India Against Itself : Assam and the Politics of Nationality

Contents: Preface. 1. Theoretical considerations: the limits of "nation-building". 2. Colonial geography as destiny: Assam as a province of British India. 3. The making of a land frontier: Assam and its immigrants. 4. Cultural politics of language, subnationalism, and pan-Indianism. 5. Contested identity, culture wars, and the breakup of colonial Assam. 6. Protest against immigration, ethnic rifts, and Assam's crisis of governability. 7. Militant subnationalism, human rights, and the chasm with pan-Indianism. 8. "We are Bodos, not Assamese" : contesting a subnational narrative. Conclusion: India against itself. Notes. References cited. Index.

"Are decentralized forms of government better able to manage conflicts in multiethnic polities? In an era of failing states and ethnic unrest the question acquires new urgency. According to Sanjib Baruah, loosely organized federations are not only less prone to violent conflicts, they also make better democracies. He illustrates the argument with an analysis of conflicts in Assam.

"Baruah offers an original and lucid interpretation of the political and economic history of Assam since it became a part of British India and one of the world's leading tea-producing regions in the nineteenth century. He traces the history of tensions between pan-Indianism and Assamese subnationalist concerns since the early days of India's resistance to British colonial rule. Baruah argues that today's human rights abuses by security forces and by insurgents, ethnic violence, and the steady slide towards illiberal democracy are largely due to India's formally federal but actually centralized governmental structure.

"This challenging and lucid book combines scholarly research, political engagement and an intimate insider's knowledge of northeast India. It will be of interest to historians and political analysts." (jacket)