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The North East Region of India, comprising Meghalaya, Assam, Tripura, Sikkim, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram, is characterized by a distinctive blend of ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic diversity. Connected to the rest of the country via the Siliguri Corridor, also known as Chicken’s Neck, this paper delves into the historical context of conflicts in the region. It assesses various contributing factors such as ethnic diversity, migration patterns, resource allocation, and political interests. Given China's proximity through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to the Siliguri Corridor, India's attention to this area becomes crucial. Furthermore, the paper evaluates the socio-economic impact of these conflicts and proposes potential strategies for conflict resolution and peace-building efforts. Specifically, it focuses on analyzing border disputes between Assam and neighboring Northeastern states, identifies primary causes of conflict, and offers actionable recommendations for resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the historical antecedents, character and implications of Assam’s National Register of Citizens as a socio-legal instrument. It seeks to understand how dominant nationalisms and the state produce volatile paper citizenship regimes, and use law – as a reified transcendental performance of social will – to construct the ‘minority citizen’ through categories of ‘belonging’ and ‘citizenship’. The paper does this by analysing three typologies of the law-society interaction. First, it examines what/who is a citizen from within law. Second, it critiques the mythology of law by giving an account of belonging and suffering of minority citizens without law. Third, it foregrounds peripheral subjectivities by offering an account of minority citizenship beyond law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper makes a case-study analysis of the annually flooded Dibrugarh town of the Brahmaputra valley of India’s northeast, and looks at floods as disasters in the context of how women negotiate, adapt and survive an annual phenomenon of flood. The paper has tried to interweave multiple narratives arising from differentiated gendered roles played by women in the pre-flood, during floods as well as in the post-flood periods, as collected through interviews and discussions to showcase how women use their agency to make place within as well as outside the community through dialogues, shared experiences and inter-community social capital. It discusses gendering space through the changing lived spaces of a household in the flooded and non-flooded period for four different communities united by flood. The first section of the paper looks at the City as a site for recurring disaster. The second section discuss agency of women as an emanating tool to face, adapt and survive disaster, expanding beyond herself to family and community. The third section presents the spatialities of adaptation manifested through built-form, arising as an outcome of gendered vulnerability and adaptation practices, as translated onto the spaces they inhabit, throughout the flood-cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agriculture sector, which continues to be pivotal to sustainable growth and development, has been recently mobilising farmers into member-owned producer organisations, or Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) to enhance production, productivity and profitability of agriculturists, especially the small and marginal farmers in the country. The FPCs, which have been brought in for improved transparency and access to the input and output market with higher negotiating powers leading to sustainability of the small and marginal farmers, are said to provide higher legitimacy and credibility in the immediate business environment. Though Assam too is not behind in forming FPCs, challenges and issues abound. Majority of these FPCs are in the nascent stage of their operations with shareholder membership ranging from more than 500 farmers to over 1500 farmers. It is also seen that from capacity building to taking up business operations, many issues need to be addressed in these FPCs. These FPCs are in need of support in technical handholding and provision of adequate capital and infrastructure facilities including market linkages for sustaining their business operations. The present paper tries exploring and understanding the ecosystem of the FPCs in Assam, which are focussing on small and marginal farmers, and delving into the issues and challenges faced by the FPCs in the state and the possible ways out. JEL Classification: Q13 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to estimate the technical efficiency (TE) and its determinants in the handloom micro-enterprises of Assam (India) using the double-bootstrap data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses a random sample of 340 handloom micro-entrepreneurs from the three districts of Assam in India. The double-bootstrap DEA was used to calculate the TE and its determinants. Findings: The findings reveal that handloom enterprises are only 60% technically efficient, suggesting room for improvement. The bootstrap truncated regression results demonstrate that the handloom firms' TE is influenced by both entrepreneur-specific and firm-specific factors. Practical implications: The implication lies in the fact that the management of a firm may figure out how much it can reduce its input utilization to produce the existing amount of output so that it can move along the TE ladder. Moreover, it can crosscheck the factors to weed out inefficiency. Originality/value: This paper has made two significant contributions to the extant literature. Firstly, it fills the gap by way of accounting the TE of handloom micro-enterprises, which has so far been neglected. Secondly, it used the bootstrap approach, which otherwise is very rare in the discourse on the Indian manufacturing industry, let alone in the micro, small and medium scale enterprises sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the case of hijras of Assam who are undocumented in the National Register of Citizens because of their fractured identity and adopted gender and face the risk of being declared illegal immigrants despite being citizens. The paper focuses on how transgender individuals are excluded from different aspects