Tribal Movement

In this paper Sinha broadly outlined the contexts of tribal socio-political movements in India.The ecological isolation, economic backwardness and feeling of frustration around the low status forced upon them were viewed by Sinha as major factors behind the movements.

The phenomenon of identity assertion among its various ethnic constituents over a protracted period of time has significantly shaped the socio-political discourse of contemporary Assam. This assertion has been explained as a part of the process of social evolution of these backward groups, designated as the Scheduled Tribes by the Indian constitution. This assertion is informed not only by an attempt at constructing a distinct cultural order by the newly emerging elites of these groups, it is also characterized by their demand for a share in the existing politico-economic dispensation. However, ever since these demands have transformed into movements for ‘self-determination’ demanding separate ethnic homelands, an array of questions has emerged on the processes of democratic governance and development in Assam. While the democratic aspirations behind these movements are generally recognized, the threat the exclusivist tendency inherent in them poses to the multi-ethnic landscape of Assam also can not be undermined.

This essay examines the above issues in the context of the identity assertion among the Misings, a plains tribe of Assam. After explicating the social, cultural and economic background of the Misings, the essay delineates the trajectory of their identity assertion over almost three quarters of a century. In doing so, the essay illustrates the process of emergence of an educated middle class among the Misings, their demand for politico-economic rights, the turnaround from political to cultural issues, and finally the movement for territorial autonomy. It also underlines the fission and fusion – inter and intra-group – and the role of the state in shaping the course of the Mising identity movement.

This article examines Australia's post-conflict reconstruction and development initiatives in Iraq following the intervention of 2003. Overall, it finds that Australia privileged the neo-liberal model of post-conflict state building by investing in projects that would enhance the capacity of the new Iraqi state, its key institutions and the private sector towards the imposition of a liberal democracy and a free-market economy. To demonstrate, this article documents the failures of the Australian government's stated aims to " support agriculture " and " support vulnerable populations " via interviews conducted in Iraq with rural farmers and tribal members and those working in, or the beneficiaries of, Iraq's disability sector. It concludes by noting that such failures are not only indicative of the inadequacy of the neo-liberal state building model, but also that these failures point the way forward for future post-conflict reconstruction and development projects which ought to be premised on a genuine and sustained commitment to addressing the needs of those made most vulnerable by war and regime change.