Académique Documents
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Culture Documents
CHAPTER - 1
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
history.
Assam India
1951-61 35.0 21 . 6
the overall Indian context and there have been common links
between India and her eastern and North eastern neighbours,
Burma, China and Tibet. North Eastern region has been adequately
depicted in various 'epics' and the 'Puranas'.
Islam entered North East India towards the close of the 12th
century AD. In fact, the population of Muslims got mixed with
the local population and easily adopted the local language and
culture.
North East India and China are entwined by thousands of years of.
contact and underlying conflict. The region is inhabited by
nomadic Mongoloid tribes who have close ethnic and cultural
connections with their cousins in China, Tibet and Burma.
r": qf^crix
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still suffering.
For the past few years, Assam has been passing through a
trauma, caused by the violent agitation for a separate state of
Bodos. This movement has been led by Upendra Brahma, of the
ABSU, a Gauhati University student, who has since died and the
leadership since then has been hanging in balance in the fight
between S.K. Bwismutiary and Prem Singh Brahma, basically pro and
anti Hiteswar Saikia factions.
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the war path and though signatory to the last years' Accord, are
statehood.
P5.
2. Virginius XaXa, 'In the North East' SEMINAR No 412, December
1993 PP 34-36
and land reforms in the Plains and valleys of North East India,
PP 52-54.
Press,1988 P 80.
9. Ibid Opcit P 82.
15. D.N. Majumdar, 'The Great Indian Tradition And the Cultural
Heritage of North East India', Bulletin Nov 1984 The Tribal
Research Institute, Assam, Guwahati PP 50-53.
On this issue, I would 1 iTce to quote a small incidence, from
my personal experience during my tenure in Nagaland. In the year
1966,• I attended a school function, close to our post near
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