EMERGE Eastern Himalayan and the Bay of Bengal Region – Political and Economic Relations

The study area - termed the Eastern Himalayan-Bay of Bengal region - ranges over Northeast India, Southwest China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, and Bhutan. Historically, there have been evolving social, cultural, and economic ties and interactions between the peoples in different parts of the region. The independence of India, Pakistan and Myanmar from British colonial rule involved protracted political struggles, in some instances characterized by ethnic and religious violence. The subsequent liberation of Bangladesh from unified Pakistan took place through armed insurgency, followed by the violence of full-scale war in 1971. The region has witnessed continuing instances of political violence in the subsequent decades up to the present. These are illustrated by the ongoing ethnic and political conflicts and insurgencies in Northeast India, as well as in Myanmar - both before and after the military coup d’etat in 2021. These instances of intra-regional tensions and violence have had social and political impacts on the adjoining borderlands of Bangladesh and Southwest China. Taken together, these developments are symptomatic of cross-border interrelations between varied forms of ethno-nationalism, identity politics, and populist movements in this region.

The research group EMERGE provides an academic platform for collaboration and exchanges between concerned scholars working on relevant social, economic, and political issues in the Eastern Himalayan-Bay of Bengal region. Activities include the holding of lectures, seminars, and workshops, as well as undertaking of collaborative research projects and publications. The thematic issues of interest to EMERGE are wide-ranging, inclusive of regional social, economic, and political developments, growth of transport and energy infrastructure, connectivity, foreign investments, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and sustainable development.