Northeast Indian State Research Articles

Reconfiguring the Tribe: Changing Ethnic Affiliations in India’s Northeast

This essay sees the form and functioning of the Zeliangrong Naga community as a work in progress. Rather than a perennial, historically immutable and delimited entity, the (relatively recent) formation of the Zeliangrong community indicates that tribes can be formed afresh and that tribal identities are constantly in flux. I begin by tracing and placing the origins of the Zeliangrong Naga as told by Zeliangrong elders and circulating origin and migration stories. Then, continuing my focus on ethnic alignment and realignment, I studied the Zeliangrong movement that emerged in the 1920s. At first, they advocated a Naga Raj through the ousting of the colonial government. Over time, however, this rebellion changed direction and reduced its ambitions to the creation of a Zeliangrong homeland that would unite the Zeliangrong people who currently inhabit three different states of Northeast India, namely Manipur, Nagaland and Assam. Drawing both on historical analysis and fresh ethnography this essay shows how over time the Zeliangrong ethnic identity has come under strain and is increasingly internally contested with its constituent parts now expressing divergent political aspirations while also struggling over status, standing and dominance within.

Income Inequality and its Trend in the North East States of India

Income Inequality and its Trend in the North East States of India

THE GENESIS AND GROWTH OF MODERN HEALTH CARE FACILITY IN MIZORAM

Until 1894, scientific health care facility was by and large non-existent in Mizoram (the then Lushai Hills), an isolated hilly state in North East India. In their secluded life, the Mizos maintained their own culture and their traditional belief and practices, language, Codes of justice and morality. It was the British administration and the Christian missionaries who introduced modern health care facilities in the state. The Mizos seems to have been quite receptive to the new system as a result of Christian instruction and the efficacy of the new system of health care.This paper provides an outline of the growth of modern health care facilities in the state since its inception till the dawn of the new millennium. It is desirable that the facility increases over time and should cater to the growing needs of the people with the increase in population and modern health consciousness. It also attempts to throw light on the Mizos traditional concept of illness and afflictions and their own system of treatment so as to get a keener insight into how societys attitude towards modern health care system has changed over time.

Hepatitis C virus genotypes among population with reported risk factors in Assam, north-east India: Emergence of genotype-8.

Background & objectives Hepatitis C virus (HCV) exhibits extensive genetic diversity in infected hosts. There are few published reports of HCV genotype (GT) distribution from the north-east Indian States lying close to the 'Golden Triangle' known for illicit drug trafficking. Real-time knowledge of HCVGT distribution is important for studies on epidemiologic aspects and virus evolution and for the development of new target-specific, direct-acting antiviral drugs. This study aims to examine the distribution of HCVGTs and their subtypes in different risk groups from Assam, north-east India. Methods It is a hospital-based cross-sectional study. Plasma samples reactive for anti-HCV antibody in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were subjected to viral load test and genotyping by real-time Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) or characterization of non-structural protein NS5B region by nested PCR. Nucleotide sequences were subjected to phylogenetic analysis. Results The most common HCVGT detected was GT-3 (95.89%), followed by GT-1 (3.42%), GT-6xa (0.34%) and GT-8 (0.34%). The mean age of subjects was 30.24 yr, and males outnumbered females. The most commonly associated risk factor was injecting drug use (IDU) (74.31%), followed by tattooing and/or piercing (33.22%), transfusion of blood/blood products (10.27%), and haemodialysis (9.25%). Co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was found in 17.8 per cent, and with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) in 3.42 per cent of the cases. Interpretation & conclusions The detection of HCVGT-8 makes this the first report from Assam and the second from India as per the authors' knowledge. This may indicate strain's endemic nature in India. The increasing trend of HCV infection among young IDUs and HCV-HIV co-infection indicates the need for enhancing surveillance and intensified prevention efforts among young adults.

