This book argues that citizenship debate over NRC and CAA in India is a legacy of partition, and not a crisis of secularism. Citizenship Debate over NRC and CAA: Assam and the Politics of History investigates Assamese nationality-formation process and analyses the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) within their historical context. The book looks into the massive immigration process in the beginning of the century, the reaction of Assamese leaders towards it and the ensuing debates in state legislative councils and assemblies. It raises Assam's pertinent question on land, language and culture as the centrality of the Assamese identity and the evolving identity politics to show how the state has been negotiating with it while accommodating the interests of other communities. It further explores the role played by the Muslim League and its leaders in Assam. The book deviates largely from the earlier academic discourses on this subject by bringing in and unfolding several political dynamics, debates and questions in the discussion.
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Specifications
Book Details
Imprint
SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd
Publication Year
2021 July
Book Type
Non-fiction
Number of Pages
344
Contributors
Author Info
Nani Gopal Mahanta is a professor of political science at Gauhati University, Assam, India. He was formerly Head of the Department, Political Science, and Registrar (2018–2019), Gauhati University. Dr Mahanta is currently the Director of the Centre for South East Asian Studies, Gauhati University, which was established by the Government of Assam to facilitate research and people-to-people contact as part of the Act East policy. His research interests include India’s Northeast and Southeast Asia, peace and conflict resolution, human development and security, insurgency, ethnicity and identity politics. A Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) alumnus, Dr Mahanta was a Rotary World Peace Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, from 2002 to 2004.