Chapter 7: Conclusion
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CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION From time immemorial and especially so in recent years, the West sees ethnicity in terms of immigrants seeking to develop their own community within their new destination, identity formation and at times seek political voices. While in India, ethnicity is commonly referred to as sub-nationionalism within the nation state formation (Prema Kurien 2002). In this study, it is argued with evidence to prove that ethnicity is not limited to any boundary in time and space; it is the process of producing and reproducing individual or group that is ever changing. The dynamics is shaped by the everyday life situation of the people which has been proven in this study by tribal migrants of Northeast India. Lifestyles are shaped or get evolved through the influences of economy, politics, religion and cultures at given ethnoscape (Appadurai 1990). Individual’s choices, however, are not the only classification of belongingness to a particular group. The state and its constitution also renders this classification e.g. State Reorganization Act, 1956. Furthermore, in India, religious ethnicity may again vary; with one religious group, there can be many differences in terms of doctrines and dogmas, traditional practices, rituals, language, etc. This diverse set of ethnicity within India shapes norms and behavior of individuals and groups alike which further enrich the structural composition of families and communities. The variations among different communities is acknowledge by the state e.g. Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories. The study focuses mainly on the reconstruction processes of indigenous tribal identity among northeast tribal migrants residing in major Indian cities, especially Pune in Maharashtra. For this purpose of discovering the notions of identity reconstruction, the researcher has undertaken multiple levels of investigation, rendering both qualitative and quantitative data collecting methods. Firstly, respondents (both migrants and host respondents) from Pune city were selected for in-depth interviews relating to factors such as attachment with the native and attachment with the host destination. Secondly, the study also looks at how tribal migrants from different regions of ‘mainland India’, Pune in specific - at different levels of occupation - faced multiple layers of challenges and undergo constant negotiations and re-negotiations with their culture in the globalizing era. Thirdly, on looking at data collected from tribal migrants, the study establishes the importance of distinct identity assertion within a diverse set up of a nation, indicating that identity assertion does not necessarily lead to deformity of a united character of a whole component. This thesis gives emphasis and importance to the dynamics of networks by social and religious organizations in the identity assertion processes of tribal migrants. Therefore, this Chapter delves with answers to research questions while keeping in mind the objectives of the study highlighted already in Chapter 4 of the thesis. 7.1 – Stretched Identities: The Representation and Positioning of Networks and Symbols from the Native to Host Destination From this study, it has been observed that northeast tribal migrants remain relatively attached to their own people. Kinship networks among these tribes have always been strong and these network characteristics continue to remain an integral part of their culture as it gets transmitted to young tribal migrants when they shift base from their native place to a new destination. Such networks also act as social supports systems and at times as ‘boundary maintenance’ though it may ‘override’ or interfere with economic aspects of the tribal migrants (Kurian 2002). It has also been examined that the relocation of people in a way liberates many forms of social, cultural and emotional constraints they encounter in their native place. With the onset of globalization, the fluidity of movement from one region to another brings forth the imagining and articulation of individual and group identity (Appadurai 1996; Eikelman 1990; Anderson 1983). As also mentioned earlier in Chapter 5, the Hmars have no political voice of their own. Moreover, the majority of the Hmar migrants come from Manipur, a state inflicted with violence, insecurity and corruption. As such, instability at the home state, lack of educational and economic mobility becomes the major push factors for the young migrants to migrate. Meanwhile, the pull factors such as the glitz and glamorous life of metropolitan cities as portrayed by the media, the employment opportunities, social and political freedom, etc. became a driving force for the younger generations to migrate outside Northeast. Globalization charters to the fluidity of human movements and produce shared cultural imagination beyond geographical and ethnic boundaries. For tribal migrants whose native is outside the Northeast, many of them have been assimilated into the ‘mainstream’ fold of Hindu culture. However, with the case of northeast tribal migrants, their identities and attachment with their own people remains very strong. Reason being that kinship network is very strong in their native surroundings which is further transmitted through Northeast migrants. As such, this network becomes an integral part of the tribal community membership even outside their native place. As Keivom (2002) pointed out, tribal networks act as social support and boundary maintenance, though it may “override” or “interfere” with economic aspects of the tribals. While undertaking this study, there are four important indicators of identities which have been investigated and discovered namely cultural symbols, the strength of ties, socio-cultural boundaries and Fellowships. Cultural Symbols: Food, arts and artifacts, language, lifestyles, tribal traditional dress, ornaments and even memories orally narrated have become important indicators in the process of understanding identity construction for tribal migrants. The everyday lifestyles, decision making, interaction with members within the community and outside the community are also shaped by these symbols. The Strength of Ties: Tribal migrants have strong network and connection especially through their religious and social organizations. For migrant communities, these organizations have become an important platform in transmitting their culture, language, emotional and social identities among its members. Elizah Anderson (1999) has also used group norms as identity indicator in Code of the Street whereby identity of group members are marked depending upon their respect for or transgression of boundaries. Among tribal migrants, both individuals and group play an important role in reproducing identity in their everyday life, though at times, these indicators may not be so transparent. Socio-Cultural Boundaries: While studying tribal migrant group, there are common empirical manifestation of boundaries that are clearly visible. One such example is the ways in which a tribal group seeks to defend its identity against ‘impurity’ caused by cultural pollution from ‘outsiders’; the assertion of tribal rights and ownership, the self determination against non-tribals (and at times even against other tribal ethnic groups). How a tribal group defines itself in relation to other group (Laura Adams 2009:319) is also an important indicator brought to the forefront in this study. Fellowships: The Change Maker The relocation of people, in a way, liberates many from social, cultural and emotional constraints they encounter in their native place. As mentioned in the earlier chapter, the coming of Christian missionaries brought forth many changes in the overall traditional social set up of the Hmar tribes in particular and the Northeast tribes in general. Alphabet was given to the tribals whereby the introduction of education paved way for their emancipation process. Superstitious beliefs and sacrificial practices too were given up. However, the coming of western missionaries on the other hand breeds in new form of social division amongst the tribals namely church denominational divide. The Hmars were once one of the most politically, economically and socially advanced tribal groups in Manipur earning respects from their neighboring tribes. However, the moment the church nurtured new denomination, it inflicted social division baring severe consequences to their social status within their inhibited tribal region. This division became deeply embedded even in their everyday lives thereby affecting even the once unshattered kinship units of the region creating many constraints and barriers within the group. Some of the respondents even took the extreme view that this denominational divide has become too severe that, “so long as the church exists, the Hmars will never be able to come together under one banner”. The late 1970s and early 1980s, however, became a turning point for Hmar unification. It was during this time that few educated and well-to-do members have started migrating to urban cities of mainland India in search of better economic opportunities and higher education. This mobility continued and then from the new millennia onwards, with India’s economy improving with better transport and communication and multi-national companies operating at larger scale in cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, Pune, the exodus of young tribals from the Northeast is never ending. With the rise in Hmar population in these cities, the once undersized Hmar population who has