Permit-free visits for foreigners to India’s Unexplored Paradise?
For the first time in half a century, India plans to let foreigners visit all of its troubled north east without special permits, opening up the picturesque region that New Delhi hopes will be its gateway to Southeast Asia, local media have reported.
If the proposal goes through, it will open up the eight north eastern states that remains a mystery even to many Indian, a region so unexplored that India’s tourism board sells it as “Paradise Unexplored.”
It could also give a fillip to the local economy, which now largely is sustained on federal handouts, creating jobs and boosting incomes in the states where separatist movements have tapped into resentment over lack of development.
Seven of these states are linked to the mainland through a narrow strip of land, called the Chicken’s Neck, that runs between China and Bangladesh. Foreigners need permits to go to every state except Assam, the most developed in the region, and even Indians need passes to go to some places.
For decades, the government has restricted access, worried about the influence of Christian missionaries and other outsiders on the native cultures of the tribespeople of the region and as it tried to keep a lid on rebellions. Foreigners can travel only in groups of at least four and must be accompanied by an approved guide.
New Delhi and Beijing dispute the boundary between them in this region and both claim the Indian-controlled state of Arunachal Pradesh. But there have not been any recent military clashes between the two nations, which fought a short war in 1962.
Many rebel groups are in peace talks with the government and except for Assam and Manipur, the states are largely peaceful. Observers say that popular support for violent groups is fast declining. India has also mooted a “Look East” policy, using the region as a gateway to economically and strategically important countries like Myanmar and Thailand.
The economic paradox of north-east India
India’s seven northeastern states, known as the seven sisters, have been “on the map, but off the mind”, if one goes by the title of a Tehelka-organised seminar on the Northeast.
The region, connected to India by a narrow stretch of land called the “chicken’s neck”, has been through a string of conflicts, seen the rise of many rebel groups, lack of infrastructure and poverty.
The World Bank describes conditions in the region as a low-level equilibrium of poverty, non-development, civil conflict and lack of faith in political leadership.
According to the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, more than 426 billion rupees were kept for the northeast between 1998 and 2006.
Also, central government ministries have been earmarking 10 percent of their annual budgets for northeastern states since 1998.
The Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India has said that funds to the northeastern states add up to more than what India gets from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
Even with the constant and heavy flow of funds, why is development still distant from the seven sisters?
i would love to know the answer to your question. Born and living in Assam, I wonder how can politicians keep lying to us. Are we blind?
Table laid out in the winter sun
Ever had a lotus stem salad laced with fermented fish, evaporated cane juice cookie, chopped eel spiced with chillies or a plate of fried mountain onion roots?
Okay, they’re probably not on the menu of your average restaurant but to my pleasant surprise all the above and much more were on offer in New Delhi at a cultural event dedicated to northeast India.
The main attraction seemed to be the food — cuisines from all eight states that occupy India’s hilly northeast region. Maybe it was because of their novelty factor (not many restaurants in Delhi offer such dishes) but many people lined up at the food stalls (although admittedly, many were probably just gawking at the unusual dishes on display).
Consider this. Manipur state offered a peculiar salad known as the “Singzu” made from lotus stem, cabbage, powdered sesame seeds, mountain herbs, peas and gram touched up with pungent fermented fish.
The main attraction at the Mizoram stall were the fermented bamboo shoots, fried mountain onion roots and even fermented crab mixed with sesame seeds. While the ‘thali’ at the Nagaland stall comprised rice, pork, fried eel flavoured with a highly pungent chilli known as Raja mirchi and fermented soya beans.
The Northeastern states are connected to the rest of India by a tiny strip of land sandwiched between Nepal and Bangladesh and are traditionally more isolated.
Initiatives like the festival aim to promote and expose the culture of the region to the mainland audience.
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