Advanced search
Add to list

'The Liberation of Bodoland': tea, forestry and tribal entrapment in Western Assam

Bert Suykens (UGent) and Nel Vandekerckhove (UGent)
Author
Organization
Abstract
Bodoland, located in western Assam, has been a theatre for insurgencies since the mid 1980s. Too often, migration has been the paradigmatic framework to analyse not only this, but most conflicts, raging in Assam. In this article we argue that migration in itself is insufficient to understand the problems in Bodoland. Instead, we focus on forestry and tea estates, and contend that they, forming important restrictive structures, caused tribal entrapment, finally leading to violence. Moreover, we claim that during the conflict a shift in control over these structures occurred, changing the livelihood arithmetic of the involved communities. Finally, we discuss both the restraints and opportunities of the BTC/BTAD (Bodoland Territorial Council/Bodoland Territorial Administrative District)—the result of the peace process—and warn that the escape from entrapment for the Bodo could lead to the entrapment of other communities in the area.

Citation

Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:

MLA
Suykens, Bert, and Nel Vandekerckhove. “‘The Liberation of Bodoland’: Tea, Forestry and Tribal Entrapment in Western Assam.” SOUTH ASIA-JOURNAL OF SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES, vol. 31, no. 3, 2008, pp. 450–71, doi:10.1080/00856400802441961.
APA
Suykens, B., & Vandekerckhove, N. (2008). “The Liberation of Bodoland”: tea, forestry and tribal entrapment in Western Assam. SOUTH ASIA-JOURNAL OF SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES, 31(3), 450–471. https://doi.org/10.1080/00856400802441961
Chicago author-date
Suykens, Bert, and Nel Vandekerckhove. 2008. “‘The Liberation of Bodoland’: Tea, Forestry and Tribal Entrapment in Western Assam.” SOUTH ASIA-JOURNAL OF SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES 31 (3): 450–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/00856400802441961.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Suykens, Bert, and Nel Vandekerckhove. 2008. “‘The Liberation of Bodoland’: Tea, Forestry and Tribal Entrapment in Western Assam.” SOUTH ASIA-JOURNAL OF SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES 31 (3): 450–471. doi:10.1080/00856400802441961.
Vancouver
1.
Suykens B, Vandekerckhove N. “The Liberation of Bodoland”: tea, forestry and tribal entrapment in Western Assam. SOUTH ASIA-JOURNAL OF SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES. 2008;31(3):450–71.
IEEE
[1]
B. Suykens and N. Vandekerckhove, “‘The Liberation of Bodoland’: tea, forestry and tribal entrapment in Western Assam,” SOUTH ASIA-JOURNAL OF SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 450–471, 2008.
@article{484131,
  abstract     = {{Bodoland, located in western Assam, has been a theatre for insurgencies since the mid 1980s. Too often, migration has been the paradigmatic framework to analyse not only this, but most conflicts, raging in Assam. In this article we argue that migration in itself is insufficient to understand the problems in Bodoland. Instead, we focus on forestry and tea estates, and contend that they, forming important restrictive structures, caused tribal entrapment, finally leading to violence. Moreover, we claim that during the conflict a shift in control over these structures occurred, changing the livelihood arithmetic of the involved communities. Finally, we discuss both the restraints and opportunities of the BTC/BTAD (Bodoland Territorial Council/Bodoland Territorial Administrative District)—the result of the peace process—and warn that the escape from entrapment for the Bodo could lead to the entrapment of other communities in the area.}},
  articleno    = {{PII 905436246}},
  author       = {{Suykens, Bert and Vandekerckhove, Nel}},
  issn         = {{0085-6401}},
  journal      = {{SOUTH ASIA-JOURNAL OF SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{PII 905436246:450--PII 905436246:471}},
  title        = {{'The Liberation of Bodoland': tea, forestry and tribal entrapment in Western Assam}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1080/00856400802441961}},
  volume       = {{31}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}

Altmetric
View in Altmetric
Web of Science
Times cited: