The Northeast has been referred to as the gateway to Southeast Asia for 10 years. The slogan is slick, the speeches are commonplace and the region has yet to cross its own threshold.
The promises are not little. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced that all 8 states will be connected to Delhi via rail and air till 2027. A minister in the Rising Northeast Investors Summit said that the region is the new epicenter of India’s journey for development. Since then, Assam’s chief minister has talked about an underground railway at Misamari. Ambition is clearly not in short supply.
However, a gateway is more than a railroad station. It requires open borders, trade arrangements, friendly neighbours and, most importantly, a peaceful home. Before a new government was formed, Manipur stayed under President’s rule for a year, which is the state closest to Myanmar. Cargo does not flow along a corridor of which investors trust.
The geographical situation is no different. Himanta Biswa Sarma branded the North East as ‘landlocked’ and Dhaka as its ‘ocean guardian’ in response to the comments made by the Bangladeshi leader and highlighted the importance of alternative routes devoid of Siliguri. So that anxiousness shows the contradiction. India not only wishes the region to be a bridge to Asia but it also views it as a weak point that needs to be guarded.
Act East is going to be real when it becomes policy for people and not ports. This involves not just Delhi-based companies, but local entrepreneurs, working border trade and good road access into Myanmar.
Until then the northeast continues to be a region that India discusses with an “eastward” mindset while its eyes are fixed “westward. The door is built. There has to be someone who will open it up.
