2 - Us versus Them: The Politics of Belongingness in Indo-Myanmar Borderland

Presentation Abstract
The issue of citizenship and belonging has emerged as one of the most significant issue in contemporary South Asian politics. The issue is entangled with mainstream politics that involves how certain groups are posited as the national ‘other’, hence reinvigorating the issue of ‘us’ versus ‘them’. Citizenship as a form of belonging entails the notion of ‘inclusion’ and ‘exclusion’, however, this issue is deeply contesting for communities living in the borderlands. India’s northeast region is one such site where the issue of citizenship remain contested as communities in the region lived on both side of the border. Due to the shared culture, tradition, and history with the other sides of the border, there has been a continuous inflow and outflow of population across borders. Against this backdrop, the paper explores the central issues of citizenship relating to the construction of borders of boundaries, starting from the boundary between ‘us’ versus ‘them’, and looking at the state borders. The paper also attempts to understand how migration or mobility across the Indo-Myanmar border has changed the context of citizenship and explores the different forms and patterns of belongingness within the scope of citizenship on the borderland.