The book is a very detailed work on the relationship between movements for autonomy by indigenous peoples (the so-called ‘tribes’) and violence in Assam, in northeast India. The book addresses some of the reasons for the failure of ethnic conflict management and for the frequent emergence of violence in the region. In particular, the historical description of movements by the Dimasas, Misings and Bodos is well compiled and provides a good summary for the readers. At the same time, the work offers a good understanding of ethnic violence in contemporary India. The volume offers some new research data based on comparative analysis of different trajectories followed by three important movements among Assam’s ethnic minorities. While the pieces of the argument are based on the existing literature on ethnic violence and contentious politics, they are effectively connected to materials drawn from northeast India. Furthermore, the book raises significant concerns on the debates on crafting of decentralised institutions and executive opportunities that may facilitate ethnic accommodation thereby reducing the likelihood of such groups to pursue their goals through channels that are radical or extreme.

This Volume Comprises Of Papers Presented At A National Seminar Organized By Dibrugorh University In 2004.

Diverging from reductionist studies of Northeast India and its multifarious conflicts, this book presents an exclusive and intricate, empirical and theoretical study of Assam as a conflict zone. It traces the genesis and evolution of the ethnic and nationalistic politics in the state, and explores how this gave birth to nativist and militant movements. It further discusses how the State’s responses seem to have exacerbated rather than mitigated the conflict situation. The author proposes ethnic reconciliation as an effective way out of the current chaos, and finds the key in examining the relations between three communities (Axamiyā, Bodo and Koch) from Bodoland, the most violent region of Assam. She stresses upon the need to redefine ‘Axamiyā’, an issue of much discord in Assam’s ethnic politics since the modern-day formulation of the Axamiyā nation. The book will prove essential to scholars and students of peace and conflict studies, sociology, political science, and history, as also to policy-makers and those interested in Northeast India.

This book explores discrimination against Northeast Indians, who have been frequently stereotyped as backwards, anti-national, anti-assimilationist, immoral, and relegated to low paying positions across retail, hospitality, telecommunications and wellness industries. The contributions draw on interviews with individuals who have migrated to other Indian cities and towns to find jobs and escape from native poverty, and provide a critical examination of the intersections between power, privilege and racial hierarchy in India today. The chapters cover a variety of perspectives including social movements and activism, history, policy, youth studies and gender studies. With a focus on marginalised communities, and the effects and persistence of racial inequality in a South Asian context, this collection will be an important contribution to critical race studies, public policy, human rights discourse, and social work.

This book presents a comprehensive account of the debates on sovereignty, self-determination and nationalist upsurges in India’s Northeast, especially Assam. At a deeper level, it analyses how multi-ethnic societies engage with the nation state. Based on the framework of international relations and geo-politics, the volume locates internal tensions and contradictions among different ethnic groups, alongside the complex interrelationships between the centre and the region. It also proposes a new structure of ‘Common Ethnic House’ to resolve persistent inter-ethnic tensions among different communities and the impasse between the Northeast and the centre. This book will interest scholars and researchers of politics and international relations, sociology and social anthropology, area studies, peace and conflict studies, especially those concerned with South Asia and Northeast India.

This book focuses on the urgent necessity of promoting a peaceful co-existence among diverse ethnic groups by exploring their various tribal theologies and cultural standpoints, and in finding a common base. It does this by looking at the Church and wider society in Northeast India, and various inter-ethnic conflicts since the 1980s.

Papers presented at five workshops organised by Forum for Revival of Kuki Society in Nagpur and different places in Northeast India during 2010-2012.--