The Karbi Anglong youth: between the hills and the highway

The highway now threading through Karbi Anglong — the autonomous hill district between the plains and Nagaland — has halved the journey to Guwahati and turned the district’s economy upside down.

For the district’s young Karbi people, the road is opportunity and anxiety in one: markets closer, but so is the drain of talent.

A student-run forum is mapping the district’s own ambitions — homestays, crafts, a film festival — before the highway decides for them.