Historical Researches Into Some Aspects Of The Culture And Civilization Of North East India

This book deals with various facets of cultures and civilization of north-east India. It contains valuable information about the pre-historic megalithic cultures of the hill tribes, the genesis and growth of tribal culture, their exposure to civilization Aryanisation and Sanskritization, especially in the valley of Manipur. The book also deals with growth of Hinduism and Buddhism among the tribal people and all other related cultural facets in a lucid style.

The kiratas janapadas, kingdoms, principalities, urban culture, subjugation by the contemporary rulers, dynastic rule in northern India and Nepal, based on a large number of rare sources have received extensive and deep attention in a subtle and penetrating way. The author has brought to light several valuable facets relating. The work is based on interdisciplinary research. The author has critically examined the relevance of historical, anthropological and linguistic data. The work is of immense academic value not only for historians but also for anthropologists and linguists.

"The study of worldviews marginalized by mainstream modernity is an eminently important undertaking. It helps us better recognise, cherish and keep the values of traditions and practices that exist. This is important, when the uniform vision of the world heaped on us from the medias, modernist political movements and ideologies, revealed itself as unreal and fake, rendering it evident that the modern utopia of enlightened rationality is just a delirious nightmare."--Arpad Szakolczai, Professor of Sociology, U. College Cork. ***This book fosters dialogue on critical problems faced by endangered indigenous cultures and marginalised communities. The ethos is collaborative and comparative describing the implications for global society of the destruction and impoverishment of human and ecological cultural diversity. (Series: Ethnology: Research and Science / Ethnologie: Forschung und Wissenschaft, Vol. 26) [Subject: Sociology, Anthropology, Environmental Studies, Politics, Globalization, Cultural Studies]

This book aims at presenting, as far as possible, a comprehensive understanding of the ethnohistory of the Tiwa people. It addresses the issue of origin, migration, traditional belief system, the evolution of the social institutions of the Tiwa. It also covers the continuity and changes that had occurred among this tribe in recent years. The information about this tribe available in the Assamese chronicles, colonial records and other literature of the pre-independence period are devoid of its origin, migration, settlement pattern or social organization. Similarly published works of the post-Independence period do not provide a clear understanding of this tribe. Available published works are descriptive accounts of the socio-economic and cultural features of the Tiwa, as they appear in recent times. There is no mention of their early history or the circumstances leading to the bifurcation of the Tiwa into two groups (Hill and Plain) with distinct patterns of social organization and belief system. Furthermore, there is neither enough information on the socio-political institutions of the Tiwa nor an adequate understanding of the same. It is against such a backdrop that systematic documentation, description and reconstruction of the history of the Tiwa is necessary and which the present work seeks to address.

The book has been written by an insider who has done detailed research on the history and culture of the North Eastern States of India which are so diverse and sometimes difficult to understand. The author has given detailed account of the diversities of each state separately and covered all aspects. This book can make an interesting reading for those not very familiar with the states and their peculiar culture.

Northeast India is a multifaceted and dynamic region that is constantly in focus because of its fragile political landscape characterized by endemic violence and conflicts. One of the first of its kind, this reader on Northeast India examines myriad aspects of the region – its people and its linguistic and cultural diversity. The chapters here highlight the key issues confronted by the Northeast in recent times: its history, politics, economy, gender equations, migration, ethnicity, literature and traditional performative practices. The book presents interlinkages between a range of socio-cultural issues and armed political violence while covering topics such as federalism, nationality, population, migration and social change. It discusses debates on development with a view to comprehensive policies and state intervention. With its a nuanced and wide-ranging overview, this volume makes new contributions to understanding a region that is critical to the future of South Asian geopolitics. The book will be of great interest to scholars and researchers of contemporary Northeast India as well as history, political science, area studies, international relations, sociology and social anthropology. It will also appeal to those interested in public administration, regional literature, cultural studies, population studies, development studies and economics. Chapter 31 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Contributed seminar papers.