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A correction is presented to the article "Engaging with Ethnographic Museum Objects from Erstwhile Naga Hills: From Imperial, Colonial and Postcolonial Eras to Contemporary Reimagining" which appeared in the previous issue of the periodical.

In the literary history of Nagaland, Easterine Kire's work is significant because of her depiction of the socio-cultural and historical background of Naga people. In this conversation, she touches on many themes including Naga communities' unique traditions, socio-cultural dynamics, multigenerational indigenous knowledge of tribal people, the community's heterogenous identity, and the feminist ideology of Naga society. Kire also shows how memory and history associated with Naga culture have a lasting impact on the condition of present-day Nagaland. She talks about the need to preserve the memories of forgotten and marginalized history of this region. Furthermore, the interview also focuses on the importance of the voice of the elders in Naga society, the rituals and taboos of Naga people, rich and lively interaction of people withinthe Naga community, the ethics of altruism and cooperation among Naga people, and the cultural and political forces and disputes that shape the socio-cultural, ethical and moral identity of Naga people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article engages Queer Theology in conversation with Naga Indigenous Theology. A Naga folk poem is employed to help navigate the intricacies of indigenous experiences and the questions of sexuality in Naga Indigenous Theology. I do this by engaging both Marcella Althaus-Reid and Wati Longchar in their Liberation Theology and move towards queering Longchar's theology. Using the hermeneutical lens of Althaus-Reid, I demonstrate that there are possible avenues of queering Longchar's theology. There is also the prerequisite of a justice lens that demands a deconstruction of the colonial legacy in Indigenous Theology. This article shows that Naga Indigenous Theology rooted in Liberation Theology has a potential to propose a Queer Naga Indigenous Theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary Naga literature in English engages with aspects of State-making, nationalism while it lives in a moment identified as the global. It also inhabits the 'postcolonial' terrain given its history of British Colonisation. In other words, even as contemporary Naga literature in English engages with features broadly identified as constituting the postcolonial, due to the multiple socio-political realities it inhabits, it also needs to be read in terms of its specificities. Since contemporary Naga literature in English is embedded in multiple realities, locating it within a single theoretical trajectory can be difficult. This paper attempts to demonstrate that while literatures can be mapped as belonging to the 'postcolonial' time, it is difficult to map similarities across literary writings, in terms of literary articulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feasts of Merit are an important social way of life among different tribes in the world, especially in Southeast Asia. In Northeast India, the different Naga tribes were well-known for this practice before the advent of Christianity. However, among the Chakhesang Nagas, after the advent of Christianity, the practices of giving feasts continue to this day with minor modifications in terms of rituals and taboos while the symbolic meaning and values behind this practice are retained. The Feasts of Merit, among them, are intricately connected to their worldview, whereby the feast-givers distribute their wealth in terms of sacrificing mithun, buffalo, and/or other livestock, in consecutive feasts, and receiving in return a higher social rank and the right to wear a special shawl ("Feasts of Merit" shawl), variously known as hapidasa, elicüra, and thüpikhü and the right to adorn the house with special architecture (mithun and buffalo wood carvings on the wall, and to put up a horn at the pinnacle of the house front). This article discusses the "Feasts of Merit" shawl and how it is connected intrinsically to the ethos of the tribe, and in doing so it states that the Chakhesang feasts can be looked upon as gift economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the identity dynamics of a lesser known community by the name Bujuur Naga, with special reference to the Aemo lineage and identity. It explores the remnants of the Aemo heritage including their language, and further brings to picture the narrations from within which are necessary for understanding the complexities and insecurities associated with the identity. It also touches themes of territorial contestations between India and Myanmar that not only politically divides the socially bonded people, but it also leads to diminishing interaction between the separated Aemo-Bujuur families. The paper takes a narrative discourse with subjective approach, relying on primary information from field interactions, with the objective to locate the path of the paradigm identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper engages with the narrative of the Good Samaritan from a Naga perspective in the context of COVID‐19. It demonstrates how Naga Indigenous hospitality, as opposed to contemporary Christianized hospitality in Nagaland, has an affinity with the teaching of Jesus in the narrative. The pertinent question it raises is what the Good Samaritan hospitality would look like if articulated from an Indigenous context during a pandemic. The paper argues that through rereading the story of the Good Samaritan, the Naga churches and society in general have the potential to reclaim and engage Naga's Indigenous culture of hospitality that supersedes ethnicity in the ongoing pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Naga myth of origin underscores the co-existence of and the interconnectivity between the human and the natural world. It is believed that the Nagas once lived in Makhel and a tree stands there as the witness and symbol of Naga origin and unity. The Angami Nagas used to believe that before their dispersal to different parts of the world, three monoliths were erected at Makhrai-Rabu, and these structures represent the Tiger, the Man and the Spirit which stand for the flora and fauna, the human society and the spirit world. With the fall of the first monolith