With its rich cultural diversity, Northeast India presents a unique and complex challenge for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While the region has made notable progress in areas such as poverty alleviation, education, and health, the concept of diversity—intended to foster unity—has instead become a source of division. Ethnic groups in Northeast India often define their identity in opposition to perceived rivals, fuelling identity politics and deepening social divisions. This construction of “the other” has historical roots in colonial exploitation, and the legacy of ethnic violence has intensified these tensions in recent years. As ethnic identity becomes a powerful political tool, cultural symbols once tied to community pride are now weaponised for elitist power-mongering (Dutta, 2015).
This essay largely reviews the book Sustainable Development Goals in Northeast India: Challenges and Achievements, which was co-edited by Subhash Anand, MadhushreeDas, Rituparna Bhattacharyya, and RB Singh and published by Springer Nature in 2023, which can accessed at the link https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-6478-7. Additional articles and books on issues linked to Northeast India's development, belonging, identity, difficulties, and responses have been undertaken to strengthen and support the central arguments critically.
The several papers included in the current review address the region’s diversity, where challenges seem to surface for implementing inclusive strategies. Evidently, more profound socio-economic inequalities and governance challenges exist. While progress has been made, key SDG indicators—such as infrastructure development, gender equality, and economic equity—remain far below the national average, limiting the region’s ability to achieve sustainable development (Bhattacharyya et al., 2023). The current review essay addresses how the manipulation of ethnic identity in Northeast India has shaped both the region’s development trajectory and its social fabric.
The critical research questions are: How has the politicisation of ethnic identity influenced the implementation of SDGs in the region? What role does governance play in overcoming the socio-economic and political divides? Can SDGs be realistically implemented in the context of “troubled diversity” (Dutta, 2015)? This review also highlights the recommendations for more inclusive, community-driven strategies to achieve sustainable development by 2030—that is not too far off.
