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23 August 2024 at 9:59:04 pm

Hidden Questions

For six years, the Disha Salian case has remained trapped in a fog of unanswered questions, disputed narratives and institutional inaction. It appears that the fog is now finally beginning to lift. The CBI’s recent FIR has brought into the investigation a startling array of names including Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MLA Aaditya Thackeray, his father, Sena (UBT) chief and former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Dino Morea, Sooraj Pancholi, Rhea Chakraborty, Sachin Vaze, Param Bir Singh, and...

Hidden Questions

For six years, the Disha Salian case has remained trapped in a fog of unanswered questions, disputed narratives and institutional inaction. It appears that the fog is now finally beginning to lift. The CBI’s recent FIR has brought into the investigation a startling array of names including Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MLA Aaditya Thackeray, his father, Sena (UBT) chief and former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Dino Morea, Sooraj Pancholi, Rhea Chakraborty, Sachin Vaze, Param Bir Singh, and former home minister Anil Deshmukh. The allegations being investigated include conspiracy, destruction or suppression of evidence and an alleged attempt to establish a false narrative around Salian’s death. For Aaditya and the MVA, the instinctive political response will be to dub the CBI’s fresh probe as ‘vendetta’ and portray the investigation as an assault on the Thackeray family. But such a response would evade the much larger question of why this case was allowed to remain where it was for so long? At the very least, the filing of the FIR against the Thackerays’ and others lays bare the failure on part of the erstwhile MVA government headed by Uddhav Thackeray to properly investigate the case. This aspect cannot be wished away now by invoking political persecution as the Bombay High Court’s intervention has itself exposed the extraordinary manner in which the matter was handled. For years, Salian’s death remained an accidental-death case rather than being subjected to the kind of criminal investigation demanded by the allegations surrounding it. Her family has repeatedly sought a CBI probe only to be rebuffed by the previous Maharashtra government headed by Uddhav Thackeray. If the Thackeray-led MVA government had nothing to fear, why was a transparent investigation not pursued with greater urgency? If there was no attempt to protect anyone, why were questions about the circumstances of Salian’s death allowed to accumulate rather than being conclusively answered? And if there was no political sensitivity involved, why did the machinery of government appear so reluctant to let an independent agency examine the matter? The more aggressively the Opposition cries “vendetta,” the more obvious another question becomes: what exactly is it afraid the investigation might uncover? Aaditya Thackeray’s political inheritance cannot become an institutional exemption. Being Balasaheb Thackeray’s grandson may provide a formidable political surname; it cannot provide immunity from scrutiny. The CBI must be allowed to pursue every lead, examine every witness, reconstruct every missing link and establish the truth as to what happened to Disha Salian. If the allegations against anyone are false, the investigation should establish that too. But if wrongdoing has occurred, then those responsible must face the consequences. After six years, neither political power nor a famous surname can be allowed to stand between the investigation and the truth.

From Frontier to Gateway

Writer: Archita Gaur
Archita Gaur
Jul 26
4 min read

Northeast India’s geography and proximity to ASEAN could make it the missing link in India’s bid to become a global manufacturing alternative to China

 The global search for more resilient supply chains has placed India at the centre of the China+1 strategy, with multinational companies increasingly looking to diversify manufacturing and sourcing beyond China. Yet, one crucial dimension of this strategy remains overlooked: India’s Northeast. Although much is made of western ports, industrial corridors and metropolitan manufacturing centres when India’s economic rise is discussed, the potential for the country’s eastern frontier to reshape its geoeconomic future is underestimated.


ASEAN is among India’s largest trading partners, with bilateral trade exceeding USD 120 billion in recent years. Situated at the intersection of South and Southeast Asia, the Northeast is central to India’s Act East Policy and its engagement with ASEAN. But connectivity projects will not open that up on their own. The challenge lies in turning this strategic frontier into an economic gateway for trade and regional value chains. As global supply chains are being redesigned and economic geography assumes renewed strategic importance, the success of India’s Act East Policy may depend less on diplomacy abroad and more on economic reforms at home.


