- Room no. 152, Sociology department, School of Social Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Gachibowli, Hyderabad-500046
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- Anthropology, Sociology, Religion, Gender Studies, Feminism, Culture Studies, and 20 moreColonialism, Theology and Culture, Liberation Theology, Gender and religion (Women s Studies), Tribal Culture and Local self Goverment, Mission History, Land and Identity, Politics of Land Rights, Literature, Cultural Studies, Gender, Comparative Literature, Cinema, Queer Studies, Memory Studies, Turkish Literature, Sociology of Literature, Sociology of Social Sciences, Post-Colonialism, and Postcolonial Studiesedit
- Dr. Hoineilhing Sitlhou completed her Phd (Sociology) from JNU, New Delhi. She is currently working as Assistant Prof... moreDr. Hoineilhing Sitlhou completed her Phd (Sociology) from JNU, New Delhi. She is currently working as Assistant Professor at the Department of Sociology, University of Hyderabad. She is a recipient of the M.N. Srinivas Award, 2016. She has published three books 'Kuki Women' (Ed.), 2014, 'Deconstructing Colonial Ethnography: An analysis of Missionary Writings in North East India'. 2017 and Identity and Marginality in North East India: Challenges for Social Science Research, 2023. She has also contributed articles in EPW, Indian Journal of Gender Studies, International Journal on Religion and Spirituality, Indian Anthropologist, Sociological Bulletin, Explorations, Third Concept, The Eastern Anthropologist, The Wire, Times of India, Newsclick and chapters in edited books.edit
- Susan Visvanathanedit
Research Interests:
The essay is an effort to understand the relationship between the state, forest and tribals in the context of the hill tribes of Manipur. Though they were initiated with the intention of conservation and preservation, the various forest... more
The essay is an effort to understand the relationship between the state, forest and tribals in the context of the hill tribes of Manipur. Though they were initiated with the intention of conservation and preservation, the various forest policies often defy community land rights. The debates on the regulation on shifting cultivation and the various forest acts are critically studied to understand its implication on the Kukis of Manipur.
Research Interests:
The implementation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Manipur exemplifies how certain spaces and populations become margins through the administrative practices of the state. The state is endowed with the authority to... more
The implementation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Manipur exemplifies how certain spaces and populations become margins through the administrative practices of the state. The state is endowed with the authority to categorise as legitimate or illegitimate the various forms of violence and practices toward its citizens. This action of the state has resulted in the formation of associations like the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network and Extrajudicial Execution Victim Families Association via the shared experience of violence and collective victimhood, connecting those families or individuals who are more adversely affected by AFSPA. The diverging perspectives and experiences of state violence are juxtaposed in order to display both the anguish and expectations of the victims’ families as also the commitments of the perpetrators towards the democratic state. Finally, the narratives of violence, sufferings and testimonies are repositioned and anchored to juridical and political discourse, in order to find the meanings of justice, healing and reparation in a militarised society like Manipur.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The article studies the interplay between gender, religion and politics by positing the case of Kuki women, and contributes towards an understanding of the mode in which patriarchy operates and is reinforced when it comes to women’s... more
The article studies the interplay between gender, religion and politics by positing the case of Kuki women, and contributes towards an understanding of the mode in which patriarchy operates and is reinforced when it comes to women’s relationship to land. Ancestral land is tied to the sense of community and identity of the people. It is possible for daughters to inherit all movable and immovable property apart from ancestral land, upon which there are still restrictions to women’s ownership under traditional customary law. Kuki women have no political voice in decision-making where land is concerned, not only within formal state law, but also within local-level management systems such as the customary-law courts. The transnational encounter with missionary women in the 19th and 20th centuries changed the structure of gender relations within Kuki households and the community. However, religion seemed to represent a paradoxical emancipation: though emancipation came about to a certain extent it did not result in a change in power relations within society. Rather, religion adapted itself to suit the patriarchal context that already existed and indirectly supported the gender-biased inheritance customs that deprived women.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The Thadou Kuki society's reverence for nature is reflected in the sacred space it occupies in the society as also in the accompanying rituals attributed to it. Besides the agricultural rituals, the primeval religion, mythologies... more
The Thadou Kuki society's reverence for nature is reflected in the sacred space it occupies in the society as also in the accompanying rituals attributed to it. Besides the agricultural rituals, the primeval religion, mythologies and folklores reflect their worldview and close attachment to nature. The study deals with the intersection of traditional religion, culture and the ecology in the practice of shifting cultivation by analysing the folk narratives and approaching these issues through the ethnographic and socio-linguistic lenses. In doing so, it explores the following questions: What kind of power relation and meanings does the social discourse between humans and spirits portray? What does it reflect about the human-land relationships, human and non-human relations and therefore, land and identity relationships in the society? The curtailment of shifting cultivation via the various forest laws of the state and the advent of Christianity has impacted the knowledge systems of the community; thereby altering Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and ushering in changes in the community.
