Highland, Heartland and Hinterland conflicts: Introducing a typology of state-rebel conflict in Northeast India
Holt, Benjamin
Holt, Benjamin
Publication Date
2025
End of Embargo
Supervisor
Rights
© 2025 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properlycited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s)or with their consent.
Peer-Reviewed
Yes
Open Access status
openAccess
Accepted for publication
2024-07-27
Institution
Department
Awarded
Embargo end date
Collections
Additional title
Abstract
The many 'forgotten conflicts' of Northeast India remain poorly understood. Important works have highlighted deep nuances and historical variation in patterns of state-society relations across the region’s highlands and plains. Despite this, variations in state-rebel conflict patterns remain under-theorised and comparative analyses remain limited. This article leverages Armed Orders in South Asia (AOSA) data (Staniland 2021), archival, newswire and secondary data to propose a threefold typology of state-rebel conflict in the region that reflects key spatial and temporal variations. In the peripheral Highland conflicts, state-rebel relations are fluid, with early total warfare transitioning into dealmaking and sustained, armed coexistence. In the Heartlands, the former princely states of Manipur and Tripura and the heartlands of Assamese nationalism, rebels are afforded far less space, leading to enduring low-level wars of containment. In Assam’s post-1985 Hinterland conflicts, the state deals with pro-autonomy rebels, but is unrelenting in its containment of pro-secessionist groups.
Version
Published version
Citation
Waterman A and Holt B (2025) Highland, Heartland and Hinterland conflicts: Introducing a typology of state-rebel conflict in Northeast India. India Review. 24(1): 1-35.
Link to publisher’s version
Link to published version
Link to Version of Record
Type
Article