An investigation by the Public Works Department of the British Raj in the 1890s had determined that a railroad line could be built from Ledo, in Assam, and another from Manipur in order to serve the Irrawaddy basin, by crossing the Arakan mountains.
Let's suppose these two lines had been built by the end of the 19th century, how would they have influenced a Burma now linked to India at their northern and central border?
Indian immigration would have exploded, and 30-40% of Burma's population would probably be Indian by the early 1940s (instead of OTL's 15%). Would Burma suffer the same fate as the Seven Sisters (i.e. demographically submerged and completely assimilated into the Republic of India)?
Let's suppose these two lines had been built by the end of the 19th century, how would they have influenced a Burma now linked to India at their northern and central border?
Indian immigration would have exploded, and 30-40% of Burma's population would probably be Indian by the early 1940s (instead of OTL's 15%). Would Burma suffer the same fate as the Seven Sisters (i.e. demographically submerged and completely assimilated into the Republic of India)?
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