The Northeast bore the brunt of the horribly miscalculated 1962 war with China, which resulted in many problems. While losing territory to China was one of them, the deep-rooted emotional scars and alienation of the Northeast due to repeated neglect by successive central governments was tougher to heal.
After prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had made a sincere attempt to bridge the divide between the Northeast and the rest of India during his tenure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first to take the task of uplifting the Northeast with a rare visionary zeal with his Act East Policy. Ten years later, the results are all too visible.
Seamless road connectivity, umpteen new airports and vast swathes of new railway tracks across hitherto unconnected areas have changed the way one travels across the Northeast. The incredible dip in insurgency and resolution of inter-state rivalry has created an atmosphere of peace and tranquility, resulting in unprecedented tourist footfall and an upsurge in the local economy. This transformation ought to be witnessed personally to understand what political willpower can achieve.
‘Modi’s Northeast Story’ brings together contributors who have been at the forefront of ushering in this change or have witnessed it unfolding from very close quarters, including Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Union minister of earth sciences Kiren Rijiju, Union minister of state for road transport & highways and civil aviation General V.K. Singh (Retd); MPs S. Phangnon Konyak and Tejasvi Surya; author and anthropologist Rami Desai; among others.
With a foreword by BJP president J.P. Nadda, ‘Modi’s Northeast Story’ is a one-of-a-kind anthology that documents the transformation of India’s northeastern states since 2014.
In the words of Hardeep S. Puri, Union minister of petroleum and natural gas and housing and urban affairs, “Modi’s Northeast Story’ not only captures the development journey of the northeast but also paints a vivid portrait of the rich cultural legacy of the region itself as well as the unyielding resilience and positivity of its people,”
One of the editors, Tuhin A. Sinha is a best-selling author, columnist, and currently a national spokesperson of the BJP. The other editor, Aditya Pittie, is an experienced entrepreneur, angel investor and the past president of the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation (EO) and convenor (Western Maharashtra) of the BJP intellectual cell.
