Category: Article

Identity and Violence: Exploring an Ethical Framework for Peace in the Context of the Indo-Naga Conflict

Article

By Venusa Tinyi

Violence is still one of the biggest threats to human civilizational values. It looms large around the globe in various forms. Despite advancements at several fronts, including the existence of several peace norms and organizations, we are yet to find an adequate panacea for violence. In this paper, an attempt is made to provide a conceptual framework to understand and address the problem of violence through the philosophical lens of Emmanuel Levinas. According to him, violence is grounded in how we see ourselves and how we see the others. Identity construction is thus seen as the root cause of violence. Having outlined the basic ethical ideas of Levinas to address the problem of violence, I present a case study of a conflict – the Indo-Naga conflict. I suggest that for understanding and resolving the conflict at a much deeper level, one has to go beyond the socio-empirical conditions to conceptual pre-condition that comes with a sense of ethical responsibility.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12748283

The Politics of Coal Mining in Meghalaya: Land, Ownership and Local Autonomy

Article

By Teiborlang T. Kharsyntiew

In the Northeast region of India, the state of Meghalaya is endowed with rich mineral resources like coal and limestones. Protected under the special status of the Sixth Schedule, land and its resources belong to the people. But over the last few decades, mining of these resources has changed not only the physical environment but also the tenet of indigenous land governance. While this transformation can be attributed to the change in land governance during the colonial and the post-colonial period, the extensive resource extraction from the mid-1990s onwards exposed the shortcomings of decentralisation of power and its effect on land governance in Meghalaya. Today the existence of multi-layer institutions of land governance that are inconsistence in powers and functions shapes the dynamics of coal politics and land governance in the state.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13309183

Living a Flooded Life: Women, City and Community in North East India’s Dibrugarh

Article

By Evy Mehzabeen

The paper makes a case-study analysis of the annually flooded Dibrugarh town of the Brahmaputra valley of India’s northeast, and looks at floods as disasters in the context of how women negotiate, adapt and survive an annual phenomenon of flood. The paper has tried to interweave multiple narratives arising from differentiated gendered roles played by women in the pre-flood, during floods as well as in the post-flood periods, as collected through interviews and discussions to showcase how women use their agency to make place within as well as outside the community through dialogues, shared experiences and inter-community social capital. It discusses gendering space through the changing lived spaces of a household in the flooded and non-flooded period for four different communities united by flood. The first section of the paper looks at the City as a site for recurring disaster. The second section discuss agency of women as an emanating tool to face, adapt and survive disaster, expanding beyond herself to family and community. The third section presents the spatialities of adaptation manifested through built-form, arising as an outcome of gendered vulnerability and adaptation practices, as translated onto the spaces they inhabit, throughout the flood-cycle.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12748263

Work and Livelihood of Northeast Migrants in Delhi: An Empirical Study

Article

By Khansemphi KK Raleng

With the recognition of the rise in migration of people from Northeast states to metropolitan cities to pursue a better livelihood, this paper aims to uncover various aspects of their working lives. Responses of a sample of 225 Northeast migrants working in formal and informal sector reveal that they strongly believe that there is a way and possibility of earning a good living in the city. About 12 per cent of workers are engaged in more than one work, a few of them being engaged in both wage work and self-employment. Despite several challenges in working life including the experiences of differential treatment, a majority of respondents reported a better livelihood in the city. Although the BPO sector work has been one of the most preferred jobs for these migrants, most of them tend to change jobs for better opportunities and payment. It is strongly believed that communication skills are most important for a job. While factors like facilities in the workplace, organized and professional environment, and new learnings shape good working experiences for wage workers; for the self-employed, extra income, passion for and interest in own business, and financial independence are the motivating factors. The impact of the pandemic on Northeast workers has been quite evident from the fact that about onefourth of people took new jobs in the city in the aftermath of the pandemic.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12748217

Patient-Provider Relationship in Cancer Care: Insights from a Study in two North-Eastern States of India

Article

By Dindi Kuru and Anil Kumar K

In the journey to cancer treatment, the doctor-patient relationship is pivotal in strengthening oncology service delivery which is sparingly understood in the study area. In this paper we examinethe doctor-patient relationship in cancer care in two states of northeast India. A descriptive multiple-embedded case study approach was followed using mixed methods for breast, cervix, lung, oral and stomach cancers- an integrated framework was a guided referee. In phase one, 388 participants were selected by stratified random sampling and 21 semi-structured interviews in phase two, comprising of patients and oncologists. Cancer patients described their feeling of non-involvement in their treatment due to the condescending behaviour of a few nursing staff with the lack of doctor’s visits in day-care chemotherapy centres were described as discouraging. While, the request for non-disclosure of diagnosis to the patient by their relatives and the preference for alternative cancer treatment was a challenge for doctors. Incorporating locally relevant activities such as lotteries has supported patient outreach for cancer care. Relational communication between doctor-patient while acknowledging the psychosocial aspects of cancer patients and incorporating them as a mandatory part of the medical and nursing curriculum will enhance the cancer treatment journey.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12748145

