India’s North-East: Identity Movements, State, and Civil Society

The book features the multiple identity movements in the highly diverse and multicultural region of North-east India and militant separatist movements there that have thrown up a number of issues. Taking into consideration the idea of nationalism, the essays and commentaries discuss the complex processes of the nation-state’s engagement with the autonomy and secessionist demands of the region and focus on the contradictions within the movements and in the state’s response to them. They argue that the movements have moved away from their stated goals over time and examine the repression, negotiation and accommodation by the nation-state in dealing with them. They explore the factors behind the rise of ethnic nationalist aspirations in the region, the role of the civil society in conflict situations, rise of exclusivist politics, and the issue of citizens’ rights.