Research Interests:
Article written by senior journalist Ajaz Ashraf in Mid.Day.com
Research Interests:
A paper by the renowned Kavita Krishnan in the Frontier where she has written on the plight of the Kuki Women.
The paper examines a peasant society's interface with modernization, essentially the penetration of capitalist relations of production in the hills of Manipur. The space for labour has changed and has become commoditized. It is no longer... more
The paper examines a peasant society's interface with modernization, essentially the penetration of capitalist relations of production in the hills of Manipur. The space for labour has changed and has become commoditized. It is no longer the bonds of kinship, operative through families of clans and kindred, which govern production and distribution. Though there are a sizable population of rural poor, mostly landless labourers, who are dependent on agriculture as their primary source of livelihood, the introduction of peasants to commercial market economy have made them a vulnerable prey of the middlemen who exploit them in the business transactions. The outcome is the ensuing dwindling interest of the peasants in agriculture production as it is no longer considered to be a productive enterprise. This is despite the fact that they have no alternative vocation or source of livelihood or resource capital to fall back on. The study concludes that the peasants need to be encouraged by the state keeping in mind their important contribution to the state's economy and subsistence.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The article studies the interplay between gender, religion and politics by positing the case of Kuki women, and contributes towards an understanding of the mode in which patriarchy operates and is reinforced when it comes to women's... more
The article studies the interplay between gender, religion and politics by positing the case of Kuki women, and contributes towards an understanding of the mode in which patriarchy operates and is reinforced when it comes to women's relationship to land. Ancestral land is tied to the sense of community and identity of the people. It is possible for daughters to inherit all movable and immovable property apart from ancestral land, upon which there are still restrictions to women's ownership under traditional customary law. Kuki women have no political voice in decision-making where land is concerned, not only within formal state law, but also within local-level management systems such as the customary-law courts. The transnational encounter with missionary women in the 19th and 20th centuries changed the structure of gender relations within Kuki households and the community. However, religion seemed to represent a paradoxical emancipation: though emancipation came about to a certain extent it did not result in a change in power relations within society. Rather, religion adapted itself to suit the patriarchal context that already existed and indirectly supported the gender-biased inheritance customs that deprived women.
Research Interests:
Ever since the first patient of HIV/AIDS was detected in Manipur in 1989-1990 among the injecting drug users, the disease has been associated with groups that are marked out as social deviants. Given this association and the fact that the... more
Ever since the first patient of HIV/AIDS was detected in Manipur in 1989-1990 among the injecting drug users, the disease has been associated with groups that are marked out as social deviants. Given this association and the fact that the disease has no effective treatment, sufferers faced social rejection and discrimination. The disease was seen as a consequence of life style choices and PLWHAs were denied access to the ‘sick role’. HIV/AIDS acts as a metaphor for moral and physical contamination. The infection confers on the individual a spoilt image and identity. This is reflected in the level of stigmatisation and discrimination directly faced by those affected and vulnerable to it; as also the way PLHAs construct their identities in the light of their infection with the virus. It is also relevant to an understanding of the ways in which treatment of people dying of HIV/AIDS are being organised.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The article studies the interplay between gender, religion and politics by positing the case of Kuki women, and contributes towards an understanding of the mode in which patriarchy operates and is reinforced when it comes to women’s... more
The article studies the interplay between gender, religion and politics by positing the case of Kuki women, and contributes towards an understanding of the mode in which patriarchy operates and is reinforced when it comes to women’s relationship to land. Ancestral land is tied to the sense of community and identity of the people. It is possible for daughters to inherit all movable and immovable property apart from ancestral land, upon which there are still restrictions to women’s ownership under traditional customary law. Kuki women have no political voice in decision-making where land is concerned, not only within formal state law, but also within local-level management systems such as the customary-law courts. The transnational encounter with missionary women in the 19th and 20th centuries changed the structure of gender relations within Kuki households and the community. However, religion seemed to represent a paradoxical emancipation: though emancipation came about to a certain extent it did not result in a change in power relations within society. Rather, religion adapted itself to suit the patriarchal context that already existed and indirectly supported the gender-biased inheritance customs that deprived women.
