Spatial Distribution of Tribal Population and Inter Tribal Differences in Population Growth: A Critical Review on Demography and Immigration in Assam

Abstract

Assam holds and supports a large proportion of tribal population, highly differentiated in terms of ethno-lingual characteristics as well as economic responses to their habitats. Ethnic violence, which has become endemic to the states of postcolonial Northeast India especially Assam, has often targeted people of migrant origin as foreigners or illegal immigrants to sent them back to their lands of origin. The Muslim and Hindu Bangladeshi migrant who have been migrating to Northeast India since the colonial times have mingled with the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society of the region. Settled in almost all the states of the region they have, in recent times, been frequently identified as foreigners as their growing numbers have become a threat to the ethnicity. Immigrants from both Nepal and Bangladesh have created a cause of concern for the indigenous ethnic tribal population in different sphere. An attempt is made in this paper to examine different growth pattern among the tribal living in the state and also the migrated population which is growing in an alarming rate. This paper looks at the conflict-induced displacement of the Bangladeshi in Assam. Moreover, government also has not taken step to reduce the inflow, which has induced demographic problem in the region and raised question on government concern for the ethnic groups. The paper also looks at the long term effect of migration on culture, social and economic demographic and political instability in the region.