The states
The North-East has been added to political India only in recent times, though India itself was rarely unified for most of its history. Assam (which included at the time of Indian independence, Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya) was rarely part of political India for most of its history; Manipur and Tripura were princely states also rarely a part of political India; Arunachal Pradesh was beyond the outer line of British India at the beginning of the 20th century; and Sikkim too was not part of political India. These areas were incorporated into mainstream India during the British Raj when British colonial authorities annexed traditionally separate border countries into Indian territory to form a buffer between their colony and external powers (ie: Assam, Manipur and Tripura in the Northeast, and Balochistan and the North West Frontier Province in the northwest). After independence in 1947, extension of the Indian state and political apparatus has been a challenge.

See also