Eye-catching Title
Che in
Paona Bazaar
Tales
of Exile and Belonging from India’s North-east
Kishalay
Bhattacharjee
Macmillan
2013
Question
Answers
Does author
know the place well?
Yes.
Is the
book crisp and interesting?
No.
Is the
book critical of actions in the state?
Yes.
Would
I recommend the book?
No.
Books
on similar lines
Some (unconnected) snippets
from the book
"Ironically,
HIV became a source of livelihood for several people in Manipur and the
north-east. International funding was channeled into the drug money nexus and a
percentage of that went directly to militant outfits. The failure of the
government at every level has allowed the militia to gain control. But if the
government has failed to provide, the militants have hardly done any better. Their
stringent tax collection bleeds every family, rich or poor."
"The
more familiar face of a child soldier is from Sierra Lone, Uganda or Rwanda or
even closer home in Afghanistan, but there is hardly any international or
national concern about the hundreds of children recruited, trained, maimed, and
killed in conflicts in India – particularly in the north-east."
"Uniformed
men were hated in these parts. They are still not welcome. But there are
stories of hope and faith that remain unforgettable for both the storyteller as
well as the listener."
Identity
politics is the favourite theme in this part of the world. Layers of identities
have an uneasy relationship with violence and power and for groups with extreme
points of view, identity politics is often a means to an end for achieving
power.
"The Naga
shawls are undoubtedly the north-east’s best design export and competes closely
with Assam’s muga silk mekhla chador, saris, scarves, drapes and they are still
discovering more ways of popularizing the fabric. It took me several years
before I knew where this bright colour in Naga textiles came from. A French
lady who works closely with textiles recently informed me that the ‘Naga red’
is a term used even in Europe because that is the reddest of the red used in
textiles. The red comes from the root of a plan called Madder or Rubia Sikkimensis."
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