The recent mayhem at Sonitpur by the warring factions of NDFB brings out again before our eyes the fragile state of conflict management in the State. One of the most significant paradoxes of modern living is that while every ‘individual’ in society has a huge stake in maintaining peace around him so as to be able to enjoy the benefits of enhanced lifestyle , common citizens by and large have very little power in the implementation of peace. So who are these people? How can we explain this heinous barbarism where warring human beings butcher harmless bystanders? Is this ideology? Ideology for whose benefit and for creation of what? Time and again we have experienced this indiscriminate cruelty and every time we have resorted to a reasoning that emphasized on a failing governance and democratic politics backed by an even greater assertion about a flawed post-colonial policy implication for North East India like the implementation of a number game politics through autonomous councils in Bodoland. However , a deeper insight would also reveal that effective democratic governance through proper developmental strategies targeting specific institutions for human resource growth at the local level could have altered both individual and community priorities. Literacy, education, utilization of local resources that are human, cultural and natural, building support structures for generating employment and entrepreneurship, cultural networking etc can channelize the prevailing negative energy invested in sectoral apathy and dissent into something that is not only utilitarian to begin with but may eventually transcend into something more humanly creative ,innovative and finally altruistic in nature.

The North East and its present mapping of complexities cannot just be rooted in socio-cultural identity assertion ,it is also economical in many ways. Fall in the standards of economic existence as well as in the basics of human conditions has resulted in low self esteem and identity assertion vis–a–vis a “mainstream Hindi hinterland” which is viewed as the main hurdle in the regions’s battle for economic survival. Moreover, globalization which has found strong roots in North East through media glitz , economy of conspicuous consumption and aspirations for FDI has made this dichotomy and its comparison with the other world even more visible leading to a general apathy, competition and conflicting loyalties .In words of Milton Singer ‘the little traditions’are in the process of ‘universalization of its cultural forms’ .This is not just in a blind effort to emulate the ‘greater tradition of ‘mainstream India’ but also to reiterate and construct its own niche of unique cultural forms that is North East. This process obviously will involve tensions. However it can be assumed that given the right combination of developmental strategies and policy interventions traditional roots of dissent that are embedded in the traditional structure of identity assertions found in the multiethnic mosaic can be overtaken by the overwhelming forces that emanate from globalization ,through categories that create a global citizen with a global voice.

In the context of North East it is specifically significant to ask what are the connotations of peace in its different manifestations and its resultant consequences on the functioning of democratic governance given the vulnerability of its geographical position vis-a-vis the proximity of rogue nations that act as catalyst to its volatile outbursts not to mention the conflict and shifting series of loyalties embedded in its multiethnic structure which makes it difficult to control the sub-national aspirations of communities which have existed as independent nation-states historically. Negotiations of democratic governance constantly face the challenge of legitimacy when confronted even with issues of development. So how does one govern a region where development may not always mean a desirable option and issues more complex and divisive in terms of identity and ethnicity become more dominant? The fundamental question is: does one wait for peace to prevail before development measures are adopted by democratic governance or is developmental governance the only way for peace?. Whatever may be the answer to that ,one cannot deny the role of good governance through developmental initiatives not only to bring about changes in allocation and alignment of powers and resources within government and the wider society, but also to address the root causes of conflict and create an environment for sustainable peace building.

The United Nations with its four decades of experiment and experience in economic, political, social, cultural and humanitarian affairs, formulated important perspectives on human resource development. Basic to the United Nations perspectives is the need for an integrated approach that supports a comprehensive inclusive policy by providing sustained and equal opportunities to all. This allows societal acquisition of knowledge, skills and competencies where society as a whole benefits. The approach puts primary emphasis on the enabling conditions that Must exist to support democratic governance dedicated to human resource deve lopment in any country and identifies them as peace, economic growth, sustainable environment, justice and democracy. Almost all the parameters seem to presume peace as an achievable standard for the effective functioning of the other parameters. If so, what happens to areas where peace is a distant reality? .In situations where conflict take institutionalized dimensions through public opinion, dissent, cessation, mass movement and insurgency it becomes imperative for the institutional spaces dedicated to human resource development to claim legitimacy from democratic governance and developmental strategies. Thus human resource growth through developmental democracy may ultimately lead to a peaceful life with four other accompanying enabling conditions such as economic growth, sustainable human development, social justice, democracy .

In this context it is significant to earmark, the stitutions which have proven their credibility through the depths of their intervention and the resultant impact on major areas of human resource growth. The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and its role in the percolation of education for human resource growth is significant and can be ideally adopted as a role model for similar institutions. Indira Gandhi National Open University, is a National Resource Centre for Open and Distance Learning with international recognition and presence which provides seamless access to sustainable and learner centric quality education, skill upgradation and training to all by using innovative technologies and methodologies.It ensures convergence of existing systems for human resource growth in order to promote integrated national development and global understanding. The mandate of the University is emphatic about providing access to higher education to all segments of society and offer high quality, innovative and need-based programmes at different levels, to all those who require them. It aims to reach out to the disadvantaged by offering training programmes to inaccessible parts of the country at affordable costs. IGNOU seeks to promote, coordinate and regulate the standards of education offered through open and distance learning in the country and finally aims to achieve the objective of widening access for all sections of society and providing continual professional development and training to all sectors of the economy.. The University has, in a relatively short time, contributed significantly to higher education, community education and continual professional development.

The significance of this vision for human resource development for the North East is invaluable. With a low percapita income and geographical inaccessibility education and literacy can be seen as the most viable means of channelizing youth energy into more productive and creative fields. Very often this is compromised and what emanates is a general situation of apathy, dissatisfaction and conflicting interest. Support structures created by IGNOU for growth of literacy, skill building and entrepreneurship development are effective tools to combat violent outbursts that are in many ways ushered in by a struggle to claim legitimacy over limited resource allocation. Honouring this vision IGNOU set up four special institutes in NE after identifying the type of knowledge and skills necessary for the development of the region. They are:Institute for Vocational Education and Training (IIVET), IGNOU Centre for ODL for Research and Training in Agriculture, IGNOU Institute for Professional Competency and Ad vancement of Teachers through ODL and North East Centre for Research and Development.

The entire discourse on North East either as a political disorder or as the most unexplored frontier arises from two basic issues. First, this region which was earlier an ‘enigma,’ a mysterious and uninteresting periphery for the rest of India has today evolved into the ‘last and most significant frontier land for the whole world’ and secondly the dawning realization that endeavours to unearth the different complexities inherent in this region require a paradigmatic shift.

(The writer is Deputy Director NECRD)