This upcoming book — But I Am One of You: Northeast India and the Struggle to Belong — discusses detailed essays on what it is like to be a Northeastern in India these days. It sheds light on the complexities of the idea of belonging to a state that is fraught with ethnic battles and separatist insurgencies.
These essays highlight the ongoing political and social changes in the Northeast and talk about how the tribals and old settlers are navigating their way to inhabit the region without conflict.
Published by HarperCollins India, But I Am One Of You by Samrat Choudhury and Preeti Gill will be released on 4 September on SoftCover, ThePrint’s online venue to launch non-fiction books.
The book unveils the pressing concerns that the Northeast has been dealing with and brings together voices from various communities across the region. The essays in the book provide a perspective that reflects the micro history of the diverse groups within the state.
The essays are a compilation of stories about how the people of Manipur have negotiated their identity, about the invisible Gorkhas, and understanding the indigenous women’s movement in Tripura. It talks about their hometown, the complexities of their tribal identity, and the overall shaky mirage of the Northeast.
The book is edited by Samrat Choudhury and Preeti Gill. Samrat is an author and commissioning editor. He is also the former editor of daily newspapers in India’s major metropolises — Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. His latest book is Northeast India: A Political History, published by HarperCollins in India and Hurst in the UK. Some of his essays and short stories have appeared in translation in German, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese.
Preeti is an independent literary agent who has more than 20 years of experience in the publishing industry and has worked as a commissioning editor and rights director. She has travelled extensively in the Northeast and has written on issues of conflict and women. She is the editor of The Peripheral Centre: Voices from India’s Northeast and Bearing Witness: A Report on the Impact of Conflict on Women in Nagaland and Assam.
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Bet neither Mr. Choudhury nor Ms. Gill would dwell much upon the daily intimidation, harassment and violence inflicted on non-tribal citizens by various tribal “pressure groups” in northeast India. Having lived here my entire life I can vouch for the fact that the life of a non-tribal hardly has any value in the northeastern states, except for Assam and Tripura.
They are the subjected to violence and egregious discrimination on a regular basis in tribal majority states such as Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. Xenophobic organisations such as Khasi Students Union (KSU), Mizo students organisations and various others regularly indulge in violent attacks on non-tribals.