Ngamjahao Kipgen
Biographic Data
| ID | 3877562 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ngamjahao Kipgen |
| GIVEN NAMES | Ngamjahao |
| FAMILY NAME | Kipgen |
| SIGNATURE | KIPGEN N |
| AFFILIATIONS | Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2264-7812 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 41 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Bipolar politics and permissible violence
In India, a communitarian society, concerns over public-truth disputes are widespread. The Indian National Congress (INC) and allies promoted secular-liberal nationalism but, eventually, they failed, as they lacked grassroots connections. The right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) capitalised on Hindu-majoritarian religious sentiments, politicised the grassroots and mobilised them, and formed the government – first in the mid-1990s, for a relati…
Social Capital and the Traditional Institutions
The Khasi Hills, in the northeastern part of India, are governed by traditional institutions, popularly known as dorbar shnongs or village councils. This article examines how these institutions navigate the challenges of urbanisation and modernisation through the lens of social capital. Drawing from the case studies of two localities, Nongkhyriem and Nongrah (urban) and Siejiong village (rurban), the study analyses how different approaches to wat…
Village councils, social capital and sustainability
This study examines water governance in Shillong, India, focusing on the role of traditional institutions called dorbar shnongs (village councils) in managing water resources. Through qualitative research methods, including interviews and narrative analysis, the study investigates how these councils interact with clan systems, groundwater management, and broader water distribution challenges in an urban context. The findings reveal significant va…
Body as Space, Politics of Body Modification and Representation
Sociology of the body as an area of study has been concerned with many social aspects of the body. Foucault’s body-politic led us to understand the relation between the individual body and the many political aspects of the society. This paper similarly deals with the relationship between power and the body in an indigenous community. Taking the case of facial tattoos among the Apatanis, we have looked at the body as a socio-political space where …
Can the borderland speak? Entangled territoriality in the foothills of Northeast India
Agriculture, Livelihood and Vulnerability
This paper examines the livelihood vulnerabilities and coping strategies of char dwellers through a field study conducted in Mana Char. The analysis of their responses underscores the complexities of perceived agrarian threats and vulnerabilities of the Char inhabitants. It also suggests the need for re-examining the narrative of environmental risk and vulnerability within which chars are usually viewed. This study emphasises the component of sub…
Land’ as a site of contestation
As the dominant narratives of ethnicity have been centered on the issues of ethnic identity and nationalism as a form of pre-given category, the invocation of ‘land’ remains marginal to ethnic politics. Many studies on the politics of ethnic homelands in South Asia has further marginalized the notion of ‘land’ in the study of ethnicity and nationalism and overemphasized ethnic identity as a dominant approach to understand the relationship between…
Tattooing, Cultural Change, and the Indigenous Apatanis of Arunachal Pradesh
Prohibition on tradition, tattooing, and the Apatanis of Arunachal Pradesh
Assessing the Sustainability of Urban Water Supply Systems in Shillong, India
This article examines urban water supply systems by using indicators such as quantity, quality, accessibility, and reliability. Shillong city is divided into numerous localities, each governed by both formal (municipal) and informal (non-municipal) institutions. This study focuses on domestic water aspects in non-municipal areas and argues that water inequity is more prominent and widespread, and the role of local institutions in water governance…
Territoriality, ethnic contestation and insurgency in the Indo–Myanmar borderland
This chapter is based on a case study of the Kuki-Chin people of the Indo-Myanmar borderlands. Identified by different names, Kuki and Mizo in India and Chin in Myanmar/Burma, the Kuki-Chin ethnic group is a fringe community and a non-state entity that has sustained a fluid identity under changing historical contexts. The chapter discusses the Kuki-Chin community, ‘transborder peoples’ who constitute the minority in the states they inhabit but ha…
Rethinking Hill-Valley Binary
This article attempts to engage with the trends of writing sociology in India by locating the argument within the discourse of coproduction of space, identity and belonging. It aims to interrogate colonial as well as post-colonial construal of hill-valley binaries in the context of the dictum of methodological nationalism in India. It is categorically imperative on our part to posit ‘the historicising the Himalayas’ in terms of colonial dispensat…
Demand for Kukiland and Kuki ethnic nationalism 1
This chapter explains the historic rise of Kuki ethnic nationalism in Northeast India, particularly in Manipur, and the emergent demand for an exclusive Kuki homeland. It focuses on key events both in history and in the contemporary period, especially the ethnic violence of the 1990s, which have challenged the pace of democratic development in the state. The chapter highlights the role of chiefs and Kuki political elite and their organisations in…
The enclosures of colonization
