Integrating North East India to the South East Asian Economic Architecture

Abstract

Development and transformation in the context of North East India (NE) is a serious issue. Interested people often used to ask why North East India is lagging behind the rest of the country. For some development thinkers this laggardness of this region is an enigma, for some it is a dream, for somebody it is shelter for self-expression, and for the rest it is a milking cow.

Irrespective of the views, in the post liberalization regime, it is the people’s felt need for the transformation and development of the northeastern region. In this regime, eying the transformation of the other part of the country, if the N.E. looks towards the transformation of itself, then many dimensions, such as social, political, economic, and technological would emerge out. Since today, all transformation is dependent over the eco-technological and level of knowledge; from these standpoints if the transformation dynamics of the North East India (NE) are analyzed then found NE is under the trap of peripheral-ism from all counterparts. The motion of the transformation is in the pace of static dynamism. But, in the age of rapid transformation if this peripheral-ism and static dynamism in not changed to the core-ism than the matter of transformation of NE would remain as an enigma, or as a shelter for self expression only, as well as a milking cow even in the future days to come.

Considering the given backgrounds and its ongoing transformation of the region, the present paper attempts to justify the peripheral-ism in the NE India. The major focus of the paper is on the need for a track for the transformations from the deep-rooted peripheral-ism to core-ism. Finally, an attempt has been made to making track for transformations the urgency of shifts of isms is highlighted.

Keywords: Static Dynamism, Peripheral-ism and Core-ism, Geographical Peripheral-ism, Economic Peripheral-ism, Cultural Peripheral-ism, Political Peripheral-ism, Techno-Economic Elites, Levers for Change

JEL Classification: A13, B19