Actors Of Identity: Colonial Legacies, Political Institutions And Social Movements In Northeast India

Abstract

Identity in Northeast India is shaped not merely by cultural difference but by a complex interplay of actors and forces such as colonial administrators who codified ethnic categories and reorganized boundaries, post-colonial state institutions that reinforced and regulated divisions through policies of reorganization and reservation, migration flows intensifying insider–outsider dynamics, resource politics that displaced communities and sharpened land-based identities, insurgent groups militarizing grievances, political parties and ethnic organizations transforming anxieties into demands for autonomy, counter-insurgency measures eroding trust, as well as religious conversion and cross-border ties with neighboring countries which altered cultural markers and internationalized identity concerns; these intertwined actors collectively co-produce identity in the region, making conflict-sensitive governance, inclusive development, and sustainable peacebuilding contingent on recognizing and engaging with these distinct but interconnected influences.