the destruction of the world is initiated and with the fall of the last one the earth witnesses complete doom. It has been reported that only one of these monoliths is standing erect, and it would not be too naive to say that it reminds us of the impending doom that perhaps has already been previewed in the form of natural disasters and other life threatening diseases. In the Naga cultural milieu, nature existed as an independent entity that breathed life into Naga myths, folklores and way of life. In short, it used to define the identity of the primordial Nagas, until their animist world view was replaced by that of Christianity. It was followed by the Indo-Naga conflict, and the Nagas were soon left with confused identities and crises that ran deep into their psyche. Easterine Kire Iralu, the author from Nagaland, tries to reorient the Naga identity by reclaiming the age-old myths and rituals. She tries to retrace the inherent Naga faith in deep ecology that gives equal importance to the distinct parts of the ecosystem that function as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article attempts to relook at the works of Rev. William Pettigrew from the point of view of the native eyes. The dwindling of the Tangkhul Naga language and the introduction of the western education system to the Tangkhul Naga tribe in the year 1896 led to the tribe embracing Christianity. The systematic overhauling of the education system from being rooted in oral culture to that with a written education system brought a sea change in the lives of the tribe. The article sought to relocate the intricate coupling of the Bible and the school texts in the late 19th century and the early 20th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cheiloscopy is a forensic investigation technique that deals with the identification based on lip traces. Based upon the research, it was established that the arrangement of lines on the red part of human lips is unique for each human being. The present study is an attempt to determine the pattern of lip prints and evaluate its uniqueness in a sample of Naga population and also their association with print in the four quadrants of the lip. A total of 100 (15-40) years individuals were randomly selected. With the help of brush a layer of lipstick was applied on the lips of the subject. Following the basis of Tsuchihashi's classification the lip prints collected were studied. It was found that Type I' pattern was predominant among the studied subjects followed by Type I and Type III pattern while Type V pattern was the least frequent Lip pattern distribution in (all four quadrants) in both males and females of Nagas. It is found that no two or more persons had similar features of lip grooves. The frequency of repetition of the lip print pattern in successive quadrant is found to be high. Lip print pattern can be used as an additional tool for personal identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amphibia is a class of vertebrate. Amphibians are ectothermic, or cold-blooded, and they have smooth skin that must stay moist to prevent desiccation. They play an important role in nature both as predator and prey. Nagaland is one of the north eastern hilly states and it is very rich in biodiversity. Due to the geographical position Nagaland have huge number of amphibian fauna. Purpose of the present study is to get information of sociocultural relation of frog and Naga people and to study the diversity. Study was conducted through market survey and interview. Interview was conducted among the people of different age groups which are belonging to different tribes. Frog species were collected from the markets and Morphometric measurements were taken by using vernier caliper. Frog samples were kept as museum specimen. From the investigation all together 11 species from 4 families were recorded from the market and identified with the help of relevant literature. Cooking procedure of frog meat among the people of Nagaland varies from tribe to tribe and people to people. Most common method of consumption is boiling with bamboo shoot. Naga people have traditional believe that frogs have medicinal purposes. Different body parts of the frog consumed by different way to cure the various diseases. Frog eating is a traditional way and continued practice among the Naga society from the time of civilization to obtain the protein and frogs are easily available in the markets in both as fresh and dried. Frogs are being exploited from nature from year after year without having proper maintenance and conservation. The results of the study revealed that there is no reduction of frog population, though they are being collected in huge number. It is necessary to culture the frog species and to establish socioecological system through sustainable management and conservation of biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Naga objects of the Ethnological Museum in Berlin were collected in British colonial times during the second half of the 19~ century. There was a military Naga resistance against the British. Social and cultural Naga values changed dramatically during colonization mostly because of proselytization. It is rather unknown how the process of collecting the objects exactly worked. Objects were bought or bartered by Western collectors or were just given away by the Nagas because they were told by missionaries to get rid oitraditional items. At least in the case of the Berlin Naga collection, Naga objects were not taken away by military force. Early collectors as well as many of the British colonial officers and researchers had a paternalistic and sympathetic attitude towards the Nagas. After independence in 1947, India became the new colonial power for most Nagas. Christianity was established as a prominent marker of identity against the repressive Indian Hindu State. After times of neglect there is an emerging interest in old objects, even reinforced by the Baptist Church. So far no demand for restitution of any Naga objects is known. The cooperation with Naga communities started 2014 with the project on headhunting, an installation iii the Ethnological Museum as part of the Humboldt Lab. As a second step of cooperation between the Ethnological Museum Berlin and Naga communities. a Naga exhibition co-curated by a Naga artist will be on display in the Humboldt Forum. Future cooperation projects will be a common database used for sharing knowledge about the objects and hopefully the opportunity of residency programs for Naga researchers who might see the collection as a part of their cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the history of Myanmar with the number of Indigenous Peoples in Myanmar. It mentions the Indigenous Peoples' rights activists use of the Burmese language in describing Indigenous Peoples, based on international principles; also focuses on to recognise eight ethnic groups as national races that considered as Indigenous Peoples, such as the Naga.

