According to news reports, the parliamentary committee on Tourism, headed by CPM leader Sitaram Yechury has directed the Home Ministry to review restrictions on tourism in certain areas of the country which currently require special permission for outsiders to visit. The Parliamentary Committee pointed out that "foreign tourists are an important component of tourists who wish to visit the country, especially the north-eastern states, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshwadeep. The restrictions on foreigners to stay beyond the permitted period and visiting only select islands and regions has discouraged foreign tourists in the country."Areas of the North East and Andaman and Nicobar Islands have for long been out of bound for tourists, especially foreign tourists, due to security concerns as well as concerns about harming the culture, lifestyle and demographic patterns of the peoples of these areas. The restricted area permit and inner line permit are mechanisms by which the Central government ensures strict control on movement of outsiders in these areas.

Now the parliamentary committee has recommended that the restriction on the number of foreigners and the areas they are permitted to visit should be lifted.

Why is the Indian state interested in lifting restrictions on tourists, particularly foreign tourists, to the North East and Andamans. It would appear that this move is part of the “look east policy” of the Indian state. As part of this policy, the bourgeoisie is trying to build close economic links with the South East Asian countries, and wishes to open up trade and tourism routes to these countries. These trade and tourism routes will pass through the North East states by land and air, as well as the Andamans by sea and air.  That is, there will be more intense exploitation of the resources of these regions, including exploitation for tourism purposes.

The permit system and other restrictions on the entry of outsiders into certain parts of the country was instituted with the justification that this was necessary to prevent exploitation of the peoples of these areas and to help preserve their way of life.  Now this is being changed clearly with the considerations of bourgeois “development” in mind, without any explanation about what happened to the earlier considerations  Are those no longer an issue?  The government must explain these things before reversing its policy, and matters should not be left to the whims of those sitting in Delhi without clear information and discussion, especially with the people most directly concerned.