The ‘NEO Literature’ of North East India

Abstract

The advent of North East Indian writing in English has become proficient since the last couple of decades, leading to an immense interest in the literature published by the authors of this region. This region is rich in diversity with different tribes and their oral traditions. However, the economic backwardness, poverty, insurgency, freedom struggle, identity crisis, and army atrocities have added to the feeling of isolation and cultural segregation among the inhabitants. The 21st century writers of the north-east, through their literature, have expressed the emotions and strife’s faced by the previous generations. There is no single definition or term that can be used which can encompass the literature written by the authors belonging to the North East region of India. This paper is an attempt to identify the distinctiveness of the north-east Indian literature, primarily written in English, by encompassing it in the term ‘NEOLiterature’, to celebrate their uniqueness. The methodology followed in achieving this objective is the application of the cultural race theories, and the Black Aesthetic Movement of the United States, in identifying elements through the select works of North-East Indian writers such as, Dhruba Hazarika, Mamang Dae, Aruni Kashyap, Easterine Kire, Janice Pariat, Janhavi Baruha, Temsung Ao and Moushumi Kandali. The term NEO Literature represents the ‘North East Origin’ Literature. The term encompasses the dominant trends observed in the 21st century writers who are originally from the states of north east of India and have primarily written in English.