The aim of this paper is to examine the story of the American Baptists and how their mission activities in the Naga Hills District (1871–1955) have impacted upon present day politics in the Indian state of Nagaland. Baptists make up nearly 95% of the current Naga population in Nagaland. The paper will investigate the relationship between the Baptist mission's philosophy on education, Christian conversion and the subsequent rise of a sense of 'national community' amongst the Nagas. Although the primary motivation for the American missionaries was to convert, the British administrators also thought that introducing Christianity would prevent influence on these tribes from Hindu and Muslim groups. Thus began Christianity's part in a developing framework for resistance in this region, raising significant questions with regard to Christianity's persistence as a form of political articulation in contemporary Nagaland. This political articulation, I suggest, is related to a greater sense of agency brought about by Christianity and Missionary activities in the fields of education and print. The American Baptist Foreign Mission Society (ABFMS) was at the forefront of these changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What happened to peoples who felt colonized in post-colonial states? After the Second World War, the formal international order of the United Nations and Cold War political alignments recognized national self-determination as a right, but only saw claims of self-determination within European empires. However, there are hidden stories of anti-colonial claims within post-colonial states, claims that operated through informal networks because they were invisible to international institutions. These networks produced a layer of international relations that took on the issue of minority nationalisms. Through the travelogues and visa difficulties of nationalist claimants from Nagaland in Northeast India and Namibia in Southern Africa, this article makes visible this layer of politics. It considers the peoples for whom 1960s global decolonization did not mean national liberation, the unofficial individuals who spoke for them that were empowered by the UN's inability to do so, and the symbiotic relationship between these two sets of actors. By showing the mutual, yet unequal dependence of nationalists and their advocates, this article argues that certain nationalist claimants achieved forms of pre-independence recognition from advocacy, but that this support came with strings–strings that constrained nationalist claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conflicts often produce highly genderedforms of violence turning women's bodies into perpetual battlegrounds thereby placing women in highly vulnerable positions. The North-Eastern states of India have been raising demands for autonomy since the last many decades. The turbulent political scenario of this region has led to massive violence against women. The root cause that promotes violence against women be it political or domestic is the patriarchal bias ofthe society. Of the eight states that constitute the North-East, Nagaland is marked as the "epicentre of insurgency ". The Nagas have a strong warrior tradition and are basically patriarchal with clearly defined roles for men and women. Temsula Ao is one of the major literary voices in English to emerge from 'North-East India. These Hills Called Home: Stories from a War Zone is Temsula Ao'sfirst short story collection. Her writings expose the complexities and contradictions that inform life in the Naga Hills and the survival strategies and methods of resistance showcased by the common people. Four stories from Temsula Ao's collection are selected for study which are analysed in the light of James Scott's theory of everyday resistance to unveil women's dialogue and negotiation with power from their marginal position in a conflict zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a preliminary attempt to understand the dynamics of how Patanjali and Baba Ramdev represent 'Hindu nationalism', or Hindutva (Hinduness) in Nagaland, India. One can read Baba Ramdev's foray into the region through the promotion of yoga, Ayurveda, and national health, as a form of 'neo-Hindutva' that is increasingly diffuse and moves away from a more militant pathway of established Hindutva designs. If one considers the work of Patanjali in Nagaland as an attempt to homogenise and unify a set of practices surrounding food and health practices, then, one can read this as an attempt to assert a singular somatic imagination, increasingly influenced by Hindutva ideas about the body, 'the health of the nation', and the promotion of swadeshi (indigenous goods) as patriotic duty. This article highlights the way Ramdev and Patanjali's business empire is trying to move beyond the 'cow belt' of north India, comprising mainly of 'Hindu-Hindi' into regions that are more diverse linguistically and historically, and culturally viewed as 'un-Indian'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a preliminary attempt to understand the dynamics of how Patanjali and Baba Ramdev represent 'Hindu nationalism', or Hindutva (Hinduness) in Nagaland, India. One can read Baba Ramdev's foray into the region through the promotion of yoga, Ayurveda, and national health, as a form of 'neo-Hindutva' that is increasingly diffuse and moves away from a more militant pathway of established Hindutva designs. If one considers the work of Patanjali in Nagaland as an attempt to homogenise and unify a set of practices surrounding food and health practices, then, one can read this as an attempt to assert a singular somatic imagination, increasingly influenced by Hindutva ideas about the body, 'the health of the nation', and the promotion of swadeshi (indigenous goods) as patriotic duty. This article highlights the way Ramdev