Site Characterization In Champhai Town Area Of Mizoram State In Northeast India: Geological And Geophysical Studies

The Mizoram state of northeast region (NER), India located in close proximity to Indo-Burma subduction zone, recently experienced an earthquake swarm; eight severely felt earthquakes (Mw 5.0–5.9) occurred during April–October, 2020 around Champhai town that caused damages to several buildings and ground cracks with maximum reported MSK intensity VIII. The largest event Mw 5.9, at depth 15 km, occurred on April 16 (ISC catalog). The present study deals with site characterization of the Champhai town area by geological and geophysical investigations. The geological investigation involves detailed mapping of the lithounits, and the geophysical investigation includes shallow (down to 30 m) shear wave velocity (Vs 30) and site amplification (SA) measurements in an about 50 sq km area in the town. Some 23 sites are selected for Vs 30 measurements using the Multichannel Analysis of Surface Wave (MASW) technique. The observed Vs 30 ranges from 200 m/s to 1060 m/s classifying the area into three categories: Class-B (hard rock), class-C (soft rock), and class-D (stiff soil) as per National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) guidelines. Geologically, the class B and C sites are represented by arenaceous and argillaceous Tertiary rocks, respectively, whereas the class D is represented by the Quaternary sediments. Site amplification (SA) studies, on the other hand, are carried out by making ambient noise surveys at some 52 selected stations using a digital seismograph. The ambient noise data are analyzed by the Nakamura method of H/V spectral ratio. The overall variation of peak amplification of the sites ranges from 1.26 to 6.65. A good correlation is obtained; the observed Vs 30 and site amplification (SA) maps are fairly comparable with the detailed geological or lithounit map. These maps are much useful for seismic hazard microzonation of the town area to mitigate seismic hazard-risk

The ‘Secret Killings’ in Assam: Counterinsurgency and Censoring Perpetrator Information

In the late 1990s, a protracted armed conflict between the Indian government and the insurgent organization, United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) in the Northeast Indian state of Assam escalated to include ‘secret killings’ of family members, close aides, and sympathizers of ULFA among its many violent manifestations. The killers primarily targeted insurgents’ families to persuade their underground kin to surrender, and to create fear among community members who sympathized with the movement or sheltered its cadres. The 2007 report of the Justice K. N. Saikia Commission pointed out the role of the surrendered insurgents, and the state police behind the secret killings, where the army was kept in the loop in some cases. Surprisingly, over 300 people were killed between 1998 and 2001 under common circumstances but no one was convicted. This article describes the challenges I faced in conducting ethnographic fieldwork on this sensitive event, which continues to draw political and media attention in the region. I focus on the challenges of interviewing survivors, families of victims, and police officers about the secret killings in Assam. I particularly reflect on my fieldwork experience of what to ask, what to write and what to censor about my participants, and consider the ethical dimension of making those decisions. I argue that these decisions were often made spontaneously in response to emergent situations and my ethical principles. I let the responses of my participants guide me in the field, and did not carry any predetermined strategies to guide the interviews.

Geospatial analysis of contagious infection growth and cross-boundary transmission in non-vaccinated districts of North-East Indian states during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of India implemented a nationwide lockdown, sealing borders across states and districts. The northeastern region of India, surrounded by three international borders and connected to mainland India by a narrow passage, faced particular isolation. This isolation resulted in these states forming a relatively closed population. Consequently, the availability of population-based data from Indian Council of Medical Research, tracked through national identification cards, offered a distinctive opportunity to understand the spread of the virus among non-vaccinated and non-exposed populations. This research leverages this dataset to comprehend the repercussions within isolated populations. The inter-district variability was visualized using geospatial analysis. The patterns do not follow any established grounded theories on disease spread. Out of 7.1 million total data weekly 0.35 million COVID-19-positive northeast data was taken from April 2020 to February 2021 including "date, test result, population density, area, latitude, longitude, district, and state" to identify the spread pattern using a modified reaction-diffusion model (MRD-Model) and Geographic Information System. The analysis of the closed population group revealed an initial uneven yet rapidly expanding geographical spread characterized by a high diffusion rate α approximately 0.4503 and a lower reaction rate β approximately 0.0256, which indicated a slower growth trajectory of case numbers rather than exponential escalation. In the latter stages, COVID-19 incidence reached zero in numerous districts, while in others, the reported cases did not exceed100. The MRD-Model effectively captured the disease transmission dynamics in the abovementioned setting. This enhanced understanding of COVID-19 spread in remote, isolated regions provided by the MRD modelling framework can guide targeted public health strategies for similar isolated areas. This study is Funded by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Provision of financial sources in Public Libraries Acts in the states of North East India

Provision of financial sources in Public Libraries Acts in the states of North East India

Molluscophagy in North East India: Assessment of Nutritive Value of Four Edible Freshwater Molluscs

ABSTRACT Since time immemorial, molluscs have been a popular source of food in North East India. Given the historical importance of snail consumption in the region, the current investigation was carried out to assess the nutritional properties of mollusc meat/tissue and shell. Three species of freshwater snails (Cipangopaludina sp. Brotia costula, Filopaludina bengalensis) and the bivalve Lamellidens sp. were identified from five states of North East India. Proximate and elemental analyses of mollusc meat revealed high amounts of nutrients (more crude protein (range 26.75–22.83%) and low fat (3.82–2.70%)) and minerals (especially calcium). Additionally, high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids were observed (maximum 1.95% in B. costula).

