Integration Challenges and the Underdevelopment Dynamics in Northeast India: Insights from the Naga and Zeliangrong Movement Experiences

Abstract

This article argues that the persistent underdevelopment in Northeast India is not solely a consequence of underground insurgent activities, as commonly portrayed in mainstream policy narratives, but is also deeply rooted in the region’s fractured administrative structure and unresolved demands for ethnic integration. The fragmentation of ethnic community/ies across multiple state boundaries through arbitrary state reorganisation, combined with overlapping claims for autonomy, separate statehood or sovereignty, has fuelled identity-based assertions that continuously feed into political unrest and hinder long-term development. These factors, far from being isolated, are entangled in a vicious cycle in which identity movements provoke state security responses, which in turn perpetuate marginalisation, underdevelopment and renewed calls for integration. Through qualitative analysis of cases focusing on Manipur, Nagaland and Assam, this study demonstrates how these dynamics interlock to challenge both national integration and equitable regional development.