This is part 1 in a series written by IDEX Executive Director, Rajasvini (Vini) Bhansali, on her recent trip to Northeastern states of India – where IDEX has recently expanded – to meet with potential catalyst grantees.
Geographically isolated from mainland India and socioeconomically neglected by development agencies and the government, the Northeastern states are experiencing tremendous crises rooted in militarization, land distribution, climate change, migration, displacement, political differences and violence. These states are some of the poorest in India, but they also have many communities working on sustainable livelihood development, women’s empowerment and environmental resource management.
Map of Indian States - North Eastern States Colored Red
When you drive into Imphal town, the capital of Manipur, from the airport, the first thing that catches your attention is the heavy duty military presence everywhere, followed by long lines of cars, scooters, motorcycles and mopeds waiting for fuel. Gas prices are triple that of the national average.
There is a blockade underway and this means that people with vehicles must line up 24 hours in advance to purchase overpriced allocations of 10 liters to keep their lives moving. Last year, schools and colleges closed for over 6 months. Many bright young men and women saw their future aspirations diminish with each passing day.
This is Manipur, a state of 2 million people with few opportunities for young men and women, and at least one gun killing a day. Every person that I have met has lost a loved one in the last decade to armed violence. Manipur is one of the seven states in India’s northeast located near the Indo-Burma border. The others are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
50 years of a protracted armed conflict has left over 500,000 people dead and many more injured in this region. In 2007 alone, more than 400 people lost their lives to gun violence. There are at least 72 insurgent groups in the Northeast with more than 30 just in Manipur. This region has over 220 indigenous groups and 160 scheduled tribes in an area of 225,037 square kilometers. Geographically isolated from mainland India and socioeconomically neglected by development agencies and the state, the Northeastern states are experiencing tremendous crises rooted in militarization, land distribution, climate change, migration, displacement, political differences and violence.
In spite of this, there is a robust civil society working to counter the neglect from the Indian government, poverty, and the fear of violence. The northeastern states are some of the poorest in India, but they also have many communities working on sustainable livelihood development, women’s empowerment and better environmental resource management.
Because of this, IDEX has selected the region to explore grassroots organizations that could potentially become catalyst grantees. Already I have meetings arranged with a number of groups working on the key development issues in the area. I look forward to sharing this work with you.
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