• Nagendra Nath Gogoi

The understanding of identity politics has shifted over time and are still evolving in response to the rapid socio-political changes in society. Today, identities and the sense of belongingness have been argued as a matter of choice. In the wake of various ethnic conflict and strife centering on identity politics in the Northeast region of India, particularly in Assam, it is imperative to re-examine the identity formation process of ethnic groups in their own socio-political setting so as to understand the process of integration and disintegration of various ethnic groups in Assam. This paper takes a retrospective view of the integration and disintegration process of ethnic groups in pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial period in the context of Assam. This paper shows that different interests of the elites and certain events, particularly the disintegration of the various ethnic groups, have contributed to the increasing rise of identity driven tension and conflict in Assam. The main focus of this paper is to identify the root causes of ethnic tension in the context of Assam which are to be found in the historical pattern of colonial legacy, state-formation processes, marginalization of ethnic groups, uneven distribution of resources and political mobilization of ethnic groups. This paper concludes that the long-standing antagonism among ethnic groups arises from various colonial policies and continuation of these practices with little or no modifications by the post-colonial state that marginalizes and alienates different ethnic groups in the state.

Assam, Belonging, Conflict, Colonialism, Ethnicity, Identity

"Ethnic Identity and Belonging: Understanding the Politics of Integration and Disintegration in Assam", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no.448-455, June 2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1907C26.pdf

"Ethnic Identity and Belonging: Understanding the Politics of Integration and Disintegration in Assam", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 6, page no. pp448-455, June 2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1907C26.pdf