Breaking Barriers in Post-independence India: A Journey out of the Northeast

Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
List of Figures
Preface
	Notes
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part I
	Chapter 1: Backdrop and Setting
		A Snapshot History: The Nowhere Kingdom
		Who Am I? Family Tree
		Maharaja Narasingh: Progenitor
		Narasingh as Ruler
		My Family
		Memories of Another Day
		‘Baba’
		Of ‘Ima’ and ‘Imas’
		Elangbam Joychandra
		Notes
	Chapter 2: Rites of Passage
		Historical Backdrop
		Tikendrajit and the Anglo-Manipuri War of 1890
		Kangla
		Maharaja Churachand; Humiliation Encore
		Framed Memories: H. H. Bodhchandra
		Okendrajit: Destiny’s Child
		Notes
	Chapter 3: Brahmaputra Calling: Assam
		Searching for English
		Education, English, and Manipur
		Getting Started
		Assam: Foster Home
		Notes
	Chapter 4: The Cuckoo Syndrome
		St Joseph Convent
		Mokokchung: Home of the Ao Nagas
		Notes
	Chapter 5: ‘The Unreal City’: Gauhati, aka Guwahati
		Morning Star
		St Mary Convent and Don Bosco
		Love Stories of a Different Kind
		Of Human Sacrifices and Other Stories
		Of ‘Human Parcel’: Being ‘Man’ of the Undesirable Kind
		Stray Thoughts from a Schoolboy’s Diary
		Notes
	Chapter 6: Cultural Instincts and Survival Instincts
		Notes
	Chapter 7: Khasi Highlanders
		Setting and Backdrop
		‘Red Lands’, aka Manipuri Rajbari
		The Origin: ‘Ki Hynñiewtrep’ People
		Shillong: ‘Scotland of the East’
		St Anthony’s High School: The Litany of Hope
		Armour of Conscience: Life in a Christian Boarding School
		Bow String Blues, Menhirs, and Nongshohnohs
		Notes
	Chapter 8: Rhapsody on a Ka-duitara and Hobbies
		Handshake with Nature; Winged Tales
		Games and Sports
		Painting and Drawing
		A Dream Is Born
		Notes
	Chapter 9: Mathematics and Friendships
		Friendship and Tribal Identity
		Khublei : ‘God Be with You’
		Notes
	Chapter 10: Return of the Prodigal
		Dialogue with My Roots: Meiteism, the Syncretic Compromise
		Post Truth: Making of the Manipuri Mindset
		Fallout: Insurgency
		Nongpok Thong, or Eastern Gate
		Poverty under Arch Light
		Where Have All the Flowers Gone
		Notes
Part II
	Chapter 11: The Westward Gamble
		The ‘Baggage’ I Carried
		Calcutta, Oh Calcutta!
		Delhi, Oh ‘Dilli’!
	Chapter 12: Hindu College: Dreams Take Wings
		Hindu College
		Why English Literature?
		Notes
	Chapter 13: Hostel Life: Stolovaya
		Quit India, Ragging, and ‘Chinky’
		Name-Calling and Northeastern Temper
		Of Socks and Old Shoes
		DTC and Phootfatti
		Notes
	Chapter 14: Beyond the Sunrise is Northeast India
		Looks, Food, and Language
		Food Habit
		Language: Hindi
		Whither to Northeast Indians?
		Post Truth
		Notes
	Chapter 15: The Semantics of War and Other Stories
		General Kodandera Madappa Cariappa OBE: The ‘Haircut’
		Of Human Bondings and War
		Ballad Makers of Manipur
		Meaning of War?
		Notes
	Chapter 16: The Graduate in the Making
		Intoxication: Communism and Coffee House
		The Poetry of Politics: Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Ashok Saikia
		Counterculture versus Moral Rearmament
		Moral Rearmament Movement
		Notes
	Chapter 17: Stray Impressions: Lasting Influence
		Cultural Kaleidoscope: M. F. Husain
		Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and Lakshmi Chand Jain
		Temple Town Blues and ‘Swachh Bharat’
		Note
	Chapter 18: Post Graduation: Changing Contours
		English under Brown Skin
		Discourse in Insanity: English vs. Hindi
		Notes
	Chapter 19: Agha Shahid Ali, Begum Akhtar, and Me
		A Kashmiri from a ‘Country without a Post Office’
		Begum Akhtar, alias Akhtar Bai Faizabadi: Shahid and I
		The Farewell Gift
		Notes
Part III
	Chapter 20: Crossing the Rubicon
		Lectureship and Law
		A House for Mr. Rajkumar
		Lectureship
	Chapter 21: The Civil Services Examination
		The Civil Services Examination (CSE)
		Administrative Reforms
		Challenges as a Northeast Indian Candidate
		Notes
	Chapter 22: Yes! It Is Possible
		The Written Examination
		Interviews or Viva Voce
		Brahmastra of a Question
		The Final Reckoning
		Sunshine on Baruni Hill
		My Success Mantra
		Mother’s Gift
		Note
	Chapter 23: Gathering of the Eagles
		‘Cloud Nine’: The Train to Dehradun
		Gathering of the Eagles
		‘Academy Marriages’ and Cadre Change
		Notes
	Chapter 24: The IAS and Northeast India
		Idea of India and Northeast Indians (NIs)
		Concept versus Reality
		Indian, Indianness: Fitting the Northeast Indian
		‘The Unmaking of India’ – A Northeastern Perspective: Where Things Went Wrong
		Of Double Standards: Legitimising Ethnic Identity Politics
		Need for Acknowledging Northeast Indians’ Idea of India
		Fitting NI Bureaucrats in the Administrative Puzzle of India
		In Parting
		Note
Index