Ethnic inequality in the Northeastern Indian borderlands : social structures and symbolic violence / Anita Lama.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Theory of symbolic violence -- Integration of Limbus in precolonial Sikkim -- Integration of Limbus in colonial Sikkim -- Integration of Limbus in postcolonial Sikkim -- Limbu as a scheduled tribe in contemporary Sikkim -- Configurations of symbolic violence in Sikkim, Darjeeling and Nepal.

"This book analyses the relationship between symbolic violence, inequality and ethnicity and addresses the question of unequal integration of small ethnic groups into state structures by using the Limbus of the Northeastern Indian Borderlands as a case study. Using Pierre Bourdieu's concept of symbolic violence, the author argues that Limbus' ethnicization has been associated with the devaluation of their cultural identity, which was first constructed and naturalized by the same process of ethnicization. The book is a pioneering work in terms of application of Bourdieu's sociology to Northeast India and the theoretical interpretation of ethnic inequality in Northeast India. Moreover, the book broadens readers' overall understanding of the constant structural identity of symbolic violence and its varying manifestations. Exploring the symbolic dimensions of power relations within state structures, this book will be of interest to a wide readership from various disciplines including area studies, global studies, comparative studies, borderland studies, inequality studies, sociology, anthropology and political science"-- Provided by publisher.