Narendra Modi & Northeast

Narendra Modi & Northeast

Author: DR. NANDINI BASISTHA

Publisher: INTERDISCIPLINARY INSTITUTE OF HUMAN SECURITY & GOVERNANCE

Published: 2023-08-27

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 8196447612

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From the days of election campaign for 2014 Lok Sabha, Northeast India occupied a special attention to Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat. After taking oath as India’s Prime Minister, how his visionary ideas helped Northeast to become a ‘Development’ zone from a ‘Conflict’ zone, is the main crux of this Book. This book tries to test the hypothesis that “state versus community conflict in Northeast India can be managed through integrated thrust over ‘Development’ and ‘Security’ policies”. The idea of connections between security and development thinking is not a new phenomenon, but intermingling both as a nexus and using this nexus for conflict management is a post-Cold War phenomenon. There are already some studies done on countries like Sudan, Sweden, Liberia, Afghanistan etc. – to test development-security nexus as a conflict management tool. But no study has yet done on India, where, in recent times, we see growing emphasis on this approach. In the post-Cold War era, we can underline a change in the mode of conflict management in India’s North-eastern part. While, many theorists and policy-makers exemplify federal solution of violent ethnic identity demands as an ideal tool, both Central and State policies are relying more and more on development-security nexus. From the day of getting office as Premier, Narendra Modi has clearly shown his inclination towards this nexus for bringing peace and stability in Northeast. In different speeches and policy formulations, he seems stubborn towards insurgent groups’ federal demands, and emphasizing and implementing an integrated development plan for North-Eastern Region alongwith the rest of India. His well-acclaimed policies like ‘Act East’, and ‘Neighbourhood First’ also helping in both development and securitisation of Northeast. In this Book, the propositions of this Nexus will be empirically tested in five years of NDA regime (2014-19). Broadly, this Book will delve in the questions like – What do we mean by ‘Development- Security Nexus’?; How the ‘Development - Security Nexus’ is differently imbued with meaning and ultimately employed in India?; What are the ‘new’ policies of Indian Government during Modi-led NDA Government (2014 – 2019)?; What are the development policies and initiatives of NDA Government (2014 – 2019) in development arena of India’s Northeast?; What are the security measures of NDA Government (2014 –2019) in NER?; How far Development-Security Nexus is successful in mitigating or managing conflict in India’s North-eastern part? This Study is qualitative research, in which content analysis technique is applied to study variety of data sources. In this Study, the Governmental documents from different ministries - like Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Ministry of Defence etc. - was interpreted to test the hypothesis. Some reliable non- Governmental sources - like data of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt. Ltd., Environmental Systems Research Institute and South Asia Terrorism Portal etc. - was also examined for the information and their analysis. As the topic is very much contemporary and we have paucity of secondary sources, print media and multimedia sources were also considered from reliable sources. I hope, this Book will be a benchmark for the society as well as policy making bodies as a comprehensive comparative database of the tested hypothesis that state versus community conflict in Northeast India can be managed through integrated thrust over Development and Security policies.


