ABSTRACT
The withdrawal of the British colonialism in India was accompanied by the partition of India in 1947. It was not just the formal partition of 1947 that affected Northeast India, but other informal partitions such as the separation of Burma from India in 1937, the impact of decolonization on Bhutan and Sikkim in 1947, the end of British Residency in Nepal, the annexation of Tibet by China in 1959, all of which deeply altered the habitats of people, divided kinsmen, and adversely influenced their livelihood and migratory movements. The decolonisation process in the region not just experienced Partition but also modern nation formation and involved boundary making, actually divided not just the territory which were the habitat and migratory routes of people, it permanently divided kinsmen and permanently debilitated their livelihood patterns. This entry aims to provide a narrative and analysis of the impact of these multiple partitions – both formal and informal – on Northeast India.
