The inauguration of the Dimapur –Zubza rail link on Aug 1 ushers in one of the biggest developmental project in the state since statehood for a state that somehow failed in the infrastructural aspects though the state was created out of a special arrangement. The state of Nagaland was inaugurated on Dec 1, 1963 as the sixteenth state of India after prolonged and heated debate in the then Lok Sabha. Some accused Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru of applying a policy of ‘appeasement in respect of the Nagas’. Some feared that such a step will lead to the disintegration of India as more and more people will demand states on similar lines. When the bill was tabled for discussion Nehru informed the house that the creation of Nagaland state would be a right step in ‘consolidating and integrating the people of India having different cultures, languages and social backgrounds’. The tabling of the two Bills, the Constitutional Amendment Bill 1962 and the Nagaland Bill 1962 in the Lok Sabha to make Nagaland a full-fledged state was the result of the signing of the 16 point agreement between the Naga delegation represented by the Naga Peoples Convention and the government of India in 1960. Therefore the newly created state along with other special rights it was also to have more aid from the centre on the economic and developmental aspects.
Though the creation of the state did not bring permanent peace in the land the government of India also has been found wanting in the genuineness of approach taken to take all on board as envisaged when the state was created. Over the years the financial aid to the state has been on the decrease and there was no genuine effort to improve the connectivity of the state. All the existing works on the rail and air connectivity seems to be based more on the military strategy of the country. The ease of travel for people from the state and the tourists is yet to be fulfilled.
As a matter of fact, the only airport in the state was built before the Independence of India by the then British rulers. The only railhead in the state is also an inheritance from the time of the British. The most strategic road between Dimapur and Kohima that connects Imphal the capital of Manipur and runs till the border town of Moreh was also built during the time of the British, except for widening at later stages. It took the previous government ten years to clear the four-lane project of this same road, coincidentally just before the last Lok Sabha elections. Likewise most of the major roads in the state were already present since the time of the statehood.
The proposal for other railheads in places like Tuli and Tizit has also run into rough waters. The failure of the Tuli paper mill has left the rail link to Tuli as not economically viable at present. The rail link from Dimapur-Tizit is yet to be cleared by the centre and the alignment has to go through the hilly terrain since the state on its inauguration inherited a border-dispute with Assam that has failed to resolve even in the last 50 years.
In a shrinking world India was a bit late to realise that South East Asia was an emerging market just like South Asia including India itself is one. India failed to see earlier that all eyes were directed to this part of the world. There was a delay and so the hurried nature of the government to resolve the conflicts in the North East region. As the wise say better late than never, Nagas also need to take this opportunity to become global citizens. The present project may seem to be more ornamental if only looked at through the eyes of the present set up. However in the long run it is expected to boost the economic activity in capital Kohima as the rail head will usher in faster mobility of workforce, cheaper travel from the plains, quicker and increased movement of freight etc. The state government only has to ensure that there are no road blocks to the project and make this as a new beginning, a success story after series of failures over the years.
