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Long Abstract
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The Northeastern region (hereby NE) of India is conveniently depicted as a homogeneous unit often dispelling its social, cultural, ethnic and ecological diversity. It has not yet found a center stage in the political mapping of independent India, and that has resulted in the decades long economic, political and cultural alienation. Constituted in this manner, NE became a region of many political mobilizations and ‘conflicts’ often conflating with certain practices of mainstream India. The panel seeks research papers that critically look at approaches opted by the Indian state as part of development of communication infrastructure in the region. The Look East Policy of the Indian state aims to foster infrastructural developments in the region at an unprecedented scale. The panel seeks papers from scholars working on infrastructural development, territorial expansion and network building in the NE region under ‘special’ policies and schemes and how they are intertwined with growing aspiration to bolster India’s standing as a regional power.
However, in the top-down approach of creating infrastructure in the region, how lived realities of those inhabiting the region are often overlooked and in turn creating inequalities? Located in the eastern Himalayas, NE is a vast landscape with hills, rivers, valleys and plateaus sharing a greater biodiversity. It is also an ecologically sensitive zone which witness regular natural calamities in various parts of NE caused by flood, earthquakes etc. The panel also focuses on developmental activities and its impact on the people inhabiting both hills and valleys. The land acquisitions for big projects, the damming of rivers for Hydro electrical projects have large ecological as well as social ramifications. The panel aims to encapsulate how various groups and
communities of the Northeastern region who historically have distinct practices are currently experiencing issues related to environment, development and infrastructure.
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