Reconstructing identity and ethnic movements in north-east India: An analysis on the mising movement

Cultural diversity is the unique feature of North-East India. It is the homeland of different communities known for their distinct cultures and habitats. As a means to strengthen the nation building process, the policies of homogenization and assimilation designed by the post-colonial state to integrate different ethnic categories within the fold of composite Assamese nationalism opened the door for ethnic movement and cultural reconstruction in this region. The Mising movement to esatablish separate socio-political identity is a significant one among them. In this paper I would like to analyse the causes of these movements and the process of Cultural re-construction as a means of separate identity formation, with a special analysis on the Mising movement of Assam.