Review by Choice Review
The problem of ethnic conflict has become a major source of concern in the post-Cold War world. Baruah, a professor at Bard College, has made an important contribution to the literature on ethnic conflict in his well-documented study of the origins and development of subnational ethnic strife in the northeast Indian state of Assam. In eight brief but insightful chapters he traces the political and economic history of Assam, the emergence of tensions between pan-Indian and Assamese subnationalism in the 19th century and the impact of postindependence Indian government policy on the growth of Assamese cultural nationalism. In its effort to preempt insurgencies in the northeast by establishing new states, he argues, the Indian government's northeast policy created the context for ethnic violence, which not only failed to control old insurgencies but created new ones. A more decentralized federalism, he argues, would have managed the issue much more effectively. India, he insists, needs genuine federalism if it hopes to bring subnationalism and pan-Indianism closer together. This excellent study will be of great interest to those concerned with the issues of ethnic conflict and Indian integration. Undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. S. A. Kochanek; Pennsylvania State University, University Park Campus
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
