*Conflict and Reconciliation: The Politics of Ethnicity in Assam **by Uddipana Goswami Routledge India – 2013***
*Price: INR 695* *Book description:* Marking a departure from reductionist studies of the Northeast and its multifarious conflicts, this book presents an exclusive and intricate empirical and theoretical study of Assam as a conflict zone. It traces the genesis and evolution of the ethnic and nationalistic politics in the state, and explores how this gave birth to nativist and militant movements. It further discusses how the Indian State’s responses seem to have exacerbated rather than mitigated the conflict situation. The author proposes ethnic reconciliation as an effective way out of the current chaos, and finds the key in examining the relations between three communities (Axamiya, Bodo and Koch) from Bodoland, the most violent region of Assam, and by particularly redefining ‘Axamiya’, an issue of much discord in Assam’s ethnic politics since the modern-day formulation of the Axamiya nation. The book will prove essential to scholars and students of peace and conflict studies, sociology, political science, and history, as also to policy-makers and those interested in India’s Northeast. *Book review:* *“Informed by deep ethnographic knowledge and a thorough understanding of intergroup and intragroup relations in the region, this exceedingly carefully researched book on ethnic politics and conflict in Assam is a most sophisticated treatment of the forces that animate conflict and separatism as well as prospects for peace. For anyone interested in ethnicity in India’s northeast, this is an incisive, invaluable resource.”* *— Donald L. Horowitz*, James B. Duke Professor of Law and Political Science, Duke University** *About the author:* Uddipana Goswami is a writer, translator and media person. Her published works include an academic study, *Conflict and Reconciliation: The Politics of Ethnicity in Assam *(Routledge 2013); a poetry collection, *We Called the River Red: Poetry from a Violent Homeland *(Authors Press 2010); and an edited volume, *Indira Goswami: Passion and the Pain* (Spectrum 2012). Currently, she is the editor of *Northeast Review* and teaches English at a college in Guwahati. *Contents:* *List of Maps* -- *List of Abbreviations *– *Glossary* – *Preface* -- * Acknowledgments*. Introduction: Assam, Conflicts *1.* Conflicts Within, Conflicts Without: Communities and Concepts *2.* What is Axamiyā: Understanding an Inter-ethnic Identity *3.* Identity, Interrupted: Nation-Building and the Break with Inter-ethnicity *4.* Ethnic Fragmentation and Divided Communities *5.* State Policy, Ethnicity and Conflict *6.* Addressing Conflicts: Militarisation and the Culture of Violence *7.*Addressing Conflicts: Negotiating, Power Sharing, Co-Opting *8.* Resolving Issues, Transforming Conflicts, Restoring Relations *9.* Conclusion: Back to the Future — Tradition and Transformation. *Notes* -- *Select* *Bibliography *-- *About* *the* *Author* -- *Index* Uddipana Goswami Editor, *Northeast Review <http://northeastreview.com/> *http://uddipana.com/* * _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
