SHILLONG, Aug 8: A convergence of institutions, ideas, and regional aspirations marked the Eminent Social Scientist Lecture held on Friday in Shillong, where a blueprint for the North East’s transformation by 2047 was laid out.
Organised by the Indian Council of Social Science Research–North Eastern Regional Centre (ICSSR-NERC) in collaboration with the Department of Political Science, North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), the lecture featured Mahendra P Lama from Jawaharlal Nehru University and founding Vice-Chancellor of Sikkim Central University, as the keynote speaker.
The event, chaired by B. Panda, Honorary Director of ICSSR-NERC, drew faculty members, research scholars, students, and guests from across NEHU and beyond, participating in both offline and online modes. Held at the ICSSR-NERC Conference Hall, the programme served as a platform to present a strategic policy document authored by Prof. Lama and his team, prepared for the Government of India, and aimed at making North East India a new growth pole within the broader Eastern South Asian region. Describing the lecture as part of an ongoing national effort, Prof. Lama explained that the policy document aligns the region’s potential with India’s long-term development goals under Act East Policy, Viksit Bharat, and Aatmanirbhar Bharat 2047.
At its core is the vision of the NER Growth Quadrangle linking Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, and the North East as a dynamic sub-region capable of driving cross-border collaboration and domestic resurgence.
Prof. Lama underscored the strategic significance of the North East, citing its rich biodiversity, abundant natural resources, and deep cultural ties with neighbouring countries.
He stressed that harnessing these advantages required a coordinated push from central and state governments, multilateral and bilateral partners, the private sector, NGOs, communities, and cross-border institutions.
He detailed several integrated goals to redefine the region’s trajectory. These included turning the North East into the Eastern South Asia Power Pool for cross-border electricity exchange, transforming borderlands into economic corridors to improve connectivity and trade, and establishing the region as a biodiversity-based green corridor to uplift both national and local economies. He also envisioned a climate research network rooted in North East India to lead studies on the Eastern Himalayan region.
Further, Prof. Lama highlighted the region’s potential as a hub for medical and adventure tourism, while identifying soft power assets such as music, food, sports, entertainment, and youth as key to positioning the North East on the global map. He stressed the need to secure the peace dividend and called for visionary leadership, robust logistics, advanced infrastructure, and a resilient institutional framework to turn these proposals into reality.
The session concluded with active engagement from the audience through questions and comments. Anup Shekhar Chakraborty, Associate Professor in NEHU’s Department of Political Science, delivered the vote of thanks, bringing the programme to a close. The lecture was noted for its depth, clarity, and ambitious scope grounded in practical policy thinking.
