Need for Effective Multilevel Federal Governance-A study of Bodoland
School of Social Sciences and Politics-Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities Fellow
University of Edinburgh 2016
Abstract
In IASH, I will be working on my research paper titled Violence and Ethnic Conflict in Northeast India: Need for Effective Multilevel Federal Governance-A study of Bodoland seeks to critically analyze one of the asymmetric power-sharing under federal arrangements in the Indian constitution guaranteeing special rights for ethnic groups i.e. the Bodoland Territorial Council in northeast India. The Council’s composition has been contested as representing only one community leading to violent inter-ethnic conflicts. I argue that the Union government needs to take cognizance of the actual situation of the Assam valley and seek resolution through reconciliation and mediation based on the principle of justice and sustainable governance. The central government must follow a policy of accommodation towards the ethnic minorities rather than appeasing its coalition partners and violent ethnic associations.