New Geoeconomics

Increasing geopolitical tensions, the disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, and growing concerns about supply chain vulnerabilities have led nations and corporations to reconsider their reliance on concentrated production networks. The result has been the emergence of strategies such as China+1, “friend-shoring” and supply chain diversification, all of which seek to reconcile economic efficiency with strategic resilience.


For India, this transformation presents a rare strategic opportunity. Government initiatives such as the PLI scheme, logistics investments and new trade agreements aim to position India as a credible manufacturing partner. However, the success of these efforts depends on more than industrial policy alone. As global value chains become increasingly regionalized, geography and connectivity have re-emerged as decisive determinants of economic competitiveness.


This changing geoeconomic reality demands a review of India’s own strategic geography. Although the focus has largely been on the western part of the country where ports and industrial corridors stretch, India’s eastern frontier presents an equally compelling opportunity. Lying at the crossroads of South and Southeast Asia, the Northeastern region has the potential to emerge as a key nodal point connecting India’s manufacturing aspirations with the burgeoning markets of ASEAN.


The Northeast shares over 98 percent of its borders with neighbouring countries, while remaining connected to the rest of India through the narrow Siliguri Corridor. Few regions in India possess such a unique location, yet few have remained as economically underutilised.


Economic Gateway

For most of its postcolonial history, India’s Northeast has primarily been seen through the lens of national security. This security-first perspective has overshadowed the region’s economic potential. Linked to the Indian mainland by the narrow Siliguri Corridor and sharing international borders with Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Nepal, the area has long been seen as a vulnerable frontier requiring strict strategic vigilance. As a result, discussions over the Northeast have largely centred on border security and insurgency.


However, the evolving geoeconomic environment calls for a more fundamental shift in this perspective. Rather than viewing the Northeast merely as a buffer at the periphery of India, it should be viewed as a gateway to Southeast Asia. The region’s proximity to ASEAN markets offers India a natural strategic advantage in advancing its Act East Policy while boosting regional trade and pushing for supply chain integration.


Connectivity projects like the India–Myanmar–Thailand Trilateral Highway, the Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project, and improved multimodal connectivity via Bangladesh are not merely infrastructure projects; they represent the foundations of a broader geoeconomic strategy. Together, these initiatives can integrate the Northeast into regional production networks and help the region emerge as a logistics and manufacturing hub by reducing logistics costs, opening up new markets, and making cross-border movement of goods easier.


Yet, geography alone does not create economic opportunities. The strategic location of the Northeast, therefore, can generate sustained economic gains only if connectivity is accompanied by efficient border management, trade facilitation, industrial investment and enhanced institutional coordination. Putting it differently, roads may link countries, but only markets, industries, and policies can produce lasting economic integration.


India has already laid down much of the physical infrastructure required to connect Northeast India with Southeast Asia. The challenge is to make these corridors evolve into thriving economic ecosystems rather than remain isolated infrastructure projects. That requires complementing connectivity with trade facilitation, integrated logistics parks, efficient customs procedures and industrial clusters that can take part in regional value chains.


Bangladesh, in particular, will play a pivotal role. Better access to ports such as Chattogram and Mongla, enhanced inland waterway connectivity, and deeper cooperation within the BBIN framework would go a long way towards reducing logistics costs and improving market access for businesses in the Northeast. At the same time, the strengthening of border haats, promotion of private investment, and establishment of export-oriented industries aligned with the region’s comparative advantage, from agro-processing and bamboo products to handicrafts, and light manufacturing, can generate sustainable economic opportunities. Bangladesh is perhaps India’s most important partner in unlocking the Northeast’s economic potential.


Ultimately, the success of India’s Act East Policy will not be measured solely by how many connectivity projects are executed or how many diplomatic engagements are undertaken. It will be judged by whether the Northeast can develop as a vibrant economic bridge between India and Southeast Asia. For years, India has viewed the Northeast as the edge of the country. In the coming decades, India’s success may well depend on recognising the Northeast as India’s gateway to Asia.


(The writer is an economics postgraduate from Jawaharlal Nehru University with research interests in economic policy, trade and global governance. Views personal.)

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