By – Amar Yumnam
Imphal, July 29:
The absolute non-mentioning of the Northeast (the North Eastern Region of India located beyond the West Bengal in the East and the components of which constitute the Members of the North Eastern Council) as an item of region of focus for investment for development in the recent Budget has definitely caused alarm and expectedly raised concerns by a cross-section of population. The response to this concern by the Chief Minister of Manipur has been alarmingly funny to say the least; I would come to this later.
While discussing the Budget, it is always more rewarding to have a knowledge of the Economic Survey which is usually presented one day ahead of the presentation of the Budget. The Economic Survey indicates how the Government perceives the condition and problems of the economy like. It also gives a clue of what the government might likely come up in the Budget to be presented the next day. That is why we usually see the presentation of the Economic Survey and the Budget as integrated processes reflecting the theoretical framework and the policy interventions being envisaged by the Finance Ministry in particular and the Government in general. In the context of this understanding and the ongoing contradictions mentioned in the first para, let me put forth some things relating to the Northeast in so far as The Economic Survey and the Budget Speech of the Finance Minister.
1. In The Economic Survey presented on 21 July 2024 to Parliament by the Finance Minister the term Northeast appears for the first time in Chapter 5 para 2 (5.2) thus “China, India’s neighbour to the Northeast and a nation of comparable size and population and antiquity of civilization as India…” India’s Foreign Minister, S. Jaishankar, wrote in his recent book titled Why Bharat Matters in the very first chapter thus: “There is no question that this has now become a much tougher world. For India specifically, the going has been far from easy. Many of the larger concerns have impacted it directly. The changed posture of China on the border, in particular, is a major factor in its strategic calculus.” This is now reflected in the varied articulations relating to China in the ongoing Budgetary debates.
2. The second time, it appears in Chapter 5 para 8 (5.8) thus: “It is required to maintain a constant vigil on the border both in the Northwest and in the Northeast.”
3. The third time it appears is in Chapter 13 Footnote No. 15 thus: “Fekete, B. M., Zhang, J. & Chen, M. (2023), Storage requirements to mitigate intermittent renewable energy sources: analysis for the US Northeast Frontiers in Environmental Science, 11, 1076830.”
4. When it comes to the Budget, the Budget Speech of the Finance Minister in Parliament on 22 July 2024, the term Northeast doesn’t appear even once. And so on in the Budget documents.
In this way, the non-attention on the Northeastern Region of the country was already predicted by the logic inherent in the Economic Survey. Here some points are very critical:
A. So far the term of Northeast, beginning with capital letter ‘N’ was being used in the official documents to imply the Northeastern part of the country, but this time it has been used to mean direction of the location of China.
B. The initiatives for growth in the Eastern Part of the country is a very positive one. But what is surprising is that the articulations almost replace the focus which was there on the Northeastern Region and as well coupled by the non-mentioning of the Northeastern Region.
When we combine these two points, the implications are huge. We may have opportunities to come to these issues later. My immediate concern here is with the response the Chief Minister of Manipur gave to the various comments of the public to the absence of any indication of attention to the issues of the Northeastern Region in general and Manipur in particular.
Responding to the comments of the public, the CM said that Manipur got money for the recent floods and hailstorms, and being so no disagreeing comment should be made on the Union Budget 2024 – 2025. This is immediately very disappointing and very alarming. This is very disappointing because the CM does not know the difference between a Budgetary Allocation and a Contingency Grant; in short, he is not aware of what a Budget is. The Budget and the processes for deciding on the various allocations and perspectives accompanying them are Constitutionally very important exercises. This is also a crucial exercise in the Political Economy of a democracy. The lack of understanding of what a Budget is like at the level of the Head of the People implies that the funds of the State are being utilised as per whims and not according to the priorities to bring about speedier transformation of the economy of the State. These disappointing dimensions become very Alarming for, with such a leadership, the Government would be functioning without knowing what a policy is like. Understanding of what a policy is like is important to fully appreciate the contextual realities and deciding on the relevant policies. Deciding on the relevant policies should also be accompanied by the exercise of identifying the strategies for achieving the objectives in the given context. Whimsical statements and bombastic shouting cannot be the policy exercise and guide for the people to perform. This is where Manipur is today with all the critical social crises. In order to sharpen the tragic context of such a poverty of understanding of policy, let me end with a quote from Swati Narayan’s 2023 book titled Unequal: “The differences in the life chances of the rich and the poor, men and women, Brahmins and Doms and, for that matter, Keralites and Biharis, Hindus and Muslims across India are so sharp that, until these inequalities are bridged, it is impossible for the nation as a whole to prosper, let alone be a world leader.”