This paper examines the Mapithel dam in Northeastern state of Manipur in India as a site of contestation between the state-led development agenda and the affected tribal people. Based on discursive field experiences, the paper reflects upon the competing values in relation to land use and ownership systems and raises a question – as to whether in the name of development, is the government eroding tribal people’s right over their land and resource…
Contested State-craft' on the Frontiers of the Indian Nation
Drawing on scholars like Scott and Suan, it can be argued that a 'hills-valley divide' has prevailed in Manipur from the colonial period. The Kuki tribes who inhabit Manipur's hilly regions are underdeveloped compared to the politically and economically powerful Meiteis who inhabit its valleys. The postcolonial central and state government policies have failed to respond to local problems, which have created a regional imbalance and have sharpene…
Deluge amidst conflict
In recent years, there has been a surge in hydropower projects in the North-east part of India, constructed under the aegis of the national state. Foregrounding this fact, our article conceptualizes North-east India as a ‘region’ that is not only physiographic in nature but also discursively constructed by history, culture and politics, in the colonial and postcolonial times. We argue that when large developmental projects such as hydropower proj…
We can live without power, but we can’t live without our land’
The Politics of Identifying with and Distancing from Kuki Identity in Manipur
Deluge amidst conflict
In recent years, there has been a surge in hydropower projects in the North-east part of India, constructed under the aegis of the national state. Foregrounding this fact, our article conceptualizes North-east India as a ‘region’ that is not only physiographic in nature but also discursively constructed by history, culture and politics, in the colonial and postcolonial times. We argue that when large developmental projects such as hydropower proj…
Contested State-craft' on the Frontiers of the Indian Nation
Drawing on scholars like Scott and Suan, it can be argued that a 'hills-valley divide' has prevailed in Manipur from the colonial period. The Kuki tribes who inhabit Manipur's hilly regions are underdeveloped compared to the politically and economically powerful Meiteis who inhabit its valleys. The postcolonial central and state government policies have failed to respond to local problems, which have created a regional imbalance and have sharpene…
We can live without power, but we can’t live without our land’
The enclosures of colonization
This paper examines the Mapithel dam in Northeastern state of Manipur in India as a site of contestation between the state-led development agenda and the affected tribal people. Based on discursive field experiences, the paper reflects upon the competing values in relation to land use and ownership systems and raises a question – as to whether in the name of development, is the government eroding tribal people’s right over their land and resource…
The Politics of Identifying with and Distancing from Kuki Identity in Manipur
Land’ as a site of contestation
As the dominant narratives of ethnicity have been centered on the issues of ethnic identity and nationalism as a form of pre-given category, the invocation of ‘land’ remains marginal to ethnic politics. Many studies on the politics of ethnic homelands in South Asia has further marginalized the notion of ‘land’ in the study of ethnicity and nationalism and overemphasized ethnic identity as a dominant approach to understand the relationship between…
Prohibition on tradition, tattooing, and the Apatanis of Arunachal Pradesh
Tattooing, Cultural Change, and the Indigenous Apatanis of Arunachal Pradesh
Rethinking Hill-Valley Binary
This article attempts to engage with the trends of writing sociology in India by locating the argument within the discourse of coproduction of space, identity and belonging. It aims to interrogate colonial as well as post-colonial construal of hill-valley binaries in the context of the dictum of methodological nationalism in India. It is categorically imperative on our part to posit ‘the historicising the Himalayas’ in terms of colonial dispensat…
We can live without power, but we can’t live without our land’
The Politics of Identifying with and Distancing from Kuki Identity in Manipur
Deluge amidst conflict
In recent years, there has been a surge in hydropower projects in the North-east part of India, constructed under the aegis of the national state. Foregrounding this fact, our article conceptualizes North-east India as a ‘region’ that is not only physiographic in nature but also discursively constructed by history, culture and politics, in the colonial and postcolonial times. We argue that when large developmental projects such as hydropower proj…
Contested State-craft' on the Frontiers of the Indian Nation
Drawing on scholars like Scott and Suan, it can be argued that a 'hills-valley divide' has prevailed in Manipur from the colonial period. The Kuki tribes who inhabit Manipur's hilly regions are underdeveloped compared to the politically and economically powerful Meiteis who inhabit its valleys. The postcolonial central and state government policies have failed to respond to local problems, which have created a regional imbalance and have sharpene…
Demand for Kukiland and Kuki ethnic nationalism 1
This chapter explains the historic rise of Kuki ethnic nationalism in Northeast India, particularly in Manipur, and the emergent demand for an exclusive Kuki homeland. It focuses on key events both in history and in the contemporary period, especially the ethnic violence of the 1990s, which have challenged the pace of democratic development in the state. The chapter highlights the role of chiefs and Kuki political elite and their organisations in…
