Indigeneity is the Absence of India

Abstract

Through the metaphor of visiting Gorkhaland this paper raises questions on the impact of the formation of colonialism, borders, and nation-states on historically mobile communities. It provides an insight into how a region and its people imagine their history and future outside the existing nation-state while continuing to negotiate with the present marred in blood and state-led violence. The paper further informs about the politics that unfold around ethnicity, linguistic, regional and indigenous identities in the wake of the totalitarian state.