Interrogating Development : State, Displacement and Popular Resistance in
North East India/Monirul Hussain. New Delhi, Sage, 2008, 176 p., tables, (pbk). ISBN 81-7829-736-1.
Interrogating Development : State, Displacement and Popular Resistance in
North East India/Monirul Hussain. New Delhi, Sage, 2008, 176 p., tables, (pbk). ISBN 81-7829-736-1.
Contents: Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction. 2. Imposing development: introducing the incomplete Dossier of displacement. 3. Hard-hitting reality: development-induced displacement of population in post-colonial Assam. 4. Development, dam and displacement: resistance from the threatened. 5. Conclusion: new politics of development: interface between the state and the people. Bibliography. Index.
"This book, the first in a series on the north east, focuses on development-induced displacement of population in the region during the post-colonial period. Despite state sponsored developments initiatives, the north east still remains highly underdeveloped and politically disturbed. Various development projects initiated by the state led to massive displacement of population within the region, which has virtually gone unnoticed. The author has made use of extensive empirical data to document this massive displacement.
The Government of India had recently decided to construct 145 mega dams to tap the hydroelectric potential of the region in order to convert the north east into India's power house. Fearing negative effects like massive displacement of population, environmental degradation and the erosion of the rich biodiversity of the region, people at the grassroots level have built up resistance movements against such mega projects. This marks a significant transition from the politics of ethnicity to the politics of development in the region. Emergence of popular resistance outside the conventional party system based on new political cleavages, is strengthening the democratic consciousness of the people living in these areas, which marks a significant shift in the politics of the region.
This series will prove invaluable for development experts, sociologists, anthropologists, environmentalists, political scientists, policy makers, NGOs and global humanitarian communities."