But I Am One of You: Northeast India and the Struggle to Belong
- Manjari Bhargava
- 3 days ago
- 8 min read
Book: But I Am One of You: Northeast India and the Struggle to Belong
Edited by: Samrat Choudhury and Preeti Gill
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers India
E-ISBN: 978-93-6213-359-5
Year of Publication: 2024
Pages: 282
Price: INR 599
After one’s name, perhaps the most frequently asked question is regarding ‘where’ one is from. It may be an easy answer for some, but navigating a true sense of belongingness is a complex issue for many, particularly those born and brought up in areas away from where their ethnic roots lie. Even as they attempt to adapt and assimilate, it is only the local attitudes, and at times, the law of either acceptance or resistance, that determines whether they can fit in. While individuals battle with the idea of their personal identity throughout life, communities have an established identity, the way they define themselves, the ‘Self’, in relation to others. ‘But I Am One of You: Northeast India and the Struggle to Belong,’ a 2024 anthology edited by Samrat Choudhury and Preeti Gill, explores this sense of identity, belongingness and implications of terminologies such as ‘outsider-insider’ and ‘us versus them’, in the background of India’s northeast, a region that till date remains unknown yet stereotyped in the Indian mainland. The publication follows up on a 2019 anthology by the same editors, titled ‘Insider or Outsider: Tales of Belonging and Unbelonging in India’s North East’. While the editors recognise that no such book can be complete in providing justice to the immense diversity in the region, the second volume is an attempt to enhance the picture by including more voices and examining changing attitudes as new turmoils continue to engulf the region.
Through eighteen essays, each stemming from deeply personal experiences, the book unravels multilayered fabrics that constitute identity at the regional level. While the experiences portray diverse voices, there runs a thread of unity; each account fits into a broader socio-political context brimming with the longing to belong. However, this ‘struggle to belong’ is not limited to that of the northeasterner in mainland India; there is an equal struggle faced by non-tribals in tribal areas, tribals in non-tribal areas, mainlanders in the northeast and migrants from neighbouring states and countries. In presenting these stories, the book puts forth the microhistory of diverse groups within states.
Most essays are a beautiful blend of fact and feelings—numbers, riots, laws, who is native and who is not is complemented with how it feels to be a minority, to lose known ones to indiscriminate violence, to have compassion from friends and family amidst political tensions, to see a law break apart families and communities. While some tug at the heartstrings, recounting atrocities in detail, others compel understanding through their simplicity. Official statements transform into lived experiences—with brief backgrounds on Foreigners Tribunals (FTs), the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), essays focus on how these legal frameworks further complicate identity issues. With the NRC, nearly 3.3 crore residents of Assam had to prove their citizenship based on lineage, through documents and oral testimonies, with 25th March, 1971 as the cut-off date. About 19 lakh people were left out in the final list, leaving them grappling with legal uncertainties. Simultaneously, a double-check was enforced, as the FTs continued functioning, determining citizens’ status at will. Many were marked as ‘doubtful voters’ for no valid reason, leaving citizens guilty (of lacking citizenship) until proven innocent, raising tensions in already tense atmospheres.
Land ownership, to most, is not just about economic power but is deeply connected to a sense of identity. Porous borders and their unresolved legal statuses have played a significant role in stirring clashes. Control over what one community considers ‘their land’, if threatened, can turn ugly. This is often why in certain areas of the Northeast, development plans face resistance and migrants, with a constant suspicion. This ‘fear-psychosis’ manifests itself in legal demands and violence. While the former is a pillar of democracy, the latter threatens it. The Gumti hydel project in Tripura was resisted in 1974 by tribals for the submergence of the land and inadequate compensation. It continues to stand still today, despite poor performance periods (Environmental Justice Atlas, 2022). Such actions by the government, however intended, need delicate handling, else they culminate in violence and raise distrust, especially towards governing bodies.
A Consciousness of Being at the Margins
On paper, margins act as a demarcation of organisation. But what happens when one’s existence is limited to staying at the margins? A running theme found in the book is the failure of economic prospects in metropolitan cities like Delhi to go hand-in-hand with social acceptance, as the average northeast migrant’s daily encounters with racial discrimination and prejudice abound. Pou (2024), an academician, in his essay states the problematic projection of the region as a troubled periphery or conflict zone that continues to haunt the psychological make-up of people living outside the region (p. 36), inevitably leading to misinformed stereotypes about the average northeast resident. Students, professionals and even government officials, irrespective of their capabilities, continue to suffer publicly merely due to their ethnic background. A different ‘look’, East-Asian facial features and the failure to blend with the majority draws uncalled attention, in extreme cases leading to xenophobia. The constant suspicion and distrust that an ‘outsider’ often faces is perhaps why it is always felt advantageous to be part of the mainstream, however minuscule that might be (Pisharoty, 2024).
In its quest to sensitise readers of identity struggles in Northeast India, what differentiates this anthology from other texts on the topic is its equal emphasis on the marginalisation and discrimination of minorities, non-indigenous and migrant communities, within the northeast, bringing out the humanness and universality of the struggle to belong, of the consciousness of being at the margins. The book is not just a dedication to the northeast; it is dedicated to anyone and everyone who struggles to belong, inside or outside their homes. In my opinion, this defining feature is what makes it a must-read.
