Mainstreaming Gender Narratives: A Study on Women Empowerment of Kuki women In Assam?s Karbi Anglong District: A Case Study in Diphu Town.

Karbi Anglong district of Assam in India is the home to numerous tribes and communities that constitute it essentially into a plural society. The mapping of borders and boundaries and different nomenclatures reinforced by the British colonial administration had insidiously influenced the lives of the people of the region to a large extent. The delineation of erstwhile Mikir Hills (now Karbi Anglong) as partially excluded territory deprived it from the mainstream development that culminated in multiple ?mental borders? between different groups of people. The post colonial ruling elites also did not intend to frame policies to ameliorate the tribes of the district as mandated by the Indian Constitution. Hence, the emergence of the new ruling elites in post colonial Assam as well as in Karbi Anglong could not fulfill the aspirations of the sixth scheduled tribes. During the creation of the Mikir Hills by the colonial administration, along with the Karbis (who were earlier called Mikirs), other tribes such as Rengmas, Dimasas, Kukis, Man Tai, etc. also marked their presence there. Even the migration of Rengmas took place earlier than the Mikirs (Karbis). In 1952, the Mikir Hills District Council was created to uplift the sixth scheduled tribes of the district. This led to the migration of more Karbis to Karbi Anglong from various parts of Assam. In order to confer more autonomy, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Assam Government and the Karbi Anglong District Council members in 1995. Hence the Karbi Anglong District Council was upgraded to Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council. The numerical majority of the Karbis and their representation in the council put them into the corridors of power and conferred them hegemony in the process. The ethnic minorities who are also indigenous to the land were subsequently put into marginalization and discrimination. The situations of perpetual underdevelopment and near absence of the government from the life of the people added more fuel to the fire. The emergence of various militant groups to rein control over the scarce resources tarnished the ethnic tranquility and brotherhood. Consequently, innocent civilians had to give away their lives immaturely in a civilized society. In that situation, women and children faced the brunt more severely. Having being women as well as minority, the Kuki women are doubly marginalized group. Given the background, this paper is an attempt to explore the living realities of the Kuki women who are the indigenous sixth schedule tribe of the district and the extent of their empowerment.