of citizenship as a consequence of document-focused procedures created and enforced by the state. The primary argument is that document-focused procedures of the modern state, rooted in heteronormative underpinnings, are exclusionary for transgender individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What drives insurgent groups to negotiation? The paper examines the conditions that facilitate insurgents to negotiate with governments. It examines the case of National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), in Assam, India's northeast. Factors that may have contributed to the process of negotiation were change in relative costs and capabilities of insurgents. The paper argues that state's unwillingness to concede to the insurgent demands of territorial separation affect the outcomes of insurgencies that further contribute to the fragile peace process. Drawing on qualitative interviews of former insurgents, civil society organizations and government officials, this article contributes to studies on peace negotiations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pandemic like the COVID-19 has caught everyone off-guard. The economy is in tatters, and the loopholes in the system are getting exposed. The education sector is no exception, especially in a developing country like India. With millions of students in India, the lockdown will have many unforeseen impacts. Moreover, the parents would be reluctant to send their wards to study even after the pandemic, and the actual effect of a lag in learning would be visible only in the long run. The necessity of e-learning in academia was felt only when the pandemic hit. The lack of ICT infrastructure and the absence of tech-savvy teachers have made studies an absolute roller-coaster ride for students. Apart from this, the already existing disparity between students from different economic strata would very likely broaden. Homebound is another factor affecting the students' psychology towards study. This paper ventures into the problems faced by the students, especially from economic, infrastructural and psychological factors, ranging from primary to University level. It also attempts to segregate the students based on location and financial condition and understand the specific hindrances they face. Case studies from various locations of Assam provide a cluster of stories that would act as an index in developing the system when time is 'conducive'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative research paper was designed to explore Tai Phake music in Assam State, India, and examine its role in the formation of Tai Phake ethnic identity. Data was gathered from documents and field investigation. The results show that Tai Phake music can be thought of as cultural capital, which propels ethnic identity through the use of language, dress, beliefs, and traditions that help create a collective awareness among people in the community. The construction of Tai Phake ethnic identity through music is carried out via singers, musicians, dancers, traditional costumes, melodies, and the use of Tai Phake language in the lyrics. These processes reproduce Tai Phake ethnic identity through ritual music, entertainment, and traditions, helping to preserve the Tai Phake ethnic identity. The results demonstrate the power of both traditional and modern Tai Phake music in the preservation of local identity, strengthening community relationships and network building between Tai Phake people and other Tai groups in Southeast Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, based on my doctoral ethnographic research amongst the Miya community in one of the chars of Western Assam, shows how a particular category of identity documents shape their subjectivities, experiences, and aspirations. I focus on the identity documents which have errors, like mistakes in names, dates of birth or addresses, and badly angled photos. I refer to them as thin documents. Because of the thin documents, the Miyas find it difficult to assert formal citizenship rights, which they could normally assert based on accurate documentation. For the thin documents to help prove the Miyas’ citizenship, they must be further supported by an additional set of documents. The process questions the Miya’s formal citizenship rights. I present narratives of the Miya people living with thin documents to illustrate how the materiality of the identity document binds the Miya people to a state of liminal citizenship. I ask: what do these errors in the identity document or thin documents tell us about citizenship, particularly liminal citizenship with reference to the Miya community of Assam? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will attempt to map the emergence of linguistic nationalism as a direct offshoot of the language debate in early-colonial Assam. In 1836, Bengali was made the language of courts and schools in Assam. Ten years later, the Baptist Mission at Sadiya started publishing a monthly magazine called Orunodoi. Orunodoi gradually became a critical instrument in the effort to reinstate Assamese as the language of the province's courts and schools. How did the emergent public sphere react to the debate on language? What was the power dynamic between an emergent native intelligentsia, the Baptist Mission and the colonial state in earlycolonial Assam? What are the factors that prevented Assamese from being reinstated as the language of courts and schools in Assam until 1873? Was the debate on language merely about imposition of a 'foreign' language, or was the discourse more fluid with concerns like language standardisation operating as undercurrents? Can the language debate in early-colonial Assam be isolated as the first assertion of a sub-national identity based upon cultural and linguistic 'uniqueness'? Through an analysis of some articles published in Orunodoi, read along with private letters and official correspondences of the American Baptist Mission in Assam, this paper will attempt to address some of these questions and recover the context of the debate around language in nineteenth-century Assam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of certain plant species in traditional fishing for their piscicidal or stupefying effect is widespread among many fishing communities in northeast India. Plant poisoning is one such traditional method for fishing practised in the Chirang district of Assam in northeast India. This paper identifies