Development of ARIMA Model for Forecasting Sugarcane Production in Assam

Background: Assam is a state of northeast India which lives on agriculture. Sugarcane is one of the important cash crops grown in the state. The cultivated area of sugarcane is 29,768 hectare in the state during 2021-22 with a total production of 11,60,025 tones. Sugarcane cultivation is not evenly distributed in all the districts of Assam. The major sugarcane producing districts in state are Karbi Anglong, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Dima Hasao and Golaghat. Methods: This paper is an attempt to develop an appropriate time series model by using Box-Jenkins methodology to forecast the production of sugarcane in the state for few coming years. The study is based on secondary data collected from various publications of Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt. of Assam. Year wise time series data on production of sugarcane for a period of 60 years from 1961-62 to 2021-22 have been analyzed for this study. Result: The results of this study establish ARIMA(1,2,1) as an suitable model for forecasting sugarcane production in the state. The proposed forecasting model indicates an increasing trend of sugarcane production in the coming years in Assam.

India–ASEAN Economic Relations and North-east India: Act East Policy as a New Paradigm

The article delves into three aspects: (a) India–ASEAN economic relationship since the last three decades of Look East Policy (LEP), (b) the achievements of North-east India (NEI) under LEP and Act East Policy (AEP) and (c) adding a note on AEP as a new ‘development paradigm’ in NEI. The study finds that the India–ASEAN economic relationship deepened in the post-LEP period as merchandise trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows increased manifold. However, neither LEP nor AEP made any significant impact on NEI in terms of economic growth, exports and FDI inflows. Economic growth stagnated and even decelerated in some states in NEI, while exports and FDI inflows remained abysmally low. LEP was a failed policy instrument for NEI despite many claims and assumptions. The major reason was infrastructure deficits and poor connectivity in the region for a prolonged period. AEP has emerged as a new ‘development paradigm’ with renewed thrust on infrastructure buildup and connectivity constructions. The ongoing and completed connectivity projects in rail, road, air and water, improvement in power and telecom, multimodal logistic park in Assam and improvement of trade infrastructure in NEI under AEP would attract investment from both domestic foreign sources, enhance productive capacity, increase exports and accelerate economic growth. AEP is expected to open new possibilities for trade and investments in NEI through regional economic integration with South Asian and South-east Asian economies given geographical location, ethno-cultural proximity, historical linkages and resource endowments.

Analysis of socio-demographic status and clinical manifestations among SARS-CoV-2 patients in ethnic tribal population of Mizoram, Northeast India: A retrospective study from single-tertiary COVID-19 care centre

BackgroundThe study assesses the impact of socio-demographic factors, including food habits and lifestyle factors, with their clinical outcome due to SARS-CoV-2 in a small tribal state in Northeast India. MethodsClinical and demographic data from 896 patients with elevated levels of cytokine were collected, retrospectively. The data was analyzed using IBM SPSSv.26 statistics to assess the correlation between the variables and the impact on patient's clinical outcomes. ResultsThe data consisted of 48.8% male and 51.2% female patients and the mean age was 30.73 years. The symptoms recorded during the hospital stay were anosmia followed by fever, cough, dysgeusia, hypertension, diabetes, diarrhoea, obesity, and shortness of breath. Comorbidities such as malnourishment, kidney diseases, cancers, and immune-compromised were found among them. Moreover, 67% were at risk of respiratory infection and the mean duration of hospital stay was 12–13 days. There was moderate consumption across all food types except for vegetables and smoked food and most patients didn't consume alcohol or smoke. A significant positive association was found both for respiratory infection (p = 0.001) and bad liver function (p = 0.045) with the duration of hospital stay. Individuals who do not consume gutkha (a blended areca nut with tobacco) tend to have lower ct-values (p = 0.011). Alcohol consumption was also significant with shortness of breath (p = 0.009), while smoking was significantly associated with anosmia (p = 0.044) and chest pain (p = 0.002). ConclusionsThe demographic and health conditions were mostly not associated with the clinical outcome which could indicate that these practices might instead increase the recovery rate and in turn lower the death rates within the population.

