Ethnic Life-worlds in North-East India: An Analysis draws upon the phenomenological notion of the life-world to understand the culturally-embedded construction of communities, for whom the lived experience of cultural politics constitutes their identity. It analyses the cultural and political determinants of ethnic- and identity-oriented struggles in India's North-East, as well as the cultural politics of ethnic mobilizations in the region. Such mobilizations are an attempt to construct a self-identity distinct from that constructed by the state—both colonial and post-colonial India—which becomes a source of concern for the latter with regard to its achieving legitimacy and development in the region. While both the state and insurgent groups carve out their distinct ideological and political agenda on to the life-world of the North-East, it is at the point of diversion that the struggle for establishing such agenda falls into the trappings of constitutional determinism. This book analyses the articulation of ethnic politics in North-East India that takes into account moves for integration as well as apparent differences. In doing so, it critically examines two major insurgent outfits of the region—NSCN and ULFA. It also discusses struggles launched by the Naga and Assamese people and develops a neologism of nations-from-below, arguing that one needs to take into account the concrete totality of the people's lived experiences. It bases this analysis on a critical discussion of the colonial construction of tribal identity and its post-colonial critique. Thought-provoking and analytical, this book opens a new window to the study of India's North-East, which will intrigue students and scholars across various disciplines of development studies, sociology, philosophy, anthropology, political science and ethnic studies, and will be of interest to policy-makers, NGOs and global humanitarian communities.

A Sociological Understanding of North East India attempts to discuss socio-cultural unity and diversity, demographic features, and the linguistic scenario of Northeast India. Traditional institutions of the northeastern region such as family, marriage, religion, and polity are described with examples. The concept of identity and the identity conflict of different ethnic groups, homeland and homeland politics, tribal autonomy, and other related contemporary issues in the northeastern region have been included in this volume. The promotion and development of the tourism sector and the tourist destinations in the eight states have been studied, and different government policies and programs of Northeast India are also incorporated in this volume for discussion.

This book provides an in-depth analysis and critical examination of the representation of ethnic, sexual, cultural, and individual identities in selected literary works by contemporary writers from Northeast India. The book explores the complex dynamics of identity construction, sexuality, marginalisation, ethnicity, and belonging in the context of Meghalaya and Northeast India as a whole. The author analyses poetry and prose by Janice Pariat, Anjum Hasan, Kynpham Singh Nongkynrih, and other Khasi writers. These works candidly portray the turmoil afflicting contemporary Meghalaya – from insurgency and ethnic tensions to ecological threats and loss of roots as well as reconciliation, integration, and mutual understanding. Using postmodern and postcolonial literary strategies, the book depicts fluid, heterogeneous, and multifaceted notions of identity in Northeast India. An exploration of ethnicity, belonging, and unbelonging in the Northeastern context, this book presents marginalised voices and liminal spaces. It will be of interest to academics focusing on Indian English literature, postcolonial literature, and South Asian Studies.

Papers presented at the Seminar on "Ethnicity, Culture, and Nationalism: Problems in the Context of North-East India", held in Sept. 1995 at the North Eastern Hill University.

Namrata Goswami’s research on the Naga armed ethnic movement offers a compelling narrative on how conflict has affected the daily lives of the Nagas. This volume is an account of the Naga ethnic movement going on in India since 1918, covering both historical and contemporary aspects of the conflict. Based on over a decade of ethnographic work among the Naga rebels and movement zones, personal interviews, and secondary data, the author offers insights into how the Naga population perceives their meeting point with the institutions of the Indian state, especially the army and the paramilitary. The book documents what it is like, to live in a conflict zone and the restraints and thought processes that it cultivates especially among the youth. The book reveals gripping stories of tremendous courage and conviction from people who have thought about the political unrest, been born into it, taken part in it, or have been affected by it. The Naga Ethnic Movement for a Separate Homeland reflects the Nagas’ love for their land, tracing the poignant mix of nature, land, identity, emotions, culture as well as the inter-ethnic differences that exacerbate the conflict.

This book rethinks Northeast India as a lived space, a centre of interconnections and unfolding histories, instead of an isolated periphery. Questioning dominant tropes and assumptions around the Northeast, it examines socio-political and historical processes, border issues, the role of the state, displacement and development, debates over natural resources, violence, notions of body and belonging, movements, tensions and relations, and strategies, struggles and narratives that frame discussions on the region. Drawing on current and emerging research in Northeast India studies, this work will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of politics, human geography, sociology and social anthropology, history, cultural studies, media studies and South Asian studies.

North-East India, comprising the seven contiguous states around Assam, the principal state of the region, is a relatively unknown, yet very fascinating region. The forest clad peripheral mountains, home to indigenous peoples like the Nagas, Mizos and the Khasis, the densely populated Brahmaputra valley with its lush green tea gardens and the golden rice fields, the moderately populated hill regions and plateaus, and the sparsely inhabited Himalayas, form a unique mosaic of natural and cultural landscapes and human interactions, with unparalleled diversity. The book provides a glimpse into the region’s past and gives a comprehensive picture of its physical environment, people, resources and its economy. The physical environment takes into account not only the structural base of the region, its physical characteristics and natural vegetation but also offers an impression of the region’s biodiversity and the measures undertaken to preserve it. The people of the region, especially the indigenous population, inhabiting contrasting environments and speaking a variety of regional and local dialects, have received special attention, bringing into focus the role of migration that has influenced the traditional societies, for centuries. The book acquaints the readers with spatial distribution, life style and culture of the indigenous people, outlining the unique features of each tribe. The economy of the region, depending originally on primitive farming and cottage industries, like silkworm rearing, but now greatly transformed with the emergence of modern industries, power resources and expanding trade, is reviewed based on authentic data and actual field observations. The epilogue, the last chapter in the book, summarizes the authors’ perception of the region and its future.