Most people in New Delhi may have definitely not heard of a remote district in Nagaland called Mokokchung. But that does not bother people here like Imchawati Kichu, Yanger Pongen and Kuholi Chishi. All of them are thinking big and beyond the borders of Nagaland. And they are also looking away from New Delhi, towards a booming South East Asia that is just across the international boundary near here.

“Things are changing rapidly, and for good. We, the younger people, are now aiming at drawing maximum benefits from the Look-East Policy that the Government is pursuing,” says Yanger Pongen, who is into manufacturing furniture and other articles with bamboo that grows abundantly in the area.

Equally optimistic is Imchawati Kichu, managing director of Care and Support Society, an NGO working in the field of HIV/AIDS in Mokokchung that is celebrating its golden jubilee this week. “We are working among young people to prevent HIV/AIDS. We have to get ready to reap the economic benefits of the Look East Policy, as we are located close to Myanmar,” said Kichu.

Mokokchung, in fact, is a small district of about 1615 square kilometres area. Strategically located between an oil-rich district and a tea-growing one of Upper Assam, it is looking forward to become a bridge between Assam and South East Asia in the years to come.

“Mokukchung can become the shortest and most viable link between Upper Assam and Myanmar. Keeping this and the country’s Look East Policy in mind, we are preparing a Vision-2050 document for the district,” said Alemtemshi Jamir, a senior IAS officer of the state who also hails from this district.

... contd.