Discussion on Northeast India Resource Frontier and Ecological Margins: Perspectives from Northeast India

Northeast India sits at the intersection of South Asia and Southeast Asia and is a highly contested borderland in terms of resource extraction and development politics. The complex identity politics and fragile ecology of the region adds to the complexities of the region and is often described as a resource frontier, spanning colonial and post-colonial times. The perspectives in this discussion talk come from engaged research in Northeast India on resource governance, identity politics, connectivity, infrastructure and ecological hazards, which can disrupt regional and sub-regional connectivity aspirations of the nation-state and embed disasters for the region’s diverse communities.