Surrender, rehabilitation and hybrid regimes: the making of the northeast frontier

ABSTRACT

This article is part of a Book Forum review of Sanjib Baruah’s book In the Name of the Nation: India and its Northeast (2020). The Book Forum consists of individual commentaries on this text by five interested scholars, followed by a response by the author. The article may be read individually or alongside the other contributions to the Forum, which together constitute a comprehensive discussion of the themes and arguments in the book.

KEYWORDS:

• Sovereignty
• kinship
• resource frontier
• indigeneity and hybrid regimes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 A letter asking for a sum of money to be ‘donated’ to a non-state armed group.

2 Naharol means youth but the word has come to refer to member of non-state armed group.

3 Kangleipak Communist Party KCP (Lallumba) and KCP (Nando). It is known to be one of the unruliest armed groups with the highest number of splinter/ factional groups numbering between 10 and 30.

4 Kanglei Yawol Kunna Lup – Military Defence Force. MDF is a faction of the proscribed KYKL. News of this new faction being formed was first reported in 2009.

5 http://e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=1..090113.jan13. Also read https://thewire.in/security/unregistered-weapons-procured-fake-encounters-surrender-dramas-manipur

6 http://e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=7..110113.jan13

7 http://www.manipur.org/news/2013/01/12/assam-rifles-personnel-search-for-youths-at-heirok/, Accessed 13 December 2021

8 http://www.e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=3..200706.jul06, Accessed 13 December 2021

9 http://www.e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=1..280406.apr06, Accessed 13 December 2021. The two youths are referred to with different names. Compounding the confusion, the father of one reportedly did not recognise his son when brought in court. In another article reported that the son refused to recognise the father. Such obfuscation is intentional.

 

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Soibam Haripriya

Soibam Haripriya is a poet and Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Scholar; her (edited) book Homeward (2022) is published by Zubaan, New Delhi.