India’s far-flung outposts have sensitivities and histories that are different from those imagined on the Indian “Mainland”. The geographic...
India’s far-flung outposts have sensitivities and histories that are different from those imagined on the Indian “Mainland”. The geographic location of the 36-island archipelago of Lakshadweep on the west and the even-more-distant 572-island chain of Andaman and Nicobar Islands on the east affords them unique popular imaginations, possibilities and vulnerabilities.
For Administrators of these outposts, who are appointed by the Union government in Delhi, the foremost responsibility is to align these areas to the national throb of development and progress. But while doing so, they must nuance the overall narrative to ensure that it is in tune with local emotions.
One constant challenge that besets all distant states and Union territories is the seeming emotional distance between them and “Delhi”. The North Eastern border states have historically exemplified that. Removing that oft-inexplicable distance through “inclusive governance” is the task of the Delhi appointees.
In these sensitive areas, history forewarns that top-down unilaterality is the principal cause of popular disaffection.
On the islands, this is reflected in the common expression “islanders versus the Mainlanders”. This sentiment is usually born out of socio-economic considerations that needs to be gently understood and healed, rather than forced or dismissed. Else, such feelings of disengagement could accelerate.
Andaman & Nicobar experience
As I realised when I...
