Sunup Continent

They rolled out in their Land Cruisers, Tata Safaris, Maruti Esteems and what have you, on an 8,000-km rally that will take them through nine nations, across plains and over mountain tops. This is no competitive car race, but a "bridge-building mission" that began on November 22, in Guwahati and will end at Batam, Indonesia, 20 days later, after going through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore. If a car rally can bridge the divide between countries plagued by drug traffickers and insurgency, then the latest pmo-backed effort is certainly a first step.

But then the point has already been made. The Northeast can be India's gateway to the booming Asian tigers. So, before he flagged off the first India-ASEAN car rally at a glittering ceremony from the packed Nehru Stadium in the capital of his 'adopted state', Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hoped that the cross-country adventure would capture the imagination of the people in demonstrating the essential oneness of an integrated region. "This century is going to be Asia's century and we are bent on forging strong economic links with our neighbours to the East. This is also a part of our Look East policy," he said. And this spirit seems to have caught on with the participants. Sheikh Abbas, who is heading the team from Brunei, says, "We shall be driving through a road link that's already there. ASEAN should be a single community and the rally can help bring the people and economies closer."

The rally, scripted by the ministry of external affairs (MEA) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), has a trade and business angle too. According to an MEA official, the government hopes to raise India's trade with the ASEAN nations to $15 billion by 2005 and double it by 2007.

ASEAN-India trade in 2002-03 was about $9.78 billion, over four times the 1993-94 figure of $2.5 billion. But, the balance of trade is still in favour of ASEAN. Good intentions aside, experts are as yet unwilling to bet on the rally's impact beyond the symbolism. Says Dr Jayanta Madhab, former executive director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB): "The rally is a small first step that will help create awareness about how Northeast India can gain by its proximity to some of the world's fastest growing economies. But, as of now, we have nothing in surplus to sell. For tourism to flourish, infrastructure needs to be built at a rapid pace."

Things in the region are, to be sure, not exactly hunky-dory. One, the area across our frontiers is known the world over for its infamous drug trade, right from the cultivation of opium to the manufacture of the deadly heroin. For centuries, Southeast Asia has grown and sold narcotics. Today the focal point of illicit drug production and trade, it is known as the Golden Triangle—a virtually lawless territory where Myanmar, Thailand and Laos meet. According to the CIA Factbook, Myanmar is the "world's second largest producer of illicit opium," next only to Afghanistan. This is an issue that cannot be ignored from any scheme of things without any mechanisms to combat the menace. Secondly, there are any number of insurgent groups who dot the India-Myanmar-Thailand region.

But, the India-ASEAN car rally has certainly shown the northeastern states a door to a potentially lucrative marketplace. "We need to look at this car rally as a journey into the future where trade, tourism and people-to-people contact can be increased by bringing the countries together," Manmohan said. ASEAN secretary general Ong Keng Yong is equally optimistic. "Integration can work wonders and Guwahati has enough potential to become the hub of Indo-ASEAN trade and commerce," he said.

Although it was more of a parade, the ASEAN has attached much importance to the rally.Manmohan Singh and the heads of the ASEAN nations will receive the rallyists at Vientiane, Laos, on November 30, when the city hosts the third ASEAN-India summit. Till then, the ASEAN leaders will be chanting bon voyage.