Book Synopsis Narendra Modi & Northeast by : DR. NANDINI BASISTHA

Download or read book Narendra Modi & Northeast written by DR. NANDINI BASISTHA and published by INTERDISCIPLINARY INSTITUTE OF HUMAN SECURITY & GOVERNANCE. This book was released on 2023-08-27 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the days of election campaign for 2014 Lok Sabha, Northeast India occupied a special attention to Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat. After taking oath as India’s Prime Minister, how his visionary ideas helped Northeast to become a ‘Development’ zone from a ‘Conflict’ zone, is the main crux of this Book. This book tries to test the hypothesis that “state versus community conflict in Northeast India can be managed through integrated thrust over ‘Development’ and ‘Security’ policies”. The idea of connections between security and development thinking is not a new phenomenon, but intermingling both as a nexus and using this nexus for conflict management is a post-Cold War phenomenon. There are already some studies done on countries like Sudan, Sweden, Liberia, Afghanistan etc. – to test development-security nexus as a conflict management tool. But no study has yet done on India, where, in recent times, we see growing emphasis on this approach. In the post-Cold War era, we can underline a change in the mode of conflict management in India’s North-eastern part. While, many theorists and policy-makers exemplify federal solution of violent ethnic identity demands as an ideal tool, both Central and State policies are relying more and more on development-security nexus. From the day of getting office as Premier, Narendra Modi has clearly shown his inclination towards this nexus for bringing peace and stability in Northeast. In different speeches and policy formulations, he seems stubborn towards insurgent groups’ federal demands, and emphasizing and implementing an integrated development plan for North-Eastern Region alongwith the rest of India. His well-acclaimed policies like ‘Act East’, and ‘Neighbourhood First’ also helping in both development and securitisation of Northeast. In this Book, the propositions of this Nexus will be empirically tested in five years of NDA regime (2014-19). Broadly, this Book will delve in the questions like – What do we mean by ‘Development- Security Nexus’?; How the ‘Development - Security Nexus’ is differently imbued with meaning and ultimately employed in India?; What are the ‘new’ policies of Indian Government during Modi-led NDA Government (2014 – 2019)?; What are the development policies and initiatives of NDA Government (2014 – 2019) in development arena of India’s Northeast?; What are the security measures of NDA Government (2014 –2019) in NER?; How far Development-Security Nexus is successful in mitigating or managing conflict in India’s North-eastern part? This Study is qualitative research, in which content analysis technique is applied to study variety of data sources. In this Study, the Governmental documents from different ministries - like Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Ministry of Defence etc. - was interpreted to test the hypothesis. Some reliable non- Governmental sources - like data of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt. Ltd., Environmental Systems Research Institute and South Asia Terrorism Portal etc. - was also examined for the information and their analysis. As the topic is very much contemporary and we have paucity of secondary sources, print media and multimedia sources were also considered from reliable sources. I hope, this Book will be a benchmark for the society as well as policy making bodies as a comprehensive comparative database of the tested hypothesis that state versus community conflict in Northeast India can be managed through integrated thrust over Development and Security policies.


How the BJP Wins

How the BJP Wins

Author: Prashant Jha

Publisher: Juggernaut Books

Published: 2017-09

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 9386228459

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What's the secret of Modi's mass appeal? How does the RSS help at election time? Does communal incitement actually win votes? Why did Amit ShahÕs election maths fail him in Bihar? Prashant Jha answers these questions and more, dissecting the BJPÕs election machine with authority and insight


Book Synopsis How the BJP Wins by : Prashant Jha

Download or read book How the BJP Wins written by Prashant Jha and published by Juggernaut Books. This book was released on 2017-09 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What's the secret of Modi's mass appeal? How does the RSS help at election time? Does communal incitement actually win votes? Why did Amit ShahÕs election maths fail him in Bihar? Prashant Jha answers these questions and more, dissecting the BJPÕs election machine with authority and insight


The New BJP

The New BJP

Author: Nalin Mehta

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-07-11

Total Pages: 685

ISBN-13: 1040127169

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This book examines how the BJP became the world’s largest political party. It goes beyond the usual narrative of the party’s Hindutva politics to explain how, under Narendra Modi, the party reshaped the Indian polity using its own brand of social engineering. According to the findings of this book, this reconstruction was cleverly powered by new caste coalitions, the claim of a new welfare state that focused on marginalised social groups and the making of a women-voter base. Based on data from three unique indices—the Mehta–Singh Social Index, which studies the caste composition of Indian political parties; the Narad Index, which calculates communication patterns across topics and audiences; and PollNiti, which connects and tallies hundreds of political and economic datasets—The New BJP is full of startling insights into the way both the party and the country function. Previously untapped historical records, exclusive interviews with party leaders and comprehensive reportage from across India provide a fresh understanding of the BJP’s growth areas, including the Northeast and south India. A lucid and objective study of the BJP and India today, this book will be useful to researchers, journalists, students, activists and general public alike. Print edition not for sale in South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka).


