Perceived Illegality of the Body: Reclaiming the Space in Nagaland

Abstract

The article is premised upon the production and reproduction of the idea of the ‘illegality’ on the subject matter of migration in Nagaland, India. Lynching of Syed Sarif Khan at Dimapur on 5 March 2015 encounters multiple narratives relevant to the current issue of sexual violence against women, migration, security and identity politics. Northeast as a sociopolitical site has produced extensive works on how Northeast India has been marginalised historically. On the contrary, the article looks inside rather than outward to see how we also marginalise the ‘other’. Reclaiming the space, cleansing the subject of the illegal, conducting flush-out operations and creating the illegal child of the state called ‘sumiyas’ are some of the key discussions on the constructs of who are included and who are excluded in the ‘imagined’ and ‘real’ community of the Nagas.