NEW DELHI – The representation of Muslims in governments and administrations in the eight northeastern states, namely Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, and Sikkim. These states are home to 3.76-plus percent of India’s population and have a combined GDP of Rs7,835 billion.
With a unique Himalayan landscape, the region constitutes 7.97 percent of the country’s total geographical area, and close to one-fourth of India’s forest cover. Most of the 89 lakh Muslims in the region are in Assam, the third-highest percentage of the Muslim population in the country. As per the Census 2011, Muslims in the region account for 25.36 percent against the national norm of 14.23 percent, according to a new book, Muslims in India – 1947-2024 – Fake Narratives Versus Ground Realities.
Assam has a significantly high proportion of Muslims at 34.22%, followed by Tripura (8.60%), Manipur (8.40%), Meghalaya (4.40%), Arunachal Pradesh (1.95 %) and Mizoram (1.35%). Muslims in Sikkim account for 1.62 percent of the total population or about 9,870 people. Muslims in Nagaland are over 48,000 or 2.47 percent of the total population. Three states have majority Christian populations – Nagaland (90%), Mizoram (87%), and Meghalaya (70%).
The region, connected to five countries – Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, and Nepal by a 4,500-kilometre international border, had a total population of around 45.5 million, very sparsely populated compared to the other states. Assam and Tripura are the most densely populated states while Arunachal Pradesh is the least densely populated. Over 64 percent of the land area in the region is forested. With a few exceptions, the region continues to be mired in acute under-development and staggering levels of poverty. Its economy faces challenges including poor infrastructure, low productivity, limited market access, a narrow industrial base, and slowly improving connectivity.
The region has been facing increasing challenges and pressures emanating from its ethnic diversity, ethnonationalism, and disturbing socio-political scene. The region continues to witness ethnic violence, extremism, and insurgency at varying levels, next only to Jammu and Kashmir in terms of volatility and insurgency. The region is characterised by extraordinary ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic diversity.
A year before Meghalaya became the fifth state in the northeast, the Union government decided to set up the North Eastern Council (NEC) in 1971 – it started functioning a year later – as the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the region, by an Act of Parliament. Over the past half a century, NEC has been working for a faster pace of economic development by removing the “basic handicaps” that stood in the way of normal development of the region. Strangely, not a single Muslim is among the 23 officials at the NEC headed by secretary-rank officials.
The Union government, recognising that the region faced “geographical isolation, inadequate infrastructure, and limited economic opportunities”, established the Department of Development of the North Eastern Region in September 2001 and three years later elevated it to a full-fledged ministry. The Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region functions as the nodal organisation to deal with matters related to the NE’s socio-economic development. It is the only ministry in India’s history with territorial jurisdiction. Currently, out of a total of 16 chief nodal officers and nodal officers, there is only one Muslim – Dr Mohammed Nazmuddin, a Joint Secretary in Mizoram, who is among the two Muslims out of 68 officials including the secretary.
This story was originally published in clarionindia.net. Read the full story here.