India\'s Foreign Policy Towards South Asia: Relevance of North East India

Contents: Preface. 1. South Asia : an introduction. 2. India’s foreign policy towards South Asia: an overview. 3. SAARC: its evolution, objectives, constraints/challenges and prospects. 4. North East India: social, political, economic and security perspectives. 5. Relevance of India’s foreign policy for North East region: political, economic and security. 6. Conclusion: findings and suggestions. Appendices. Bibliography.

India’s foreign policy’s approach to integrate the North East region with our neighbours does pose various challenges on account of illegal migration, drug trafficking, illegal trade, trade in narcotics and arms trafficking and insurgency related problems impacting decisively the political and security scenario of the region in particular and socio-economic and cultural fabric of the people of the region in general and thus threatening India’s security and strategic interests.  North-East India that comprises of eight states today namely, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura is relevant both strategically as well as economically from the perspective of Indian foreign policy. The region shares territorial contiguity and cultural, ethnic, linguistic commonalities with South Asian neighbours Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal in particular. For example, the region shares 98% of its border with Bangladesh adjoining with Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura, Bhutan borders with Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. Nepal is adjoined to Sikkim. (jacket)