six different species of plants (Polygonum hydropiper, Spilanthes paniculate, Parthenium hysterophorus, Alistonia scholaris, Albizia procera, Ageratum conyzoides) belonging to four different families (Asteraceae, Apocynaceae, Fabaceae and Polygonaceae) which are used as natural poison for capturing fishes in the study area. Maximum number of species (50%) was recorded in family Asteraceae while the remaining families recorded one species each. The most common mode of application was in the form of a ground paste or an aqueous extract while in some cases the raw plant itself were used. All of these plant toxins were reported to affect the swimming and respiration of the fish on application. However, detail mechanism of their toxic action needs to be evaluated fully. This study has identified some potent natural piscicidal plants which may be further investigated for widespread application in aquaculture and allied industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a new and original perspective on the plight of migrants in India. It incorporates an in-depth and practical analysis of Indian legal policies through the lens of migrant and refugee rights. In examining the extra-legal provisions operating in two of India's borderland states--Assam and Jammu & Kashmir--I show how special legal exemptions in Indian law inherently undermine efforts to protect migrant rights. I argue that these extraordinary laws hinder pathways to justice in three distinct ways: by circumventing international principles of non-refoulement; challenging the jurisdiction of India's Supreme Court; and delegitimising migrant-friendly laws. In highlighting an often overlooked aspect of migrants' rights issues, this paper brings the human element of India's regional border disputes and related legal mechanisms to the fore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper articulates the issue of ethnicity and identity formation among the Misings of Assam. It navigates the life graph of the community and unearthed the subtlety involved in their identity formation, articulation and assertion. The nuances involved in their identity formation and the subsequent intra-community ethnic fragmentation reflect the fact that the case does not purely fit into a singular theoretical framework of either 'primordialism' or 'constructivism'. Rather it necessitates the call for traversing through different theoretical frameworks. On a descriptive note, the paper tends to examine the role of social, political and historical forces influencing the Mising identity narratives. Besides delineating the historical trajectories of Mising identity in different historical periods, – pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial – the study has explored the multiple processes of identity formation vis-a-vis migration, politics of (re)naming, role of middle class organisations and the vitality of script and language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of land holding has always been a matter of concern in Assam for researchers, academicians and politicians. For this particular study, the period of 1946-57 has been chosen as it was the period of transition and the period of First General Election. Apart from that, this was the period when Assam witnessed the growth of population due to the massive influx of Refugees to the state. In this context, the Assam Land and Revenue Regulation, 1886 can be considered a landmark legislation. Several important Acts and Amendments were made during this period on the issue of land and agriculture. For example The Assam Land and Revenue Act, Assam Adhiars Protection and Regulation Act, Assam Land Acquisition and Requisition Act, Assam State Acquisition of Zamindari Act etc. The paper tries to discuss the acts and the debates from the theoretical perspective of Representation in connection with the Acts. Therefore the paper will try to focus on the discussions that took place in the Assam Legislative Assembly to analyse the nature of debate and several crucial Amendment Acts on Land in Assam. Besides this, the paper is also an attempt to see the nature of Representation of people's demands and the execution of policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rohi is the popular traditional rice beer of the Sonowal Kacharis, which is typically obtained by natural fermentation. The present study aims to identify the key ingredients used in the preparation of Mod pitha (starter culture cake), detail documentation of the fermentation technology and the socio-cultural and religious significance of Rohi. Participatory approach method was adopted for data collection that included in-depth interviews and discussions with key informants and personal observations. Glutinous rice (Oryza glutinosa Lour.) is the principal substrate for the beer preparation, which is mixed with starter cakes and fermented within a heat-sterilized earthen pot for 4-5 days. Rohi is indispensable during festivals and traditional sacrificial rituals and ceremonies. The entire fermentation technology is the exclusive domain of women. It is hoped that this paper will be useful for further scientific study of Rohi in order to examine the bio-chemical and phyto-chemical composition of the different plant species used in the preparation of starter culture and the final pure product that may reveal some important nutritional properties, therapeutic pro-biotics, healthy metabolites, etc. and contribute towards development of the product as a value-added drink. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural to urban migration is rampant in India. Cities that are Petri dishes for rapid neo-liberal development can be unforgiving places for the vulnerable migrant population. The question we are looking forward to answering here is, how does neoliberal development in the cities affect and shape the lived experience of the vulnerable in-migrants in the growing cities of India? To explore this question, we have taken the case of migrant women to waste pickers who originate from Barpeta, Assam, and have settled in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. These women are placed at the lowest link in the hierarchy of power and economic structures in the urban spaces. They have been working for years, contributing significantly to the waste management of cities by segregation, cleaning, and recycling waste. Under the changing forms of governance, they have been facing a threat to their livelihoods. The paper is based on qualitative data collected through a field study conducted between December 2018 and December 2020 in villages in Barpeta as well as in slums in Lucknow inhabited by these Bengali-speaking Muslim migrants from Barpeta in Lower Assam. Data for this study were collected through the survey (n = 200) including semi-structured interviews (n = 100), follow-up visits (n = 70), and focus group discussions and case studies (n = 30). This paper is an attempt to present a gendered perspective on the trials and tribulations of women waste pickers and their place in the expeditious city space. In addition to the modality of statecraft, we have also explored various social, political, and economic dynamics that further affect them. Based on the findings that emerge from the qualitative data collected from the field, the paper has concluded with some policy recommendations that will help improve the lives of these women waste pickers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

These days, the appraisal of the COVID-19 vulnerability has become a difficult errand for the whole world. The COVID-19 administration dynamic issue frequently includes numerous elective arrangements clashing standards. In this paper, we present a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) procedure based on the fuzzy VIKOR method to survey the COVID-19 vulnerability in the state of Assam, India. The trapezoidal fuzzy number is utilized to evaluate the rating of the loads for the set-up models. We have observed environment, social, and Medical factors after observing the spread of COVID-19. To study and to have comments, a committee of five experts has been formed from a different region of Assam to observe and comment to identify Coronavirus's weakest factors. For a better survey, we have divided the state into four areas namely Rural Area, Urban Area, Market Area in Rural Area, and Market Area in Urban Area. The current research looked at how the fuzzy VIKOR selects provinces for urgent adaptation needs differently than a traditional MCDM technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (PSHA), including a site-specific amplification study, is crucial to evaluate site-specific spectra of soil sites to better understand the behavioural patterns of the soils under earthquake excitation. This paper represents the results of the PSHA for Assam state, located in the highest seismic zone of India ever delineated to date. In that sense, the study area is divided into ten areal zones concerning seismicity source modelling to represent the seismo-genesis of the Assam state in detail. The earthquake recurrence parameters of each zone are obtained from Gutenberg–Richter (G–R) recurrence relation with updated homogenized and de-clustered earthquake catalogue from 1735 up to 2021. Earthquakes with magnitude greater than 4 (M > 4) are considered using eight attenuation relationships for continental active shallow crust region, subduction zone and intraplate region. Hazard curves are obtained using a logic tree structure thus minimizing the epistemic uncertainty. The peak ground acceleration (PGA) value obtained at the rock outcrop of the Assam state for 10, 5, 2, and 0.5% probability of exceedance in 50 years with return periods such as 475, 975, 2475, and 9975 years lies between 0.24 and 0.34 g, 0.3 and 0.44 g, 0.42 and 0.59 g, and 0.56 and 0.91 g, respectively. The estimated PGA value at rock outcrop level is comparatively higher than that reported in the codal provisions. Site-specific response spectra at bedrock level (Vs = 1100 m/s) for major cities (Jorhat, Tezpur, Silchar, Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Nagaon) of Assam state have been proposed for different earthquake return periods of 475,2475, and 9975 years. Finally, site amplification study is performed for Guwahati city and surface level 5% damped response spectra with PGA of 0.696 and 0.924 g are obtained for earthquake a return period of 2475 and 9975 years, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration has been a part of human civilisation. Unbalanced growth of economics and regions creates push and pull factors for migration. The main objective of this paper is to study the inflow and outflow of internal and international migration in Assam. The data from Census 1991, 2001, and 2011 to study the inflow and outflow of migrants in Assam and the reasons for migration. The data from census are computed using the percentage method. Females are more migrant than males in Assam. Intra-district migration is dominant in Assam and as the distance increases the percentage of migrants decreases. Marriage is the main reason for migration in Assam followed by moved with household and work/employment. Migrants from Bihar and West Bengal dominate inter-state migrants and migrants from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan dominate international migrants. West Bengal and the North-eastern states are the top destinations for out-migration from Assam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent developments in the evolution of 'labor history' as an academic field have injected new direction into theories of Gender, Sex and Bodies. Incidents of sexual violence and gender oppression have long been a brutal part of human history. In contemporary times, plantation societies are finally receiving critical attention as historians embark on gendered reappraisals of history, especially in countries like India. This article sets out to retrieve several accounts of sexual violence in the tea plantations of Assam during the colonial period. It also shows how the colonial masters (Sahibs) of the tea gardens have oppressed/sexualized the bodies of men/women workers in the tea gardens of Assam. An attempt is also made to reconstruct the forgotten stories of two tea-garden working-class women, Mangri Orang alias Malati Mem and Durgi Bhumij alias Durgi Mem, who were sexually abused by the European tea planters. From their objectification as sexualized bodies, the duo later showed their abilities of agency when they joined India's freedom struggle and transformed into freedom fighters. The paper analyzes the connections between oppressed/sexualized bodies of women tea plantation workers and the colonial capitalist patriarchy in the history of Assam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to understand the political role of Assamese traditional performance 'Bihu' during Assam movement