Research Interests:
The implementation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Manipur exemplifies how certain spaces and populations become margins through the administrative practices of the state. The state is endowed with the authority to... more
The implementation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Manipur exemplifies how certain spaces and populations become margins through the administrative practices of the state. The state is endowed with the authority to categorise as legitimate or illegitimate the various forms of violence and practices toward its citizens. This action of the state has resulted in the formation of associations like the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network and Extrajudicial Execution Victim Families Association via the shared experience of violence and collective victimhood, connecting those families or individuals who are more adversely affected by AFSPA. The diverging perspectives and experiences of state violence are juxtaposed in order to display both the anguish and expectations of the victims' families as also the commitments of the perpetrators towards the democratic state. Finally, the narratives of violence, sufferings and testimonies are repositioned and anchored to juridical and political discourse, in order to find the meanings of justice, healing and reparation in a militarised society like Manipur.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The essay evolves around the death of Mangboilal Lhouvum, a daily wager who was shot and abandoned on the roadside on the night of June 4th of 2021. It situates the incident within the larger discourse on the correlation between EJKs and... more
The essay evolves around the death of Mangboilal Lhouvum, a daily wager who was shot and abandoned on the roadside on the night of June 4th of 2021. It situates the incident within the larger discourse on the correlation between EJKs and AFSPA in Manipur. In so doing, it also deduces certain points of departures from previous cases of EJKs thereby enabling a more nuanced understanding of the problem of state violence in the region. Attempt is made to define justice not from the point of view of the state but from the point of view of the victim. The main obstacle in the pursuit of justice is the lack of a shared experience of understanding of rights and justice between the two opposing sides.
Research Interests:
The Thadou Kuki society's reverence for nature is reflected in the sacred space it occupies in the society as also in the accompanying rituals attributed to it. Besides the agricultural rituals, the primeval religion, mythologies and... more
The Thadou Kuki society's reverence for nature is reflected in the sacred space it occupies in the society as also in the accompanying rituals attributed to it. Besides the agricultural rituals, the primeval religion, mythologies and folklores reflect their worldview and close attachment to nature. The study deals with the intersection of traditional religion, culture and the ecology in the practice of shifting cultivation by analysing the folk narratives and approaching these issues through the ethnographic and socio-linguistic lenses. In doing so, it explores the following questions: What kind of power relation and meanings does the social discourse between humans and spirits portray? What does it reflect about the human-land relationships, human and non-human relations and therefore, land and identity relationships in the society? The curtailment of shifting cultivation via the various forest laws of the state and the advent of Christianity has impacted the knowledge systems of the community; thereby altering Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and ushering in changes in the community.
Research Interests:
The paper is an analysis of the research being done on food culture and dietary practices in Northeast India. It identifies the research gap, points out the lack of scholarship on food as a politico-cultural item and also points out the... more
The paper is an analysis of the research being done on food culture and dietary practices in Northeast India. It identifies the research gap, points out the lack of scholarship on food as a politico-cultural item and also points out the scope for future research on food culture and identity in Northeast India. This paper is divided into three sections: Firstly, it explores the existing studies on dietary practices in Northeast India in order to identify the research gap; Secondly, it highlights the close linkages between the dietary ideals of Northeasterners and the region from which they come; and Thirdly, it studies the centrality of dietary practices of the Northeasterners in defining their basic rights of living to the larger issues of citizenship.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
It is easy to take for granted the section of the populace who are responsible for putting food on our table every day of the year. Sadly, they are a fast dwindling population as farming for them is no longer a productive venture. A small... more
It is easy to take for granted the section of the populace who are responsible for putting food on our table every day of the year. Sadly, they are a fast dwindling population as farming for them is no longer a productive venture. A small section of them remains involved in the vocation only because they have no alternative means of livelihood.
