Articles by H Srikanth

The killing of over 70 adivasis in Assam by one faction of the Bodo militants is part of a pattern which has become normalised in Assam and its neighbouring states. This article places the present killings in the historical context of the rise of ethnic militancy and underlines, yet again, the futility of such acts.

As the struggle for gaining recognition as "indigenous peoples" gains momentum, more and more tribal communities in north-east India have begun identifying or projecting themselves as such. Although no community is officially declared indigenous, the central and state governments grant constitutional and political concessions to certain tribal communities in the north-east, recognising their claims to indigeneity. But in the region, the question of who is indigenous remains contentious. While reflecting on the implications of recognising some communities in the region as indigenous, this article focuses on the limitations of the politics of indigeneity.

The nationalist elite has projected India's defeat in the Sino-Indian war of 1962 as the country being a victim of Chinese aggression. Nationalist hysteria that preceded and followed the war did not allow a dispassionate refl ection on India's stand on the border dispute. It is only recently that people have started listening to the other side of the story. Stressing the need to continue a dialogue, this essay argues that only a give-and-take policy will put an end to the vexed dispute between India and China.

The Khasi Students' Union (KSU), which came into existence in the year 1978, declared that it would work for upholding the Khasi identity by awakening respect for Khasi language, culture and tradition, fight against infiltration by outsiders, and ensure that the children of the soil control the economy, polity and land in Meghalaya. Initially KSU played a decisive role in state politics, though it was not affiliated to any political party. Later, however, the other tribes and the non-tribal communities living in the state started viewing it with suspicion and fear. KSU's hegemonic role had shrunk the democratic space for the rise of other organisations within the state. It was during KSU's agitation of 2001 that Meghalayan civil society demonstrated an acceptance of liberal democratic ideas by criticising KSU's ethnocentric agenda. Khasi society is now trying to make a break from the past and open itself to criticism and self-criticism.

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