North-East India

All you want to know about North-East India

North-East India

Location of North-East India
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Area 262,230 km²
States and territories Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura
Largest cities (2008) Guwahati, Agartala, Shillong, Aizawl, Imphal
Official languages Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Manipuri
Population 38,857,769
Population density 148 /km²
Birth rate
Death rate
Infant mortality rate
Non-numbered Footnotes:

North-East India refers to the easternmost region of India consisting of the contiguous Seven Sister States and Sikkim. Like South India, North-East India is linguistically and culturally very distinct from the other states of India. A large number of the inhabitants speak Tibeto-Burman languages and have cultural similarities with South-East Asia and Tibet. This region is officially recognized as a special category of states. The North East Council (NEC)[1] was constituted in 1971 as the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the eight states, the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi)[2] was incorporated on August 9, 1995 and the Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region (DONER)[3][4] was set up in September 2001.

Of these, Sikkim became an Indian protectorate in 1947 and a full state in 1975. The states border Nepal, Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh. However they share only a 21 km common border with the rest of India via the Siliguri Corridor (Chicken's Neck).

Contents

History

A ferocious lion excavated in Madan Kamdev close to Baihata Cariali in Assam representing the powerful Kamarupa-Palas (c. 9th-10th century A.D.)
A ferocious lion excavated in Madan Kamdev close to Baihata Cariali in Assam representing the powerful Kamarupa-Palas (c. 9th-10th century A.D.)

(For detailed history please see the articles on the individual states) The North-East has been added to political India only in recent times, though India itself was rarely unified for most of its history. Assam (which included at the time of Indian independence, Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya) was rarely part of political India for most of its history; Manipur and Tripura were princely states also rarely a part of political India; Arunachal Pradesh was beyond the outer line of British India at the beginning of the 20th century; and Sikkim too was not part of political India. These areas were incorporated into mainstream India during the British Raj when British colonial authorities annexed traditionally separate border countries into Indian territory to form a buffer between their colony and external powers (ie: Assam, Manipur and Tripura in the Northeast, and Balochistan and the North West Frontier Province in the northwest). After independence in 1947, extension of the Indian state and political apparatus has been a challenge.[5]

Geography

View of the Himalayas from Sikkim
View of the Himalayas from Sikkim

North-East India has a predominantly humid sub-tropical climate with hot, humid summers, severe monsoons and mild winters. Along with the west coast of India, this region has some of the Indian sub-continent's last remaining rain forests. The states of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim have a montane climate with cold, snowy winters and mild summers.

Political issues

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The isolation of the Northeastern states began earlier as a result of British imperialism, when the region was cut-off from its traditional trading partners (Bhutan, Myanmar and Indo-China).[6] In 1947 Indian independence and partition made this a landlocked region, exacerbating the isolation that is being recognized lately, but not studied yet.[7] Soon it became a captive market for mainstream India.[8]

North East India has a strong genetic and cultural similarity with the people of East Asia and South East Asia[dubious – discuss]. All the hundreds of East Asian and South East Asian communities (and subcommunities) of North East India have East Asian and South East Asian social and cultural factors[dubious – discuss] except around four tribes who have taken their traditional clothing from the non East Asian Indians and non South East Asian Indians, other cultural factors such as foods, social and cultural morality, traditional battle gears, traditional houses, languages of these four tribes are completely East Asian and South East Asian.[9] The northeastern states with just 25 out of a total of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha are politically insignificant in Delhi[citation needed].

The northeastern states are home to many ethnic groups, that are engaged in self-preservation[dubious – discuss][citation needed]. In recent times, some of these struggles have turned violent, leading to proliferation of armed insurgent groups, like the ULFA, NLFT[10], NDFB[11] and NSCN[12]. Soon after the Sino-Indian War of 1962 and especially after the rise of insurgency in the region, security influence on policies has increased.[13]

The region is known for its unique culture, handicrafts, martial arts, and scenic beauty. Problems include insurgency, unemployment, drug addiction, and lack of infrastructure. Since the beginning of the economic liberalization in the 1990s, studies have shown that this region is lagging behind the others in terms of development.[8]

Discrimination

North-East Indians have been targets of racial discrimination/abuse in North India, particularly in New Delhi. Racial slurs like "Chink", "Chapta" or "Chinky" are very commonly used by Mainland Indians against North East Indians because of their East Asian/South East Asians appearance. There have also been several cases of sexual harassments against NE girls in the capital where NE girls are seen as easy targets. Discrimination against North East Indians is on the rise in New Delhi and as a result NE citizens in New Delhi have launched the NE Support Centre & Helpline http://www.nehelpline.net.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ North East Council
  2. ^ North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd.
  3. ^ Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region
  4. ^ Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region from Northeast Vigil
  5. ^ Verghese, V. G. (2001) Unfinished Business in the Northeast: Pointers Towards Restructuring, Reconciliation and Resurgence, Seventh Kamal Kumari Memorial Lecture, Guwahati
  6. ^ Baruah, Sanjib (2004), Between South and Southeast Asia Northeast India and Look East Policy, Ceniseas Paper 4, Guwahati
  7. ^ Seventh Kamal Kumari Memorial Lecture.
  8. ^ a b Khanna, Sushil: (2005) Economic opportunities or continuing stagnation Seminar, June 2005.
  9. ^ Cordaux, Richard et al, (2004) The Northeast Indian Passageway: A Barrier or Corridor for Human Migrations?, Mol. Biol. Evol. 21(8):1525-1533.
  10. ^ National Liberation Front of Tripura - South Asian Terrorism Portal
  11. ^ National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) - Terrorist Group of Assam - South Asia Terrorism Portal
  12. ^ National Socialist Council of Nagaland - Khaplang - South Asia Terrorism Portal
  13. ^ Sanjib Baruah (2001) Generals as Governors: The parallel political system of Northeast India, Himal Magazine, June 2001

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-East_India"

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