Ethnic Conflict in India's North-East: Complexities, Causes and Consequences

Abstract

Ethnic violence is a common phenomenon almost in every nation and dates back to the history of human civilization. Sometimes, it is due to nationalistic patriotism. Also, relative developmental differences, economic isolation, continuous discrimination by the ruling class, remoteness and isolation of various social groups and lack of representativeness in administration and difficulty in communicating grievances, non-representation in the ruling government can lead to the generation of parochialism. The violence in whatever form ultimately leads to the loss of property and human life and generate various related socio economic issues including the demographic restructuring that has further social and economic implications. It generally takes back the society backward in the trend of development path which may not always be linear as perceived to be. This paper tries to highlight the basic issues of ethnic violence, analyse the reasons behind the conflicts and its manifestations, outcomes and finally tried to provide some roadmaps to solution.

Keywords: Patriotism, Parochialism, Ethnic Conflict, Internal Displacement of People, Development, Assam

JEL Classification: B15, D74, J1, Z10