Birth of a Nation and Lost Identities

When borders are created then question of legality and illegality arises. With the change in destinations a struggle to prove one's identity and nationality begins. This problem is more visible in case of migrant communities, gets multiplied when there is an intra-religion divide and then identity becomes a critical subject. The assimilation of different ethnic groups and the perceived threat of the earlier inhabitants have culminated into the critical issues of identity and citizenship in the state. This paper talks about the issue of migration and identity crisis of a minority community in Assam, which has been assimilating people from diverse ethnic, cultural and linguistic groups who migrated to this region over a period of time. However, for past two decades a large chunk of non-Assamese population of East Bengal origin has moved out of Assam and has taken different occupations to support their livelihood. The paper ends with a suggestion that the areas of commonality cutting across the ethnic boundaries need to be strengthened instead of focusing on the singularity of communal identity.