By Timothy Khongsai
It was the dawn of the 21st century, when the world was buzzing with optimistic narratives of advancement and prosperity with increasing global interconnectedness. Yet, the Northeast of India was marked by a reality of political instability, extreme militarisation and turmoil. Activism, research and journalism were professions that could get you into trouble with the powers that be any day. Amidst this challenging climate, a seasoned Jesuit sociologist Dr. Walter Fernandes came to the Northeast with a mandate to start the North Eastern Social Research Centre (NESRC). He did it on March 1, 2000 with a prodigy of a scholar from the land of the Northeast, Dr. Sanjay Barbora, who now teaches at the University of California, Santa Cruz, USA. This research centre celebrated its Silver Jubilee on the 1st of March, 2025.
The founding of the North Eastern Social Research Centre (NESRC) came at a critical juncture for Northeast India. As mentioned above, the region was experiencing severe political and social unrest, with violence and suppression of autonomy movements across most states. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) granted security forces extensive powers while peace remained elusive despite ceasefire agreements in Nagaland and in a few other areas of the region. In what the people of this region call Mainland India, the Northeast was (and still is) suffering from a perception of being viewed primarily as a region of conflicts and of secessionists. The Central authorities viewed the region mainly through a national security lens, and treated it as a peripheral territory. To most people in mainland India the Northeast was that vague territory between Kolkata and Myanmar since their view of India stopped at Kolkata. This marginalisation manifested itself in what the people of the region perceive as economic neglect visible in its poor infrastructure and limited employment opportunities. That fuelled regional resentment. Complex tensions to indigenous identity arose also from concerns about real or perceived threats from “illegal migration,” competition for scarce resources, and growing ethnic conflicts resulting from it. Civil society movements, student organisations, and human rights groups had emerged but often worked in isolation.
In this atmosphere the establishment of NESRC filled the need to provide a much-needed bridge during this fragmented period, a space for intellectual reflection combined with practical intervention on pressing regional issues. From its inception NESRC began to serve as a platform where conflicting groups could meet, where young researchers could develop their skills, and where the complex search for Northeast India’s regional identity could be thoughtfully examined rather than contested violently. Today, after 25 years and after completing more than 70 studies across the region, NESRC has established itself as a vital institution in the Northeast addressing its varying social and political issues. It has become a crucial centre for scholars, activists, and individuals concerned with social change, particularly the youth, to come together and engage in intellectual conversations, hands-on engagement and activism. With its mandate to combine serious intellectual pursuits with involvement in social change, NESRC provides a space where thoughtful analysis meets practical political action. Its studies have primarily focused on critical areas such as land rights, ethnic identity, resource management, gender issues, development-induced displacement, and conflicts and peace.
In its pursuit for peace with justice, and encouraging the youth to get involved in the search for a Northeast with its own identity, the Centre, though based in Assam, has conducted numerous significant studies in the region as a whole. Meghalaya has not been left behind in this pursuit. Among its more than 80 publications, five are exclusively on Meghalaya. As part of its study of the gender implications of the tribal customary laws, NESRC did a detailed analysis of the role of women in the customary laws of the Jaintia and the Lyngam of Meghalaya and the impact of modernisation and neoliberalism on the women of these tribes. These studies have been published in 2020 under the titles “New Aspirations, New Approach: The Jaintias of Meghalaya” and “Reforming Norms, Reforming Practices: The Lyngngams of Meghalaya.” Prior to it, NESRC did a pioneering study on all development-induced displacement in the state, 1951-2010. “The Development Dilemma: Displacement in Meghalaya 1947-2010” was published in 2016. Another study done in Meghalaya is on the impact of ICDS and published in 2017 as “An Impact Assessment of ICDS in Meghalaya: Strengths and Scope for Growth. A study on the role of the satellite in education done in 2013-14, and a second one on coal mining in Meghalaya done in 2013-14 has remained as unpublished reports.
The tribes of Meghalaya have also been included in other multi-state studies. Its first major research initiative in 2001-2002 immediately after its foundation, examined the changing status of women among six tribes in Northeast India, including the Garo of Meghalaya This study was published in 2002 as “Modernisation and Women’s Status in Northeast India.” The Garo were included in its next major study in 2003-2004, published in 2005 as “Land Relations and Ethnic Conflicts: The Case of North east India,” and the one after it on the gender implications of tribal customary laws (2005-06). The Khasi are among the tribes studied in two recent studies “Continuities of Migration: Women, Work and Belonging in Northeast India” (2023), and “Forests and Fields of Imagined Futures: Indigenous Women and Conservation Practices in Northeast India” (2024). The Garo are part of a four-state ongoing study on tribal land alienation
Such studies are intrinsic to the prioritisation of land rights and Indigenous issues that has led NESRC to engage in extensive research on development-induced land loss and displacement, spanning from 1947 to 2010 across all eight North Eastern states. The findings of these studies have influenced policy frameworks, such as the Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act of 2013. It demonstrates NESRC’s role in advocating for marginalised communities. Its work on the “budget for children” has influenced policy decisions at the state level. Its engagement with gender issues has been significant, particularly in analysing the gender implications of tribal customary laws, done in collaboration with local communities to reflect on necessary reforms following its commitment to participatory research and advocacy. NESRC has also worked extensively in conflict resolution by facilitating dialogue between communities in conflict and providing analytical training to local peace activists. Through the network NESRC has created of its former staff, friends of the institute and the Jesuit connections across the Northeast, its work and influence extend beyond its physical location in Guwahati.
With a library that houses more than 13,000 books today in the middle of the hustling and bustling city of Guwahati, NESRC strives to continue to be a place where social issues are confronted, young minds are moulded, and intellectual engagement is fostered. Through seminars, workshops, and publications, the Centre actively promotes research and advocacy, aiming to address the pressing challenges faced by the communities in the Northeast. One hopes that this thrust will continue during the next 25 years and beyond.
Timothy Khongsai is currently a Research Associate at the North Eastern Social Research Centre.