Introduction

Abstract

The present volume embarks on an exploration of North-East India, a region lying on the crossroads between India and Southeast Asia. As the title of the book suggests, it discusses the land of the region with all its physical attributes, the people of the region with their distribution, ethnic and cultural traits and the economy of the region in a historical as well contemporary context. Divided into 20 chapters – some long, some short and some unseemly long – the text starts with giving the readers a glimpse of the region’s past and ends with evaluating the socio-economic achievements of the region. Since space and distribution are involved, the volume carries many illustrations, including maps and photographs that offer a visual spot contact with the region.

The part of the book titled ‘The Land’ looks at the structural base of the area, in a geological sense, the physical relief, the climate and the vegetation cover with a short note on the region’s biodiversity. The readers may find in the appendix a list of wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, meant to save the precious natural heritage of the region. Subjected as the region is to frequent floods and seismic tremors, there is a brief analytical account of natural hazards. The indigenous people of the North-East region who account for 27 % of its population form the most tangled, yet most interesting, section of the book, and the important among them are discussed in brief showing their distribution on maps. Population and migration have claimed a large space in the book in view of perpetual problem of illegal immigration in the region, particularly Assam. Agriculture, industrial development and the importance of transport, in the region, have been evaluated objectively. The book concludes with an evaluation of the socio-economic achievements of the region and an epilogue, which broadly records the reflections of the authors on the region. The book is intended for scholars as well as others interested in the region. It is not a research monograph but a comprehensive text that provides information on different aspects of the region and different facets of the social life of its people.