Research Interests:
In July of 2017, the Supreme Court of India ordered the investigation of the 1528 cases of alleged extra-judicial killings in Manipur. It no longer permits the armed forces to use excessive force or retaliatory force even if allowed by... more
In July of 2017, the Supreme Court of India ordered the investigation of the 1528 cases of alleged extra-judicial killings in Manipur. It no longer permits the armed forces to use excessive force or retaliatory force even if allowed by the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). This was a landmark judgement and reflected the years of ongoing debacle, conflict and dissent in Manipur due to state violence. Besides the role played by Human Rights activists and NGOs, women activism has played a gigantic role in continually reminding the state of the negative ramifications of AFSPA.
Research Interests:
An open forest between the villages of Chassad and Sampui has been a bone of contention between two communities for more than 70 years.
Research Interests:
The paper examines the symbolism of bride wealth and gift-giving in the marriage system of the Kukis in terms of a web of questions: How does the transaction of giftsreflect and recreate the relationships between people? How does this... more
The paper examines the symbolism of bride wealth and gift-giving in the marriage system of the Kukis in terms of a web of questions: How does the transaction of giftsreflect and recreate the relationships between people? How does this transaction reflect and recreate the social understanding of the nature of objects that are gifted? The materials gifted as bride-wealth in the marriage system of the Kukis have undergone changes with the passage of time in terms of forms and meanings. The value and sentiment associated with the traditionally prescribed objects that are gifted are no longer present in the new articles that are transacted today. Therefore, the result of the transaction is not one that binds the giver and the recipient, but rather alienates them both from the object that is exchanged.
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For many communities living in North East India, death is a phenomenon that is intertwined with cultural symbols and philosophies of life and belief system. It occasions social beliefs, sentiments and rites in order to outline the... more
For many communities living in North East India, death is a phenomenon that is intertwined with cultural symbols and philosophies of life and belief system. It occasions social beliefs, sentiments and rites in order to outline the symbolic boundaries between the world of the living and the dead. The manner in which these sociologically familiar structural features are responded to, depends on cultural practices and religious affiliations. The paper is a contribution to the understanding of the sociology of death via the interdependency of religion and culture in a society. It ushers in a different way of thinking about the divide between the living and the dead, the possibility of transcendence through the action of the living and the changes through time and space from the pre-colonial period till after the acceptance of Christianity in the society.
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The Chavang Kut is the post harvesting festival in Manipur and represents an important cultural expression of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo group of people. The study will look at the participation as also performative historiography of the Thadou... more
The Chavang Kut is the post harvesting festival in Manipur and represents an important cultural expression of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo group of people. The study will look at the participation as also performative historiography of the Thadou community. In the past, it was primarily important in the religio-cultural sense as a show of gratitude for the abundant harvest to the gods. The rhythmic movements of the dances in the festival were inspired by animals, agricultural techniques and showed their close affinity with the ecology. Today the Chavang Kut celebration witnesses the shifting of stages and is revamped to suit new contexts and interpretations. The traditional dances which forms the core of the festival is now performed in out-of-village settings and are staged in a secular public sphere. It is nowadays instrumental as a political project to bring unity amongst the different communities of Manipur and to lessen the hill-valley divide in Manipur. Contradictorily, recent socio-political occasions showed that it has also been used as a site of protest by the various Hill communities against the Manipur state
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This working paper primarily deals with two issues. First, it gives a brief account about racial discrimination and violence that North Easterners experience in the metropolitan city of Delhi in the recent past. Secondly it deals with... more
This working paper primarily deals with two issues. First, it gives a brief account about racial discrimination and violence that North Easterners experience in the metropolitan city of Delhi in the recent past. Secondly it deals with the state response to the problem of discrimination and violence in the form of the Bezbaruah Committee, 2014 and the receptions and perceptions about its implementation. The data presented in this paper is part of a survey that was conducted with 95 respondents to understand the problems of the North East populace outside North East region taking the case of New Delhi and using the snowball sampling method. The survey was part of a project was entitled ‘Archiving Marginalities in North East India’ spearheaded by the Department of Sociology and Centre for Regional Studies under the UGC-UPE Phase II, University of Hyderabad.