in 1979. It argues that beyond its role as Assamese cultural identity, 'Bihu' had transformed itself into a political space and fueled upon expanding the idea of Stage Bihu. While looking at the performance as medium of political messaging, the paper brings together the three specific case studies seemingly unknown in the documented cultural history and located in the rural Assam. The idea is to comprehend the larger scope of traditional performance in accommodating political events. The debates are being weaved together through theoretical frames of historian Eric Hobsbawm's 'Inventing tradition' Thomas Postlewait's 'theatre event' in order to see the transformation and changes within the repertoire of Bihu. The paper tries to resurrect an alternative historical discourse, often neglected by the dominant historical cannons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fear, insecurity and anxiety seem to be the enduring sources of genocidal impulses against the Bengali-speaking Muslim minorities of contemporary Assam, India. This paper explores how the tripartite matrix of the border, census and citizenship categories has become indispensable in inscribing fear and anxiety in contemporary Assam's body politic. Using insights from postcolonial states' practices, the paper shows how the state suffers from a persistent neurosis, characterised by an "incompleteness-anxiety", and how attempts have been made to resolve this sense of crisis by mobilising the majority to align its Assamese identity in the direction of an imagined purified "national whole". Further, the paper elaborates upon the implications of these anxieties with reference to Indo-Bangladeshi relations, in which Assam figures prominently both as a prime border state and as a place that is integral to the region's riparian borderlands as a whole. Moving away from the official discourses of contemporary Indo-Bangladeshi relations, which are guided largely by postcolonial cartographic anxiety, the paper points towards the creative possibilities of exploring the "relational registers" within the region's shared civilisational resources as an alternative, in which Assam can act as a bridge between India and Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the establishment of tea plantations in Assam in the first half of the nineteenth century, colonial tea planters and scientists began to examine ways to profitably produce tea for a growing global market. Apart from the visible landscape alterations through mass deforestation, tea monocultures also surreptitiously effected considerable transformation on its immediate physical environment, particularly on the soil. This paper highlights how the question of soil came under the purview of the colonial tea scientists when over the years, consequently and inevitably, these plantations showed a decline in the quality and quantity of tea produced. As a result, the initial conviction in the fertility of Assam's soil within the tea discourse began to be replaced with discussions that revealed how plantation cultivation of tea itself was at the root of these problems in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the secondary data, the present study has aimed at, the study of the economic impact of COVID-19 on the tourism sectors of Assam and its suggestive measures. A total of 20 papers was downloaded to study in-depth and wrote the result. From the various literature reviews, it has been found that due to COVID-19, the whole economy of the world was experiencing sluggish growth and the possibility of a severe economic downturn is very high. The results indicate that COVID-19 had hit very badly on the tourism sectors of not only Assam but all over the world. Due to the lockdown process for COVID-19 not only employment had declined but also revenue had fallen in these sectors. Consequently, the Entrepreneurs in this sector have also faced lots of problems. Since the tourism sector of Assam is one of the great contributors to the state domestic product. COVID-19 brings a big challenge to the economy of Assam by hitting these sectors. The present study also reveals some suggestive measures to overcome the problems faced by this sector during the pandemic situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an attempt to comprehend how document-based state policies open new fault lines and contradictions when it comes to citizenship claims. The study of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam indicates that any exercise in abstract documentation not only becomes exclusionary in nature but also fails in its purpose. The reliance on identity documents, as a tool of state power and identification, demonstrates the incoherent character of state machinery while also having overpoweringly humiliating effects when identity documents are nullified, jeopardizing any citizens' legal status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If Indian intellectual history focussed on the nature of the colonial and post-colonial state, its interaction with everyday politics, its emerging society and operation of its economy, then how much did/ does North- East appear in this process of doing intellectual history? North-East history in general and its intellectual history in particular is an unpeopled place. In Indian social science literature, North-East history for the last seventy years has mostly revolved around separatist movements, insurgencies, borderland issue and transnational migration. However, it seldom focussed on the intellectuals who have articulated the voice of this place and constructed an intellectual history of this region. This paper attempts to explore the intellectual history of Assam through understanding the life history of three key socio-political figures - Gopinath Bordoloi, Bishnu Prasad Rabha and Chandraprabha Saikiani. Their engagement at the turn of the twentieth century with ideas for the future North-East region in general and Assam in partcular is parallel to the formation of the Indian nation state. Research on the writings and works of these socio-political figures is analysed to address what North-east history can contribute to the intellectual history of India and how essential is it in the field of indigenous studies?. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper an attempt has been made to study about the prospects and problems of women entrepreneurship of Sivasagar. It is also analysed the motivating factors for which they more prone to entrepreneurial development activities in the selected area. The present study also provides the suggestions for development of women entrepreneurship in selected areas of Assam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The movement which built up in the early 1920s over the issue of spiritual and temporal authority of the Khilafat as well as the territorial integrity of the Turkish Empire also touched Assam. Both the Hindus and the Muslims in Assam reacted instinctively to the cause of the Khilafatists and claimed for the restoration of status quo of the Ottoman ruler. In this paper we will try to explore the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movement in both the Brahmaputra Valley and the Surma Valley, more specifically in the Surma Valley where the maximum of Assam Muslims lived. It will also be tried to highlight the role of the Assam Muslims in the movement and their stands over the Khilafat issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes how the concept of trust is built within the market space. The bazaar, also known as haat belong to members of the Karbi community who live in an urban village of Guwahati. I had begun my study on the functioning of the market with an unstated assumption that it would be primarily about the buying and selling of commodities every week. What I found was that without the unstated presence of 'trust' and 'belongingness' which binds the different stakeholders, the market would not function. The periodic market functions every week with this trust and belonginess that is the glue that ties community members on the basis of ethnicity. This paper draws upon what one observed and what one gleaned through their narratives. It looks at how the question of trust comes with a certain 'social capital' that helps them to be a part of an active member of the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel Coronavirus disease and the resulting lockdown has created a unique situation of involuntary return migration among labourers in India. It provided a stage for conducting a retrospective study to analyse determinants of return behaviour among internal migrants upon their return. The aim of the paper is to carry out an empirical verification of socio-economic profile of migrant workers, information about destination, determinants of return migration, and future aspirations of the return migrants. Based on a telephonic semi-structured open-ended questionnaire-based survey conducted in February and March 2021 among 238 non-returnees and return migrants of Sonitpur District of Assam, we found that four states from South India, namely—Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala, are the most attractive destinations for migrants from Sonitpur. The bulk of the migrants are young, unmarried men with minimal education, and majority come from households with no cultivable land. About 30% of the returnees went back to their previous destinations within a year, while a sizable portion of non-returnees are willing to return. Not all migrants returned home during pandemic. After controlling for all variables, it was revealed that the percentage of income sent as remittances, the availability of a job card by migrants' households, status of family migration, income, and the number of working days per week are all significantly related to migrants' decision to return. We suggest a hypothesis based on the observations that during times of crisis, migrants with other economic options at sources, such as a job card, are more likely to return. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The greater one-horned rhinoceros or Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) faced extinction in British India at the end of the nineteenth century. In 1908, the Government of Assam established the Kaziranga Game Reserve (KGR, now Kaziranga National Park) to preserve the vanishing rhino. As the twentieth century progressed, creating wilderness -- by demonising the presence of the peasants and graziers -- became a global panacea for protecting wildlife. Contrary to that belief, this article will show how the rhino population revived amidst human existence dictated by agro-ecological interactions and bureaucratic expediencies. The rhino's ethology and its place in the imagination of rural people minimised its enemies. Moreover, in fluvial geography that constantly transformed the KGR's boundaries, peasants and graziers creatively negotiated their usufruct rights and supported rhino preservation. Locating the KGR in the historical analysis of fluvial agro-ecology, this study illuminates how a critical interaction between different actors, i.e. human and non-human and coloniser and colonised, accentuated the cultural and material contestations amidst which the rhino eventually survived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam is indicative of the sharpening tensions surrounding citizenship, belonging and integration in India. Officially aimed at demarcating the "legitimate citizens", its implementation is believed to have resulted in the partial exclusion of the so-called "Doubtful Voters" and denationalisation of the "illegitimate residents". These frictions associated with citizenship identity and rights are nowhere as acute as in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, where measures of retroactive revocation, administrative erasure and withdrawal of citizenship rights have been systematically deployed against religious and linguistic minorities. Using new research with some NRC rejected applicants in western Assam and other materials, this article identifies the central aspects of the implementation gap in the crucial, albeit problematic task of locating the rightful "Assamese-Indian" citizens. Linking our work to the idea of the 'process is the punishment', we conceptualise these conspicuous inconsistencies in the NRC citizenship determination processes and their results as the "punitive gap". We have identified the distinctive contours of this gap in terms of the massive economic costs, intensification of social (including gender and religion-based) inequalities, increased control through social suspicion and unpredictable outcomes for the marginal Miya Muslim community. The article highlights how this punitive gap has constantly eroded key components of due process, of procedural and substantive protections of the rights of individuals, during the NRC determination exercise and after the release of the final draft list. