The insider-outsider narrative: manufacturing political xenophobia in Assam

This paper advances a theoretical claim that xenophobia in many postcolonial societies functions as a political strategy. In the case of Assam, xenophobia has not simply arisen from spontaneous public sentiment, rather, it has been cultivated, legitimized, and institutionalized through the rhetoric of illegal immigration. This paper introduces the concept of political xenophobia to explain how discourses of foreignness are used to shape electoral outcomes and justify violence. The phrase illegal immigrant has evolved into a performative category with profound political implications. This paper argues that xenophobia in Assam is not an aberration but a systemic mode of political articulation.