Partition and the citizenship imbroglio in North-East India

While there is little doubt over partition of India causing extreme violence, displacement and agony, very little space has been given to the study of the history of partition andafter in Eastern India, till recent times. Partition in northeast India is not an event buta prolonged process that has cast its imprint on politics, community relations and the nature of citizenship in this region. A very important dimension of post partition politics is the churning over citizenship and belonging. The drawing of borders over this colonial borderland and the displacement and migration of people across the border into what has come tobe understood as North East India has critically complicated the politics over peopling. Citizenship is a contested terrain and the idea of belonging is today more challenged than ever before. The idea of granting citizenship to Hindu refugees from across the borders as envisaged The Citizenship (Ammendment) Bill, 2016 has ignited a flurry of claims and counterclaims in this region. The proposal of the GOI to set up border fencing has also generatedits own share of support and protests. All these developments have again transformed this region into a land in flux. The paper attempts to emphasize the need to reconstruction of decolonization and displacement histories in Assam which I argue can transform the way partition history is viewed and explore the idea of continuity and disruption in the politics over citizenship in the region.