North-East India: Land, People and Economy

North-East India: Land, People and Economy
Author: K.R. Dikshit
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 828
Release: 2013-10-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9400770553

North-East India, comprising the seven contiguous states around Assam, the principal state of the region, is a relatively unknown, yet very fascinating region. The forest clad peripheral mountains, home to indigenous peoples like the Nagas, Mizos and the Khasis, the densely populated Brahmaputra valley with its lush green tea gardens and the golden rice fields, the moderately populated hill regions and plateaus, and the sparsely inhabited Himalayas, form a unique mosaic of natural and cultural landscapes and human interactions, with unparalleled diversity. The book provides a glimpse into the region’s past and gives a comprehensive picture of its physical environment, people, resources and its economy. The physical environment takes into account not only the structural base of the region, its physical characteristics and natural vegetation but also offers an impression of the region’s biodiversity and the measures undertaken to preserve it. The people of the region, especially the indigenous population, inhabiting contrasting environments and speaking a variety of regional and local dialects, have received special attention, bringing into focus the role of migration that has influenced the traditional societies, for centuries. The book acquaints the readers with spatial distribution, life style and culture of the indigenous people, outlining the unique features of each tribe. The economy of the region, depending originally on primitive farming and cottage industries, like silkworm rearing, but now greatly transformed with the emergence of modern industries, power resources and expanding trade, is reviewed based on authentic data and actual field observations. The epilogue, the last chapter in the book, summarizes the authors’ perception of the region and its future.

Ethnic Mobilisation and Violence in Northeast India

Ethnic Mobilisation and Violence in Northeast India
Author: Pahi Saikia
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2020-11-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 100008373X

The book is a very detailed work on the relationship between movements for autonomy by indigenous peoples (the so-called ‘tribes’) and violence in Assam, in northeast India. The book addresses some of the reasons for the failure of ethnic conflict management and for the frequent emergence of violence in the region. In particular, the historical description of movements by the Dimasas, Misings and Bodos is well compiled and provides a good summary for the readers. At the same time, the work offers a good understanding of ethnic violence in contemporary India. The volume offers some new research data based on comparative analysis of different trajectories followed by three important movements among Assam’s ethnic minorities. While the pieces of the argument are based on the existing literature on ethnic violence and contentious politics, they are effectively connected to materials drawn from northeast India. Furthermore, the book raises significant concerns on the debates on crafting of decentralised institutions and executive opportunities that may facilitate ethnic accommodation thereby reducing the likelihood of such groups to pursue their goals through channels that are radical or extreme.

Tribes of North-East India

Tribes of North-East India
Author: Sarthak Sengupta
Publisher: Gyan Books
Total Pages: 294
Release: 1994
Genre: Social Science
ISBN:

North-east India, comprising of seven sisters states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, is the homeland of a bewildering variety of tribal life. Their ethnicity, culture and folklore form a rich mosaic of India's primitive life. This volume, contributed by eminent anthropologists, sociologists, political scientists and administrators combines authentic research, field study and the futuristic scene of regional tribal life.

The Nagas

The Nagas
Author: Julian Jacobs
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Total Pages: 359
Release: 1999-02-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780500974711

The Nagas of Northeast India, radically different in culture and beliefs from the better-known Hindu peoples of the plains, were renowned in the years before Indian independence for their fierce resistance to British rule and for their practice of head-hunting. Although sharing many social and cultural traits, the thousands of small Naga villages often vary greatly from one another, and the Nagas display both unity and diversity in their dress and ornament. Their vibrant material culture is generously illustrated here in color photographs that display textiles, basketry, jewelry, weapons, metalwork, and carvings. Drawing on a diverse range of historical materials, the authors examine how the notion of tribes came to be applied to the Nagas and point out its subsequent importance in the development of contemporary Naga nationalism.

Tribal Architecture in Northeast India

Tribal Architecture in Northeast India
Author: René Kolkman
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2014-01-13
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9004263926

Traditional houses among the tribal populations of northeast India have long attracted the interest of anthropologists and visitors. Until now, however, they have not been carefully documented. René Kolkman, a professional architect in Amsterdam, studied the homes of 37 different ethnic groups in Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. His detailed drawings, photographs and personal stories show us the diversity of living spaces in this fascinating cultural area. Longhouses and square houses, built on platforms, built on plinths and housing as many as eighty-six people, these traditional houses are distinct. And although they have changed and are changing still, each of these 34 individual house-types remains immediately recognisable.

Land, People and Politics

Land, People and Politics
Author: Walter Fernandes
Publisher: IWGIA
Total Pages: 2
Release: 2009
Genre: India
ISBN: 8791563402

Studies the processes that result in tribal land alienation and the consequent conflicts.

Oral Traditions, Continuities and Transformations in Northeast India and Beyond

Oral Traditions, Continuities and Transformations in Northeast India and Beyond
Author: Surajit Sarkar
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2020-12-29
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1000335585

Northeast India is home to many distinct communities and is an area of incredible ethnic, religious, and linguistic diversity. This book explores the shared cultural heritage among the highland and river valley communities of Northeast India and mainland South East Asia, including South China, through oral traditions. It looks at these shared cultural traditions and suggests new ways of understanding and interpreting the heritage of Northeast India. Oral traditions often bring forward an unexpected twist in understanding historical and cultural links, and this volume explores this using local knowledge and innovative engagements with oral traditions in multiple ways, from folklore and language to performative traditions. The essays in this volume examine how communities build new meanings from old traditions, often as a recognition of the tension between conservation and creation, between individual interpretation and social consensus. They offer interesting parallels on how oral traditions behave in different socio-economic contexts, and also examine how oral traditions and memory interact with the digital world’s penetration in the remote areas. This volume will be useful for scholars and researchers of Northeast India, sociology, sociology of culture, cultural studies, ethnic studies, anthropology, folkloristics, and political sociology.

The Anthropology of North-East India

The Anthropology of North-East India
Author: Tanka Bahadur Subba
Publisher: Orient Blackswan
Total Pages: 392
Release: 2003
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9788125023357

This book has been written to cater to the needs of undergraduate and postgraduate students of Anthropology and Sociology. It takes stock of the work done in the Anthropology of North-East India, and deals in four sections with various aspects of this question. Section I focuses on prehistoric Anthropology, section II looks at the colonial context and its effect on policy and perceptions about the North-East. Section III, on Biological Anthropology and section IV on Social Anthropology.