Navigating East: Exploring Northeast India’s Perspective on the Look (Act) East Policy

Abstract

The early 1990s witnessed a strategic shift in India’s foreign policy with the introduction of the Look (Act) East Policy. The policy was conceptualised originally to meet the challenges of the post-Cold War world politics. The idea that Northeast India can develop in the process of the implementation of the policy and can be a gateway to South East Asia was realised rather late in the early part of the twenty-first century. Since then, the expectations around the Look (Act) East Policy have been remarkable. The change in nomenclature as ‘Act East’ in 2014 has further strengthened the hope about the potential impact of the policy in Northeast India. However, without addressing the issues of concern within Northeast India and cultivating sufficient local resources, it remains impossible for the states in the Northeast to abruptly hope for redemption across the mountains from Southeast Asia. Against this backdrop, the present study aims to comprehend the implications of the policy for Northeast India, evaluates the prospect of participation of the North-Eastern states and examines the perspective of the locals on the basis of primary data collected for the study.