Small constituencies, local interests, tribal rivalries encourage sprouting of regional parties, which come up as quickly as they disappear – never kings, only kingmakers As Meghalaya heads for Assembly elections on February 27, almost all political parties are candid about being open to post-poll possibilities. It is only natural – given that coalition governments are […]
Author: Tora Agarwala
Assam’s little-known feminist collective which pushed for fixed meal times, women’s leisure
Northeast Lightbox shines the light on Assam’s little-known feminist history by documenting the story of the Tezpur Mahila Samiti One morning in July 1948, a group of women convened somewhere in the quaint riverside town of Tezpur in central Assam. They met often but the outcome of this meeting was unlike any other: a stream […]
The Biren Singh 2.0 factor in one of Manipur’s worst ethnic clashes
Armed with an absolute majority, the BJP CM has been more aggressive; seen as more partial to Naga tribes, he has let resentments brew in Kuki-dominant areas Nearly 60 dead, thousands displaced, homes razed to the ground, places of worship torched, a legislator brutally assaulted by a mob. These have been in the images of […]
Once out-of-print, now preserved forever: How rare 19th century Assamese journals are going online
A digitising project led by two Assam-based non-profits has given hundreds of rare, out-of-print Assamese journals a second life There are not many copies of Cartoon — north-east India’s “first monthly cartoon journal”— around. So rare is the 1970s Assamese language political satire magazine that even its founder-editor, the late Pulak Gogoi, was once said […]
A village, a girl and the road to Oscars
Dohgaon Kalardiya is just another village in Assam, with a cast of dreamers and doers. Now, one filmmaker and a band of children are telling its story to the world. When they first saw the boys from the neighbouring village “make music” with a guitar made of thermocol at a school function, Manabendra Das and […]
‘Everyone should know what happened to us’
This article recounts testimonies of sexual assault survivors of the 2023 ethnic conflict in Manipur. It was originally published on Scroll.in in July 2023, and won the Laadli Media Award 2024 for gender sensitive reporting as well as a special jury appreciation by the International Press Institute India Award for Excellence in Journalism 2024.[*Trigger Warning […]
Two years of Assam NRC: Lakhs make it to list, but struggle for Aadhaar
State government officials reckon it is a “unique problem” and attribute it to red tape and a lack of clarity on the NRC exercise itself. For 18 months now, Bhanu Upadhyay, a postdoctoral fellow at IIT Bombay, has been running around for an Aadhaar card. After many calls to toll-free numbers, e-mails, and visits to […]
The rebel who chose peace
His years as an armed insurgent are two decades in the past. Since then, Zoramthanga has helped Mizoram emerge as NE’s most peaceful state. When it comes to land though, the 77-yr-old Chief Minister won’t back down. In the year 2000, weighed down by liabilities, and with few avenues for revenue, Mizoram had managed to […]
Elections 2022: Tiny hill town captures Manipur’s unusual poll scene
Nestled in the Sadar Hills and home to the Kuki tribe, Saikul in Kangpokpi district, is a nondescript place. However, ever since the Assembly elections were announced, the town, situated 30 km from state capital Imphal, has emerged as the scene of the quintessential ‘Manipur election’. “So how do you like our dusty, old Saikul?” […]
Meghalaya Elections 2022: To challenge status quo, former domestic help, pastor, activist in poll fight
The three are part of KAM Meghalaya, a new political platform of activists and social workers who have come together to contest the elections this year under a common umbrella. On a crisp February morning, in a working class pocket of Shillong’s Keating Road, Wanpynhun Kharsyntiew sat in deep conversation with Kiran Mandal. “It’s tough […]