The story about India’s Northeast has long gone round in circles. It has all been about death and destruction caused by violent ethnic militancies and the counter-violence by the State. Worse, governments and the people there seem to accept the violence and the hopelessness as part of their lives. It would, therefore, be naïve to expect a special event in New York to trigger a set of big changes for the region. The least that the leaders from the region can hope to achieve from such an event is that it will help change attitudes to the Northeast. The event, jointly planned by the Union ministry for overseas Indian affairs and the Confederation of Indian Industry in New York later this month, aims to lure Americans to investments and tourism in the Northeast. That the chief ministers of all the states of the region, except Tripura, are expected to attend it would suggest that they attach much importance to it. The Centre too will have high-level representatives like Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, and the secretary of the ministry for the region. The most important task for the Indian leaders and officials will be to convince their American audience that they can look beyond the politics of the day and work on a realistic strategy for the region’s future.

Uneven economic development is a problem in most parts of India. But the isolation of the Northeast is not merely geographical. True, the secessionist movements have taken their toll on the region’s economy. But New Delhi’s policies also kept the region away from the mainstream of development. The region’s proximity to Bangladesh, Myanmar and China has long prompted the Centre to think of the region in terms of security strategies alone. If roads and other infrastructure have been built, the security concerns, rather than the economy, have been the motivation. Given the history of hostile activities by some of India’s neighbours, the importance of security measures in the region cannot be overstated. But such measures anywhere in the country can work better if they also help change the people’s lives. In other words, the Northeast has been kept closed for too long. The event in New York can be meaningful if it throws the region open to the new economy. A wave of economic enterprise alone can free the Northeast from the vicious cycle of violence and deprivation.