Author Description
For a city in India's northeast that has been embroiled in the everyday militarization and violence of Asia's longest-running separatist conflict, Dimapur remains 'off the map'. With no 'glorious' past or arenas where events of consequence to mainstream India have taken place, Dimapur's essence is experienced in oral histories of events, visual archives of the everyday life, lived reality of military occupation, and anxieties produced in making urban space out of tribal space.Ceasefire City captures the dynamics of Dimapur. It brings together the fragmented sensibilities granted and contested in particular spaces and illustrates the embodied experiences of the city. The first part explores military presence, capitalist growth, and urban expansion in Dimapur. The second part presents an ethnographic account of lived realities and the meanings that are forged in a frontier city.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This book investigates how the intersection of prolonged military conflict, rapid capitalist expansion, and tribal social structures shapes the urban identity of Dimapur. Authors Dolly Kikon and Duncan McDuie-Ra, both scholars specializing in the anthropology and politics of Northeast India, utilize ethnographic research to argue that Dimapur functions as a unique frontier city where the state, the military, and local populations negotiate space under the conditions of a long-standing ceasefire.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of the impact of military occupation on urban development.
- Examination of the transition from tribal land usage to capitalist urban markets.
- Ethnographic accounts of daily life in a conflict-affected frontier zone.
Scope Limits
- The study is geographically confined to Dimapur and does not provide a comprehensive analysis of all separatist conflicts in Northeast India.
- The text focuses on contemporary urban dynamics rather than a historical timeline of the entire Naga insurgency.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Scholars in the field of South Asian studies recognize this work as a significant contribution to the understanding of frontier urbanism and the everyday effects of militarization. Readers frequently note the accessible yet rigorous ethnographic approach, which provides a necessary perspective on regions often marginalized in mainstream political discourse.
Page Count:
284
Publication Date:
2021-03-07
ISBN-10:
0190129735
ISBN-13:
9780190129736
History
Politics & Social Sciences
India
Categories
Urban
Anthropology
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Sociology
Kindle Store
Urban Studies
Asia history
Conflict Studies
Asia