INDIGENEITY AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLE: A NORTH-EAST, INDIAN PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The issue for arriving at an agreed definition of ‘who the indigenous people are’ has been one of the most disputable subjects of the post-colonial governmental issues. Various distinctions of sentiment and accentuation spark from this subject. The major detestation of colonialism and its massive influence on contemporary governmental issues resulted in the response of many groups of people who have been living a traditional and secluded way of life. Indigenous people groups, non-indigenous people groups, and the state play an important characteristic in connecting the dots in the dispute of indigenous people and their rights. In vast cases, indigenous put themselves far from these two groups (i.e., the non-indigenous people’s groups and the state) or subject. These groups of people have always seen themselves as a community whole, who have been in progress and a self-reliant and self-administering group of people. Until with passage of time, they see themselves from a victimhood point of view as one of the most undermined and underestimated communities within a nation-state. This scenario can be visualized in every region through notable inexcusable acts where indigenous people groups are being subjected to coercive expulsion from their community, forced acquisition of land and natural resources, and forced assimilation into the larger community and culture. This study is an attempt to highlight the gradual development in international laws design specifically to safeguard and protect the minority community from various oppression and exploitation, urging various representatives and organization to raise their voices on the pressing issues on the indigenous people groups and their rights, and also to secure these communities with some sort of self-autonomy and assure legal remedies as a remuneration for the past injustice.