Culture, Ethnicity and Identity: A Reader

The volume takes up issues relating to culture, ethnicity and identity focusing on the North-east region of India to understand its concerns, ambivalences, negotiations and trepidations. The essays deal with constructions and representation of the ethnic communities, examining ethnic narratives and articulation of ethnic consciousness. They study the literature of the region, delving into the quest for identity as reflected in poetry, act of translating folk tales of the Tripura hills and the Koches of the linguistic group of Lohities as represented in ancient Indian literature. Referring to numerous writings and focusing on the marginalised as well as mainstream communities, they delve into Dalit identity in the context of multiculturalism. A focus is on the religious and cultural traditions of the Garos.