Book Synopsis The New BJP by : Nalin Mehta

Download or read book The New BJP written by Nalin Mehta and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-07-11 with total page 685 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines how the BJP became the world’s largest political party. It goes beyond the usual narrative of the party’s Hindutva politics to explain how, under Narendra Modi, the party reshaped the Indian polity using its own brand of social engineering. According to the findings of this book, this reconstruction was cleverly powered by new caste coalitions, the claim of a new welfare state that focused on marginalised social groups and the making of a women-voter base. Based on data from three unique indices—the Mehta–Singh Social Index, which studies the caste composition of Indian political parties; the Narad Index, which calculates communication patterns across topics and audiences; and PollNiti, which connects and tallies hundreds of political and economic datasets—The New BJP is full of startling insights into the way both the party and the country function. Previously untapped historical records, exclusive interviews with party leaders and comprehensive reportage from across India provide a fresh understanding of the BJP’s growth areas, including the Northeast and south India. A lucid and objective study of the BJP and India today, this book will be useful to researchers, journalists, students, activists and general public alike. Print edition not for sale in South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka).


Changing India

Changing India

Author: Manmohan Singh

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 3224

ISBN-13: 9780199483563

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This set of five volumes documents the life and work of Manmohan Singh, an academic, a policymaker, and a politician who has had a deep impact on India and its economy. The volumes offer his selected speeches, articles, and interviews, starting from the 1950s, when he was in the academia, through the 1980s and 1990s, when he was India's finance minister, to 2004-14, when he was the prime minister of India. Manmohan Singh's writings reflect on the reforms that transformed the Indian economy and lay the foundations for a stronger medium-term growth story than the kind that India had witnessed in the preceding 44 years since Independence. The five volumes bring together Singh's essays and speeches on various subjects- economic reforms, India's export trends and the prospects for self-sustained growth, trade and development, and international economic order and equity in development.


Book Synopsis Changing India by : Manmohan Singh

Download or read book Changing India written by Manmohan Singh and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2019 with total page 3224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This set of five volumes documents the life and work of Manmohan Singh, an academic, a policymaker, and a politician who has had a deep impact on India and its economy. The volumes offer his selected speeches, articles, and interviews, starting from the 1950s, when he was in the academia, through the 1980s and 1990s, when he was India's finance minister, to 2004-14, when he was the prime minister of India. Manmohan Singh's writings reflect on the reforms that transformed the Indian economy and lay the foundations for a stronger medium-term growth story than the kind that India had witnessed in the preceding 44 years since Independence. The five volumes bring together Singh's essays and speeches on various subjects- economic reforms, India's export trends and the prospects for self-sustained growth, trade and development, and international economic order and equity in development.


Northeast India and India's Act East Policy

Northeast India and India's Act East Policy

Author: M. Amarjeet Singh

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-07-05

Total Pages: 371

ISBN-13: 1000124185

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This book offers an understanding of the expectations and challenges of Northeast India in the context of India's Act East policy. It critically examines how the policy is being pursued by the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government and analyses its relevance from local perspectives. Contributors to the book provide an examination of the differences between Look East and Act East policy and explanations of the expectations of India's neighboring countries, particularly Myanmar, towards Northeast India. They ask the following questions: a) What is to be done to integrate India’s Northeast region meaningfully into the Act East policy? What is the motive of linking this policy with these states? How is this policy received by the local communities? b) What are the challenges of the Northeast region? What are their needs and priorities? How can these states showcase their potentials to Southeast Asia and East Asia? c) What is the significance of the changes from Look to Act East Policy? Has the regime change affected the continuity in the policy? What are the short- and long-term goals? d) What are the expectations of Southeast Asia and East Asia? By addressing these questions, they bridge the knowledge gaps that exist in the understating of the the Northeast region of India vis-à-vis the Act East policy. The first book to combine a balanced view of India's Act East policy and Northeast India, it will be of interest to policy makers and academics in the fields of Development Studies, International Relations, Northeast India and South Asian Politics.


