Look East Policy: Prospects And Challenges With Special Reference To Manipur

Abstract

Look East Policy was first initiated by then Prime Minister of India P.V. Narasimha Rao in 1992 and has become a policy of continuous consideration since then. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 which end the long era of Cold war forced India to change its foreign policy with the emergence of unipolar world scenario. The initiation of Look East Policy (LEP) by India is a turning point in the quest for making a foray into the domain of East Asia in general and South East Asia in particular. LEP is not simply guided by trade as the primed motive but larger politico-economic interests of India vis-à-vis emerging geo-political reconfiguration which developed after the post-cold war scenario. In this context the paper is an attempt to trace the historical background /factors responsible for the implementation of the ‘Look East Policy’ by India after the collapse of Soviet Union in particular and Post Cold war geo-political and economic development in general. It is also a humble attempt to highlight the developmental prospect and challenges for the North Eastern states especially Manipur after the implementation of ‘Look East Policy.’