Construction de l’identité tribale et revendications territoriales des Miri-Mising au Nord-est de l’Inde

Abstract

The construction of a tribal or indigenous identity to claim territories is complicated for groups whose history and social life are embedded in different migrations, assimilation and integration processes. In India, although they may have been mobile, certain groups listed in the colonial era have enjoyed the legal status of scheduled tribes since the country's independence. The definition of a tribal identity, "indigenous", nevertheless remains an important issue for communities which claim territorial belonging and autonomous management of their territory in a context of continuous demographic growth and pressure.On the borders of South Asia, between Tibet, Burma, Bangladesh and Bhutan, the northeast of India is populated by a great diversity of ethnolinguistic groups: Tibetan-Burmese, Indo-European and Mon - Khmer. Among these communities are the Miri-Mising to which we will focus in this article. This community has built its tribal identity on mythical bases and under the influence of religious movements (Christianity, Panindian Hinduism, local syncretism). Community leaders are pushing for access to constitutional rights granted to tribal communities. They demand autonomous management while remaining faced with the dilemma of a discontinuous territory.

Keywords

• Miri/mising or « Mising »
• construction of indigeneity
• identity claims
• autonomous territories
• Northeast India