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Nutritional Characteristics of North-East Indian States

Article

By Malini L Tantri, Channamma Kambara, and Harshita Bhat

In this paper we investigate the trend and pattern of nutritional status of women and children in North East India and explore the factors that perhaps explain the same. The analysis is based on secondary data available from various rounds of NFHS survey, Economic survey of India and other supporting secondary literature portrait the dichotomy between growth and development through the lenses of nutritional parameter. Apparently different NER states have flared differently in nutritional parameter and thereby urge to have states specific approach in identifying and targeting factors contribute the same.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12748024

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Agro-Economy in the Hills of Manipur: An Interplay of Peasants, Middlemen and Markets

Article

By Hoineilhing Sitlhou

The paper examines a peasant society’s interface with modernization, essentially the penetration of capitalist relations of production in the hills of Manipur. The space for labour has changed and has become commoditized. It is no longer the bonds of kinship, operative through families of clans and kindred, which govern production and distribution. Though there are a sizable population of rural poor, mostly landless labourers, who are dependent on agriculture as their primary source of livelihood, the introduction of peasants to commercial market economy have made them a vulnerable prey of the middlemen who exploit them in the business transactions. The outcome is the ensuing dwindling interest of the peasants in agriculture production as it is no longer considered to be a productive enterprise. This is despite the fact that they have no alternative vocation or source of livelihood or resource capital to fall back on. The study concludes that the peasants need to be encouraged by the state keeping in mind their important contribution to the state’s economy and subsistence.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12748009

Ethnic and Counter-Ethnic Mobilization: A Study of Bodoland Territorial Region, Assam

Article

By Dipika Paul

Northeast India for long has witnessed ethnic mobilizations for greater autonomy. The Government of India’s attempt to meet such demands with statehood and Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) did not end such demands. Formation of ADC under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India in a multi-ethnic society like in Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) of Assam have proliferated ethnic mobilization. BTC has only 33.5% ST population with the Bodos as the dominant tribe. Therefore, introducing BTC for empowering the Bodos led to the question of marginalization and counterethnic mobilization of other communities. It also led to the strengthening of “Non-Bodo” as a collective identity. The paper analysed counter-ethnic mobilization as a consequences of the formation of ADCs in a multi-ethnic society. It discusses the factors for such mobilization i.e., incidences of violence, insecurity, and questions of deprivation. It also discusses the consequences of the mobilization in strengthening of “Non-Bodo” identity.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12747990

Gender and Sports: Representation of Women Athletes in Mizo Dailies

Article

By Nicky Lalrinsanga Lotlai, V. Ratnamala, and Mangchungnunga Hangsing

Gender has always played a key role in defining the ways in which athletes are portrayed in the media. This paper tackled how the patriarchal set-up of the Mizo culture and society resulted in the limited opportunity for Mizo women to participate in sports. It gives an in-sight on the status of women in Mizo traditional society, also how changes brought along by the Christian missionaries have led to the wider participation of women in society and in sports. This study explores the level of representation of women athletes in Mizo daily newspapers. It highlighted the differences in the representation of men and women athletes in Mizo dailies, and also studies the space given to women athletes in news coverage. and the types of sports covered by Mizos dailies. Content analysis is employed for the evaluation of data. Using purposive sampling method, three Mizo daily newspapers i.e., Vanglaini, The Zozam Times, and The Aizawl Post are selected as sample dailies. The sample dailies are selected based on their circulation figures. The data revealed that women athletes does not get the level of representation compared to male athletes, also the types of sports played by women paved a way for coverage in the Mizo dailies. The reason for the lack of coverage of women’s sports news is deliberated in this paper. This paper will fill the vast research gap that existed in women’s participation in sports in Northeast India.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12747972

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Evidences of Job Search Behaviour, Waiting, Employability Skills, Change and Dissatisfaction of North-East Migrant Worker and Employer’s Reciprocity in Bengaluru

Article

By Reimeingam Marchang

It is evident from the primary data that North-East migrant workers in Bengaluru search job widely through social networks. Job search competition was relatively low owing to the flexibility in entry and exit particularly in private sector. Largely, job waiting period was considerably short because of the flexibility in searching and choosing job. Experienced workers in particular usually sought for a specific job with certain reservation wage. Employers preferred experienced over fresher workers. Most workers do not have a continuous work. Some workers have lowered their job aspiration below their educational qualification while employers have raised the minimum hiring qualification of the workers to be employable in their establishment due to skill shortfall. Communication was the foremost skills required and demanded to consider labour as employable. Migrant workers prominently engaged in retail, hospitality and corporate job. Workers’ average income was modest and earnings vary across the occupations. Workers kept on changing their job through on-the-job search as an attempt to achieve wage growth and job satisfaction. Employers also felt the same. However, most workers desire to stay on their job due to job satisfaction and employer wanted to retain their workers owing to labour productivity. Both workers and employers encountered a widespread work, workplace and organisational problems that were addressed through various mechanisms involving colleague, employers and worker’s voicing dissatisfaction.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12747938

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