REPRESENTATION OF NAGA IN THE COLONIAL DISCOURSES AND PRACTICES: EXPLORING ITS IMPRINT IDENTITY CONSCIOUSNESS.

The colonial encounter was not an identical in different parts of the world. Despite which in many contexts, one of the significant aspects was that, it inaugurated new dimension of self in the life of the colonized subjects. The postcolonial scholarships, therefore, have raised significant questions particularly with regard to the representation of ‘natives’ in colonial discourses and practices. The encountering with the Nagas was rather inadvertent but left its deep imprint legacy, which still haunts many of its contemporary identity discourses and practices. It was largely a byproduct of past misrepresentation of Nagas in the colonial military and travel accounts. The most classical colonial representation of Nagas, whose logic still reproduces, is as exotic “head-hunters of Assam.” Ultimately, their way of life are still perceived and discursively construct within this logic of colonial lens to be the best representation of Nagas nature. In this paper, we shall critically examine those discursive formations of Nagas? In what way past colonial discourses and practices shape contemporary Naga selfhood? Does it have any relevance in the contemporary lifeworld of the Nagas themselves?