Understanding idea of NE : More than an idea
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 07 2019 -

Idea of North East. Is it just an idea which needs to be further explored or is the North East a reality, stemming from an idea?

These are questions that come to mind when one looks back at the academic discourse held on May 5 at Hotel Imphal with Nagaland Governor PB Acharya as the chief guest.

Moreover does the idea of a North East rest on the theme of peace and development or does it go beyond that and speaks of one's identity.

Moreover, does the understanding of the North East refer to a geographical entity sans its political implications?

In other words, can the North East be understood as just a geographical entity without an inference to its political reality?

These are questions that need further studies for to many who were born and brought in the North East region, the North East will be more than a geographical entity for no region can be understood sans its people.

And when one talks about the North East should it be understood as one distinct geo-political reality or does it need to go beyond the geographical understanding encompassing the different people inhabiting the region?

These are questions which can be dealt at the academic level, political level and more importantly at the social level.

When one talks about South India, one is talking more than just the region that comes to the south of the Vindhya range but about the people residing in that part of the country.

This is the thumb rule which should not be forgotten in the hurry to view all as one single entity.

The one day discourse was welcome and hopefully it should go some way in demolishing many of the misconceptions that people may have about the region and this is where it becomes pertinent to stress that it would have helped if the said discourse had been held at say Delhi University, JNU or IIT Delhi or even AIIMS, Delhi.

One hopes it does not stop with the one day academic discourse but comes up with a second chapter.

Exploring the idea of North East should ideally be held in other parts of the country so that young minds can understand the finer nuances of what the North East stands for and the people who inhabit this region.

In as much as the North East is a geographical reality, it should also be understood as a region comprising different people, each having their own histories, cultures and traditions.

This is where everyone need to come around to the idea that the history of each people is unique is their own way and no one's history is more unique than the others.

This is the beauty of history and the North East does not lack this beauty.

However, it also remains that one cannot go on feeding off one's history but have to script their own history and this is where a closer look to understand the North East region and its people, representing different cultures is called for.

This should be the starting block for understanding the idea of North East.