ISAS Insights

The recent (and continuing) spate of violence in Assam and the purportedly related scare of retaliatory attacks on those from the northeast, living in different parts of India, have drawn unprecedented media attention towards the region. This may not be the type of attention that the region has yearned for but nonetheless presents an opportunity to put the crucial issues afflicting the region into perspective. The series of events also brings to light some pan-Indian issues that affect a much larger constituency. This paper analyses the background to the violence itself, the ‘exodus’ of northeast-origin citizens back to their home states and what all these mean for India as a whole.