Editor,
Growing up in a small town in Arunachal Pradesh, everyone around me, including myself, classified people as either tribals or non-tribals. We would refer to non-tribals as ‘people from Delhi, Mumbai’, shaped largely by our exposure to Hindi media.
Ironically, the question of ‘why do we look different?’ never surfaced in my mind as a kid.
And before the reader assumes that this article is going to be another racially charged one, hold on.
From reading textbooks to watching movies, where no one looked like us or cared to mention people like us, felt completely normal. We grew up knowing we were part of a country where people had looks and cultures different than ours, but somehow the recognition was never reciprocated.
I realised the story that we’ve been told of being an ‘Indian’ was half-told. The identity that we boast about has never always been that way – at least not until the 19th century. And no, we didn’t just migrate to India; it was never as simple as that.
It would take India nearly half a century to integrate parts of the Northeast into greater India. For India, it was territorial consolidation and post-independence reorganisation, but for the eight Northeastern states, it was a gamble of giving progress a chance.
Northeast India hitherto was a scattered landscape with multiple ethnic groups residing in the region, some with histories dating back to the Palaeolithic Age. A major turning event that would change the course of history by shaping regions into states would be seen after the Anglo-Burmese war, known as the most expensive war in the British-Indian history, between the Burmese and the English. The end of the Burmese occupation occurred in the 1826, by signing the treaty of Yandabo, this would give away the control of certain areas of Assam and Manipur to the British.
The British won, acceding Assam as their province and making it a part of India. Back then, the hills and current states like Mizoram (Lushai Hills), Meghalaya (Khasi-Jaintia Hills), Arunachal Pradesh (NEFA), and Nagaland (Naga Hills) were administratively included in Assam.
Although the carving out of hill states from Assam post-independence was a full-fledged process, suggesting the influence of British over other Northeastern states before independence, in reality, the British had only real administrative control over the plains of Assam, and little to partial authority over the hill districts. The hill regions largely remained autonomous.
A separate case would be of Sikkim, which followed a different trajectory – it was an independent kingdom, a monarchy, and a protectorate of India that would later become a recognised state (1975).
Before the Anglo-Burmese war, the only trade connection of the Northeastern states was with neighbouring South East Asian countries like Myanmar, Bhutan, and Tibet, without any significant cultural influence from the ancient empires of India; instead, the societies evolved and developed through tribal systems and localised authorities.
This is just a brief of history that stayed unexplored for a very long period of time. Never taught when we were at the pinnacle of learning about identity. Which I abhor, because identity is a birthright.
Although I acknowledge the drastic improvement in the representation of our culture over the last decade, parts of our history are still buried. I urge you to stay curious and not just accept the superficial narrative presented. This naivety of ignoring history has remained for years, and when you emerge from the burrow you realise how much exposure people around you need to have to accept you.
A community that lacks certainty is confused, and confusion weakens the very pillar that builds a society. It’s time we became a generation of youths that’s not just informed, but aware.
Kamnah Kanglom