Ethnicity in Assam: Understanding the complexities of ethnic identities and conflicts
- 2016
- p.546-558.
- Jul-Sep
Assam is a land "inhabited by varied ethnic groups". Anthropological Survey of India (1985) identified 115 communities residing in Assam. Hence ethnic discourse of Assam requires closer examination to see what identities build it and make it immensely overwhelming. However, it is beyond the scope of this article to consider all these communities and understand the relationship among all of them. So the present article is confined to exploring two major ethnic groups in Assam: the Axamiya and the Bodo. The Axamiya even though it is the most popular ethnic identity among residents of Assam, there is no official definition of 'Axamiya'. It will therefore be dealt with details here. On the other hand, Bodos are the largest plain tribe and second largest lingual tribal community of 1,352,771 Bodo-speaking people (Census 2011). The article tries to understand the complexities of these two major ethnic identities of Assam and conflicts between them. - Reproduced.
Ethnic conflicts - India - Assam Cultural identity - India - Assam Ethnic groups - India - Assam Ethnic groups