MAPPING TRADITION AND MODERNIZATION: A STUDY ON THE EVOLUTION OF COSTUMES OF THE TRIPURI AND REANG WOMEN IN TRIPURA

Tripura is a land-locked state in Northeast India that comprises of multiple communities. Majorly dominated by the Tribal and Bengali communities, this state has witnessed drastic changes in its culture and heritage. Since partition, a huge demographic and ethnographic change has ushered in major challenges for the tribal communities. One such major change was witnessed in the evolution of Tripuri and Reang costumes. The traditional dresses of the communities faced historic challenges that questioned their personal and collective identity. The impact of westernization and modernization on Tripuri dressing culture shall be analysed in this paper. This paper shall also try to study how patterns of cloth and style of dressing have evolved due to the impact of global culture over the local culture. The reasons for the evolution shall be mapped through qualitative data collected from different people (of different communities) belonging to different parts of the state.

An Empirical Analysis of Tribal Investors’ Behaviour - A Study of Selected States in North East India

This study tries to understand the behaviour and perception of the tribal investors in the North Eastern India. This study tried to find out using several non- parametric test and factor analysis what are the investment avenues the population in the study responded to and the behaviour. From the study we understood the behaviour of the tribal investors of north east part of India in respect of selected states. The results of the Mann Whitney test in respect show that investment in respect of the Gold, Real Estate and Post office saving are significant across gender in the study. This indicates that these are more important in terms of investment in respect of decision of investment. In terms of significance for self-decision real estate, banking and post office saving are the clear winners and this is quite obvious given the demographic spread of age group and income level and the sector of employment. Earlier studies have shown that government employees at the higher age group are generally risk averse and tend to invest in stable low return assets. Post office savings show as the only significant investment avenue in term of annual income of the tribal investors.

Life in a Metro: A Study on Migrant Workers From Assam Living in Bengaluru

The massive migration of the rural population, triggered by agrarian distress, to the more developed regions of India for lowly paid jobs in the informal sector has been one of the most striking phenomena in neoliberal India. The last two decades have also witnessed an unprecedented out-migration of rural population from the northeast Indian state of Assam to the metropolises and growth centres in other parts of India in search of livelihood. Based on a study conducted in Bengaluru among migrant workers from Assam, this article examines the networks that facilitate such out-migration, its circular nature, and their working and living conditions in the city. The remittances of the migrants provide only temporary relief to their families in the villages and despite their periodic return to the village with the intent to settle down, poverty and lack of alternative livelihood force them to migrate to the city again. The oscillation between the dehumanising conditions of their life in the city and the economic hardship in the village continues without any reprieve.

Preferred Sources of Financing by MSMEs and Reasons for Such Preference in Tripura State in North East India

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are considered to be growth engine of any economy, and their importance increased tremendously for the developing countries. But it is, equally true that MSMEs face unique challenges. The focus of this study is identifying preferred financing sources and reasons for such preference by the MSMEs in the hilly state of Tripura in North East India. For the study primary data were collected through schedules. The study reveals that owners or managers of MSMEs are not aware about non conventional financing sources. Policy makers should take steps to educate and sensitize owners and managers of MSMEs about those sources. It is also seen that while most preferred source of financing is Banks/Financial Institutions, but MSMEs are still depended upon own fund, fund from Friends and Relatives and Money Lenders for financing their business. Therefore, policy makers should frame policies to involve Banks/Financial Institutions to invest in this sector to make the sector more vibrant.

The Houseness of the Naga House Museum: Towards a Narrative of the Postcolonial South Asian House Museum

This article expands the study of museums and public culture in postcolonial South Asia and the Global South through an exploration of non-state house museums in contemporary Nagaland, a state in north-east India that is Indigenously inhabited, predominantly Christian, and was home to an armed movement for political autonomy over 1953–97. It demonstrates that the political significance of the Naga house museum as a site of history, heritage and identity rendered invisible in state-funded exhibitionary arenas that display an essentialist image of Naga Indigeneity is not only anchored to the labour of non-state actors, but also to the open-ended and oscillating ties between ritual and secular frames of exhibition and reception that animate it within an expanded field of visual and exhibitionary cultures. In doing so, this article challenges the dominant European and North American imaginary of the historic house as the basis for normative understandings of the house museum. If canonical accounts of house museums focus on their ‘museumness’, this study seeks to foreground the ‘houseness’ of the house museum in postcolonial South Asia.