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adaptation of Assamese folktales into film format and their availability on social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook has raised inquiries about the impact of such adaptation and dissemination on the ethos of Assamese society which had been primarily restricted to transmission through oral culture for long. Concerns are also there regarding the effects of audio-visual format on the textual interpretation by children vis-a-vis the interpretation through reading a book or listening to a folktale presented by a storyteller orally. When a child reads a book or listens to storytelling, there is a simultaneous visualization of the story in the mind which is different from the experience of moving images created by an audio-video film. Eminent litterateur Lakshminath Bezbaroa was a pioneer in documenting Assamese folktales into printed text. He attempted to compile the folktales of Assam as Burhi Aair Xadhu (Grand Mother's Tales), Kakadeuta aru Nati Lora (Grandfather and Grandson) and Junuka (Rattle). Since ages, the stories included in such compilations have been popular among the people of Assam especially among children. Considering their immense popularity, stories from Burhi Aair Xadhu such as Tezeemola, Tula aru Teja, Chiloni Jiyeekor Xadhu, Champawati, Abegetiyar Xadhu, and Lotkon were made into Video Compact Disc (VCD) films. These VCD films are now seen to be uploaded and shared on social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook. The current paper is an attempt to analyse the various facets of this adaptation of Assamese folktales into VCD films through textual analysis. It is an exploratory discussion which underlines a contextual and cultural interpretation of the evolution of folktales from an oral culture to film culture in the recent media platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we shall examine how possession is understood in Assam, India. We are aware that the larger northeastern frontier of India retained indigenous practices, religious festivals, and beliefs in a plethora of exotic goddesses, rituals, which have continued unabated through modern times. This has resulted in cross-pollination between the Vedic or traditional Brahmanical or orthodox Hindu practices and the indigenous practices, which in turn has yielded a hybrid world of Śā kta Tantra rituals and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tries to determine the current Institutional Repository (IR) scenario in the central university libraries of Assam. A systematic questionnaire for the respondents was developed to capture the primary data. The surveys were handed out or sent to the target groups, and they were returned by hand or e-mail. Many conditions must be satisfied to properly establish IRs. According to the current study, the main hurdles to IRs in central university libraries of Assam are lack of technical assistance and high-speed internet connection. Why are certain academics allowed to see their work while others are not? What would make it possible for teachers to share their knowledge resources to help knowledge societies thrive? The Open Education Resources (OER) movement promotes the free and open sharing of educational resources. This study monograph demonstrates the positive attitude towards others among higher education instructors in India, which is driven to use the resources and distribute them for altruistic motives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Operational large-scale flood monitoring using publicly available satellite data is possible with the advent of Sentinel-1 microwave data, which enables near-real-time (at 6-day intervals) flood mapping day and night, even in cloudy monsoon seasons. Automated flood inundation area identification in near-real-time involves advanced geospatial data processing platforms, such as Google Earth Engine and robust methodology (Otsu's algorithm). Objectives: The current study employs Sentinel-1 microwave data for flood extent mapping using machine learning (ML) algorithms in Assam State, India. We generated a flood hazard and soil erosion susceptibility map by combining multi-source data on weather conditions and soil and terrain characteristics. Random Forest (RF), Classification and Regression Tool (CART), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) ML algorithms were applied to generate the flood hazard map. Furthermore, we employed the multicriteria evaluation (MCE) analytical hierarchical process (AHP) for soil erosion susceptibility mapping. Summary: The highest prediction accuracy was observed for the RF model (overall accuracy [OA] > 82%), followed by the SVM (OA > 82%) and CART (OA > 81%). Over 26% of the study area indicated high flood hazard-prone areas, and approximately 60% showed high and severe potential for soil erosion due to flooding. The automated flood mapping platform is an essential resource for emergency responders and decision-makers, as it helps to guide relief activities by identifying suitable regions and appropriate logistic route planning and improving the accuracy and timeliness of emergency response efforts. Periodic flood inundation maps will help in long-term planning and policymaking, flood management, soil and biodiversity conservation, land degradation, planning sustainable agriculture interventions, crop insurance, and climate resilience studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study compared the achievements of higher secondary level students before and during the COVID 19 pandemic in five subjects-English, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics. This study was conducted on higher secondary level students from Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), Assam, India. Dichotomous variables like rural and urban, tribal and non-tribal are considered for sample collection. A stratified random sampling technique is used for data collection. When five subjects are considered as a unit, the Mahalanobis Distance (MD) is used to measure the difference in dynamical character of achievements. There is a significant difference in the achievement of students between pre-COVID 19 and during COVID 19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I will first describe (1) the linguistic situation in modern-day Assam (Northeast India) and the historical hypotheses that might explain it. These