and Patanjali's business empire is trying to move beyond the 'cow belt' of north India, comprising mainly of 'Hindu-Hindi' into regions that are more diverse linguistically and historically, and culturally viewed as 'un-Indian'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will argue that to understand Naga sovereignty, one must take into account the intimate connection between Christianity and nationalism. This relationship is centred on the idea of 'Nagaland for Christ', a central slogan (also seen as a covenant) for all Naga nationalist groups. It suggests that God is the primary agent in sovereignty, and that the land is connected with the idea of Nagaland for Christ. I argue that national territory is not an object or a place that can be fixed in time, but rather an act of narration and imagination with the power to shape where it belongs. I will make the case that we need to rethink modular forms of sovereignty that are based on a strong national state. Instead, it would be more useful to think about sovereign territories as the organisation of space, or territoriality (Sack 1986). Robert Sack argues that territoriality is 'intimately related to how people use the land', how they 'organize themselves in space and how they give meaning to place' (Sack 1986: 2). If history has shown us that ascertaining the precise territorial lines of national units are always a challenge, it is more helpful to try and understand how people give meaning to place regardless of boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we want to argue that mission models of inculturation and contextualization are not apt responses to the enlightenment model of mission or colonial mission and that the 'mission as translation' model is one way forward. We propose this explorative model of mission by engaging mission studies with translation studies in philosophy of language. The realization that mission studies, with its focus on the gospel text, missionary-interpreter and receptor community, shares structural commonalities with the central categories of translation studies inspires this engagement between disciplines. Our proposal is that mission as translation is necessarily a fusion of these three horizons. Finally, we test this model in the Lotha Naga context, ending with broad implications for mission studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interrogating the normative notion of 'man the voter', this article draws on ethnography among the Chakhesang Naga in Northeast India to communicate a cosmopolitan, culturalist critique - and an answer to this critique - of liberal democracy's hallmark of party-based elections, individual autonomy and equal voting rights. While Nagas have been decorated as 'traditional democrats', their sense of the good political life is shaped by values of communal harmony, consensusbuilding and complimentary coexistence. However, these are threatened by practices and principles of liberal democracy, which led Phugwumi villagers to attempt a procedural adaptation of elections by substituting individual voting for consensusbuilding and the selection of a leader. I use this ethnographic case to provincialize the sprawling contemporary sense of 'liberal universalism', and to postulate that, in their political sociality, Nagas are a 'society against voting', an adaptation of Pierre Clastres' (1977) Society against the State. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, the Tenyimia is a group of Naga tribes which trace common ancestry. According to the oral sources, these people basically dispersed from two villages known as Maikhel (Mekhrore) and Khezhakenoma to different parts of the present-day Nagaland, Manipur and Assam. Their claim of common descent is endorsed by shared memories and conjoined geographical spaces besides the close linguistic lineage that is found among the varied dialects. However, before the colonial and American missionary experience, this kinship relationship was limited by historical factors and Tenyimia as a socio-cultural and political entity was not as defined as in the contemporary times and neither was there a common language called Tenyidie. It is in this context that the influence of western cultural traditions since the nineteenth century made a durable impression on the socio-cultural and political processes of the Tenyimia people across vast geographical spaces. As a result, Tenyidie language, which is basically a language adapted from various dialects by the American Missionaries became standardized among the Tenyimia people over time. In this paper, one of the main objectives is to see how a literate tradition has been fostered and embraced across dialectal and geographical spaces. To understand this phenomenon, the paper would try to locate the nature and interplay of history, identity and language in reinforcing historical consciousness and creating new sensibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the association of different perceived parenting styles of Naga fathers with the social and emotional adjustment of adolescents. The participants comprising of 100 (50 male and 50 females) ranging in age between 14-19 years were administered Parenting Authority Questionnaire (PAQ)by (Buri, 1991) and Bells Adjustment Inventory (BAI) by (R.K. Ojha, 1968). Result displayed that authoritative parenting style was the predominant perceived parenting style (56%) followed by authoritarian and permissive parenting style (22%) each. Significant positive correlation was found between perceived permissive parenting style and emotional adjustment of the adolescents. The results revealed a negative correlation between perceived authoritarian parenting style and social adjustment however, it was not statistically significant. In conclusion, the present study states the need for further inquiries to look into the association of the parenting styles and psychological adjustment of the adolescents with a larger sample size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Somatisms are phraseologisms which contain at least one body-part term as a constituent. They make up a considerable part of the phrasemes of any language. In this paper, we focus on the extent to which the equivalent(s) of the term láb occur(s) in Serbian and English somatisms. The research is based on a corpus extracted from both monolingual and bilingual phraseological dictionaries of Hungarian, Serbian, and