Author: editor

Korean Media: A Catalyst of Acculturation to Korean
Culture in Manipur

Article

By Marchang Reimeingam

Consumption of Korean media among the young people in Manipur acted as a catalyst of acculturation to Korean culture, a blend of Western and Korean cultures, is a recent development. Adoption of Korean culture is widely prevalent irrespective of their household economic background, educational level, religion, occupation and ethnic group. These people really craze about the Korean culture ranging from food, hair style, make up, movies, clothing to language. However, many of them do not know even the country of origin, i.e. South Korea.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12779607

A study on implementation status of Forest Right Act, 2006
at the national and state levels and its recommendations

Article

By Abhijit Mohanty

Implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA) in India provides an interesting insight to the people especially who are concerned about the Rights of Scheduled Tribe and Other Traditional Forest dwellers on land and forest resources. Peoples’ rights over forest resources are being recognised under FRA in an inclusive manner for the first time in independent India which has been widely appreciated not only throughout the country but also across the world. Within 6 years of the enactment of FRA in the country, a number of impediments came at the implementation level. In this regard a series of research work has been done by various likeminded organisations and researchers which clearly states many reasons responsible for the slow progress of the act, but there is no doubt that it has already initiated a positive change in the forest landscape of the country. Hence, it is imperative to meticulously analyse the status of implementation of Forest Right Act at the national and state level with particular reference to Odisha. This paper reflects the issue that confronts smooth implementation of FRA at various levels including recommendations that will be helpful to materialise the fruitful implementation of FRA in its true spirit and letter.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12779151

Understanding the History of Development of Panchayati
Raj in Assam through Assam Legislative Assembly
Debates, 1947 – 1960

Article

By Sanghamitra Sarma

This paper seeks to understand the history of development of Panchayat Raj in Assam by looking into the Legislative Assembly debates prior to the establishment of Panchayati Raj in Assam in 1960. Grassroot democracy in Assam did not develop in a fortnight even after the Government of India, following the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee Report of 1957, seeks to introduce democratic decentralisation or the Panchayati Raj in various states to promote and propagate the culture of participative democracy in the county in the post independence period. The process of establishment of decentralised institutions for the people to participate requires careful discussions and deliberations. The outcome has to be a system which suits the unique socio-cultural system of the state. The paper traces how prominent politicians of Assam during those days laid down the foundational blocks of grassroot democracy in Assam by discussing and debating extensively on the different legislations on decentralisation.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12779131

Majoritarian and Realigning Elections in Churachandpur
District, Manipur: A Study of Singat Assembly Constituency
from 1972-2007 Assembly Elections

Article

By Bulchong Lhungdim Hemkhomang

Majoritarian and realigning elections are global phenomena in liberal democracy. The paper attempts to analyse this phenomenon in Churachandpur District (Manipur State) in general and Singat Assembly constituency in particular over the past elections after Manipur attained statehood. Unlike the other five Assembly constituencies in the district, Singat is the only constituency where no one so far has won the seat consecutively for the second time. The social apex body of the Zou community has a major role in the electoral politics of the constituency. In Manipur from the 1st Assembly election in 1972 till the 9th elections in 2007, the study reveals that there are only three constituencies where realignment in election took place in each subsequent elections and Singat is one of them. In such constituencies, elections are found to be not only more competitive in nature, but also the people in general are more politically educated than their counterparts. This model may be prescribed for the other constituencies in the district as well as to the entire State of Manipur to reactivate the essence of democracy once again as a vibrant institution to deliver the goods equally irrespective of socio-religious, economic background or descent.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12779116

Ethnic History and Identity of the Zo Tribes in North East
India

Article

By H. Thangtungnung

North East India is a hotspot of identity crisis and ethnic divisions. The Chin, Kuki, Zomi and Mizo tribes who are collectively known as Zo people are no exception. They have close cultural, lingual and religious affinities and a common ancestor called Zo. Historically, they have different theories of origin and migration based on their folklores, folktales and songs narrated down from one generation to another. The different origin theories like the Khul/Chhinlung or Cave origin theory, Chin Hills origin theory and Lost tribe (Manmasi) theory are among the most significant theories so far which speak, to some extent, something about their history and origin. Of late, the Lost Tribe theory has gained momentum which claims that the Zo tribes are among the ten lost tribes of Israel, particularly from the tribe of Manasseh. Israeli Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar had recognised them as descendents of Israel in 2005, which was also approved by the Israeli government. Many have consequently immigrated to the ‘Holy Land’. In this backdrop, this paper is attempts to critically analyse and assess the ethnic origin of the Zo people with special reference to the lost tribe theory. Based on cultural and oral traditions, and Biblical sources, it also attempts to support that the Zo people are the ten lost tribe of Israel by substantiating various arguments to validate this origin theory.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12779089

