Beyond the Ethno–Territorial Binary: Evidencing the Hill and Valley Peoples in Manipur

Abstract

The binary of the hills and the valley is a central theme in understanding the Northeast of India. Although the multiplicity of ‘ethnic’ groups that inhabit both the valley and the hills makes such a generalisation difficult in places like Manipur, the distinctiveness of the two groups is stressed both in everyday and scholarly articulations. Notwithstanding the popularity and power of the hill–valley binary, this article critically engages with various ‘theories’ that have been put forward on this issue and confronts their foundational claims. The intent of the paper is to argue that this binary of hill and valley is not a constructive category either historically or in the contemporary. By looking at the colonial classification between hill and valley, and the popularity of James C. Scott's recent work, I argue that there are multiple strategies adopted to maintain this binary with major implications for politics and society in Manipur and beyond.