Book Synopsis Northeast India and India's Act East Policy by : M. Amarjeet Singh

Download or read book Northeast India and India's Act East Policy written by M. Amarjeet Singh and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-07-05 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers an understanding of the expectations and challenges of Northeast India in the context of India's Act East policy. It critically examines how the policy is being pursued by the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government and analyses its relevance from local perspectives. Contributors to the book provide an examination of the differences between Look East and Act East policy and explanations of the expectations of India's neighboring countries, particularly Myanmar, towards Northeast India. They ask the following questions: a) What is to be done to integrate India’s Northeast region meaningfully into the Act East policy? What is the motive of linking this policy with these states? How is this policy received by the local communities? b) What are the challenges of the Northeast region? What are their needs and priorities? How can these states showcase their potentials to Southeast Asia and East Asia? c) What is the significance of the changes from Look to Act East Policy? Has the regime change affected the continuity in the policy? What are the short- and long-term goals? d) What are the expectations of Southeast Asia and East Asia? By addressing these questions, they bridge the knowledge gaps that exist in the understating of the the Northeast region of India vis-à-vis the Act East policy. The first book to combine a balanced view of India's Act East policy and Northeast India, it will be of interest to policy makers and academics in the fields of Development Studies, International Relations, Northeast India and South Asian Politics.


Debating Race in Contemporary India

Debating Race in Contemporary India

Author: Duncan McDuie-Ra

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-04-29

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 1137538988

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Race debates have become more frequent at the national level, and the response to racism in the media and by politicians has shifted from denial to acknowledgment to action. Focusing on the experiences of communities from India's Northeast borderland, the author explores the dynamics of race debates in contemporary India.


Book Synopsis Debating Race in Contemporary India by : Duncan McDuie-Ra

Download or read book Debating Race in Contemporary India written by Duncan McDuie-Ra and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-04-29 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Race debates have become more frequent at the national level, and the response to racism in the media and by politicians has shifted from denial to acknowledgment to action. Focusing on the experiences of communities from India's Northeast borderland, the author explores the dynamics of race debates in contemporary India.


Discrimination, Challenge and Response

Discrimination, Challenge and Response

Author: Venkat Pulla

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-09-14

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 303046251X

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This book explores discrimination against Northeast Indians, who have been frequently stereotyped as backwards, anti-national, anti-assimilationist, immoral, and relegated to low paying positions across retail, hospitality, telecommunications and wellness industries. The contributions draw on interviews with individuals who have migrated to other Indian cities and towns to find jobs and escape from native poverty, and provide a critical examination of the intersections between power, privilege and racial hierarchy in India today. The chapters cover a variety of perspectives including social movements and activism, history, policy, youth studies and gender studies. With a focus on marginalised communities, and the effects and persistence of racial inequality in a South Asian context, this collection will be an important contribution to critical race studies, public policy, human rights discourse, and social work.


Book Synopsis Discrimination, Challenge and Response by : Venkat Pulla

Download or read book Discrimination, Challenge and Response written by Venkat Pulla and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-09-14 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores discrimination against Northeast Indians, who have been frequently stereotyped as backwards, anti-national, anti-assimilationist, immoral, and relegated to low paying positions across retail, hospitality, telecommunications and wellness industries. The contributions draw on interviews with individuals who have migrated to other Indian cities and towns to find jobs and escape from native poverty, and provide a critical examination of the intersections between power, privilege and racial hierarchy in India today. The chapters cover a variety of perspectives including social movements and activism, history, policy, youth studies and gender studies. With a focus on marginalised communities, and the effects and persistence of racial inequality in a South Asian context, this collection will be an important contribution to critical race studies, public policy, human rights discourse, and social work.


