Impact of Ethnic Violence on Youth: A Study of Tribal Nontribal Violence in Kokrajhar, Assam

The predicament of ethnic violence stands out as a daunting problem today, not only in the midst of collapsing states and empires but also in the most tolerant societies where the forces of integration are stronger. Consequently, specialists in search of theories, values and policies have come to realize that they need to find more creative and powerful ways to address the issues of justice among ethnic groups. The Indian society is gripped in an ethnic crisis that threatens its very integrity. The overarching humanism, within which this pluralist society had flowered, appears to be giving way to the obscurantist trends marked by violent explosions of ethnic conflict. These trends need to be reversed before the country lapses into an anarchy. The present volume makes a modest attempt to bring into focus the coercive, separatist values and policies that have displaced communities from the humanist consciousness underlying the diverse cultural forms and in effect exacerbated organized ethnic violence. Since, it is the educated youth that are leading the violent movements in the country today, the focus on the students community becomes a matter of priority. This assumption informed the indepth investigation reported here, on the perceptions, attitudes, aspirations, motivations and views of the student community of the Kokrajhar district of Assam where the Bodo agitation has led to endemic tribal-nontribal violence. The book underlines the urgency of developing a Peace Education Movement in the country to mobilize and equip its youth towards an effective participation in the prevention, management and resolution of ethnic conflict and promotion of peace in general.