Contestation over land is at the core of the prolonged political conflicts that mark the recent history of India’s North Eastern region. The rural areas of India’s North East, erstwhile marginal to the ‘modern’ state, are increasingly integrated in a monetized market-oriented economy. Confronted with dominant regimes of development, mobility and citizenship, it is imperative to recognize that increasingly unequal land relations are a main reason for broadening social fissures within and among communities. This volume critically engages with questions such as: How do contestations over the ownership and usage of land challenge customary interpretations of gender? And in what ways can the importance attributed to land, in a symbolic sense, contribute to the redefinition of coordinates of identity, community and belonging? Combining perspectives from political science, social geography, social history, sociology and anthropology, this volume critically engages with received notions of the customary. Presenting case studies by both senior and emerging scholars, it makes mandatory reading for anyone interested in the challenges of governance, citizenship and development faced by the people of India’s North East. NWOW07.04.030.249Global Challenges (FSW
