Monalisa Changkija
Since the 2000s, there are very few Government and corporate sponsored summits and numerous other events where the potentials of the Northeast haven’t been touted ad nauseam and still persists ~ so great the desperation to sell this region. Potentials of tourism, minerals, waterways, immense human resource and talent thereof, cultural richness ~ well almost everything you can think of that the Northeast houses. But perhaps the most exasperating selling point is “English-speaking youth”. English is Nagaland’s official language, as also of several other neighbouring States and our national language too therefore, no great shakes. Besides, potential investors, tourists or whoever comes to the Northeast for whatever reason would be looking for something more than “English-speaking youth”, wouldn’t they? Anyway, the point is that after more than two decades, the Northeast remains a ‘huge potential’, including the “English-speaking youth”. So, why only a potential till now and for long?
Over almost one and a half decades, we hear the Prime Minister and numerous visiting Central Ministers and other dignitaries referring to this region as the hub or gateway for this or that, perhaps even the epicentre of India’s economic thrust, etc. In brief, the message is that the double-engine Governments will ‘develop’ the Northeast so much that it would be a game-changer ~ but we don’t hear of the “double-engine” very often these days. Anyway, these developments are supposed to be game-changers and we still wait patiently for the game to change.
Undeniably, there is huge infrastructure development and in the fields of education, research, health care, etc. but they are assessable mostly to the advantaged sections of our Northeastern society. The NITI Aayog reports, as also surveys and researches by numerous Government and non-governmental agencies, indicate inequity in the Northeast’s economic, social, infrastructure and numerous indices and generally imbalance in development and growth. This means that the haves are having more and the rich are getting richer and some areas in the Northeast and in individual States are getting more development attention than others. This game-changing ‘development’ accentuates a disparity that is totally paradoxical to the Northeast’s age-old equitable society. If our traditional equity can be restored in today’s post-modern and tech driven environment, the likelihood of a changed game is very real.
In these worthies’ speeches, public uttering and press conferences, certain sectors are made out to be the sole economic savior of individual or all Northeastern States but we know that no one sector is or can be the only driver of economic growth and prosperity. Take for instance tourism. True, the Northeast has the potential to be a world-class eco-tourism destination but it alone cannot be the sole or major revenue earner simply because tourism per se cannot happen in a vacuum; so also any other sector whether agriculture, horticulture, IT, mineral development, tea, coffee, etc. All economic sectors and activities require feasible and informed policies, adequate funding and utilization thereof under stringent supervision, smooth communication and transport systems, safe, secure, well furnished and well-connected accommodation, smooth information flow and a quality service sector, etc. Besides with drastic climate change, tourism, as is widely understood, must adapt to unforeseen eventualities, an increasing number of which we are seeing in Sikkim, Thailand and so many other established tourist destinations. Political upheavals also impact tourism ~ Manipur is a good example.
To be economically viable, this sector is dependent on over-all infrastructure, service and numerous other developments, which are sorely inadequate in the Northeast. Moreover, while the Northeast is known for our incomparable warmth and hospitality, we still lack the tourism culture starting with viewing tourists as guests to our homes and not revenue-earning sources. Tourism, as also other sectors, is also dependent on political perceptions, perspectives, prejudices, pets and peeves. In Nagaland, tourism is overly Kohima-centric. If a few tourism spots have been developed to a certain extent, it is despite the Government, not because of the Government. In districts like Mokokchung and Phek and some others, a few tourism activities can be mainly attributed to private efforts. A couple of years ago, the State Government started including traditional tribal festivals round the year as a part the State annual tourism calendar with funds and publicity. They are yet to attract the kind of foreign and domestic tourist footfalls and media attention the Government expected ~ and certainly incomparable to the Hornbill Festival. If Central and Northeast State Governments are serious about transforming tourism, while also conserving our environment, in this region, from a potential to a serious revenue and employment generating sector, they would need to make organic policies, plans, projects and programmes ~ not import parts and bit of policies and practices from the four corners of the world.
Recently, Nagaland Tourism Minister announced a Rs. 250-crore proposal to develop Dzukou valley into a world class ecotourism destination with an eco-friendly luxury hotel and tourist facilities. This is certainly not organic thinking and planning but an imported and imitative project that would devastate this pristine valley and cause environmental catastrophe in the entire area. This is the exact type of mentality that Nagaland and the Northeast doesn’t need since ours is an ecologically sensitive zone. Tourism in the hands of corporate-friendly policy-making buttressed by myopic visions of short-term and tenured monetary gains augurs badly because after us will come the future generations who have the right to Nature’s beauty and bounty.
Perhaps a reason why tourism in Nagaland, even in Kohima itself, remains a potential could be explained by a recent research report. The Urbaltour Project, a joint initiative of The Highland Institute, Kohima, and the French Institute of Pondicherry examines the intersection of urban and tourism development in mountainous regions across South and Southeast Asia, has called for sustainable tourism strategy for Kohima highlighting the city’s heavy dependence on the Hornbill Festival and underscored the need to develop year-round tourism. While studying mapped tourism growth, it identified several challenges and inequalities. The findings revealed a tourism sector that is currently highly seasonal, fragmented and burdened by infrastructure and service quality issues during peak period. The Report emphasizes that while Kohima possesses strong cultural and natural assets its reliance on the annual Hornbill Festival is hindering year-long economic benefits and placing undue strain on the city. Its recommendations are several: some areas related to infrastructure development in water, waste and traffic management and building local capacity.
It appears that we would have to live with the State Government’s obsessive attention on the Hornbill Festival even if this 10-day Festival robs the whole of Nagaland from its potential to be a world class ecotourism destination. Such obsessions on a few events, programmes and projects could be the reason why Nagaland and probably few other Northeastern States remain potentials, which in turn further centre-stages this region’s imbalanced development and growth. The game would change only when this imbalance is addressed and redressed.
(The Columnist is a Dimapur-based veteran journalist, poet and former Editor of Nagaland Page. Published in the November 25, 2025 issue of Northeast Now)