English. The data are analysed primarily from a cognitive point of view, with the aim of establishing whether the three languages are comparable in terms of the meaning of the idiom as a whole. Degrees of equivalence are established based on whether there is an idiomatic expression in Serbian/English containing the lexeme noga or leg/foot, respectively. Another issue addressed in the paper is the choice of the English term ( leg vs foot) in somatisms and the question of whether this choice is arbitrary. Though structure is of secondary importance only, we also take it into account in establishing the degree of equivalence between the items listed in the corpus. Lastly, we stress the similarities and differences noted in the way the body-part terms mentioned are employed in the phraseologisms of the three languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental disorders will continue to have a significant contribution towards the global disease burden unless people develop positive attitudes toward such disorders. Assessment of public attitudes toward mental disorders is important to effectively plan and implement mental health programs. This study examined the relationship between attitudes of Nagas toward mental disorders and two demographic variables-age & gender. Sample comprised of 500 adults (228 males and 272 females) in two age groups - Younger group(21 to 40 years), n= 381 and Older group (above 50 years) n= 119. A case vignette of schizophrenia was used and participants were asked to respond to a questionnaire based on the vignette. Percentage frequencies were worked out and Chi Square test was applied to examine age and gender differences. Significant age and gender differences were observed with regard to acceptance in different levels of relationships and also with regard to attitudes indicating stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking the material and performative world of the Nagas in Northeast India by way of example, this paper examines how identity, above all ‘ethnic’ identity, is manifested and gets incorporated into the understanding that people have of themselves. Following the shifts in identity over time by comparing ritual performances at the turn of the last century with present-day festivals in Nagaland, it is argued that the enactment of identity roles in public performative events provides a mechanism that makes identity concepts such as ‘ethnic identity’ real to people. The liminoid state during the performance enables individuals to live through identity roles emotionally, mentally, and somatically. It is suggested that the enactment of identity roles in public performances can thus be taken as a key to explain why and how identities can shift over time and between contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Taking the upland, tribal Nagas, and the long lingering Indo-Naga conflict, as my case, this article positions divergent contemporary political and territorial claims and counterclaims in the historical longue durée. While the initial assertion for a sovereign, independent Nagalim envisaged a political and administrative reordering of a region cut across by the colonial Indo-Burma border, over time the Naga national movement increasingly conformed to this international boundary—at least in praxis—as political attention shifted towards the integration of Naga lands within India but presently divided across multiple states. More recently, another territorial quandary emerged as the Eastern Naga People’s Organization articulated a demand for the bifurcation of present-day Nagaland, as it was enacted in 1963, through the creation of a new state to be called ‘Frontier Nagaland’. If amidst ongoing strife and uncertainty, these divergent political and territorial aspirations suggest a sinking ever more deeply into a morass of conflicting aspirations, oppositional sentiments and political disorder, this article attempts to historically situate each of these claims, as well as discusses some of their implications, inner intricacies and indeterminacies, in the upshot serving a heady cocktail of colonial legacies, borders that divide, and post-colonial political imaginations, spiked with shots of old tribal antagonisms and new alignments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to assess the nutritional status of 912 elderly persons-Chakhesang elderly-(425 males and 487 females) with age ranging from60 to 101 years, living in rural areas of Phek district, Nagaland, These elderly persons were administered anthropometry and Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) scale. This scale is a comprehensive tool designed and specifically developed for use with elderly people. The MNA is an 18 item protocol comprising of anthropometric measurements (BMI, mid-arm circumference and calf circumference) combined with dietary intake (number of meals consumed, food and fluid intake) and a self-assessment (self-perception of health and nutrition, weight loss, medication, feeding autonomy, mobility, presence of acute stress and presence of dementia or depression). According to the MNA scale, 1.6 per cent of the elders were found to belong to the 'malnourished' category with an MNA score of 17 while, 66.7 per cent of the elders belonged to the 'at the risk of malnutrition' category as defined by MNA scale of =23.5. The percentage of elders who had 'normal nutritional status' with MNA score of =30 was found to be 31.7 per cent. On the contrary, according to BMI classification (WHO, 2004), 21.3 per cent of the elders belonged to the underweight category, 72.5 per cent were normal and 6.2 per cent were in the overweight category with negligible record of obese individuals in the present study. This study revealed that there was significant difference between MNA and BMI on the assessment of nutritional status. BMI reference values for the evaluation of the nutritional status in older adults have been based upon extrapolations on studies using young adults or based on statistical definitions of threshold values, rather than on the elderly's morbidity, mortality and quality of life. Therefore, it is necessary to consider all of these factors to determine desirable threshold values for anthropometric measures in the elderly population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manipur state is a border state in the North Eastern corner of India. The Nagas are a group of people