In many senses, India's Northeast has been an enigma to the rest of the country. Beginning with the earliest challenge of the nation-building process in India, this highly diverse and multicultural region has, through its multiple identity movements and militant separatism, thrown up several major issues which have resulted in re-drawing the parameters of the Indian nation-state and helped to re-define the idea of nationalism itself. This selection of essays/commentaries, written over some three decades, analyze the complex processes of the nation-state's engagement with the demands for autonomy/independence raised by the small nationalities of the northeastern region but also focuses on the contradictions and new equations that have been emerging both within these movements and in the State's response to them. The factors behind the rise of ethnic nationalist assertions, the role of civil society, the rise of exclusivist politics and the question of citizens' rights are other issues that figure prominently in the discussions.

Non-inclusion of the tales of the anti-colonial movements of the North East region in works of history and textbooks has led to a perception that the North East had not been part of the freedom struggle at all. Yet, the heroic acts of patriotism of those like Maniram Dewan and Kushal Konwar of Assam, Ranuwa Gohain and Matmur Jamoh of present-day Arunachal Pradesh, Pasaltha Khuangcchera of present-day Mizoram, Pa Togan Sangma of Meghalaya and Tikendrajit of Manipur are no less than those of Mangal Pandey, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev or Tantia Tope. This books seeks to unearth such untold stories of the freedom struggle from North East India.

Contributed articles presented at the national seminar on Freedom Struggle in North East India, held at North East India Council for Social Science Research in December 2007.

This 5-Volume, Encyclopaedic Study Of India S North-East Is The Result Of The Author S 11 Years Of Service Extended Over Three Tenures In The Region, Followed By 6 Years Of Library Research After His Retirement. Being The First Of Its Kind, Given Its Contents And Sheer Size, Over 2,500 Pages, It Is A Unique Book.Writing On The North-East Is Not An Easy Exercise, Given Its Diversity (Ethnic, Racial, Religious And Linguistic), Size, History And Geography. If India Is Microcosmic World, The North-East Is Microcosmic India. Of The 5,653 Communities In India, 653 Are Tribal Of Which The 213 Are Indigenous To The North-East. Of The 213, 111 Are Found In Arunachal Pradesh Alone. Illumined By An Equally Amazing Linguistic Diversity, It Is Home To 325 Of The 1,652 Languages Spoken In India. Yet Again, North-East S Total Population Of 3,84,95,089 (2001) Constitutes 2.69 Per Cent Of India S 1,02,70,15,247, While Its Area Of 2,55,088 Sq Km Is 7.75 Per Cent Of India S 32,87,263 Sq Km.

This Is To Keep The Younger Generation Fully Informed About The Aspirations Of The Freedom Fighters Whose Ceaseless Struggle Brought The Final Glory Of Independence. The Book Provides An Outline On The Most Crucial Period Of Indian History By Incorporating The Fruits Of Recent Researches Both Indian And Foreign On This Subject. In The Revised Edition Special Attention Has Been Focussed On The Contributions Of South India And North-Eastern India To The Struggle For Freedom. Bose-Gandhi Controversy Assumes A New Dimension In The Light Of Recent Unpublished Thesis. The Additional Features Of The Book Are That It Provides Biographical Data Of Prominent Personalities, Chronological List Of Congress Sessions With Dates, Venues And Presidents And Chronological List Of Important Events.The Book Will Not Only Serve The Requirements Of Students Ranging From Secondary To Undergraduate Level But Also The Candidates Appearing In The Civil Services Examination (Both Preliminary And Final) And Other Examinations Of Central And State Civil Services.

This book would have been completed earlier but for events that disrupted millions of lives across India, including those of journalists : the demolition of the Babri Masjid at Ayodhya, by a Hindu mob on 6 December 1992 and the communal riots that followed across the country. In January 1993, the selective massacres of Muslims at Bombay and the devastating revenge bomb blasts there two months later led to extensive travelling and reporting for the New York Times. In addition, there was 'normal reporting' : the Punjab, environmental, economic and political issues such as the billion dollar scam.