Contemporary Development Discourse in Northeast India and its Impact on the Tribal Communities

Northeast India, a region characterised by great geo-political and ecological significance, is geographically divided into the plains and the hills and is home to many tribal communities that largely depend on natural resource-based livelihoods. While shifting cultivation (jhum) has been a dominant traditional system of land use among tribes both in the hills and the plains, most of them in the plains abandoned this practice on account of colonial-era encroachment. In the hills, however, shifting cultivation still plays a critical role in maintaining agricultural biodiversity and providing food security to the indigenous communities. The advent of colonial development in the region in the 19th century left a long-term impact on its natural and social landscapes. After independence, especially after the early 1960s, the hills that remained largely excluded from the process of colonial development were also brought under the development agenda of the Indian state. However, in recent times, under the neoliberal Indian state, the development discourse in the region has witnessed an unprecedentedly aggressive character seriously undermining the traditional ecology, land ownership system, livelihood and culture of the tribal communities.