Political Economy Of Underdevelopment Of North East India

Development Research Focusing On North-East India(Nei) Seems To Be Limited By Isolated And Piecemeal Nature Of Empirical Studies. This Situation Throws Up A Challenge To Investigate Inot The Causal And Historicla Limkages Between Politics And Economics. T

Globalization has affected a change across the regions of the world and India is no exception. The national economy has become far more integrated with the global economy now. However, there are large parts of the underdeveloped regions that suffer from endemic underdevelopment. The north-eastern region is one such region. The relevance of Globalisation in the context of the North-Eastern Region of India has additional implications in terms of social and political integration. The most important characteristic of the north-eastern region is that all the constituent units (states) are relatively closed ethnic groups. All the states in the region share porous international border. Consequently, both product and factor markets in these states have some international dimension. Given the socioeconomic and geopolitical dimensions in the region, the prevailing pattern of development in these states has also culminated in the form of social unrest and degradation of economic values. This clearly implies that the development policies and programmes have fallen short of meeting the social and economic aspirations of the indigenous population in the region. In this context, the question that arises is how the forces of Globalization and economic growth could be combined together to address the implicit and most relevant questions associated with migration, unemployment and development of trading activities in the perspective of North-Eastern Region of India.

This monograph is a new and original venture to make an interpretation of the phenomenon of under-development in India. Such an endeavour had not been undertaken by social scientists in the past, and this work is a path-breaking effort by this author. The nature and causes of underdevelopment and backwardness in India, which came under British domination, in spite of the historic background of this country with ancient glory and spiritual history, had been subjected to scientific investigation in this research work. The theoretical contributions of Francois Perroux (1903-1987), the French economist of world reputation, is a special characteristic of this research work. The British domination and the establishment of the British empire had been interpreted by the utilisation of the ideas of Francois Perroux. This is a very special feature of this research work. The author had worked in close collaboration with this economist in Paris for several years. The features of Hinduism in India in relation to the precipitation of under-development is also a special feature of this research work. Political economy as a theme of research endeavour had not taken shape in India at the present epoch. Hence, this endeavour has such a major claim also for this special feature in finding out the causes of backwardness of this ancient country. The features of colonialism which was established in this land are traced in depth while the religious features are given due importance.

Contributed articles chiefly with reference to rural development in Northeastern India; includes articles on cultural history of the region.

Developmentalism as Strategy: Interrogating Post-colonial Narratives on India’s North East critically examines the post-colonial developmental trajectory of the Indian State at its northeastern periphery. Due to its unique historical geography, India’s North East has been systematically marginalized and was imagined as ‘underdeveloped’. The dominant narrative of India’s economic nationalism has largely acted as a strategy within the North East in the context of resource appropriation and national security, and producing new arrangements of knowledge, power and practices. Adopting a methodological approach of interdisciplinarity, this book attempts to understand the exceptions to India’s dominant development policy as applied in the North East. In the changing dynamics of political economy of development in the region, the book further examines the subsequent transformation of the narrative of the North East from a ‘geographic marginality’ to a ‘natural gateway’, and explores the alternative to such mainstream development approach by raising debates in India’s North East.

This Volume Provides A Comprehensive Study Of The Economic And Political History Of The North-East Region With The Objective To Understand The Major Developmental Constraints Witnessed By This Region Over The Years And Suggest Policy Prescriptions For Future.

The only book that brings together ideas and insights for social sector development of North-East India arguing for careful formulation of social development policy keeping in mind the ethnic and cultural diversities of the region.