North-East India: Demography, Culture and Identity Crisis

The management of public affairs in northeast India has been in focus in the regional, national and world press in recent years. Much of the attention has been confined to insurgency, the ‘foreign nationals’ issue, tribal ‘uprisings’, ‘brutalities’ committed by the security forces, ‘involvement’ of foreign agencies in the area, political ‘horse-trading’ and floods. There has been no analysis of the economic, cultural and demographic factors which have acquired different nuances in the wake of the rapid modernization taking place in the region since the 1950s and which have a decisive say on the formulation of policies and the efficacy of institutions of governance in northeast India. This paper proposes to offer some facts and reflections on these aspects.