India Against Itself: Assam and the Politics of Nationality (Critical Histories)

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. 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 since 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. According To Sanjib Baruah, Loosely Organized Federations Are Not Only Less Prone To Violent Conflicts, They Make Better Democracies And, In Our Era Of Globalization, They Make More Economic Sense As Well. He Illustrates The Argument With An Analysis Of Conflicts In India's Northeastern Province Of Assam. Baruah Offers An Original And Lucid Interpretation Of The Political And Economic History Of Assam Since It Became A Part Of British India And One Of The World's Leading Tea-producing Regions In The Nineteenth Century.--jacket. Theoretical Considerations: The Limits Of Nation-building -- Colonial Geography As Destiny: Assam As A Province Of British India -- The Making Of A Land Frontier: Assam And Its Immigrants -- Cultural Politics Of Language, Subnationalism, And Pan-indianism -- Contested Identity, Culture Wars, And The Breakup Of Colonial Assam -- Protest Against Immigration, Ethnic Rifts, And Assam's Crisis Of Governability -- Militant Subnationalism, Human Rights, And The Chasm With Pan-indianism -- We Are Bodos, Not Assamese: Contesting A Subnational Narrative -- Conclusion: India Against Itself. Sanjib Baruah. Includes Bibliographical References ([231]-243) And Index. The discipline of political science has, at least until recently, been quite State-centered.