Spaces & Flows: Ninth International Conference on Urban and ExtraUrban Studies

Abstract

When we analyze the procedure of urban improvement in India we see that post independence, India inherited uneven regional structures of city and town formations, relationship with its hinterland and rural areas, industrial and manufacturing growth, infrastructural access, migration patterns, class, caste, and spatial inequalities, governance configurations together with notions of modernities and urbanism. This is particularly marked in certain sensitive zones like North-East India, which also suffers from a history of socio-political, economic ostracisation from the Indian mainland. Such ostracism is manifested in the unrest and violence in the North-East ever since India’s independence. These include insurgencies in the states of Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, and Assam and the growth of militant groups in Meghalaya. In addition, there are conflicts and confrontations over land use and control as well as over issues of language, identity, demographic change, and minority/majority relations. The problems are further compounded by mis-governance, corruption, economic backwardness, and geographical isolation from the rest of India. The historical dimensions of the relationship of the North East region to the Indian state, the uneven development, the incidence of violence and conflict and the specific legal framework in this area form a complex terrain in which the study of urbanization must be carried out. This paper delves into this terrain with specific reference to the “tribal metropolis” – Shillong, which is undergoing tremendous change in its urban landscape. It analyses the growth and contestations of a new urban space, called the New Shillong Township which is being built on the outskirts of Shillong, as well as the socio-cultural impact it has on the environment and on the tribal population of Shillong.