The eight northeastern states that constitute the borderland of India have been the victims of geography, history and politics. It is a land locked region in South Asia like Nepal and Bhutan and had traditional cultural and trading links with the neighboring countries of Southeast Asia. But the normal connectivity with their natural allies were seriously disrupted due to the chequered history of the region full of internecine skirmishes and conflicts jeopardizing trade and people to people exchanges and shrinking their economic space. Reopening, re-visioning and reconstructing various routes can restore the lost connections and open up multiple economic prospects for the entire region. Stilwell Road is one such route, which was built for military purpose during the World War II to connect India’s North-East, Myanmar and China’s southwest. It became neglected over time. But the idea to reopen this lost trail has rejuvenated various enthusiastic groups, who have visions for a better connectivity.
The book is premised on the belief that North-East India’s economic prosperity can be realized through an open door policy. The prospect of reopening the lost trail that connects three nations together can give a boost to the process. But there are also issues connected with security sensitivity which are especially important in the present day context and many other dimensions that have been explored in the volume, fittingly have explained through a number of photographs captured by a team of three scholars, who made a month long journey through this lost trial and had a first hand experience about the people, the road, the trade and the day-to-day life of three nations, India, China and Myanmar, which were once connected through this historical road.
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