ABSTRACT
Identity politics in the region – tribal, ethnic or nationalist – challenged, resisted and critiqued the Indian state since its independence. Re-articulation of these same identities as indigenous inserts new political fault lines in the region. Moving away from the question of who is indigenous, this section poses the question why do certain groups claim to be indigenous? Such a departure brings into play neoliberalism and the rise of right-wing politics in India, and argues for the need to abandon the settler/immigrant/native premises in understanding indigeneity.