The enclosures of colonization
This paper examines the Mapithel dam in Northeastern state of Manipur in India as a site of contestation between the state-led development agenda and the affected tribal people. Based on discursive field experiences, the paper reflects upon the competing values in relation to land use and ownership systems and raises a question – as to whether in the name of development, is the government eroding tribal people’s right over their land and resource…
Territoriality, ethnic contestation and insurgency in the Indo–Myanmar borderland
This chapter is based on a case study of the Kuki-Chin people of the Indo-Myanmar borderlands. Identified by different names, Kuki and Mizo in India and Chin in Myanmar/Burma, the Kuki-Chin ethnic group is a fringe community and a non-state entity that has sustained a fluid identity under changing historical contexts. The chapter discusses the Kuki-Chin community, ‘transborder peoples’ who constitute the minority in the states they inhabit but ha…
Rethinking Hill-Valley Binary
This article attempts to engage with the trends of writing sociology in India by locating the argument within the discourse of coproduction of space, identity and belonging. It aims to interrogate colonial as well as post-colonial construal of hill-valley binaries in the context of the dictum of methodological nationalism in India. It is categorically imperative on our part to posit ‘the historicising the Himalayas’ in terms of colonial dispensat…
Assessing the Sustainability of Urban Water Supply Systems in Shillong, India
This article examines urban water supply systems by using indicators such as quantity, quality, accessibility, and reliability. Shillong city is divided into numerous localities, each governed by both formal (municipal) and informal (non-municipal) institutions. This study focuses on domestic water aspects in non-municipal areas and argues that water inequity is more prominent and widespread, and the role of local institutions in water governance…
Prohibition on tradition, tattooing, and the Apatanis of Arunachal Pradesh
Land’ as a site of contestation
As the dominant narratives of ethnicity have been centered on the issues of ethnic identity and nationalism as a form of pre-given category, the invocation of ‘land’ remains marginal to ethnic politics. Many studies on the politics of ethnic homelands in South Asia has further marginalized the notion of ‘land’ in the study of ethnicity and nationalism and overemphasized ethnic identity as a dominant approach to understand the relationship between…
Tattooing, Cultural Change, and the Indigenous Apatanis of Arunachal Pradesh
Agriculture, Livelihood and Vulnerability
This paper examines the livelihood vulnerabilities and coping strategies of char dwellers through a field study conducted in Mana Char. The analysis of their responses underscores the complexities of perceived agrarian threats and vulnerabilities of the Char inhabitants. It also suggests the need for re-examining the narrative of environmental risk and vulnerability within which chars are usually viewed. This study emphasises the component of sub…
Village councils, social capital and sustainability
This study examines water governance in Shillong, India, focusing on the role of traditional institutions called dorbar shnongs (village councils) in managing water resources. Through qualitative research methods, including interviews and narrative analysis, the study investigates how these councils interact with clan systems, groundwater management, and broader water distribution challenges in an urban context. The findings reveal significant va…
Body as Space, Politics of Body Modification and Representation
Sociology of the body as an area of study has been concerned with many social aspects of the body. Foucault’s body-politic led us to understand the relation between the individual body and the many political aspects of the society. This paper similarly deals with the relationship between power and the body in an indigenous community. Taking the case of facial tattoos among the Apatanis, we have looked at the body as a socio-political space where …
Can the borderland speak? Entangled territoriality in the foothills of Northeast India
Bipolar politics and permissible violence
In India, a communitarian society, concerns over public-truth disputes are widespread. The Indian National Congress (INC) and allies promoted secular-liberal nationalism but, eventually, they failed, as they lacked grassroots connections. The right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) capitalised on Hindu-majoritarian religious sentiments, politicised the grassroots and mobilised them, and formed the government – first in the mid-1990s, for a relati…
Social Capital and the Traditional Institutions
The Khasi Hills, in the northeastern part of India, are governed by traditional institutions, popularly known as dorbar shnongs or village councils. This article examines how these institutions navigate the challenges of urbanisation and modernisation through the lens of social capital. Drawing from the case studies of two localities, Nongkhyriem and Nongrah (urban) and Siejiong village (rurban), the study analyses how different approaches to wat…
Sociology (12 works) · Political science (11 works) · Geography (9 works) · Law (9 works) · Politics (9 works) · South Asian Studies and Conflicts (9 works) · Gender Studies (6 works) · Law (6 works) · Anthropology (5 works) · Gender Studies (5 works)