संवाद # 110: Rami Niranjan Desai on historical roots of Manipur violence, the evil role of British

Rami Niranjan Desai is a North East India Specialist, as founding director of the North East Policy Institute, Guwahati she worked extensively in the area publishing on Insurgency and conflict, religion & social movements. She is presently Director of Pathfinder India Consultancy, an organisation that undertakes research and analysis. She has completed her higher education from King’ College in Theology and Anthropology of Religion. 0:00 Intro 0:48 Understanding North East on ground 5:18 North East & Indian civilisation 9:42 Sinister role of British in North East 11:12 Why British introduced Inner Line Permit 13:02 Headhunting in Nagaland 14:58 Role of Christian missionaries 18:36 Nehru’s tribal advisor was a missionary 22:31 Formation of Naga identity is very recent 27:00 How Missionaries converted tribals 32:41 Why Manipur is so unique in North East 34:18 Role of Modi government 37:18 Manipur is a very complex state 41:38 Demographics of Manipur 44:00 Meitis are 55% but they own only 10% land 50:28 Is Religion behind current violence? 52:55 Illegal migration from Myanmar is a big issue 1:00:44 Why Meitis want tribal status 1:07:13 Reorganisation of North eastern states isn’t a solution 1:11:56 What will govt & army do in Manipur now