If development means the influx of plainsmen and bureaucratic controls, it won’t meet the young Manipuri student’s grumble that India is leapfrogging the north-east to reach south-east Asia. But direct participation in the Look East policy might mitigate the region’s feeling of neglect. Even if Assam, say, can’t establish a trade office in Bangkok, like Western Australia in Mumbai, it can have a role in India’s south-east Asian diplomacy.

<p><table width='100%' border=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td style='FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 18px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: #0253B7;'><B>Sunanda K Datta-Ray:</B> East by north-east</td></tr><tr><tr><td style='FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 11px; '>The north-east can have a vital role to play in India

<b>Sunanda K Datta-Ray:</b> East by north-east

The north-east can have a vital role to play in Indias south-east Asian diplomacy

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