Volume VI Special Issue V June 2026

Name of Author : Lalmuanzuali

Title of the paper : Strangers in Their Own Land: The Othering of NE India from Mainland India

Abstract: One important aspect of postcolonial studies explores the concept of othering, as articulated by Edward Said in Orientalism. Within the context of postcolonial India, where North Eastern communities are frequently considered as culturally and racially others by the mainland, it posits the ideology of the NE people as uncivilized and unequal. Such representations reinforce hierarchies that position the North East as inferior and external to dominant in terms of Indian identity. Focusing on the songs East India Cypher and Are You Indian, produced by various artists from the North East region, this study explores how music becomes a powerful medium of resistance, self representation, and identity formation. The paper explores the status of women as double marginalised subject, as inferior gender and as a part of the subaltern. By analysing these two selected songs within a broader postcolonial framework, the paper will expose the inferior colonialism of North East communities by the mainland India and postulate their active resistance of hegemony.

Keywords : marginalization, othering, North East India, postcolonial studies, music as resistance.

DOI :

Page Number : 260-267