Bøker av Nandita Haksar

The ethnic clashes that broke out in Manipur in May 2023 were ostensiblydue to Kuki opposition to the demand by the dominant Meiteis for ScheduledTribe status. Kukis, and other tribal groups, claim that this would eat into theirmeagre entitlements. In turn, the Kukis as a group have been branded 'illegalimmigrants', blamed for the proliferation of poppy cultivation, and accused of'narcoterrorism'.Conflicts between ethnic groups are not new in Manipur. But the violence in2023, which killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands, was shocking forthe sheer viciousness on display. Any effort to find explanations to this conflictonly throws up more questions.Why is there such anger in the people of the state? Is this a religious or an ethnicconflict? Why were the police and paramilitary forces-of which huge numbersare deployed in Manipur-unable to stop the violence? What role did chauvinistMeitei organizations like Arambai Tenggol play in the violence? Why did it takeseveral months for India's national leadership to break their silence on the issue?Is there really a problem of illegal immigration into Manipur from Myanmar?Who are the Kuki-Zo people? Are they to blame for the drug menace in thestate, as claimed by the Meiteis? What have the state and central governmentsdone to prevent drug trafficking in the region? Does anyone benefit from what ishappening?In this urgent book, Nandita Haksar explores with clarity and insight, and alsocourage, a complex geopolitical problem, exposing the hypocrisy of identitypolitics in Manipur, never losing sight of those that have suffered-and continueto suffer-the most in this conflict.

An immensely valuable and revealing book about the decades-long Naga national movement, containing interviews with leaders, ideologues and soldiers that have never been published before. This first-of-its-kind book tells the story of the Naga national movement from the inside. Based on extensive interviews of the Naga nationalists, conducted in the late 1990s in Bangkok, Kathmandu, Dimapur and Delhi, it explains why the Indo-Naga conflict has lasted more than seven decades, and why successive prime ministers of India, from Jawaharlal Nehru to Narendra Modi, have personally met the Naga leaders and tried to resolve the conflict. In Kuknalim, leaders and members of ten Naga tribes spread across India and Myanmar speak directly to the reader about their childhood experiences, reasons for joining the armed struggle, and their personal triumphs and tragedies. They recount their journeys from small impoverished mountain villages through the jungles of Myanmar to China-from where they carried back arms to fight for an independent Nagaland-and finally the journey to the negotiating table. These stories relate to the period of the Naga movement from World War II to 1997, when Naga nationalists under the NSCN (IM) entered into a ceasefire agreement with the Indian state and began peace talks. And in the introduction to the book and the different sections in it, the authors also write about subsequent events, besides providing the political context for each interview. A groundbreaking work, Kuknalim offers invaluable insights into the world of Naga insurgency and its geo-political significance. Without asking the reader to agree or disagree with the people and movement it profiles, the book also examines complex questions of identity politics; the role of religion in nationalism; and the sentiments that drive men and women to take up arms and endure extreme hardship in pursuit of their dreams.

DescriptionIn this extraordinary memoir, Nandita Haksar uses memories and ideas offood to ask fundamental questions about what we eat, who we eat with, whostarves and who feasts, which foods are forbidden or denigrated-and whatall this says about our country. Starting with her childhood in the 1950s,Haksar takes us on a fascinating journey through India, from wedding feastsin her Kashmiri Pandit family settled in Old Delhi and Lucknow, to humanrightsactivism on behalf of Nagas in Manipur; from listening to testimonies ofwomen working in Kerala's fisheries, to witnessing the impact of a globalizedfood industry on livelihoods in Goa. She examines how our tastes andattitudes to food are shaped by caste, class, religion, race and gender, and sheaddresses the recent controversies over beef-eating, and 'Hindu' vs 'Muslim'food. Scattered through the book are brilliant anecdotes-by turns startling,amusing and moving-about culinary rituals and curiosities, and memorablerecipes from the many people Haksar has eaten with.And always at the heart of the narrative is a fundamental question: How can apeople who won't eat together, as equals, stay united?

Nandita Haksar's magnum opus traces the tortured history of Kashmiri nationalism through the lives of two men: Sampat Prakash, a Kashmiri Pandit and Communist trade union leader who became active in politics during the Cold War years, and Mohammad Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri Muslim who became active in the early days of the Kashmir insurgency. The ideas and deeds of many other individuals and groups are woven into this twin account which tries to examine how Kashmiri nationalists are caught in the web of international intrigue, as they negotiate the rivalries between the old and new superpowers and also the competing nationalisms of India and Pakistan, which invariably translate into Hindu-Muslim antagonism. Both Prakash and Guru refused to give up the idea of a more inclusive Kashmir, with space in it for all faiths and nationalities. Their paths crossed at a juncture of history when both believed that their vision of Kashmir was possible. But their dream has been all but destroyed by the forces of history, leaving Prakash and his comrades alone and isolated, and leading to the hounding and execution of Guru. This nuanced, multi-layered book combines personal and public narratives, political analysis and the rare insights of an activist who led the campaign to save Mohammad Afzal Guru from the gallows. Singular in scope and focus, and spanning a period of over eight decades, from the 1930s until 2015, this is an unprecedented examination of the history of modern Kashmir.