hypotheses are subjected to criticism. Next, I will analyse (2) in detail, the phonological concordances in the Tibeto-Burman languages and dialects of Central Assam that form the Boro-Garo group. I will present detailed criteria - the most detailed of all will concern the diphthongs - with examples, which will enable us to classify the languages. Using these criteria will also allow us to take advantage of certain ancient sources of information on dialects which are, in some cases, extinct. The study (3) of other Tibeto-Burman languages will consolidate our criteria and specify their historical development. Finally (4), I will propose a historical reconstruction of linguistic layers, after which (5) I will emphasise the importance of the distinction, central to our discussion, between language change and ethnic change (where cultural and physical anthropology follow distinct paths) before proposing a basis for a more general investigation of the Boro-Garo languages. Northeastern India is home to a great number of languages, mainly from the Tibeto-Burman, Mon-Khmer, Tai and Indo-Aryan groups. This paper first summarises the current historical interpretations of this plethora, and concentrates on the Tibeto-Burman languages spoken in the lowlands, sc. the Boro-Garo subgroup. A phonological comparative assessment of the data provides a classification with definite criteria, and suggests historical interpretation. Central to this comparative study are the vowel systems, the analysis of which allows us to understand far better (and to use more appropriately) the older lexical lists from 1805. The result of this assessment is a new direction of research, when it appears that the Zeliangrong languages (traditionally taken as Southern Naga) offer a remarkable and certainly unexpected linguistic link between the Boro-Garo and the Kuki Chin (and Naga) languages. The paper exemplifies how language histories remain distinct from ethnic and political developments, and makes a useful contribution to a finer historical understanding of complex human situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This research aims to decipher the digital and palmar dermatoglyphic patterns among the Ahom community in Assam's Lakhimpur district. It examines the sexual dimorphism in the dermatoglyphic characteristics of the population's fingers. Additionally, it compares current results with those from other ethnic groups previously studied to evaluate group heterogeneity. The study relies on the finger and palm prints of 100 Ahom individuals (50 males and 50 females) from Lakhimpur, using established dermatographic techniques. The male Ahom display a 'Mongoloid' ethnic affinity according to the Dankmeijer index, while the female samples slightly exceed the Mongoloid threshold. Both genders exhibit a broad variation in the pattern intensity index, characteristic of Mongoloid populations. A more comprehensive study with a larger sample size is crucial for a thorough understanding of all dermatoglyphic features related to ethnic diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TheAssamArakan fold thrust belt has highly deformed folded units of Tertiary sediments bounded by eastward dipping thrust slices with a convexity towards west. In the Tripura-Cachar region, this folded belt is characterized by the occurrence of wide synclines and narrow anticlines that hosts a number of hydrocarbon producing fields. In the Cachar area of Assam, most of these fields occur in the culmination of anticlinal structures. Other wells drilled in analogous structural settings are found to be dry. In this paper a neotectonic based geomorphic analysis is carried out to delineate a fault network and geomorphic highs in Cachar area as expressions of sub-surface structures which had subsequently been validated by available geophysical data. Of these geomorphic highs, those that are in the synclinal areas are believed to represent subtle sub-surface structural highs. Synclinal structures associated with NNE-SSW faults might be considered interesting for hydrocarbon exploration and are subsequently categorized following their degree of confidence for exploration of hydrocarbon. Additionally, a genetic model of the structures in the region is also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A complex web of representing, preserving or contesting one's identity dominates societies across the globe today. Identity, in its simplest sense, refers to the idea of how one perceives the self. Identities prescribe who one is, what role one is to enact and how one is unique from others in a society. Identity invokes the concepts of 'self' and 'other'. This paper is an attempt to study the role of 'indigenous and immigrant' identity in Assam. Identity as a contested subject was for the first time raised in 1979 when the Assam Movement began, with a demand to deport the immigrants from the region. Discords in the name of identity between both the factions of indigenous and immigrants turned hostile with time. The conflict of the Bodos with the Bengali speaking Muslims is one such example which has resulted in bloodsheds since 1993. The indigenous peoples struggle to preserve their identity in the name of being the 'son of the soil', while the immigrants try to establish an identity that helps them sustain in their adopted land. The study aims to look at identity from perspectives of the indigenous and the immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assam is one of the eight North East Indian states and Orchids are the major component of the vegetation at different climatic conditions. The agroclimatic condition of Assam is most congenial for the lavish growth and development of wide varieties of Orchid species in natural habitat. During pre-independence time, Hooker (1888 - 1890) in his work Flora of British India include about 350 species of Orchids from Assam- the present North East India. Present paper deals with checklist of 398 specific and 6 intraspecific taxa belonging 102 genera of Orchids in Assam out of which 129 species under 49 genera are terrestrial and 275 specific and intraspecific under 53 genera are epiphytic or lithophytic. Dendrobium represents the largest genus with 58 taxa and 51 are monotypic genera found in the regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Indonesian Journal of Forestry Research is the property of Indonesian Journal of Forestry Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)