mandalay in Myanmar. (Express Photo by Neeraj Priyadarshi)

The Road to East Trilateral highway that connects India, Myanmar and Thailand

The towering Yadanabon bridge is the gateway to Mandalay, the last royal capital of Myanmar. Under it flows the Irrawaddy, a greyish shimmering sheet in that pre-dawn moment. (Express Photo by Neeraj Priyadarshi)

The Road to East Trilateral highway that connects India, Myanmar and Thailand