Invisible Fences, Intertwined Lives

The image of the Northeast of India predominantly as a conflict zone, created by the popular media and fostered often by academia, runs the risk of the region being viewed as a site of conflict and violence only, where life means not living up to the ideals of human aspirations and perfections, but a minimalist perilous survival. However, a deeper look into the lived realities of the region as well as its numerous compelling narratives written in regional languages and in English will reveal that the aforesaid image of the Northeast as a conflict zone is at best a very incomplete picture, and at worst a distorted picture too. In the context of the above, the book intends to bring to the fore the narratives of inter-community togetherness, exchanges and fellow-feeling which abound in the local languages of the region by putting a few representative voices together in English translation. It is expected that the book will be able to intervene in the popular discourse about India’s Northeast and initiate a counter discourse in this regard and in the process will be able to provide a more comprehensive idea about the Northeast of India.