In August 2018, The Prime Minister Mr Modi appealed a new peace to affably settle the long draws Naga political question. Debates’ surrounding armed conflict, insurgency and ceasefire has been the leading spotlight in newspaper columns; book and literature over the last seven decades post India’s Independence, from Nehru’s Philosophy for NEFA to Modi’s peace dialogue with Naga leaders.
The book takes a departure from this dominate narrative by looking at everyday life and politics in Nagaland through the framework of people’s livelihood (jhum farming) and their encounter with development and modernity. Through the study of Naga agriculture, Das engages with the question of violence, counter insurgency, missionary modernization and ethnic identity question in India’s northeast. In the landmark book, the author develops a thick description of people’s everyday engagement with the Indian state through ballot politics, development moneys patronage seed supple, subsidies and engages with the agency of ordinary Naga farmers who selectively partake in donor driven development programmes.