Troubled Diversity The Political Process in Northeast India

The Northeast has evolved as the 'other' in India's nationalist paradigm. This otherness is the result of the region's racial composition and its historical positioning, cultural connectivity, communication, and economic linkage. A site of radical identity politics, the Northeast has various communities with striking differences in origin, religion, and language that give rise to ethnic conflicts and contestations for power, with each group perceiving the other as a threat to its existence. This work looks at the politics of diversity and identity in the Northeast. The concept of 'diversity' can be used as a unifying mechanism in the post-colonial nation-state through which identities can get homogenized; ethnic identities and cultures can be manipulated for political or economic advantage; and ethnic violence can have disastrous consequences like extortion, rape, abduction, death, and violation of human rights. Offering a comprehensive analysis that includes theoretical perspectives and a comparison with the political problems in Jammu and Kashmir, this book is a significant study of identity crises in minority communities.