Dancing to the State: Ethnic Compulsions of the Tangsa in Assam

Can small indigenous communities survive, as distinct cultural entities, in northeast India, an area of mindboggling ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity? What are the choices such communities have, and what are some of the strategies such communities use to resist marginalisation? In recent years, many such small groups are participating in large state sponsored ethnic festivals, and organising their own community festivals. But are these signs of their increasing agency or simply pro...