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Here it goes-
This region comprises of 8 states –Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. Sikkim is the latest entrant of the North East Council. Arunachal Pradesh is the largest state by landmass and Assam is by population. Hindi and English are the widespread spoken language apart from Assamese being the major language considering the population of Assam. Bengali is also a major language considering the large scale migration of Bengali Speaking people from erstwhile East Bengal and Bangladesh. Why East Bengal, because it was a part of the undivided India. Hindu Migrations before 1971 and after 1971, 95% of migrating pop are muslims. At present, Hindu Migration from Bangladesh is virtually nil. Population of the entire NESA is less than 50 Million ( Assam – 32 Mn, Tripura – 3.7 Mn, Meghalaya - 3 Mn, Manipur – 2.8 Mn, Nagaland – 2 Mn, Arunachal Pradesh - 1.4 Mn, Mizoram – 1.1 Mn and Sikkim – 610000) The unofficial population of the region is much more than that. In my estimates, it is not less than 60 mn and the big difference comes from Assam due to illegal Bangladeshi migrants (Migrations post 1971).
Hinduism is the major Religion followed by Islam, Christianity and Buddhism. Assam, Manipur and Tripura are mainly Hindu Majority States whereas Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland are dominated by Christians. Buddhism is confined to Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. Christianity is making deep inroads to Arunachal Pradesh these days as more and more Arunachalis are getting converted into it due to big grants offered by the missionaries. If the un-official population is considered, Islam is going to be the largest Religion in the region in less than 5 years (Considering continued Illigal Migration and their reproduction rate). They are in majority in at least 6 districts in Assam.
The economy of this part of India is majorly based on Agriculture, Mining and Crude Oil production and refining, Hydel along with Tourism. The region lacks of major industries barring few Refineries and power projects. It is deprived of Private Sector participation. Infra development is also a thrust area though too many projects were sanctioned, but they are on papers. So the region is still under isolation. Employment opportunities are virtually non-existent in corporate sector as the major employer is still the government. Extortion is a booming business in this area and militancy is the considerable occupation for many though they are going through a recession (Joking).
The literacy rate of the region is close to 77% where Tripura and Mizoram are leading the list. Several top- notch institutes are based here – IIT, IIM, NIT, Guwahati and Dibrugarh Medical College to name a few.
Here comes your Look-East Policy. It is not a policy to look the eastern part of India, it is beyond that, Particularly ASEAN and east Asia. First envisaged by Atal Bihari Bajpaee in 2001 and it is 2014 now. It reminds me of the dialogue in Bollywood Film Aurangzeb where Rishi Kapoor Says " Is desh mein sab banta hain par apni rafter se banta hain. Baat yeh hain ki jab banta hain, tab aap iska hissa ho ya nahi ho."
This policy lacks political will and determination to pursue it. Another hurdle is Myanmar (India's Gateway to the east). The east west corridor (Under NHAI from Silchar in Assam to Saurashtra, Gujarat) is still under construction and the revised completion deadline is 2114. How can you look east while you got impaired vision? But the 'silverlining' is the New Govt. High expectations and hope to flourish under the new leadership. Let's conclude it here. You will get thousands of articles in the WWW on North East to get further info.
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