3 Review(s)

The process of development is meaningful only when its essence and intrinsic values are informed by the social, economic and political realities existing in that society. Manipur has been unable to evolve its own development process that addresses the 'developmental sentiments' of the people even after British colonialism ended. In fact, the erstwhile sovereign kingdom's development trajectories have been haphazard and its tortuous journey is marked by upheavals and distortions. As a result, underdevelopment is the reality of the state. What have contributed to the sorry state of affairs, even-more, is that development destiny lies in exogenous elements, and thus, processes and policies dictated by the same. And the end-result is obvious: any of the development initiatives and for that matter the very processes have failed to materialize and internalize. Understanding the historical realities and appropriating the present context, the book attempts to address the issues of development from a multi-pronged approach. The book surveys the economic history of the region from the pre-colonial to the post-British and underlines the need for evolving a 'local centric' development process.