Power Dynamics and the Mirage of Peace
Addressing Muslims in Manipur, the politics of displacement and migration have been pointed to (Rehman, 2024). These Muslims, known as Pangals, have been increasingly marginalised by the majority Meitei community, and even massacred in the 1993 riots. Various instances of such power dynamics can be found throughout the book. Sikkimese Nepalis blaming the ‘old settlers’ of Sikkim, for being tagged as ‘foreigners’ in a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that granted income tax exemption to the ‘old settlers’ (a miniscule minority in the state which includes Marwaris, Biharis, Punjabis, and Muslims who had settled in Sikkim before it became a part of India in 1975); migrant labourers in Nagaland being denied fundamental human rights despite crucial economic contributions; ethnic cleansing and violent anti-outsider movements in Meghalaya against non-tribals—leading one to question the plausibility of peace if all that every community seeks is self-protection and autonomy, perpetuating the same discrimination, exclusion, and violence on others that is recognisably inhumane on the receiving end. For the labels ‘Chinky’, ‘Chinese’, and ‘Nepali’ are reciprocated with ‘mayang’, ‘dhkar’, and ‘deshwali’, among others. Even though most terms started out as mere indicators of differences, their politicisation has made them racist slurs. Various essays rightfully point to the futility of fighting for a cause with a double face.
Multi-layered Identities
Further, as several essays highlight, identity is fluid. Class, caste, gender, and religion continue to escalate differences within and among communities. Modern colonial conceptions of womanhood, which influenced women’s fashion over time, were that covering more meant greater dignity (Jamatia, 2024). My feminist self found solace in the acknowledgement of gender identity as part of the larger community identity. Recognition that the majoritarian gaze included the patriarchal gaze, often instructing women on what to do; deconstructions of myths about the matrilineal system followed by the Garos; imaginations of a life where one’s mother was an outsider and father an insider and more, as authors highlighted the need for social, economic, and political empowerment of women.
As distinctions between communities within the region continue, outside, in the Indian mainland or even abroad, the unity is stronger, as a shared identity as a northeasterner provides comfort. A lack of sensitivity towards the northeast has been repeatedly highlighted, especially the judgements passed based on looks; abroad, many have been questioned if they are Indian. Going abroad is itself seen as a privilege, underscoring the greater significance of class.
Conclusion: Endless Strife?
Peace, at times, may be more fragile than glass, especially in a region that has seen frequent insurgency. Identity provides a sense of comfort and ease; snatching it away is unsettling. But the longer the battle pursues, the larger the gap, the greater the violence, and there is no true winner. Tolerance and prioritising humanity above any identity must bring people together. The anthology does not aim to find solutions, but rather humanises what most people see as mere news headlines. It presents a picture of hope and reconciliation, despite being marginalised, name-called, subjected to violence, facing legal complications, and denied equality, and equal opportunities. People fight to erase the ‘insider-outsider’ tag and prove that their love and loyalty remain to the land that nurtured them, irrespective of where their forefathers lie. The significance of physically having lived in a place for an extended period of time often overrides ethnicity, providing a torch of hope in the cruellest of times. Effective solutions cannot be arrived at unless one understands the real implications that identity battles lead to. The book seeks to create this very understanding.
The editors state their intent is to humanise the issue, not to find solutions. Awareness is key, a crucial aspect that must build the foundations for the road ahead. But ultimately, humanising the problem is the means to an end, the end being solutions. Finding solutions thus must go hand in hand, and empathy must blend with action. Most essays describe problems, military uprisings, insurgencies, violence, suspicion, and conflict, occasionally reflecting on periods of peace that once ensued. While one talks of empowering those who have been marginalised and shifting focus to more pressing issues such as the environment, employment and resource management, what lacks is an attempt to draw lessons from such peace periods, to evaluate old methods in contemporary times, and an exploration of new alternatives. Fear of ‘advanced’ societies taking control in indigenous areas often creates tensions, but building mutual trust between communities softens this fear. Tensions have been seen in the Mizo National Front’s (MNF) uprisings that began in 1966 and continued for twenty years, and in the 1987 Bodo movement where one armed faction made the Bodo name synonymous with insurgency, amongst innumerable strifes in the region. Peace accords, such as the Mizo Accord (1986) and the Bodo Peace Accords (2003, 2020), and the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution that provides autonomy to tribals to preserve their culture, traditions and undertake socio-economic development do more to ‘protect’ one community than assimilate interests. They do not solve problems such as killing ‘outsiders’ for economic gain, as seen in the October 1992 riots in Meghalaya. When people share their stories, their ‘what-ifs’ should also be presented. In asking locals the way forward lies huge potential, for what better than to make the audience the thinkers, to empower those who are impacted. While the book puts forth a history of turmoil and a desire for peace, adding perspectives on answering the ‘how’ question would have enriched the reading experience. And then, maybe one day, there will be no outsiders at home (Banerjee, 2014).
References
Banerjee, P. (2014, February 9). Outsiders at Home. Hindustan Times.
Environmental Justice Atlas. (2022). Gumti hydroelectric project, Tripura, India. https://ejatlas.org/print/gumti-
Jamatia, H. (2024). Fashion and Politics: Understanding the Earliest Indigenous Women’s Movement in Tripura. In S.
Choudhury, P. Gill (Eds.), But I Am One of You: Northeast India and the Struggle to Belong (pp. 89-102). HarperCollins Publishers India.
Pisharoty, S.B. (2024). Gaping at the Gaze. In S. Choudhury, P. Gill (Eds.), But I Am One of You: Northeast India and the
Struggle to Belong (pp. 183-190). HarperCollins Publishers India.
Pou, V. (2024). Edgy in the City. In S. Choudhury, P. Gill (Eds.), But I Am One of You: Northeast India and the Struggle
to Belong (pp. 35-47). HarperCollins Publishers India.
Rehman, T. (2024). Of Begums and Lailas. In S. Choudhury, P. Gill (Eds.), But I Am One of You: Northeast India and the
Struggle to Belong (pp. 48-62). HarperCollins Publishers India.
The author, Manjari Bhargava, Junior Editor at Ramjas Political Review.
Featured image credit: Amazon India