There’s a lot in a name: Use of the term ‘northeast’ doesn’t do justice to the complex history of the region’s states

Source– The post is based on the article “There’s a lot in a name: Use of the term ‘northeast’ doesn’t do justice to the complex history of the region’s states” published in The Indian Express on 4th February 2023.

Syllabus: GS1- Regionalism

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News– The article explains the issues related to use of term northeast for extreme eastern parts of country

What is the meaning of the term northeast?

It is a metaphor used to describe the complex, rich and heterogeneous area in India’s eastern extreme.

The identity of the northeast is shaped primarily by its oppositional relationship with other parts of the country. The term remains a shorthand for Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.

The “backward”, “underdeveloped”, “culturally isolated”, or “historically distant” are used to mark its distinctiveness from other parts of the country.

It is further reinforced through exclusive region-wide planning bodies, separate ministries and region-specific area studies centres.

What is the history associated with the region?

In its colonial origins, the northeast was a frontier inhabited by the wild peoples of farther India who are culturally outside Bharat.

The adoption of the term by independent India was the recognition of its conflict-mediating and order-keeping functions in a politically unsettled region. After 75 years of independence, there is no shift in our understanding of the term.

What are issues with the use of the term northeast?

There is no agreement on what unifies the constituents of the northeast. There is no single criterion of culture, language, religion, ecology, economy, or agriculture that unifies the region. Yet, it is treated as a distinctive cultural zone.

Its use has generated complex images, assumptions, beliefs and cultural justifications about the region and its peoples.

It essentializes the history and identity of the various states and their peoples. They are considered unique and incomparable.

The continued use of the term distorts its constituent states’ complex social and cultural environment and their deep historical links with other parts of the country.

It misrepresents the political, cultural and historical richness of the individual states.