Letter from the Editor-in-Chief
The recent boundary dispute between Assam and Nagaland has onceagain brought the subject into focus. It is 
really sad that states arebehaving like countries and in the process innocent lives and propertyof our own people are being lost.
As emphasized in Eastern Panorama’s July issue of 2014 and way back in 1997 in our cover story ‘Cartographic wars in the Northeast’,the sustenance of peace and prosperity in theregion will be possible only if the respective state governments make the border disputes their primary concern. The conflict between the states regarding their actual boundaries is a knotty problem that requires a pre-disposition towards national well-being for its solution.
It is to be noted here that most of the North East states of India were carved out of Assam and at that time there were minor disputes that were not well attended to.The new states were jubilant in their celebrations. As time passed by, the boundary disputes grew between different neighbouring states, each claiming the territory of the other. Not very long ago, Arunachal Pradesh State Home Minister Tanga Byaling claimed that Assam had encroached upon more than 3000 square kilometers of its land.
The Central Government in the process formed many commissions from time to time to solve this issue. There was the Sundaram Commission, S.P. Shukla Commission,Chandrachud Committee, etc. However, none of their suggestions were mutually acceptable and disputes on the conflict continue to dishevel the people of Northeast India. At one point of time Mr. B. K. Nehru, the former Governor of as many as four states of North East India suggested that disputant states should gracefully accept the existing boundaries. The suggestion, however, fell on deaf ears.
The new government must come out with a new approach to solve the issue by taking ground realities into consideration. The region is very sensitive and no state will be willing to concede even an inch to another state. Here comes the big question as to how to solve this predicament? Should centre appoint arbitrators whose decision is binding on all the states?Or maybe a compensation package that is well drafted and is provided as a part of negotiation settlement to solve the issue once and for all. It all needs a detailed examination of the history of the problem and a vision for future development.
Manipur, meanwhile, seems to be battling with bureaucracy with Irom Sharmila getting re-arrested within 48 hours of her release. This lone ranger has been on a continuous fast for the past 14 years demanding the abolition of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA),1958. This colonial era act has seen hundreds of lives lost to indiscriminate retaliation of the armed personnel against militants and insurgents.
In this issue, we continue with our detailed analysis of the Nehruvian regime – his strengths and unwavering objective of integrating the nation with the global scenario. We hope that his dream of making India a world power is realized sooner rather than later.
Lastly, we would like to wish all the teachers and propagators of education throughout the nation a very Happy Guru Utsav.
Dr. K. K. Jhunjhunwala