ABSTRACT
In 2012 alone, more than three hundred thousand persons were displaced from their homes due to ethnic violence in western Assam’s Boro Territorial Autonomous Districts (BTAD). Over the last decade, the autonomous territorial councils of Assam have witnessed large-scale violence between different ethnic groups, following contests over land and resources. Although there is a tendency to see ethnic differences and quest for political representation as the triggers of violent confrontation, this paper argues that there is more to the recurring violence in Assam. Ethnic differences are not causes, but emerge as contested identities in the course of the conflict. The paper focuses on the changing agrarian relations in Assam (in districts that are part of ethnic autonomous territories, as well as those outside such arrangements), to understand how different communities are forced into competitive politics. Much of the material will be based on ongoing fieldwork and engage with contemporary research on agrarian transformation in South Asia.
