Preeti Gill - The Peripheral Centre: Voices from Indias Northeast

Contents

Introduction
Engaging with the Northeast: The 'outsider' looks 'in'
PREETI GILL

For my family
For friends in the Northeast
For a country which cannot be found on any map.

I would like to begin my introduction with a poem by Mamang Dai, one of the finest poets and writers from the Northeast. The poem is called Remembrance and as you read it you are almost transported to that part of India that is called, for lack of a better term, the Northeast. A region of green hills and lush valleys, of incessant rain, of dark deep forests, of mighty rivers, a region resonating with a deep silence. A silence that in much of this region now stands shattered by the sound of guns and a host of armed militancies. The poem, to me, embodies all that is the best in that region and all that is slowly dying and changing. As Mamang says, will the traditional values systems, the ritual gods of these states survive the onslaught of guns, insurgency, counter insurgency, state and non state violence? A whole way of life is dying, slowly melting away into the shadows of the unknown. I feel that the Northeast region is at this sort of cuspthe old is giving way to the new, new beliefs, new dispensations, new power elites, new divisions and, of course, new alignmentsit is a very difficult transition; made even more traumatic by internal conflicts and animosities that have been simmering for decades and are now on the boil.

Of course I do not belong to the Northeast and so my gaze is definitely that of the outsider, an empathetic one who has a huge interest in the region, has travelled there extensively, and has had some experience of working on issues related to conflict and to women. I do not intend this to be an apology for being an outsider but rather a personal response to the region referred to as the Northeast, and to the many issues of national significance that each one of us outsiders must engage with because we are Indian. In fact I do think that many more outsiders should write about the Northeast, should visit the region, engage with the people and make their opinions and voices heard. But first what is this Northeast? And at what level does the outsider engage with the Northeast and the many complexities that make up the region? A region that is so far away in terms of physical, as well as every other kind of distance, in accessibility, cultural affinity, etc., that it seems distant from the hearts and minds of many Indians with its lush landscape, its local people who, in the eyes of many of their countrywomen and men, look completely different racially.

Actually the label Northeast is meaningless and inappropriateits a label that scholars and locals object to vociferously. The expression entered the Indian lexicon in 1971. Like other directional place names (e.g. the Far East, the Middle East), Northeast India reflects an external and not a local point of view. In fact, I am told that in none of the local languages does any word exist that has this effect of lumping together seven or eight very disparate states, each individual in its cultures, ethnicities, physical contours etc., and certainly very distinct in the nature of its problems. In fact, as Sanjib Baruah points out, Northeast Indias troubled post colonial history does not sit very comfortably with the standard narrative of democracy in India.

The North East Region (NER) comprising eight states, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura and the latest entrant, Sikkim, has been one of the most continuously militarized regions of India since independence. During the 1990s, in terms of numbers, there has been one soldier for every ten civilians in the region. The common problems of economic underdevelopment, exploitation of natural resources, environmental degradation and changing demographic profiles in the states of the region have provided fertile ground for the growth of local militancies, many of which later turned into popular secessionist movements. (Today, however, it is an acknowledged fact that most of these so-called independist movements no longer enjoy the support of the common people. Their support bases have dwindled with them having degraded into armed groups seeking to extort money and power by various illegitimate means.)