Coming Out of Violence

This volume is an outcome of collective endeavour aimed at understanding the issues of emerging ethnicity, conflict resolution and peace processes in India’s sensitive North-East, comprised of seven states i.e. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. Perpetual ethnic conflicts and their resultant violence have severely affected the society, polity and economy of the region during the entire post-colonial period beginning with the rebellion of the Nagas in early fifties of the 20th century. Both in qualitative as well as in quantitative terms, the conflicts and violence have increased significantly over the years. In the process, conflicts have become largely institutionalized and paved the way for emergence and continuity of low intensity wars within the territory of the same nation-state. Conflicts are not only confined to the state and the insurgents alone, it goes far beyond the conventional discourse of simplistic conflicts to a much more complex set of conflicts wherein various insurgent groups fight one another besides, sometimes, they fight against the society to which they belong. This brings to the fore the role of civil society as a mediator between the two disputants in the conflicts i.e. the state and the insurgents/ ethnic movements. This collective academic exercise is aimed at analyzing some of the existing conflicts, exploring the possibilities of resolving such long-drawn conflicts and paving the way for peace in North-East India. This volume is a cornerstone resource for a wide range of institutions and individuals concerned with problems of North-East India. This will attract the attention of students and scholars of ethnicity, conflict resolution, peace and security studies.