About the Nation and the Seven Sisters ------------------------------------------------- The North-eastern states suspected of being not economically viable and being divided into small states with tribes psychologically not yet satisfactorily integrated with the nation does actually present a vulnerable look. Its link with the ‘mainland’ is through a very narrow stretch of land in North Bengal, called Siliguri corridor. The people from the other parts of India think the North-easterners to be some strange people of exotic ethnicity- as unIndians- and give them various names often derogatory, because its history has remained an absent content in Indian historical discourse and particularly in Indian academic syllabus. This increases its vulnerability. (Looking at the map of the North-East, it is possible to imagine that it looks like a bird about to fly in a direction opposite to the mother bird.) At least in one respect, the Central Government’s security concern, more than its real-time developmental needs and political assimilation, is evident. It is the question of national security that comes into play when the Governors are appointed in some of these states. Very often, army generals or intelligence officers have been preferred as Governors. Besides, one of the heaviest deployments of armed forces has been in this region for a very long time. Both Indo-China border and Indo-Bangladesh border are required to be heavily guarded. Internal security is equally disturbed adding to the vulnerability of the region. Thus national security appears to be the unstated reason why a new metaphor, “SEVEN SISTERS”, was found so attractive by the Centre when it was proposed by Sarat Chandra Sinha. The seven sisters appeared integrated through the image of a filial relationship, even if cartographically it looked so fragmented. However, this metaphor can succeed only if the diverse peoples of the region are psychologically integrated and feel a genuine sense of belonging to the Indian nation-state. Has this mission been achieved? It seems that in the political power arena, the smaller hill states do not feel comfortable with their eldest sister Assam to develop a closer affinity. Demographically, Assam looks like a giant rather than an elder sister to the smaller states. Inter-state border claims have made this relationship problematic. Then, there are demands for ethnic integration and for re-demarcation of state boundaries over such demands. It leads to tension and violence. Moreover, social intercourse and cultural exchanges amongst the hill tribes and the peoples from the plains are very minimal to ensure emotional integration at a level where a filial chord manifests itself. This requires a core agency to play a key role, and the North-east Council could have been structured to play this vital role. But this institution has remained just an inter-state funding agency for economic development and a discussion forum till now. It has not been given a dynamic role to actively promote socio-cultural exchanges in a broader framework besides being a driving dynamo for economic development. The invented metaphor of seven sisters is yet to be naturalized and the umbilical chord with their mother, that is the Nation, seems perennially missing.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 03:17:22 +0000
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