In an era of failing states and ethnic conflict, violent challenges from dissenting groups in the former Yugoslavia, the former Soviet Union, several African countries, and India give cause for grave concern in much of the world. And it is in India where some of the most turbulent of these clashes have been taking place. One resulted in the creation of Pakistan, and militant separatist movements flourish in Kashmir, Punjab, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Assam. In India Against Itself, Sanjib Baruah focuses on the insurgency in Assam in order to explore the politics of subnationalism. Baruah offers a bold and lucid interpretation of the political and economic history of Assam from the time it became a part of British India and a leading tea-producing region in the nineteenth century. He traces the history of tensions between pan-Indianism and Assamese subnationalism since the early days of Indian nationalism. The region's insurgencies, human rights abuses by government security forces and insurgents, ethnic violence, and a steady slide toward illiberal democracy, he argues, are largely due to India's formally federal, but actually centralized governmental structure. Baruah argues that in multiethnic polities, loose federations not only make better democracies, in the era of globalization they make more economic sense as well. This challenging and accessible work addresses a pressing contemporary problem with broad relevance for the history of nationality while offering an important contribution to the study of ethnic conflict. A native of northeast India, Baruah draws on a combination of scholarly research, political engagement, and an insider's knowledge of Assamese culture and society.

"A House Divided Against Itself Vol. II" by way of Mrs. Oliphant intricately unfolds a tale of familial discord, intertwining the lives of complex characters in opposition to the backdrop of societal and ancient upheavals. Renowned for her eager observations of human nature, Mrs. Oliphant masterfully crafts a story that delves into the problematic dynamics of relationships and the outcomes of inner strife. The novel's title, echoing a well-known biblical word, suggestions at the inner conflicts that form the destiny of its characters and the wider international they inhabit. Set towards a vividly painted historical panorama, the book explores themes of love, betrayal, and the transformative power of private and societal alternate. Mrs. Oliphant's eloquent prose and rich characterizations immerse readers in a world in which the divisions inside a house reflect larger fissures in society. With a deft touch, the author navigates the complexities of human feelings, growing a work that resonates with readers on each an emotional and highbrow level. " A House Divided Against Itself Vol. II" stands as a testament to Mrs. Oliphant's storytelling prowess, presenting a compelling adventure via the tumultuous corridors of family and societal strife.

" A House Divided Against Itself Vol. III" by way of Mrs. Oliphant intricately unfolds a tale of familial discord, intertwining the lives of complex characters in opposition to the backdrop of societal and ancient upheavals. Renowned for her eager observations of human nature, Mrs. Oliphant masterfully crafts a story that delves into the problematic dynamics of relationships and the outcomes of inner strife. The novel's title, echoing a well-known biblical word, suggestions at the inner conflicts that form the destiny of its characters and the wider international they inhabit. Set towards a vividly painted historical panorama, the book explores themes of love, betrayal, and the transformative power of private and societal alternate. Mrs. Oliphant's eloquent prose and rich characterizations immerse readers in a world in which the divisions inside a house reflect larger fissures in society. With a deft touch, the author navigates the complexities of human feelings, growing a work that resonates with readers on each an emotional and highbrow level. " A House Divided Against Itself Vol. III" stands as a testament to Mrs. Oliphant's storytelling prowess, presenting a compelling adventure via the tumultuous corridors of family and societal strife.

We have grown up in a country where we were taught a distorted history, and some essential segments of our yesteryear have been obscured. Consequently, we were wronged, and we wronged others - unwittingly. Knowing our factual past is, therefore, vital to understanding the aberrations that make our present problematic. This book attempts to sensitise people on some crucial chapters of India, which have either been misrepresented or blurred. The Indian state of Assam has been distressed by several historical deceptions for over a century now, which have remained unaddressed. Thus, despite being one of the most fascinating territories inhabited by incredibly charming people, Assam is often in the national and international news, mostly for the wrong reasons. A case in point is a 1983 American magazine editorial in The New Republic that reportedly wrote, inter alia, “There are places - the Indian state of Assam is one – where the slaughter of children is a form of political expression.” The caustic comment was made in an apparent reference to the 1983 broad daylight Nellie massacre, killing countless newborns, toddlers, babies, infirm females, aged people and others indiscriminately in six hours of mayhem in the village on 18th February 1983. Dissemination of factual awareness about the disinformation spread earlier by British colonial rulers concerning the history of eastern India is, therefore, essential to end the present conflicts between the various communities and tribes of the region. With meticulous research backed by years of personal experience, septuagenarian author Subir wrote this book aiming to permeate ordinary peoples’ much-needed understanding of past realities and the prevalent circumstances that should help usher in peace and prosperity promptly in Assam.