Insurgency in India's Northeast

Insurgency in India's Northeast

Author: Jugdep Chima

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-09-01

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 1000952002

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Insurgency in India’s Northeast provides a systematic analysis of every major secessionist group and insurgency in the region within a unified and original explanatory framework, focusing primarily on the postcolonial period. This book presents a parsimonious analytic narrative involving a rich sequential account of the historical evolution of Mizo, Naga, Meitei, and "ethnic Assamese" identities from precolonial to colonial to postcolonial times. Avoiding essentialist or primordialist arguments, the chapters in the book demonstrate how ethnic/(sub)national identities are dynamic and malleable phenomenon, not immutable natural givens. In particular, it argues that the postcolonial Indian state has attempted to integrate these ethnic/sub-state national groups into the Indian Union through a combination of democratic accommodation/consociationalism and hegemonic/violent control, strategically designed to encapsulate their evolving (sub) national identities into the overarching state-sponsored Indian nationality. Through this book, readers will gain a rich understanding of the dynamics of ethnicity/ nationality and the nation/state-building process in postcolonial India. It will be of interest to researchers in the fields of Asian studies, ethnicity, nationalism, separatism, security studies, border studies, and international relations.


Book Synopsis Insurgency in India's Northeast by : Jugdep Chima

Download or read book Insurgency in India's Northeast written by Jugdep Chima and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-09-01 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Insurgency in India’s Northeast provides a systematic analysis of every major secessionist group and insurgency in the region within a unified and original explanatory framework, focusing primarily on the postcolonial period. This book presents a parsimonious analytic narrative involving a rich sequential account of the historical evolution of Mizo, Naga, Meitei, and "ethnic Assamese" identities from precolonial to colonial to postcolonial times. Avoiding essentialist or primordialist arguments, the chapters in the book demonstrate how ethnic/(sub)national identities are dynamic and malleable phenomenon, not immutable natural givens. In particular, it argues that the postcolonial Indian state has attempted to integrate these ethnic/sub-state national groups into the Indian Union through a combination of democratic accommodation/consociationalism and hegemonic/violent control, strategically designed to encapsulate their evolving (sub) national identities into the overarching state-sponsored Indian nationality. Through this book, readers will gain a rich understanding of the dynamics of ethnicity/ nationality and the nation/state-building process in postcolonial India. It will be of interest to researchers in the fields of Asian studies, ethnicity, nationalism, separatism, security studies, border studies, and international relations.


Sustainable Development Goals in Northeast India

Sustainable Development Goals in Northeast India

Author: Subhash Anand

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-04-19

Total Pages: 589

ISBN-13: 9811964785

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This book covers themes related to the geosphere, biosphere, sociosphere and ecosphere dealing with changing geographical, environmental and socio-economic realities to plan a sustainable future for the northeast region (NER) of India. The NER consists of eight states—Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Sikkim—and they carry political, economic and social importance. The book integrates the past, present and future of geospheric attributes incorporating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to meet the demands for improving human wellbeing under diverse and challenging socio-economic, political and environmental conditions. The key SDGs, as in food and agriculture, health, education, water, energy and other overarching goals of the region, have yet to incorporate providing sustainable jobs and promoting equality and inclusive development, although there have been a few studies in that regard. The challenges to achieve SDGs in the NER are formidable compared to the rest of India. The NER has put a great deal of effort into achieving the SDGs, mainly in poverty (SDG-1), good health (SDG-3), education (SDG-4), gender (SDG-5), decent work (SDG-8) and reduced inequalities (SDG-10), similar to the rest of the country. However, the standard development indicators such as road length, access to health care, power consumption and other measures are far below the national average. A multi-pronged strategy has played a pivotal role in the region, but development strategy to attain the SDGs 2030 must be more inclusive in empowering people with maximising self-governance, considering the resources, needs and aspirations of the people. This book evaluates the performance of the SDGs and fills in the gaps. It includes case studies focusing on different SDGs using advanced cartographic, statistical and GIS techniques and methods. It also provides unique findings that serve as valuable resources for planners and policy-makers so that a sustainable future in Northeast India can be achieved.


