Borderlens launched in Shillong as platform for writers, scholars

A new space for story-telling from the eastern borderlands, The Borderlens, was launched in Shillong today at an event that brought together experts and thought leaders from different professional fields. The initiative aims to provide an alternative platform for writers, scholars and experts to have a shared vision in the interest of development, security and peace in the border areas, keeping people at the centre.

A non-profit venture, The Borderlens, sets out to bring forth the different dimensions of life along our borders and beyond – focused especially on people, and issues concerning their livelihoods, sustenance, local economy, land, rivers and waterways, trade and commerce, along with security, geopolitics, culture and people to people connections.

Speaking at the launch event at the Don Bosco Youth Centre, Gautam Mukhopadhyay, Senior Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research and a former Ambassador of India to Syria, Afghanistan and Myanmar, said it is imperative to have an alternative approach to the northeastern borderlands – by protecting the region’s huge environmental wealth, enhancing the productivity of its small farms, and a shared vision and enlightened leadership for the region as a whole.

Professor Srikanth Kondapalli, Dean of School of International Studies and Professor of China studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, provided a contextual perspective on various aspects of the security paradigm between India and China – the Line of Actual Control and the perceptions therein. Speaking as part of panel discussion titled, Eastern Borderlands- Rethinking Livelihood, Security and Connectivity in the digital age, he also emphasized the need to recognize the “involvement of the local communities” across the border and how they can contribute to both economic development and the broader security need.

Senior journalist, Patricia Mukhim, advocated for the need of policy makers to take a collective interest in the issues of the people instead of a state-wise approach. Other eminent speakers included Prof. Desmond Kharmawphlang, Folklorist and head of the department of Creative and Cultural Studies, NEHU, Shillong, Ms. Rida Gatphoh a woman social entrepreneur from Meghalaya and founder of the Dak-ti Craft and Dr. Ambuj Thakur, Assistant Professor of History from Jorhat Assam.

The panel discussion was moderated by Moushumi Dey, a lecturer at the women’s college Shillong and anchor.

The welcome and opening remarks were provided by David Laitphlang, President of the Shillong Press Club, followed by an introduction of concept by the Founding Director of The Borderlens, Bidhayak Das, a senior journalist and a scholar on elections, democracy and citizenship.