An international conference in the highly contested region of Northeast India has heard from a University of Kent expert on sovereignty in stateless nations what can be learned from Gaza.
In his capacity as scientific advisor for the 'Sovereignty in stateless nations' project, Glenn Bowman, Professor of Socio-historical Anthropology and Director of the University's new BA in Liberal Arts, presented papers entitled 'Conceptions of Democracy in a One-State Solution' and 'Israel and Palestine: The One State Solution'.
His papers form part of his work for the project, which is funded by the Research Council of Norway and the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), with both drawing on his chapter in the new book Gaza as Metaphor. In the book, Professor Bowman explains that the radical closure of Gaza serves as an extreme example of a process of isolation and immiseration of national enemies that is deeply rooted in Israeli ideology and practices of state formation.
Professor Bowman, has engaged in extensive fieldwork in Jerusalem and the West Bank, has carried out research in Yugoslavia at the outbreak of the war and has subsequently and, more recently, worked in divided Cyprus. In February he joined a group of scientists and scholars for conferences in Guwahati and Manipur, areas that have become synonymous with ethnic politics and its manifestations.
Professor Bowman made specific reference to the British emergency laws imposed on both India and Palestine during the colonial periods and which were adopted after the British withdrawal by both new states. Palestinians within the 1948 borders were under a state of emergency between 1949 and 1965; this was subsequently imposed on those within the territories conquered in 1967 where it remains in effect now. The emergency rules imposed on Northeast India in 1948 remain in effect until today.
Although anthropological comparison does not seek out exact correlations, it seeks to understand from developments in one context the possible range of developments in others. Even though the situation in Assam and particularly Manipur is nowhere near as draconian as that imposed by the Israelis on Gaza, Professor Bowman said that the continued occupation by the Indian army (very evident during the February conference), the enduring regional rebellions in both Manipur and Assam against the Indian state, and India's perpetuation of the State of Emergency over both regions raises the alarm about the future of these 'stateless nations' in a period of escalating nationalist and sectarian sentiment.
The conference was organised by the Omeo Kumar Das Institute of Social Change and Development (OKDISCD) in collaboration with PRIO. The group engaged with local scholars and activists on sovereignty and governance issues and Professor Bowman also carried out field research on 'shared' shrines (Hindu-Islamic-Buddhist as well as animist) in both Manipur and Assam.
Professor Bowman is a member and former Head of Kent's School of Anthropology and Conservation.
Source: University of Kent