Peace, Development and Community: The Look East Imagination of India with Special Reference to Northeast India

This book throws light on the objectives of India’s Look East Policy and its transformation during the last twenty-five years. The book clearly identifies the trends in the Look East Imagination of India, particularly the transformation of the Look East Policy into the Act East Policy. The Act East policy has acquired great relevance in the global geostrategic space. Indubitably, it is a pillar of India’s foreign policy, competing with our South Asia policy and our policy towards USA, Russia, China, Japan, the European Union and other Emerging Economies, giving India the necessary space to play its legitimate role as an emerging great power. It is also important to identify that, along with physical connectivity, it is important to encourage the mobility of people in the Northeastern Region of India for the proper implementation of India’s Act East Policy. In other words, the Look East Imagination of India requires a holistic and cross-sectoral plan of action, which brings into consideration the requirements of physical and soft infrastructure, strengthening connectivity, building entrepreneurial skills, and enhancing socio-ethnic ties. This multi-sectoral agenda requires the participation of several stakeholders, most notably the Northeastern States, the private sector and, most importantly, the people of the Northeastern Region. These subjects have been clearly dealt with in this book.