Screening trauma and violence: Representation of insurgency in select films from Assam

Abstract

ABSTRACT The paper examines two films, Haanduk (2016) and Jwlwi: The Seed (2019), which explore the issues of identity and insurgency in Assam. Insurgency began in Assam during the 1980s when the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), an organisation that emerged along with the Assam Movement (1979–1985), started an armed uprising for an independent Assam. Meanwhile, the Bodos also engaged in violent insurrection, seeking to establish an independent state. As a response to these uprisings, the Union Government implemented several measures, such as the enactment of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 (AFSPA), that transformed Assam and the Northeast region into a heavily militarized area. The military executed multiple counter-insurgency operations to quell the armed rebellions. However, in the middle of these occurrences, accounts of violence promoted by the state, violations of human rights, and instances of torture emerged in both local and international media outlets. This engendered a feeling of apprehension and psychological distress among numerous people throughout Assam. The paper aims to critically examine the ideological dimensions of how the concerns related to insurgency are depicted in the select films. Additionally, it will also examine the portrayal of trauma and breaches of human rights in the select films.