15. Locating Northeast India in the Look (Act) East Policy of India

It is worth mentioning here that Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, emphasized that economic factors are more important for India in evolving its foreign policy. He stated that, until the economic policies of India are well framed, foreign policies would remain vague and directionless. After the collapse of the USSR and the financial crisis of the early 1990s, economic factors became prominent in writing India’s foreign policy.

The border states of Sagaing, Kachin and Chin regions in Myanmar, which are mountainous and endowed with rivers and creeks, have diverse resources, for example water, forest, oil and gas, coal and several other mineral products with similar infrastructure bottlenecks, which have restricted the expansion of cross-border regional networks.

The very fact that the North Eastern Council set up in 1971 under an Act of Parliament was an advisory body in the matter of economic development—under the Ministry of Home Affairs until its amendment in 2002 when it was made into a regional planning body and placed under the Department of Development of the North East Region (DONER)—reflects the prolonged obsession with security concerns by the Central Government regarding the region.

The records of the Ahom Buranjis note that Sukapha was a prince by birth and that his country of origin was Maulung in upper Burma. He was the leader of the body of Shans who laid the foundation of the Ahom Kingdom in Assam. Historically, these people are known for their valley-dwelling and wet-rice-growing character. The particular branch to which the Ahoms belong is known as the Tai-mao, or the Mao section of the Tai, but widely known by the Burmans as the Shan. The Ahom Chronicles, or Buranjis make specific mention that the Ahoms were led by Prince (Chao-lung) Sukapha who left Mong Mao-lung in AD 1215. Sukapha’s followers included several nobles (thao-mong), a number of officers of various ranks, and 9000 men, women and children. After a westward march for 13 years and staying at several places for periods ranging from one to three years, they arrived at Patkai in AD 1228. Posting a governor at the Khamjang Valley, their first territorial unit, situated on the shore of the Nongjang Lake, Sukapha and the rest of his party at first followed the Namrup, then the Buri Dihing (Nam-jin), thereafter the Brahmaputra and the Dikhow before finally arriving at Charaideo, which became his permanent capital.

Alexander Mackenzie (1842–1902) joined the Indian Civil Service in 1862. His career began in Bengal, first as an assistant magistrate and then as a secretary to the local government.

Of these 42 land custom stations (LCSs), 33 are with Bangladesh, five are with Myanmar, three are with Bhutan and one with China. Of the 26 functional LCSs, 21 are with Bangladesh, two each with Myanmar and Bhutan, and one with China.

RBI/2015–16/230, dated November 5, 2015. RBI Circular No. 26, A. P. (DIR Series) on Switching from Barter Trade to Normal Trade at the Indo-Myanmar Border, issued on November, 2005.

Barter trade was initially permitted to facilitate the exchange of locally produced commodities along the Indo-Myanmar border. As such, these transactions were not captured in the banking system or reflected in the trade statistics. ‘However, over a period of time the trade basket has diversified and an adequate banking presence is in place to support normal trade with Myanmar’ (RBI, A. P. DIR Series; Circular No. 26, dated November 05, 2015).