who belong to the Mongoloid stock. The Naga is a generic name for the group of tribes inhabiting Nagaland, Northern Manipur and the bordering districts of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in Indian and Somra tract in Myanmar. There are fifteen (15) Naga tribes in Manipur. Here the writer specially refers to the Naga Tribes of Manipur. This work discusses how social change occurs in Naga Society of Manipur State of North East India. It specially emphasize on the impact of Christianity in the social life of the Naga tribes of Manipur State. In this context, the study of the impact of Christianity means the social change that has been brought about in the Naga Society, not only because of accepting and following the Christian doctrines and principles but also because of the activities of Christian missionaries. The missionaries made it a condition that if an individual had to worship God, he must be able to read. Therefore, the involvement of the missionaries in educational programmes was to be viewed as supplementary to the primary task of communicating the spiritual message to the people. This work discusses how the advent of Christianity into Manipur marks the beginning of a new life and how its introduction into the hills is pregnant with many effects of far reaching importance. It discusses some of the most important ways such as church polity, education and literature through which Christianity helped to shape the new culture in the tribal society. They enabled the tribes to adjust to the situation that had been forced upon them without losing their sense of distinct identity. Through church polity, new structures of tribal identity were created through education and literature. Christianity provided the people with the skill necessary to function by themselves within the new order. This work also discusses how when the animists were converted into Christianity, their live were transformed into a newer and richer life. How the new culture taught them about personnel cleanliness. It is also pointed out how the introduction of common language through education by the missionary brought wider social relations involving different villagers living in the region. Again my discussion also includes how the process of modernization and growth of education brought about consciousness in the mind of the people and how a Naga tribe like Tangkhul (one of the Naga tribes of Manipur) came to know that they belonged to a Naga tribe thus promoting solidarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anal is a language as well as name of a community inhabiting the South Eastern, North and Western parts of Manipur and in the border areas of neighboring country like Myanmar. Anal is one of the thirty-three recognized scheduled tribes of Manipur with a total population of 13,853 according to the 2001 Census of India. The present paper attempts to describe the gender marking systems in Anal, a Kuki-Chin language mainly spoken in Chandel district of Manipur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tangkhuls occupy the north eastern hill of Ukhrul District, Manipur. Tangkhul people know no other life except that of "community life". In fact, they work in groups, eat in groups, work in groups and sleep in groups wherever there are. All things are done in groups and in the full presence of the entire community. The individuals have no existence apart from the community. Interestingly, there was no place for idle men in the Tangkhul Naga community. The principle "He who does not work, neither shall he eat" is adopted by the Tangkhul Nagas. All must work and participate in the community work - may it be house building, feasts of merit or harvesting, everyone must join the community work. In the nineteenth century, the farmers of the village community were very helpful in time of happiness and sorrow. There was no hierarchical system in the social set up. Collection of wooden materials and construction of house took only a few days. There was a strong sense of corporate responsibility present in the construction of any house including the chief's house in the village which is an indivisible unit. The sense of collective accountability has been responsible for the integrity of the community. In the village community 'Longshim' or dormitory played the most vital important role in shaping young men's and women's life. The 'Longshims' were created according to different age group of the given village. Indeed, Longshim was an admirable institution. The institution system taught them the meaning of co-operation and responsibility. It was the crucible which moulded girls and boys into responsible women and men. Thus, the village community as a whole belongs to a farming community. Their lifestyles were simple, honest and co-operative. The village community was a compact well-knit society where the customs and traditions are regulated accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the conflict in the Indian northeast and revolves primarily around the different levels of conflict. The Indian northeast is most certainly one of the most under- researched conflict zones in academia. This paper uses Mary Kaldor’s ‘New War’ thesis as a theoretical framework to understand the situation, and pays special attention to its very complex and multifaceted nature. The paper argues that the levels of violence differ from one state to another in a region which has always had complicated relations with the rest of India since 1947. Poverty, corruption, administrative failure, police brutality, identity politics, human rights abuses and the role played by external actors such as China and Burma in the region are some of the key features associated with this conflict. There is a special focus on Nagaland since the Naga conflict is the oldest of all the conflicts in the region. The rest of the paper looks at some of the other states of the Indian northeast which include Assam, Manipur and Tripura and take them up collectively for discussion. Finally, after making an assessment of the entire region, the paper tries to suggest methods of peaceful building and conflict management as the way forward. