Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)

Guwahati, Dec. 5, 2002:  Although the Indian Home Ministry is not inclined to reopen the Famous StilWell Road, the North East of India (comprising seven states) have unanimously demanded the reopening of the road in order to increase the volume of trade with South East Asian countries. Despite the request, the Indian Home Ministry is learnt to have delayed the matter in view of the increasing militancy problem in the region.

The StilWell Road from Ledo (India) to Kunming (China), covering a stretch of 1,079 miles and connecting three countries - India, China and Burma - was constructed during the Second World War and remained a major international route for civilian and military movement before it was officially abandoned in October 1945.

In a bid to launch a vigorous campaign for the reopening of the road, a seminar was organized in Assam State of India recently. The seminar, jointly organized by the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies and Dibrugarh University, suggested the reopening of the road to improve relations with the neighboring countries. It also proposed that the road should measure up to international standards and capable of carrying 40-foot containers. Senior professors attending the seminar observed that once the road was opened the entire South East Asian region would become a major trade hub.

Furthermore, the people, both Indian and Burmese, living close to the road have engaged in exchanging barter trade for the last several decades. Indian people generally offer salt while the Burmese exchange other items. But a major obstacle to this envisaged development lies in the fact that several regional underground organizations have consolidated their bases in the area. Despite the Indian Home Ministry reference to the militancy problem, the seven states argue that there are enough security forces to counter militancy in the region.

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