Efficacy and safety of Artemisinin Combination Therapy for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria across international borders of India.

Malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) remains a major public threat in India. Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) has been the country's first-line drug for uncomplicated Pf malaria. In 2013-2014, Artesunate plus sulfadoxine (AS+SP) was replaced by Artemether Lumefantrine (AL) as the first- line antimalarial in North East (NE) states of the country which are endemic for Pf malaria. Regular monitoring of antimalarial drugs is of utmost importance to achieve the goal of elimination. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of ACT for treating uncomplicated Pf malaria in the NE states of India. A prospective study of 28-day follow-up was conducted to monitor the efficacy and safety of AL from 2018-2019 in four districts, Udalgiri, Meghalaya, Lawngtlai, and Dhalai of NE, India. The clinical and parasitological response and the polymorphism analysis of the Pfdhps, P/dhfr, and Pfkelch 13 gene were evaluated. A total of 234 patients were enrolled in the study out of 216 patients who completed the follow-up to 28 days. One-hundred percent adequate clinical and parasitological responses (ACPR) were observed with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) correction. The genotype results suggest no recrudescence in the treatment-failure patients. The classical single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the Pfdhfr gene was S108N (94.9%), followed by C59R (91.5%), whereas, in the Pfdhps gene, the common SNP was A437G (79.6%), followed by S3436A. No associated or validated mutations were found in the propeller region of the PfKelch13 gene. AL was efficacious and safe in uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in North East India. In contrast, mutations in the genes responsible for sulfadoxine and pyrimethamine resistance have been fixed in northeast India's population.

Do equity investors’ socio economic identities have association with their perceived risk? Evidence from the emerging market

Equity investors’ decision-making efficacy can be enhanced by enlarging the understanding horizon on the matrix between their socio-economic identities and risk perception (Su et al., 2022; Shah et al., 2020). This work attempts to examine the relationship between equity investors’ socio-economic identities and their perceived risk in Assam, a state in North-East India. The study uses a structured instrument that undergoes a pretest to assess its content validity using Lawshe’s (1975) content validity ratio (CVR) method. The study applied Cronbach’s alpha to test the instrument reliability of 15 items which stood at 0.749. The study employed a comprehensive sample size of 408 retail investors, picked up using a systematic random sampling technique, hailing from the cities of Guwahati and Silchar in the state of Assam (response rate: 69.54 percent). The findings of the study indicated that there is a substantial inverse relationship between age and income, and equity investors’ total risk perception. However, the effect of investing experience on risk perception was found to be insignificant. Previous research has also reported similar findings (Bairagi & Chakraborty, 2018). Despite the limitations inherent in the study, such as the sample size being confined to a certain geographic location or demographic group, it is anticipated that this research will make a valuable contribution to the current body of literature on investor risk behaviour. Additionally, it is intended to have practical implications for brokerage houses, market analysts, and regulators within the financial industry.

The old man by the waterfall: deep entanglements of culture, state-making and geopolitics in Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh, a state in Northeast India, is going through a phase of rapid infrastructural expansion, a phenomenon intensified due to the state’s geostrategic location. Despite the colonial enterprise of frontier-making and the resulting securitisation of space, the presence of the eastern Himalayan frontier has historically infused the region with elements of both steadfastness and dynamism, as its spatial fluidity persists in one form or the other. Meanwhile, despite being situated in a Himalayan corridor, the region finds itself entangled in the contentious politics in which states in South and Southeast Asia are locked. Drawing on ethnographic experiences from two geopolitically sensitive and spatially significant places, Menchukha and Namsai, situated on the eastern Himalayan slopes at Arunachal Pradesh, this article discusses the paradoxical conditions of ‘selective permeability’ (Popescu 2015: 50) that often informs contemporary border regimes, where factors favouring cross-border mobility are weighed against the demands of maintaining territorial integrity. In this context, this article looks at some prominent sites of pilgrimage and religious tourism to understand the differential attention they receive from the state, revealing a complex assemblage of spatial dynamics, cultural logics and geostrategic rationales that operate in geopolitically charged borderlands.