ABSTRACT
The anti-state groups in Northeast India which disrupted the governance and lives of millions with half a century of protests and resistance have morphed dramatically. They changed with changing national and international narratives and discourses on the issues of self-determination and self-rule. During the Naga and Mizo uprisings soon after Indian independence, headlines in mainstream media reflected ‘mainland’ attitudes toward the insurgents. They were first described as ‘hostiles’. Later, as the language and nature of self-determination and anti-state groups changed worldwide, as did the opposing forces of the state, they came to be called ‘insurgents’, ‘rebels’, ‘militants’ and eventually ‘terrorists’. Often, various groups, including those not fighting for independence but autonomy, were clubbed together and descriptors such as insurgents, terrorists and militants, which actually mean completely different things, were used interchangeably by governments, media and even researchers.