Research Interests:
The essay is an effort to understand the relationship between the state, forest and tribals in the context of the hill tribes of Manipur. Though they were initiated with the intention of conservation and preservation, the various forest... more
The essay is an effort to understand the relationship between the state, forest and tribals in the context of the hill tribes of Manipur. Though they were initiated with the intention of conservation and preservation, the various forest policies often defy community land rights. The debates on the regulation on shifting cultivation and the various forest acts are critically studied to understand its implication on the Kukis of Manipur.
Research Interests:
The relationship between land and identity in the hills of Manipur encompasses both “geographical territory” and “cultural territory.” The colonial and postcolonial states are external actors that have restructured the society. They have... more
The relationship between land and identity in the hills of Manipur encompasses both “geographical territory” and “cultural territory.” The colonial and postcolonial states are external actors that have restructured the society. They have reconstituted it ideologically, culturally as well as geographically. The three are interdependent: a geographical upheaval is always followed by ideological and cultural changes. Changes in land relations lead to a redefinition of identity. This is not necessarily due to physical changes in the landscape but a result of the ideological upheaval accompanying such change. This article will examine such changes while exploring the issue of land rights of the Kukis and their contentious negotiations with the colonial and postcolonial states.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Ever since the first patient of HIV/AIDS was detected in Manipur in 1989-1990 among the injecting drug users, the disease has been associated with groups that are marked out as social deviants. Given this association and the fact that the... more
Ever since the first patient of HIV/AIDS was detected in Manipur in 1989-1990 among the injecting drug users, the disease has been associated with groups that are marked out as social deviants. Given this association and the fact that the disease has no effective treatment, sufferers faced social rejection and discrimination. The disease was seen as a consequence of life style choices and PLWHAs were denied access to the ‘sick role’. HIV/AIDS acts as a metaphor for moral and physical contamination. The infection confers on the individual a spoilt image and identity. This is reflected in the level of stigmatization and discrimination directly faced by those affected and vulnerable to it; as also the way PLHAs construct their identities in the light of their infection with the virus. It is also relevant to an understanding of the ways in which treatment of people dying of HIV/AIDS are being organised.
Research Interests:
The paper studies the interplay between gender, religion and politics by positing the case of the Kuki women and contributes towards the understanding of the mode in which patriarchy operates and gets reinforced in the question of women’s... more
The paper studies the interplay between gender, religion and politics by positing the case of the Kuki women and contributes towards the understanding of the mode in which patriarchy operates and gets reinforced in the question of women’s relationship to land. Ancestral land is tied to the sense of community and identity of the people. It is possible for daughters to inherit all movable and immovable properties apart from the ancestral land upon which there is still restriction to women’s ownership under the traditional customary laws. Kuki women have no political voice in decision making that concerns the land question, not only within formal state law, but also within local level management systems like the customary law courts. The transnational encounter with the missionary women in the 19th and 20th century changed the structure of gender relations within the household and community of the Kukis. However, religion seemed to represent a paradoxical emancipation; emancipation existed to a certain extent but this did not result in change of power relations in the society. Rather, religion adapted itself to suit the patriarchal context that already existed and indirectly supported the gender-bias inheritance customs that deprived women.
Research Interests:
An open forest between the villages of Chassad and Sampui has been a bone of contention between two communities for more than 70 years.
Research Interests:
A detailed REVIEW OF THE BOOK IDENTITY AND MARGINALITY IN NORTH EAST INDIA by Prof. K.M. Seethi, ICSSR Senior Fellow and Director, Inter University Centre for Social Science Research and Extension, MG University