Book Synopsis Sustainable Development Goals in Northeast India by : Subhash Anand

Download or read book Sustainable Development Goals in Northeast India written by Subhash Anand and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-04-19 with total page 589 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book covers themes related to the geosphere, biosphere, sociosphere and ecosphere dealing with changing geographical, environmental and socio-economic realities to plan a sustainable future for the northeast region (NER) of India. The NER consists of eight states—Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Sikkim—and they carry political, economic and social importance. The book integrates the past, present and future of geospheric attributes incorporating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to meet the demands for improving human wellbeing under diverse and challenging socio-economic, political and environmental conditions. The key SDGs, as in food and agriculture, health, education, water, energy and other overarching goals of the region, have yet to incorporate providing sustainable jobs and promoting equality and inclusive development, although there have been a few studies in that regard. The challenges to achieve SDGs in the NER are formidable compared to the rest of India. The NER has put a great deal of effort into achieving the SDGs, mainly in poverty (SDG-1), good health (SDG-3), education (SDG-4), gender (SDG-5), decent work (SDG-8) and reduced inequalities (SDG-10), similar to the rest of the country. However, the standard development indicators such as road length, access to health care, power consumption and other measures are far below the national average. A multi-pronged strategy has played a pivotal role in the region, but development strategy to attain the SDGs 2030 must be more inclusive in empowering people with maximising self-governance, considering the resources, needs and aspirations of the people. This book evaluates the performance of the SDGs and fills in the gaps. It includes case studies focusing on different SDGs using advanced cartographic, statistical and GIS techniques and methods. It also provides unique findings that serve as valuable resources for planners and policy-makers so that a sustainable future in Northeast India can be achieved.


Northeast India

Northeast India

Author: Samrat Choudhury

Publisher: Hurst Publishers

Published: 2023-07-13

Total Pages: 463

ISBN-13: 180526107X

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As India and the world are roiled by questions of nationalism and identity, this book journeys into the history of one of the world’s newest and most fascinating regions: Northeast India. Having appeared with the stroke of a pen in 1947, as the British Raj was torn asunder and partitioned into India and Pakistan, this is a region of hills inhabited by myriad tribes. Until colonial rule, they had lived in their ancient ways largely unmolested by their neighbours, who were rather keen to avoid their traditions of head-hunting. Samrat Choudhury chronicles the processes by which these remote hill-tribes, and the diverse other peoples inhabiting the valley of the vast Brahmaputra River below, became parts of the ‘imagined nation’ that is India. Through the invention of the Northeast, he explores two other ideas of India that remain in daily competition: Bharat, the Hindu nationalist conception of the country, and Hindustan, the Persian-origin name by which India is still known as far west as Turkey. Taking a long view, this absorbing political history chronicles the separate pathways by which imperialism, Christianity and the British love of tea brought each of the contemporary region’s constituent states, kicking and screaming, into modern India.


Book Synopsis Northeast India by : Samrat Choudhury

Download or read book Northeast India written by Samrat Choudhury and published by Hurst Publishers. This book was released on 2023-07-13 with total page 463 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As India and the world are roiled by questions of nationalism and identity, this book journeys into the history of one of the world’s newest and most fascinating regions: Northeast India. Having appeared with the stroke of a pen in 1947, as the British Raj was torn asunder and partitioned into India and Pakistan, this is a region of hills inhabited by myriad tribes. Until colonial rule, they had lived in their ancient ways largely unmolested by their neighbours, who were rather keen to avoid their traditions of head-hunting. Samrat Choudhury chronicles the processes by which these remote hill-tribes, and the diverse other peoples inhabiting the valley of the vast Brahmaputra River below, became parts of the ‘imagined nation’ that is India. Through the invention of the Northeast, he explores two other ideas of India that remain in daily competition: Bharat, the Hindu nationalist conception of the country, and Hindustan, the Persian-origin name by which India is still known as far west as Turkey. Taking a long view, this absorbing political history chronicles the separate pathways by which imperialism, Christianity and the British love of tea brought each of the contemporary region’s constituent states, kicking and screaming, into modern India.