Contemporary Naga Social Formations and Ethnic Identity

Contents: Foreword. 1. Introduction. 2. Traditional Naga society: (glimpses of social inequality). 3. Colonial control and the Nagas. 4. Internal aspects of Naga social transformation. 5. Naga ethnicity and identity. 6. Conclusion. Bibliography. Index.

"The book is a sociological critique of Nagas of Nagaland state, about which there is a dearth of reading materials. The book traces change from traditional inequality to contemporary social formations of class divisions, interfaced to the background of colonial intrusion as an external force of change to generate an internal process of transformation within. Interwoven in it are focus upon Naga politics and ethnicity, the state of the economy and society at large and the dilemma of whether all these existential patterns are development or decay.

In the exercise, many sociological concepts are discussed interfaced to empirical reality that young scholars may find useful. The construction and approach of the book may also serve as a model to the study of other communities and states of the north-east region of India." (jacket)