Page 2 of 2 Political obstacles on the road to
riches By Sudha Ramachandran
route that migrants from Southeast
Asia used to travel to India's northeast.
Sixty-five years ago, those constructing
the Stilwell Road battled against a treacherous
terrain. They had to contend with thick forests,
steep gradients and hairpin curves, and they had
few data regarding topography, soil, etc ahead of
construction. Such data were acquired as
construction of the road proceeded.
While
constructing the road was physically daunting and
complex, its builders did not
have to contend with the kind of political
complexities and inflexible bureaucracies that the
reopening of the road is now up against.
Relations between India and China, which
have been hostile for decades, have only in recent
years begun to warm slowly. India's relations with
Myanmar have also not been warm. While the
business sectors in China, Myanmar and India have
been enthusiastic about the opening up of the
Stilwell Road, bureaucracies in all three
countries have stood in the way.
Of the
three, it is China that has pursued the idea of
reopening the Stilwell Road with diligence. It has
gone about repairing and reconstructing its
stretch of the road energetically and has in fact
already transformed this into a modern six-lane
expressway. Chinese officials have also been
persistent in their lobbying of officials in
Indian and Myanmar officials to get them to repair
the road and open it up for trade.
India's
verbal enthusiasm over the Stilwell Road project
has not been matched with action on the ground.
Delhi has dragged its feet. An opinion widely
articulated across the northeast is that New Delhi
is the biggest obstacle in the way of reopening
the Stilwell Road.
Officials in New Delhi
say India has security concerns. The northeast is
an insurgency-racked region and there are "valid
fears" that the road would facilitate movement of
insurgents, arms and drugs. Then there is the
concern that reopening the road would result in
the Chinese swamping the northeast with cheap
goods, undermining the local economy.
These concerns are roundly rejected by
northeasterners as "unfounded".
"The
Stilwell Road is not a one-way street where only
Chinese goods can come here," said an Assamese
businessman, pointing out that India too can flood
the Chinese market with its goods. Besides, "Why
should the northeast be denied access to cheaper
Chinese goods?" he asked.
As for the
security concerns, Barooah said that as in other
parts of India where roads are used by all kinds
of people, including criminals and insurgents,
this will happen in the northeast as well, "but we
cannot stop building roads fearing antisocial
elements or insurgents will use them". He said
improving road connectivity near the borders would
in fact enhance India's security, not undermine
it, as these roads would facilitate movement of
security forces as well.
Those in Delhi
who doubt the Stilwell Road's potential for
transforming trade point out that another road
linking India with China that was reopened last
year for trade has not met expectations. The road
via the Nathu La Pass, which connects Sikkim with
the Tibet Autonomous Region, has been a bit of a
disappointment, with only 13 Indian traders and 29
business people from Tibet participating in trade.
But business people in the northeast say
the road through Nathu La cannot be compared to
the Stilwell Road as the former runs through
largely uninhabited regions.
Of the three
countries through which the Stilwell Road runs, it
is Myanmar that is the linchpin of the project.
Without its consent, the plan to link Ledo with
Kunming by road is a non-starter. Unfortunately,
it is Myanmar that has resisted the reopening of
the Stilwell Road the most. This is partly because
of the military junta's traditional wariness of
opening the country to outsiders. Besides, the
road runs through territory controlled by Kachin
rebels.
What is somewhat heartening is
that the three countries are repairing the parts
of the road that run across their territory.
China's segment has been upgraded, India's small
stretch is being fixed and China is said to be
pitching in to renovate the long stretches in
Myanmar. Once the road is repaired, its supporters
hope the issue of reopening it will be dealt with.
Reopening of the road has the full support of
influential people including academics, retired
civil and military officials, and public figures.
Although mindsets at the official level
remain an obstacle, the Stilwell Road could well
become the road to riches for all three countries'
impoverished regions.
Sudha
Ramachandran is an independent
journalist/researcher based in Bangalore.
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