National Workshop : North East India Studies Programme (NEISP)
Date : 12th March, 2015

NATIONAL WORKSHOP
Inauguration of the North East India Studies Programme (NEISP)

THEME: North East India Today: Some Reflections

Date: 12th March, 2015

Venue: Seminar Room (Room no. 10, First Floor), Department of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics

The study on the North East India is challenging and complex today. The idea of North East as a colonial construct has been carried forward by the Indian state since independence. Though many argue that the power structures have changed but the imaginations have remained the same. The post colonial state sometimes directly and (sometimes through different developmental policies) in order to bridge the ‘developmental gap’ (also not to forget the Look East policy) have invaded into the life-worlds of the different communities and have exploited their imaginations and deprived of their rights. Their cosmologies were at a constant basis treated inferior and unacceptable.

Though the recognition of the tribes by the Constitution of India have assured them of their rights and benefits yet, in terms of capacity building and regional development, it is arguably far from the truth. The frontier and the post-frontier spaces of India's North-East has observed a dominant generalized discourse among many people out of that space and have found sufficient reflections even in policies directed towards the region pushing for an epistemic violence and explosion of bodies resulting into/from multiple low intensity conflicts.

One can further argue that the transformation of non-state and frontier spaces of North East into state controlled spaces through legal, extra-judicial and developmental categories and agents paints the canvas of many conflicts of North East India. Such transformations have in the process encountered multiple resistance from the below. The non-inclusive nature of the development process carried out by the statist agents has left the resource base of different communities in danger.

Exogenous models of development prevailed over indigenous models of development by displacing the indigenous life-world process. Moreover the nature of political machinery was such that it made the grassroot and traditional institutions a nominal actor. Apart from the geo-political category the region is affected by the demographic transitions across time.

The influx was initially centered on economic reasons but with the dawn of independence it started taking communal and political reasons, and it became an international problem after independence. The lack of labour in the non state spaces had a peculiar dynamics to add to the influx. Hence the problem between indigenous vs settlers became a problematic political and ethnic category. The problem of influx became more resounding against the backdrop of economic underdevelopment, exploitation and inequitable distribution. This had a negative impact on cultural integration. Neither the Nehru-Elwin policy was successful nor was the state apparatus accountable and satisfactory.

There has been a serious lack in understanding the governmental rationality, social anthropology and phenomenology of the ethnic life worlds of the north east. The historiographies of the life worlds have to be reconstructed and have to be viewed as more than a 'known' category. Therefore, the proposed workshop is scheduled on the 12th March 2015 in the Department Seminar Room (Room No. 10 First Floor) and will deliberate on the current issues and challenges being encountered in or by the region.

The sub-themes of the presentation are divided broadly under the following topics:
(i) Understanding North East India Today
(ii) State, Ethnicity and Tribes
(iii) Dams, Movements and Violence
(iv) Education, Church and Civil Society
(v) Insurgency, Counter-insurgency and Gun-culture
(vi) Social problems such as Youth unrest, Drug Addiction, HIV/AIDS, Alcoholism etc. and development
(vii) Environment, Culture and Polity
(viii) Government policies/programs and problems of implementation

Dr. Kamei Aphun
Convener
North East India Studies Programme (NEISP)
Department of Sociology
Delhi School of Economics
University of Delhi, Delhi 110007

Committee Members of NEISP:
1. Prof. Nandini Sundar
2. Prof. Satish Deshpande
3. Prof. Abhijit Dasgupta
4. Prof. Roma Chatterji

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY, DSE
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI
NATIONAL WORKSHOP
(Inauguration of the “North East India Studies Programme”)
“NORTH EAST INDIA TODAY: SOME REFLECTIONS”
Programme Schedule (Revised)
(Registration: 9:00 am – 9:30 am)
Formal Inauguration:
10:00- 11:30am
Chair: Prof. Abhijit Dasgupta, Head, Department of Sociology, DSE, University of Delhi.
Welcome and Introduction to the Workshop: Dr. Kamei Aphun, Convener, North East India Studies Programme (NEISP), Department of Sociology, DSE, University of Delhi.
Address by the Chief Guest: Shri R.Vijaykumar (IAS) Union Secretary, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DONER), Government of India.
Address by the Guests of Honour:
*Shri Robin Hibu (IPS), Joint Commissioner of Police and North East Nodal Officer, Delhi Police.
*Shri Falguni Rajkumar (IAS Rtd.) Chairman, Board of Governors, IIM Shillong and Former Secretary, NEC, Government of India.
Special Address: Mr. M.Rajaretnam, President, Asian Dialogue Society, Singapore and Former Special Advisor to the Secretary General of ASEAN.

TEA BREAK: 11: 30 – 11: 45 am.

SESSION 1
11:45- 1:30pm
Chair: M Rajaretnam, President Asian Dialogue Society, Singapore.

Speakers:
1. Prof. Virginius Xaxa (Director, TISS, Guwahati): A Reflection on the North East India.
2. Prof.Tiplut Nongbri (Founding Director, NEISP, JNU): “Researching the North-east: Issues and Challenges".
3. Prof. Sanjoy Hazarika (Director, NESPR, JMI): “A Season For Rhetoric, a Time for Reason: A Look at Migrants, Settlers and ‘Outsiders”.

LUNCH BREAK: 1:30- 2:15 pm

SESSION 2
2:15 - 3.30pm
Chair: Prof. Satish Deshpande, Department of Sociology, DSE, University of Delhi.

Speakers:
1. Prof. Prasenjit Biswas (Department of Philosophy, NEHU): “Gazing the Ethnic Spaces: Borderlands, Boundaries and the Political Economy of ‘Act East Policy’.
2. Dr. Bimol Akoijam (CSSS, SSS, JNU): “Revelation of an Exception: The Idea of India’s North-East”.

TEA BREAK: 3:30-3:45pm

SESSION 3
3:45- 5:00 pm
Chair: Prof. Nandini Sundar, Department of Sociology, DSE, University of Delhi.

Speakers:
1. Subir Bhaumik (Senior Fellow,CSIRD,Calcutta): “Look-East & North-East: The Emerging Disconnect”.
2. Dr. Bhagat Oinam (Centre for Philosophy, SSS, JNU): “Situating State and Conflicts in the North-East Region”.

Vote of Thanks: Mr. Suraj Gogoi, Research Scholar, Department of Sociology, DSE, University of Delhi.

*6:00 – 7:00 P.M. PANEL DISCUSSION TO FORMULATE RECOMMENDATIONS (ONLY SPEAKERS & FACULTY)

(FOLLOWED BY DINNER AT 7: 30 P.M. SHARP)

NEISP Committee:
Dr. Kamei Aphun (Convener)
Prof. Nandini Sundar
Prof. Satish Deshpande
Prof. Abhijit Dasgupta
Prof. Roma Chatterji

DATE: Thursday, 12th March 2015

Venue: M.N.Srinivas Seminar Room (Room No.10, First Floor), Department of Sociology

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