Documents / FOIA release
This Central Intelligence Agency conference report, dated October 1995, contains the proceedings of a conference on ethnic conflict held 30 September to 1 October 1993. The CIA's Geographic Resources Division sponsored it. Academic geographers, anthropologists and US Government officials presented papers on ethnic and territorial conflict in Eastern Europe, Western Europe, the former Soviet Union, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and South Asia. They also discussed what these conflicts mean for US policy. The document contains no UFO material.
“Nevers”25 pages
C00 123268 able to construct a regional sense of ethnicity cannot The role of caste in the postindependence period has readily be determined, but none of these attempts to changed considerably. In the past, power at the local achieve a separate state succeeded. level was typically shared by the dominant landhold- ing group and the ritually supreme Brahmans. Each Another outcome of states reorganization was the group legitimized the role of the other in its appropri- escalation of what have been called "nativistic" move- ate sphere. With the coming of democracy, however, ments. In such movements the dominant linguistic numbers, rather than ritual ascendancy or other claims group of a particular state, styling themselves as "sons to elite status, became increasingly important determi- of the soil," sought, by a combination of legal mea- nants of power. Throughout India, at all levels of gov- sures, intimidation, and violence, to limit the opportu- ernment and across the political spectrum, parties nities of immigrant groupsfrom other states-and appealed to particular types of caste constituencies to sometimes of indigenous Muslims as well-and, in gain support. Local magnates-believed to control some instances, to create legal obstacles to their settle- large "vote banks" of their caste followers-offered ment. The strongest of these movements were in their support to specific parties in return for a place on Asamn h rngsta. vthe ballot. Single castes rarely composed an absolute Assam and Maharashtra. majority of the electorate; alliances among various Tribal and Caste-Based Ethnicity caste groups were therefore common. A number of tribal groups who aspired either to state- hood within the Indian union or to full independence Anti-Brahmanisnhad become a potent political force were disregarded in the initial phase of the linguistic in some regions even in the preindependence period. reorganization. In the mineral-rich Chhota Nagpur, in The appeal of Charan Singh to a wide spectrum of the northeast of peninsular India, tribals had estab- middle-level peasant castes over much of the Hindi- lished a forerunner of the present-day JharkhandParty speaking area of India was a key factor in catapulting as early as 1939. The party has campaigned intermit- the of emergencyto power in tiated following Gndhi in tently for a tribal state since the parliamentary elec- period eerenfor initiatena n hi n tions of 1957. Other groups, most notably the Nagas 1975. The desire for empowerment among middle- and later the Mizos along India's northeastern borders, level groups found expression during the period of resorted to armed rebellion. Many among these fron- Janata rule in the creation of the Mandal Commission, tier tribals were Christians, almost all spoke languages which drew up a report in 1982 suggesting a new set unrelated to the major languages of the states in which of quotas for te imily to sose the they lived, and very few had reason to feel a deep Backwardons stuiol guaranteed to Scheduled Castes sense of loyalty to IndChristian groups as well as by Pai- and Scheduled Tribes. Although the Janata Party did stan and China, all of which provided them with moral not remain in power long enough to implement the and/or material support. provisions of the Commission's report, the decision to do so by a new National Front government in 1990 The Indian Government's attitude in dealing with touched off a wave of violent protest over large parts tribal demands was generally less conciliatory than it of India and contributed to the government's collapse was in respect to other ethnic groups. Ultimately, shortly thereafter. however, through a combination of military suppres- sion, co-optation of compliant leaders, and other tac- Below the OBCs in India's social hierarchy are the tics, accommodations were reached with elements of Scheduled Castes, formerly untouchables, who con- each of the rebellious frontier groups, and many new, pose rough le for equality before the lwpouation tribally dominated administrative units-either uno heirnstre foequbytaitionally sueriwanorgop a territories or fullfiedged states-were established. The humane treatment by traditionally supe much more numerous, but also more pacific, tribal groups, however, continue to find their political aspi- rations frustrated. 138
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 205 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.