The concept of tribal area development has been discussed from pre-independent India. It occupies a very important place even till date as it is a constitutional mandate for the union and state governments under schedule fifth and sixth. In spite of all the efforts given through various policies and schemes under central government’s five-year plans, the condition and the level of development in the tribal areas including the Northeast India remains comparatively poor. For long the Northeast became the troubled backward region due to several factors such as, geopolitical situation, cultural differences, and tribal communities with vested interest of communalism. Since the launching of the Look East Policy, there seems to be a significant change of mentality on either side – the mainland and the Northeast on the relationship towards national integration. As the Look East Policy moved to the new chapter with Act East Policy, many North-easterners gained more sense of being Indian with great expectation for their progress and development. Meanwhile, as the majority of the people are still ignorant and relatively backward, much efforts are needed to educate and to develop them so that they too also will grow along with their contemporaries.
This paper focuses on the approaches for tribal development implemented by the central government of India as well as the state government with special reference to the state of Mizoram. As Mizoram state plays a significant role in the implementation of India’s Act East Policy, this paper will give brief analysis of the policy keeping in mind that the indigenous people will gain the maximum benefit out of it.