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 […]
Author: Tora Agarwala
An ancient funeral epic—twice the length of Homer’s Iliad —is being recorded for the first time
Performed from memory, the Kecharhe Alun is a significant death ritual of Assam’s Karbi tribe. The oral epic has never been properly studied, recorded, or documented — until now. When a neighbour died last week, Kasang Teronpi, was summoned immediately. The news was shocking, but the call was routine. For years now, the 80-year-old resident of Taralangso […]
Foreigners, friends: They were strangers. Then they met in jail
In Assam’s several citizenship determination processes, some narratives are lost — like that of the Gorkhas, despite a notification declaring them as Indians. And like that of Tara and Maya, now forever bound by two months together at a detention centre It was on a July morning, outside the Foreigners’ Tribunal (FT) housed in a […]
In Meghalaya, a marathon is catalysing an inherent but hidden talent among its locals
Welcome to the hamlets of Mawkyrwat, where everyone has a new hobby: running Swonding Molong first started running because it made him feel good. Later, he realised that it even helped him work better. Yet, for the longest time, Molong — a 55-year-old ginger farmer from Meghalaya — kept it a secret. “It started in […]
There is no movie theatre in Mizoram—but Mizo films thrive
Bereft of a single movie theatre, how Mizoram produces and consumes its films: loud speaker announcements, door-to-door ticket sales, dubbing and directors who double up as producers, distributors and even actors In Mizo, the word tlangau means local announcement. And every evening, in the neighbourhoods of hilly Aizawl, a tlangau blares out from loud speakers, […]
A group of Nagas is leading India’s first overseas ancestral remains repatriation efforts
Comes after Pitt Rivers Museum in England engaged in an “ethical review” of their permanent displays, with a bid to “decolonise” their collections On September 14, 2020, the Pitt Rivers Museum in England’s Oxford made a landmark announcement. In a post-pandemic overhaul of its collection, the iconic museum — one of the best-known in the […]
Home slipping away, Myanmar refugee children find anchor in Mizoram schools
Displaced from their homes following the 2021 Myanmar coup, children find hope across the border in Mizoram Failure is the pillar of success, the headmaster says. She nods, her eyes downcast. The exam had not gone well. “She was nervous,” explains the headmaster, as the student walks away to join her friends. “It was her […]
Nagaland killings: ‘Not dead, nor alive… just suffering’
The white truck, the missing thumb, the cool guy who is now a ‘zinda lash’, the bullet marks — daily reminders in Oting of December 4, 2021, when 13 villagers were killed in an Army ambush followed by a clash. Back to the Nagaland village where it’s hard to move on: “If only it was […]
The children of Assam’s eviction drives: away from home, out of school
This article was originally published in The Indian Express in May 2023. Full article here. With their parents unable to afford private schools, and middle-and high schools too far from the resettlement camps, many children whose families have been displaced during eviction drives have had to drop out of school At 12, Habija Khatun is […]
Nagaland Killings: ‘Direct Marise…they shot right at us’
This article was an exclusive newsbreak, with survivors of the 2021 Nagaland security ambush speaking on record for the first time. The story was originally published in The Indian Express in December 2021. Full article here. On December 5, 2021, six civilians were killed in firing by security forces in “a case of mistaken identity” […]