CHAIRPERSON
Prof Subrata Kumar Mitra, Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore
ABSTRACT
Relations between India and its Northeastern region are somewhat peculiar. The directional term North East India is an official name, not an informal label. It conjures up the region’s particular political and security architecture somewhat out of sync with the rest of India’s federal arrangements. The derivative word Northeasterner has become a common term in India to refer to peoples from the region, thanks to a historically constituted racialized regime of visuality. The paper will discuss how this peculiar relationship has come about; touching on the region’s contentious politics including armed conflicts; and in recent years. a big push for development and the growing pull of livelihood opportunities in the heartland. The relationship between the Northeast and the nation is best understood not as sui generis, but as an outgrowth of the unfolding of the global history of the nation-state and the transformations of citizenship.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sanjib Baruah is Professor of Political Studies at Bard College, New York and Honorary Research Professor at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. His books include India against Itself: Assam and the Politics of Nationality (University of Pennsylvania Press & Oxford University Press) and Durable Disorder: Understanding the Politics of Northeast India (Oxford University Press). His opinion columns appear in newspapers including the Indian Express, Asian Age and the Telegraph.
REGISTRATION
Admission is free. Kindly forward all enquiries and RSVP via http://india-northeast-sanjib-baruah.eventbrite.sg.
