In Wodehouse on Wodehouse, P.G. Wodehouse writes about a Broadway manager who, whenever a musical seemed to get stuck midway, would say, ?bring on the girls?, meaning the chorus line. In quite the same way, the powers-that-be in New Delhi say, ?give them a package? whenever they feel that the states of the North-east are getting a bit out of hand. Even this year?s budget speaks of such a ?package?, and one can safely predict that there will be similar announcements in the days to come.

There is no denying that funds are needed for development. But in the North-east, the ?delivery system? ? to use a term in fashion these days ? seems to ensure that the package, after leaving the nation?s capital, ends up in a maze so far as the common man is concerned. And as he continues to clamour and protest, more packages are announced.

The problem that the North-east faces is not so much one of a shortage of funds as of accountability. In the last fifty years and more, thousands of crores have been pumped into the area. But where has the money gone? New Delhi does not seem to have ever asked this question and, perhaps, with good reason. Any serious effort to investigate will certainly open a Pandora?s Box, much to the discomfort of the politician-bureaucrat axis which has its extension in state capitals like Guwahati, Imphal, Kohima and elsewhere.

Why has there always been so much emphasis on the North-east?s development? The answer is, to put a check on insurgency and separatism, which thrive on economic discontent. But isn?t it time somebody wondered why insurgency continues to plague the states, either directly or as an ever-present threat, even after so much money has been spent on the region? One does not have to be an economist to realize that the money has gone into the wrong hands and will continue to do so unless close tabs are kept on how it is spent.

The pillage of public funds in the North-east has very serious implications. Anybody who is familiar with the region would accept that a considerable part of the money finds its way to the insurgents through their overground contacts in the ministries. The money travels through the ministers, sections of the bureaucracy and the contractor class, so that everyone in the corridors of power are happy. Perhaps there would not have been such ?happiness? if the states had not been disturbed. In the North-east, ?insurgency? has always been a profitable business.

The impact on society has been terrible, particularly in states dominated by the hill tribes. New Delhi never tires of emphasizing the need to draw these people into the ?mainstream?. It has certainly succeeded in introducing the culture of deception and corruption that marks life in the ?mainstream?. The codes by which these people have lived for generations have largely been swept away by the power of lucre. Years ago, a Naga resident of Kohima told this writer: ?We want to live as Indians but not at the cost of our culture and identity which are at stake in the face of such brazen display of money all around.? What seemed to sadden him further was that some of his people had to share the blame for this. In a non-tribal area like Manipur, things are even worse and the alarming rise in the incidence of HIV cannot be seen in isolation from the all-pervading corruption. When the masses recently took to the streets of Imphal, they were not just protesting against the rape of a girl. Their protest was against the systematic rape of their society. Far from acting as a healer, the packages from New Delhi have only made their lives much more unbearable.

Many attempts have been made to change this scheme of things, but they have had little effect. In Assam, former student leaders were elected to power almost unanimously in the Eighties, in the hope that they would usher in a new era. But they too got sucked into the system. Since then, there has been a different kind of unrest and in its wake has come the inevitable ?package?. And who is to say that no part of the money goes to sustain the unrest, so that more can be had from the Centre? It is not that the Centre is unaware of what goes on; officials on deputation have an inside knowledge of the situation. Unfortunately, such knowledge has never been of any help since the insistence all along has been on treating the region with kid-gloves on account of its ?sensitivity?.

In terms of financial assistance, the North-east has not done too badly, compared to other parts of the country. Perhaps the time has come for the people to ask where the money is going. New Delhi should also ask itself whether such ?packages? have really helped anybody. What they have helped to do, even if partly, is create a political class which not only does not instill any confidence but is also viewed with suspicion. The people of the North-east have, for various reasons, harboured feelings of alienation for a long time. This calls for far greater caution to ensure that this class does not muck up the situation further. Even as it loosens the purse strings, the Centre would do well to keep this in mind.