[Assam] New Publication on Northeast India

[Sanjib Baruah]

The web version of the following new publication on the Northeast India is 
freely available from the website of the publisher: East West Center, 
Washington D.C.

http://www.eastwestcenterwashington.org/

PS 33   Postfrontier Blues: Toward a New Policy Framework for Northeast 
India
             by Sanjib Baruah
             PDF Format

A number of armed conflicts smolder in Indias Northeastern border region. 
For instance, the Naga rebellion, which began in the 1950s, is one of the 
worlds oldest unresolved armed conflicts. With its controversial human 
rights record and sluggish economic growth, Northeast India is a 
counterpoint to Indias new image as a mature democracy, dynamic economy, 
and emerging major power. This study proposes a democratic 
institution-building agenda that is sensitive to the particular dynamics 
of change in this postfrontier. In a historically sparsely populated 
region with long-term trends of demographic transformation, managing 
indigenous-settler tensions must be a priority. This and other challenges 
cannot be addressed through domestic policy alone. An effective 
alternative policy must have a transnational dimension; to turn the 
regions extensive international borders  with Chinas Tibet region, 
Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Burma  from militarized zones of mistrust and 
confrontation to spaces of cooperation.