Linking India and Eastern Neighbours: Development in the Northeast and Borderlands Book

Contents: Introduction. Part I: India’s Relations with Neighbours: Politics of Development in NER. 1. Northeast India as Engine of India’s Growth: Reorienting the Act East Policy Goals/Mahendra P. Lama. 2. Political Economy of Road Infrastructure in India’s Northeast since Liberalization/Rakhee Bhattacharya. 3. Irritants in India–Nepal Relations and Potential Benefits of Greater Cooperation/Bishnu Dev Pant. 4. Indo-Bhutanese Relations: Evolution and Changing Contexts/Yedzin W. Tobgay. 5. Bangladesh and Northeast India: Planning Communication Links under GATT Article/V Abu Hena Reza Hasan and Sayada Jannatun Naim. 6. Yunnan and Northeast India: Chinese Perspective on Sub-regional Development/Hu Xiaowen. 7. The Northeast and Myanmar: India–Myanmar Engagement in the Modi Years/Munmun Majumdar. 8. Trade in Pre-colonial Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet/Amrendra Kumar Thakur. 9. Reviving Border Trade and Tourism along Nathu La in Sikkim/Dechen Bhutia. 10. Tripura–Bangladesh Borderlands: Socio-economic Significance of Border Haats/Suparna Bhattacharjee. 11. Meghalaya–Bangladesh Border Trade: A Study of the Balat–Sunamganj Haat/Rakhal Kumar Purkayastha. Part II: Border Crossing and Inter-Community Relations: Cooperation and Conflict. 12. Nepali/Gorkha Settlers in Northeast India: Colonial Encounters and Post-colonial Dilemmas/Tejimala Gurung Nag. 13. Burmese Indians: Growth of Burmese Nationalism and Ethnic Discrimination/Emdorini Thangkhiew. 14. Returnees and Refugees from Burma to India: Differing State Responses/Saurabh Kaushik. 15. Drug Trafficking in and through Myanmar and Manipur/H. Srikanth and T. T. Haokip. 16. Understanding the Kukis’ Opposition to Fencing of the Indo-Myanmar Border/T. T. Haokip and H. Srikanth. 17. Borders That Divide: Naga Ethnoscape and Idea of Supranational Citizenship/Jelle J. P. Wouters. 18. Chin Migration to Mizoram: Ethnic Affinity and Changing Perceptions/R. K. Satapathy and P. C. Lalthansiami. Index.

Linking India and Eastern Neighbours: Development in the Northeast and Borderlands studies different aspects of India’s bilateral relations with neighbouring countries and discusses implications of development initiatives in India’s north-eastern region (NER) and its borderlands. The NER shares borders with five countries. The central government has shown interest in developing infrastructure in the NER, and state governments are taking initiatives to promote trade relations with the bordering countries.

The book discusses the causes for underdevelopment and examines the initiatives taken to overcome the problems of the land-locked region. It provides a comprehensive account of varied processes at work in India’s north-eastern borderlands. The book looks closely at the lifeworld of the border communities and myriad cross-border interactions. It throws light on the economic potentiality and preparedness of the NER, the significance of border haats, diverse manifestations of border crossing and nature of inter-ethnic interactions. The book also explains the theoretical significance and practical relevance of studying border processes.