"A House Divided Against Itself Vol. I" by way of Mrs. Oliphant intricately unfolds a tale of familial discord, intertwining the lives of complex characters in opposition to the backdrop of societal and ancient upheavals. Renowned for her eager observations of human nature, Mrs. Oliphant masterfully crafts a story that delves into the problematic dynamics of relationships and the outcomes of inner strife. The novel's title, echoing a well-known biblical word, suggestions at the inner conflicts that form the destiny of its characters and the wider international they inhabit. Set towards a vividly painted historical panorama, the book explores themes of love, betrayal, and the transformative power of private and societal alternate. Mrs. Oliphant's eloquent prose and rich characterizations immerse readers in a world in which the divisions inside a house reflect larger fissures in society. With a deft touch, the author navigates the complexities of human feelings, growing a work that resonates with readers on each an emotional and highbrow level. "A House Divided Against Itself Vol. I" stands as a testament to Mrs. Oliphant's storytelling prowess, presenting a compelling adventure via the tumultuous corridors of family and societal strife.

South Asia is the theatre of myriad experimentations with nationalisms of various kinds - religious, linguistic, religio-linguistic, composite, plural and exclusivist. In all the region’s major states, officially promulgated nationalism at various times has been fiercely contested by minority groups intent on preserving what they see as the pristine purity of their own cultural inheritance. This volume examines the perspective of minority identities as they negotiate their terms of co-existence, accommodation and adaptation with several other competing identities within the framework of the ‘nation state’ in South Asia. It examines three different kinds of minority articulations – cultural conclaves with real or fictitious attachments to an imaginary homeland, the identity problems of dispersed minorities with no territorial claims and the aspirations of indigenous communities, tribes or ethnicities. The essays in this volume offer a rich menu: the evolution of Naga nationalism, the construction of the territory-less Sylheti identity, the debates over Pashtun nationalism in Pakistan, the evolution of Muslim nationalism in Sri Lanka, the politics of religious minorities in Bangladesh and Pakistan, the making of minority politics in India, and questions of Islam and nationalism in colonial India. It is an eclectic mix for students of nationalism, politics, modern history and anyone interested in the evolution of South Asia. This book was published as a special issue of South Asian History and Culture.

Explores the ways linguistic nationalism has enabled and deepened the reach of All-India nationalism. This title is also available as Open Access.

This book explores the making of colonial Northeast India and offers a new perspective to the study of the Assamese identity in the nineteenth century as a distinctly nineteenth-century cultural phenomenon, not confined to linguistic parameters alone. It studies crucial markers of the self — history, customs, food, dress, new religious beliefs — and symbols considered desirable by the provincial middle class and the way these fitted in with the latter’s nationalist subjectivities in the face of an emphatic Bengali cultural nationalism. The author shows how colonialism was intrinsically linked to the assertion of middle class intelligentsia in the region and was instrumental in eroding the essential malleability of societal processes nurtured by the Ahom state. Rich with fresh research data, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers of history, political science, area studies, and to anyone interested in understanding Northeast India.

This book presents a comprehensive account of the debates on sovereignty, self-determination and nationalist upsurges in India’s Northeast, especially Assam. At a deeper level, it analyses how multi-ethnic societies engage with the nation state. Based on the framework of international relations and geo-politics, the volume locates internal tensions and contradictions among different ethnic groups, alongside the complex interrelationships between the centre and the region. It also proposes a new structure of ‘Common Ethnic House’ to resolve persistent inter-ethnic tensions among different communities and the impasse between the Northeast and the centre. This book will interest scholars and researchers of politics and international relations, sociology and social anthropology, area studies, peace and conflict studies, especially those concerned with South Asia and Northeast India.

This survey of various African and Asian conflicts examines people's experiences on territorial borders and the ways they affect political configurations. By focusing on individuals' routines and daily life, these contributions treat borderland dynamics as actual political units with their own actions and outcomes.