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The climax of the battle of Kohima was in June 1944, 70 years ago. This article is about the part played in that victory by Ursula Graham Bower, an English woman subsequently honoured by the RSAA. She led a team of Naga tribesmen from North East India who acted as intelligence scouts, feeding the 14th Army with information about the Japanese, acting as guides for British units and providing a security network against spies. Graham Bower was effective because she had lived amongst the Nagas before the war and gained their trust. Inevitably she was glamourised in the media and hailed as the Jungle Queen or the Naga Queen, a Western beauty fighting against the Japanese. In reality, with the Nagas, she performed a intelligence role, not a fighting role, but it was a vital contribution to victory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article intends to fill a glaring void in the existing academic literature on the issues and challenges which stem not only from crafting, but also making asymmetric federalism work in northeast India. It examines the extent and limits to which asymmetric federalism—specifically under Article 371A of India’s Constitution—not only negotiates Nagas’ sovereignty claims over their land and resources and caters to the demands of democratic justice, but also the extent to which it consolidates India’s state-nation and democracy building in its northeastern periphery. Contending that the extant asymmetric federal arrangement in India’s polity stems from a centralist federal framework, the article makes a case for a more robust asymmetric federalism, which goes beyond this framework. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Soon after India attained its independence from British colonial administration in 1947 the Nagas started waging an armed conflict against India to establish a sovereign independent state in Nagaland in the country's Northeast region. The conflict is today one of the world's longer running and little known armed conflicts. India's central government has tried unsuccessfully to tackle the problem through political reconciliation, use of force, and several development measures. Over the years, it has also undergone several changes in which the situation of conflict deepened whenever India's central government intervened. And yet, the road ahead also faces severe challenges because the demand for bringing the Nagas of India together into a single political entity will not go unchallenged from other ethnic groups. Moreover, a bitter leadership battle divides the Naga rebels and hence any future agreement is likely to be difficult due to factional politics as have happened in the past. Thus one way to satisfy the aspirations of different ethnic groups while protecting the boundaries of the existing states in India is to explore the option of cultural autonomy. This idea is not entirely new, but has lost significance over the years. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article looks at the historical importance of borderland routes, the way they were laid out, built and monitored, and the changing role of hill communities in this colonial enterprise. It argues that road building provided a crucial site upon which plots of empire building could unfold in the Naga Hills. This was a space, which had to be constituted through the politics of access. Access routes intensified the colonial state’s ability to penetrate, control and incorporate ‘unstable’ peripheral areas and its inhabitants into the imperial domain. Road building was then woven into a complex network of colonial practices such as military surveillance, taxation, population enumeration and the subordination of the hill populace as ‘coolies’. However, British officials could not have simply re-shaped the landscape, framed policies and establish its domination from above. To do so, they had to engage with the existing ‘traditional’ structures and institutions, whereby they had to create and draw upon native agents in the form of gaonburras (village headmen) and dobhashis (interpreters) who came to hold considerable stake in their imperial project. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Like most fiction from post-colonial, indigenous cultures, Temsula Ao's These Hills Called Home: Stories from a War Zone originates from a land still in turmoil and gives a vivid depiction, in terrifying detail of the deepest dimensions of human experience of what happened in Nagaland in the 1960s and 1970s, referred to, as 'The Naga Conflict'. Nagaland, a remote state in India's North-Eastern region, is home to a group of about twenty-four hill tribes called the Nagas. Almost similar in race, culture and customs to the tribes of Myanmar and Northern Thailand, the Nagas have waged a separatist battle for autonomy since the end of the British Raj in 1947. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insurgencies in the Northeast of India have been a recurring phenomenon since India's independence in 1947. One of the most significant aspects of the multiple insurgencies has been the use of violence for political goals. By drawing upon three cases of insurgencies in Northeast India, the article offers a conceptual framework on escalation and de-escalation of violence in insurgencies. The article argues that the most critical variables which have a direct bearing on the levels of insurgent violence are: popular support, loss of legitimacy and the state's counter-response. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Kuki–Naga conflict, which was mainly fought on land and identity issues, resulted in the uprooting of hundreds of villages, with the loss of more than 1,000 lives and enormous internal displacement. The British colonial policy of governance in the north-east frontier of India and the rise of ethnic nationalism among both the Kukis and Nagas in the post-independence period were the roots of the conflict. This essay reviews the various essays on the Kuki–Naga conflict of the 1990s and two books, namelyEthnicity and Inter-Community Conflict: A Case of Kuki-Naga in Manipurby Aheibam Koireng Singh andViolence and Identity in North-East India: Naga-Kuki Conflictby S.R. Tohring. