ABSTRACT
The phenomena of recurrent violence in Bodoland autonomous area of western Assam can be linked to the manner in which the postcolonial state in India conditions and engages with conflicts in the ‘troubled peripheries’ of Northeast India. In this larger investigative context, the chapter discusses three aspects. First, that high levels of electoral competition can reduce as well as precipitate ethnic violence. Second, that political process and institutional structures, specially discussed in the context of Sixth Schedule areas like Bodoland, impact on the potential role that the phenomena of ethnicity can play within a democratic set up. Third, the fact that identity shifts are many a time tactical, fluid and temporary, and that ethnic identities besides causing social conflicts get consolidated by these conflicts. The chapter explores the ramifications of governmental ‘negotiations’ with the ethnic identity movements/politics by exploring the life course of two prominent student organisations that have been the most active ‘social movement organisations’ (SMO), spearheading the identity movements of the respective communities, and are intimately and intricately placed in events surrounding the cycles of struggles in Bodoland: The All Bodo Student’s Union (ABSU) and the All Assam Minority Student’s Union (AAMSU).
