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Accepted Paper:

has pdf download Indigenous People and notion of Nation State: Case Study from northern West Bengal, India  
Ashok Das Gupta (University of North Bengal )

Paper short abstract:

This paper is going to focus on Indigenous People and notion of Nation State in respect to northern West Bengal, India.

Paper long abstract:

This paper is going to focus on Indigenous People and notion of Nation State in respect to northern West Bengal, India. Unity in diversity is key theme of India and Nation States still exist in form of State within State but in cognition and pro-Indian forms.

Traditionally, globe is divided into Magical, Buddhist and post-Buddhist world. Innovations occurred during pre-Aryan, Aryan and post-Aryan realms. Agrarian India is more prone to caste, caste-like institutions, agriculture oriented religions, trade-based religions, syncretism and self-sufficient villages.

Little republics, Urban Centers and Indigenous Statehoods are not unlikely in South Asia. On the basis of transnational trade routes, indigenous Statehoods took their shapes. India, however, has mostly accepted the cognate of Shahi and its close ties with Iran and Eurasia. Shahi believes in unification of South Asia in various ways. Commonwealth incorporates India as an important member.

Transnational trade route from Sino-Tibet, Sikkim-Bhutan Himalayas, North Bengal and North East India and Bangladesh to Bay of Bengal as well as river ways there core of emergence of so many indigenous statehoods locally. They, earlier or later, accepted unification with India. Kamtapur and Koch Bihar in the vicinity of Torsa or Amu Chu tributary of Brahmaputra-Jamuna River mouth in Indo-Bangladesh were exclusive during the Turk-Afghan, Mogul-Rajput and British India.

In this high time of globalization, notions towards these indigenous statehoods formulated by Rajbanshi social fold incorporating so many castes and tribes have revived. Nation States still exist in local cognition and are influenced state policies.

Panel SE11
Contestations and aspirations of indigenous people and nation states: need for anthropological intervention
  Session 1 Thursday 8 August, 2013, -