Category: Article

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

Spatial Pattern of Literacy in Manipur

Article

By Luckyson R. Panmei

Literacy is one of the important demographic elements, which is a good measure of human progress towards modernisation. It is an important indicator of the socioeconomic development of an area. The literacy rate of Manipur has increased tremendously in the post-independent era. The provisional census data of 2011 shows the literacy rate of the state (79.85%) much above the national average (74.04%). However, the spatial pattern of literacy in the state varies from region to region. The present paper is an attempt to study the spatial pattern of the literacy levels prevailing among various sections of the total population in Manipur. It also discusses the male-female differentials and urban-rural differentials literacy rate of the state from 1951 to 2011. It is found that the overall literacy rate of the state has been increasing, while, the literate male population is higher than the literate female population. One important aspect of studying the urban-rural differentials in literacy rate of the state is that, the urban area are mostly concentrated in the valley area, except some small urban areas and a census town in the hill districts. The literacy rate of the urban areas is higher than the rural areas. Less urban-rural differentials in literacy is the characteristic of areas marked by relatively high degree of urbanisation, educational facilities, medical facilities, transport accessibilities, etc.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12771483

Pettigrew’s Children: Tracing the History of Print Culture in Tangkhul Language

Article

By A. S. Shimreiwung

For oral societies, the adoption of written literature signifies an important shift in their modes of communication, recording, and also led to the emergence of literary works. It is important to trace the history of print culture, as we can analysed the process of how new modes of writing began to take shape in a society that was fully dependent on oral communications. This paper will attempt to trace the emergence of written literature among the Tangkhul Naga tribe in Manipur.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12771461

Nagas Role in World War II

Article

By Khrienuo

The Second World War (1939-1945) is an important historical event of the World. Even for the Nagas they considered it as an important event in their history. This is primarily due to their participation in the Battle of Kohima, which was a part of the Burma Campaign between the British and the Japanese during the Second World War. The Burma Campaign was fought from 4 April 1944 to 22 June 1944. The Battle of Kohima took place at Kohima, the present capital of Nagaland, which is situated in the Northeastern region of India. The Nagas role in the Battle of Kohima was of great importance and their role in the battle cannot be ignored, as it was one of the factors which contributed to the victory of the British in the battle. Nagas participation and contribution to the “Battle of Kohima” will be discussed at length in this paper.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12771446

Approaches to Development: A Sociological Examination

Article

By S Parmawi Haokip

Development and its various synonyms and euphemisms have become a commonplace word which everybody uses and apparently understands. But in academic circles where popular terms are often defined differently and with greater measure of scepticism, the concept remains elusive. Development has been conceptualised as a process of economic growth fostered by industrial investment and a competitive culture of enterprise and profit maximisation. It can be also be defined as liberation from the strictures of colonial and imperial domination in which nations secure the right to self-determination and self-reliance, as a state of welfare in which ordinary people enjoy freedom from want, disease, ignorance, insecurity, exploitation and oppression. This paper seeks to develop three arguments. First, development thinking has not been the single paradigm for which it is often taken, but that all along it has been a heterogeneous set of approaches that has been not only variable over time but highly diverse at any given time. Second, it zeroes in on one particular unresolved dilemma in several forms of development thinking, the disparity and tension between endogenous and exogenous dynamics in development. This, too, may point towards a reconceptualisation of development as a transnational problem. Third, it explores the current tendency to rethink development as a process that is not reserved to ‘developing countries’ but that all societies are developing, as a part of the global process.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12771425

An Analysis of Urban Local Self Government in the Sixth Schedule Area of Mizoram

Article

By Jangkhongam Doungel

The paper attempts to trace the genesis of Urban Local Self Government with indepth analysis of the Urban Local Self Government functioning in the Sixth Schedule Area of Mizoram. Though the provision for establishment of Town Committee has been incorporated in the original Sixth Schedule to the constitution of India, it is not yet fully enforced in the Autonomous District Councils of Mizoram till now. Therefore, the paper attempts to analyse the steps, taken by the Autonomous District Councils of Mizoram in Urban Local Self Government.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12771408

Urban Development and Developing Society: A Case Study of Guwahati City

Article

By Purobi Sharma

The urbanisation process in Guwahati, in which population concentration, land expansion, emerging site and situation have gradually created a formidable urban centre. This paper highlights the question of planned urban development in Guwahati which reflects the urbanisation pattern of the whole region. As a prime city it needs proper urban perspective for economic development of the entire region. The management pattern is highly confusing and ad-hoc and entirely dependent on the will and the interest of the State and National Government. The sporadic development programmes simply reveal a situation of utilisation of funds sponsored by the Government. An attempt has been made to discuss land development pattern which in turn reflects the nature of public policy towards growing urbanisation in a backward economy. It is highlighted that the economic status of the city, as a high revenue earning seat for the Government, deserves promoted urban management. The perspective of growth of vital urban leadership at the city level is part of it.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12771395

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