A Note on Borderlands Studies in Northeast India

Like any other state, India is bounded. Its territory is encircled by national borders—sea borders in the south and land borders in the north. But India’s land borders are unusually contested, complex, and varied. India’s official territory and its “real-life” territory diverge markedly. The country’s official map is supplied by the Survey of India (Fig. 23.1). It is protected by an unusually severe law that stifles free discussion of its divergence with the real-life territory and holds back India’s geospatial industry. The law states that any published map of India, which is not in conformity with the maps of Survey of India, shall be punishable with imprisonment. In other words, this draconian law is anything but a dead letter. The study of borders and borderlands seeks to discuss this viewpoint, which, when located in the borderlands, may throw up interesting stories. The study of Northeast India’s international borderlands actually holds much methodological promise. The region provides a wealth of historical contexts, sources of information, permeabilities, and local perspectives to delve into. In this regard, strengthening cross-border teamwork and comparative approaches may help overcome the self-imposed limitations inherent in methodological nationalism.