Jugdep S. Chima and Pahi Saikia, Insurgency in India’sNortheast: Identity formation, Postcolonial Nation/State-Building, and Secessionist Resistance. London andNew York: Routledge, 2024
Reviewed by Rachel Khrasi & Ayush Mazumder
In the introductory the authors highlight the rest of the book by taking the reader to the heart of India’s Northeast, a region that has seen decades of unrest and rebellion. Chima and Sakia start the chapter by talking about how the area is home to a wide range of ethnic groups, each with its own strong sense of history and identity. The authors mention that the problems and fights in the Northeast aren’t just about the violence or separatism; rather, they are, in fact, about who gets to say what it means to be “Indian” and who belongs to what community. The chapter also talks about the Indian government having a huge role to play in uniting all these different groups into one national identity. While some groups were open to integrating, especially if it meant having their own rights or being respected for their culture and traditions. However, the other groups felt left out and even threatened, which made them fight back sometimes with violence.