Problems of Insurgency: A Holistic Understanding from
Manipur, India

Article

By M. Romesh Singh

Manipur, a jewel land of India and known for its rich cultural heritage and traditional arts, has become a place where violence and bloodshed is common feature of the state today. The problem is so much pronounced that people from other states widely recognise this small state through its prevailing problem of unrest. Insurgency threatens the existing development process and has become major obstacle for development of the state. In fact, insurgency emerged in the late sixties and seventies of the last century. Later on, it started giving tremendous pressure and lots of destruction in the systematic functioning of the state as well as central government. In due course of time, numbers of insurgent groups and factional groups have mushroomed due to differences in ideology among themselves. They have been continuously fighting against each other. On the other hand, for the purpose of controlling insurgency activities in the state, armed forces have been deployed in Manipur, equipped with wide range of powers. Ultimately, common men are suffering due to such activities and they are at the receiving end whether it is the activities of insurgency or that of the army. The present paper highlights the rise of insurgency and how innocent people’s right to live in freedom has been curtailed due to unrest in the state.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12779077

Gender Bias in India’s North-Eastern Region: Its Manifestations, Causes and Consequences

Article

By Anindita Sinha

Amidst growing concerns over the persistent deterioration of juvenile sex ratios in India, the possible proliferation of the ‘culture’ of discrimination in societies hitherto known for egalitarian gender relations within the subcontinent, has been a matter of further uneasiness and disquiet among researchers. This issue, for some reasons, has not been investigated fully for a significant chunk of the population of India, occupying eight states in the North-eastern region of the country. The present research is an attempt towards filling in that void by addressing the issue of gender bias among children, in this ethnically and culturally distinct part of India. Using district level data from large-scale sample surveys and the recent censuses of 2001 and 2011 for India, the present study forays into the primary factors shaping gender bias in child survival in North-east India. Analysis of panel data models reveal that factors generally considered associated with higher female autonomy/status, i.e. female education and female work participation, may not be sufficient for obliterating gender bias in child survival and in fact, may work towards increasing it. Results also suggest that economic deprivation could be a significant factor in increasing relative mortality disadvantage of females. However, cultural features of tribes do provide added protection to females against discrimination in child survival. The study points to the urgency of gender sensitive and gender specific policy, which incorporates economic and social vulnerabilities of women in transitional societies such as North-east India.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12779057

Remembering Second World War: Memory, Politics and Deception

Article

By Jangkhomang Guite

This paper concerns with the politics of remembering IIWW in Manipur. It will be observed that commemorating the IIWW in Manipur took at least three turns, all competing and contesting for dominance or recognition. First, the colonial state remembered its soldiers and officers in some War Cemeteries in the region silencing the role of local people. Second, after India’s independence these colonial monuments have been silenced and instead remembrance is now given to those soldiers and officers who fought the colonial armies such as the INA soldiers who immediately assumed status of patriots and freedom fighters of freed India. At the third level we can see that there was a contested conflict and marginality among different communities of Manipur who have competed to place and identify themselves, not as the colonial armies, but those of their opposite, the INA, the freedom fighters of the nation. It was within this contested marginality among these last groups this paper is particularly concerned with.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12779037

Sanjib Baruah, In the Name of the Nation: India and its Northeast, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2020.

Book Review

Reviewed by Thongkholal Haokip

The scholarship of Sanjib Baruah on North East India studies is well-known in India and beyond in the last two decades. Many benefitted from his earlier works on various issues of the Northeast – from the politics of subnationalism to citizenship, ethnic conflicts to peace process, territoriality and indigeneity. However, in this latest work under review he mainly draws from the existing studies on India’s Northeast to further explain the prevalent problems together in the region in the last one decade. Baruah introduces the book by explaining the directional name “the northeast”, and its derivate term northeasterner as an expression of “a certain hierarchy and relation of power”, and the attempt by postcolonial Indian state to “turn an imperial frontier space into the national space”. In this process, through the imposition and creation of a special security regime, a situation of democracy deficits emerges in this regime of othering. Within the region, the “other others” responded by trying to identify themselves in certain terms, for example Gorkha, to assert Indian citizenship. Baurah continues the discussion on the colonial origins of indirect rule in the northeast frontier as a mode of governance during the British rule and its continuation in independent India.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12788049

Understanding the Income Tax Exemption for Sikkimese

Commentary

By Satyabrat Sinha

In a recent judgement, on 13 January 2023, the Supreme Court (SC) of India extended Income Tax (IT) exemption to the ‘Indian-origin’ old settlers of Sikkim and to Sikkimese women married to non-Sikkimese.1 The old settlers, most of whom are Marwaris, will now be treated equivalent to the people of Sikkim who are recognized as Sikkimese for the purpose of IT exemption. So far, only Scheduled Tribes residing in Sixth Schedule areas and so recognized as native or local had IT exemption. The inclusion of an immigrant group into the differentiated citizenship regime in North East India is both, an opportunity to address grievances of non-local communities and at the same time a source of fear to communities identified as native and local.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12748108

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