Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a huge splash when he visited the North Eastern states after he took over the reins of governance in 2014. As usual, people of this region of lost hopes saw their faith rekindled in the Indian political system when Modi spoke endearing words about them and of the need to rev up development in the seven states. They believed Modi meant business when he said his Government would change the catchphrase, ‘Look East Policy’ to ‘Act East Policy,’ because merely ‘Looking East’ without any concrete plans for progressive action in that direction is a futile aspiration. By way of exports, the North Eastern states can only sell niche products such as silks, cane products and rare edibles which can be marketed in the processed form. Then there’s religious, medical and educational tourism. People from Myanmar are keen to come to the North Eastern states for medical treatment and also for learning English and to admit themselves in higher educational institutions. In fact all these initiatives are happening even now but the scale is too small to make dent in our economy. What is needed is to identify the export potentials other than those already on the list and see which of the seven states can export what. Each of the states have their own strengths. At the moment the natural resources are being exploited to the point of denuding our forests and killing our rivers and with huge environmental consequences. The region is a repository of myriads of medicinal herbs but these are disappearing along with the forests. Does anyone care to do a survey of the herbs and edibles from the forests that our ancestors benefitted from? The North East Slow Food and Agro-biodiversity Society (NESFAS) is trying its best to document these rare herbs, seeds, fruits, roots, leaves and vegetables but even they need institutional and financial support from key stakeholders. There are other organisations in the region doing similar work but there is no convergence; hence each one is working in an isolated space and perhaps not making impact.
An important component of the Act East Policy should be to bring these institutions under a single roof and enhance their capacities for doing what they are good at which is their grassroots connection. When these institutions get together they can learn and teach each other. This cross-learning is what’s missing in the region and that’s because institution like the North Eastern Council (NEC) have either lost their moorings or have not readjusted their lenses according to the demands of the times. They are stuck in a rut like all government departments. The Act East Policy needs a reconfiguration of how to make it work.