Identity of tribes and the modern state: Contestations in Naga civil society

Abstract

The armed Naga political movement resulted in the statehood of Nagaland with a special provision for administration of the state based on customary laws and procedures under Article 371 (A) of the Indian Constitution. Like caste and religion which, formed the basis of associational life in postcolonial India, the colonial categorization of tribes, along with Article 371 (A) in the postcolonial state, deepened the identity of tribes in the associational life of Naga society. Naga society also interacts with the realities of militarized conflict. The identity of belonging to a tribe provides social capital in civil society organizations, and in the electoral democratic process. The contestations emanating from the enmeshment of identity politics in civil society and the dynamics of these interactions in the background of an armed conflict are explored in this article.