The old man by the waterfall: deep entanglements of culture, state-making and geopolitics in Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh, a state in Northeast India, is going through a phase of rapid infrastructural expansion, a phenomenon intensified due to the state’s geostrategic location. Despite the colonial enterprise of frontier-making and the resulting securitisation of space, the presence of the eastern Him...
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| Language: | English |
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris
2024-07-01
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| Series: | European Bulletin of Himalayan Research |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ebhr/2407 |
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| author | Kaustubh Deka |
| author_facet | Kaustubh Deka |
| author_sort | Kaustubh Deka |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Arunachal Pradesh, a state in Northeast India, is going through a phase of rapid infrastructural expansion, a phenomenon intensified due to the state’s geostrategic location. Despite the colonial enterprise of frontier-making and the resulting securitisation of space, the presence of the eastern Himalayan frontier has historically infused the region with elements of both steadfastness and dynamism, as its spatial fluidity persists in one form or the other. Meanwhile, despite being situated in a Himalayan corridor, the region finds itself entangled in the contentious politics in which states in South and Southeast Asia are locked. Drawing on ethnographic experiences from two geopolitically sensitive and spatially significant places, Menchukha and Namsai, situated on the eastern Himalayan slopes at Arunachal Pradesh, this article discusses the paradoxical conditions of ‘selective permeability’ (Popescu 2015: 50) that often informs contemporary border regimes, where factors favouring cross-border mobility are weighed against the demands of maintaining territorial integrity. In this context, this article looks at some prominent sites of pilgrimage and religious tourism to understand the differential attention they receive from the state, revealing a complex assemblage of spatial dynamics, cultural logics and geostrategic rationales that operate in geopolitically charged borderlands. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-436e12d3f0694e1f8e4d75d927f21b44 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2823-6114 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-07-01 |
| publisher | Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Bulletin of Himalayan Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-436e12d3f0694e1f8e4d75d927f21b442025-08-20T02:20:19ZengCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ParisEuropean Bulletin of Himalayan Research2823-61142024-07-016210.4000/124f0The old man by the waterfall: deep entanglements of culture, state-making and geopolitics in Arunachal PradeshKaustubh DekaArunachal Pradesh, a state in Northeast India, is going through a phase of rapid infrastructural expansion, a phenomenon intensified due to the state’s geostrategic location. Despite the colonial enterprise of frontier-making and the resulting securitisation of space, the presence of the eastern Himalayan frontier has historically infused the region with elements of both steadfastness and dynamism, as its spatial fluidity persists in one form or the other. Meanwhile, despite being situated in a Himalayan corridor, the region finds itself entangled in the contentious politics in which states in South and Southeast Asia are locked. Drawing on ethnographic experiences from two geopolitically sensitive and spatially significant places, Menchukha and Namsai, situated on the eastern Himalayan slopes at Arunachal Pradesh, this article discusses the paradoxical conditions of ‘selective permeability’ (Popescu 2015: 50) that often informs contemporary border regimes, where factors favouring cross-border mobility are weighed against the demands of maintaining territorial integrity. In this context, this article looks at some prominent sites of pilgrimage and religious tourism to understand the differential attention they receive from the state, revealing a complex assemblage of spatial dynamics, cultural logics and geostrategic rationales that operate in geopolitically charged borderlands.https://journals.openedition.org/ebhr/2407Northeast IndiaArunachal PradeshtourismHimalayasinfrastructureborderland |
| spellingShingle | Kaustubh Deka The old man by the waterfall: deep entanglements of culture, state-making and geopolitics in Arunachal Pradesh European Bulletin of Himalayan Research Northeast India Arunachal Pradesh tourism Himalayas infrastructure borderland |
| title | The old man by the waterfall: deep entanglements of culture, state-making and geopolitics in Arunachal Pradesh |
| title_full | The old man by the waterfall: deep entanglements of culture, state-making and geopolitics in Arunachal Pradesh |
| title_fullStr | The old man by the waterfall: deep entanglements of culture, state-making and geopolitics in Arunachal Pradesh |
| title_full_unstemmed | The old man by the waterfall: deep entanglements of culture, state-making and geopolitics in Arunachal Pradesh |
| title_short | The old man by the waterfall: deep entanglements of culture, state-making and geopolitics in Arunachal Pradesh |
| title_sort | old man by the waterfall deep entanglements of culture state making and geopolitics in arunachal pradesh |
| topic | Northeast India Arunachal Pradesh tourism Himalayas infrastructure borderland |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ebhr/2407 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kaustubhdeka theoldmanbythewaterfalldeepentanglementsofculturestatemakingandgeopoliticsinarunachalpradesh AT kaustubhdeka oldmanbythewaterfalldeepentanglementsofculturestatemakingandgeopoliticsinarunachalpradesh |