And therein lies the problem. The "cohesive nationality formation process", IMHO, is a horse that has been running backwards for a long time. It has to stop and start getting to run forward.
In the NE, there are different strains of nationalities getting formed. One is the elusive "cohesive nationality" of the NE, many others of the individual ethnic groups. And yet another is about closer identification with India. That has got to do with the desire to get economic aspirations being met as in elsewhere in India. This is coming about as economic might increases and a pan-Indian cultural machine bears down - no wonder our "boys" are so worried about the cultural influence of India even as they take it upon themselves to decide what culture people should consume. The question is which of all these "nationalities" have the better likelihood of winning out. Historical opportunities for nation building might not be events such as WWIII. It could also be others - more down to earth in nature - such as the roads linking mainland India with South East Asia. These events will take nation building in the NE in a different direction than being discussed here. This nationality building thing is open house. Yet. A more federal structure in India (or even independence from it), IMHO, will not come about because of the armed insurrection of the likes of ULFA. In fact, in the current context of India, these groups have a likelihood, at best, of being mere spectators. It will come about because different regions of India were lucky enough to marshall their resources and their leadership in constructive directions. It is here that we are different from the likes of China or Turkey in how we have, perhaps inadvertently, chanced upon development. Gujarat today has a 15% growth rate and attracts 85% of FDI into India. As Gujarat and other states primarily in the south continue their inexorable push towards economic prosperity, they might soon realize their resources are being sunk into the Northern Indian states caught in a timewarp without any hope of recouping their investments. Sooner or later, they will want their piece of power. And given their economic strength they will be in a far better position to wrest that. The likelihood that India will indeed move forward towards a federal structure is very high. Unfortunately, at this point, I don't believe, we in the NE, with our various nation building processes, are playing any part in it. > now. To take advantage of historical opportunities > (like your third world war), one needs to have a > strong civil movement at the grassroot level - a > cohesive nationality formation process. That is much > harder than armed insurrection. > Santanu. > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