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This brief article critically reviews various recent essays and publications on the Kuki–Naga conflict of the 1990s. The conflict has resulted in uprooting hundreds of villages, with the loss of more than a thousand lives, destruction of valuable properties and internal displacement. While British colonial policies of governance in Northeast India and the rise of ethnic nationalism among Kukis and Nagas in the post-independence period have been identified as major root causes of the Kuki–Naga conflict, the literature remains inconclusive and this article argues that today competing claims and perceived threats regarding land and territory appear to be the major cause of continuing tensions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article analyses the conflict between the Kuki and Naga ethnic groups in the state of Manipur in North East India and attempts to understand why tensions arose in the first place and remain today between the two ethnic groups despite the formal cessation of hostilities in 1997. This ethnic conflict is shown to be a consequence of a lingering identity problem, aggravated by land disputes and equivocal responses of the state. It is argued that continued land disputes, the Nagas’ unwillingness to perform Kuki customary rites and the government’s indifference to the problem prevent these two groups from reaching a sustainable solution. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 1931–32 a military operation (‘Hunt for Prince Charlie’1) was conducted by the 3rd and 4th Assam Rifles, mainly assigned the duty of searching a popular tribal girl who had been working relentlessly for her Zeliangrong community to be freed from colonialism, poverty, confiscation of land and property through a benevolent way of religious-cum-non-violent movement. However, unavoidable conditions transformed her movement into an armed rebellion. The girl was none but Miss Gaidinliu. From 1925 to 1931, her mentor Jadonang and she were working to unite all conglomerate tribes by launching a political-cum-religious movement against the colonial ruler. Untimely Jadonang was arrested and hanged on 29 August 1931; the movement conditionally stopped for a while. To accomplish their dream of freedom, liberty and unity of this community, Miss Gaidinliu had been spreading their political message in North Cachar Hills, Naga Hills and north-western part of Manipur. On the other hand, the British colonial ruler considered her as a seditionist, hallucinated, millenarian and provoker of the Kuki–Naga ethnic issue. The search operation was mainly assigned to J.P. Mills, Deputy Commissioner, Naga Hills and J.C. Higgins, Political Agent, Manipur (classified) assisted by Sub-Divisional Officer Haflong, North Cachar Hills and Sub-Divisional Officer, Tamenglong Sub-division, Manipur. This article tries to draw the British search for her and the atrocities against the Zeliangrong community from a historical perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, I address a prominent colonial representation known as “headhunting”, because this term has been in use almost synonymously with Nagas and continues to exert negative psychological ramifications on contemporary Nagas. Due to a lack of work revising the exaggerated representation, the colonial portrayal is being sustained by the frequent and continued use of terms such as “former headhunters” and “once headhunters”. Therefore, this work is in part to represent the Nagas not as “barbaric headhunters” but as “normal” human beings both in the past as well as in the present. To do so, first, I will outline traditional Naga warfare, the context in which decapitation occurred. Second, I will examine the subject as it is being presented in the literature of Euro-Americans. Finally, the paper will end with the argument that the term “headhunting” was simply an invention of the colonizers and briefly note the ramifications of colonial stereotypes on contemporary Nagas. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Westernization is a pervasive modern phenomenon. Its impact is more pervasive and pernicious than many people are aware and/or willing to admit. The spread of the dominant Western culture has caused a gradual demise of many peripheral cultures. The incursion of Western agents into Naga soil, beginning with British military conquest and American missionary intrusion, has resulted in a significant influence and westernization of Nagas and their culture and worldview. Consequently, it is almost a cliché to assert that since colonial contact the long-evolved Naga traditional values are being replaced by Western values. Today, the literal colonization of Nagas by the imperial West has ended, but the process of westernization is continuing, thanks to the ongoing influence being exerted by modern media, technology and other trends of globalization. My objective in this paper is not to highlight the ‘form’ or ‘material’ aspect of the culture, such as clothing (although mimicry in this area is almost faultless among a large section of Nagas), rather, my goal is to discuss the current state of mindset and fundamental cultural structures of the Nagas that have resulted from the adjustments in the lives and minds of the people because of the imposition of westernization. In fact, it is more than merely a process of adjustment consequent upon conquest, it is an extensive overhauling of cultural institutions, values and practices. I will underscore the westernization of some basic social structures and the mindset of the people. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the 1920s and 30s, the Naga areas comprising Naga Hills and the adjoining Naga inhabited hill tracts of Manipur witnessed two important initiatives which were to become integral to the imagining and making of a Naga nation: the movement among the Rongmeis, Liangmeis and Zemes under the leadership of Jadonang and later Gaidinliu—popularly known as the Zeliangrong movement—and the programmes and activities of the Naga Club. Both the Zeliangrong movement and the Naga Club had a history and trajectory of their own but at the same time, faced with situations that seemed to threaten their way of life, they envisioned and anticipated a moment when Nagas would be united as a single political entity independent from the kingdoms of the plains and other external political authorities. This article looks closely at these initiatives, their shared and particular histories, how they made sense of and negotiated with their existing reality, and finally the visions they had of their anticipated Naga nation. The article concludes by briefly looking at how and why the Naga national movement, in the later decades of twentieth century, came to privilege one initiative over the other. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]