Leaving the Militarized Frontier: Migration and Tribal Masculinity in Delhi

Citation:

McDuie-Ra, Duncan. 2012. "Leaving the Militarized Frontier: Migration and Tribal Masculinity in Delhi" Men and Masculinities 15(2): 112-131.

Author: Duncan McDuie-Ra

Abstract:

In this article, the author examines the challenges to masculinity prompted by migration from the Northeast frontier of India to the capital city Delhi. Northeast India has been characterized by insurgency, counterinsurgency, and ethnonationalism since Indian Independence in 1947. In this militarized environment, masculinity has been shaped by historical constructions of a warrior past fused with contemporary constructions based on ethno-nationalism and armed struggle. A dramatic increase in migration out of the region by young men and women to the urban centers of India to work in the retail and call center industries poses a major challenge as it ruptures the masculine norms of home. In response, men attempt to enforce these masculine norms with varied results. At the same time, new expressions of masculinity are evolving alongside conventional expressions demonstrating the fluidity of masculinity even among men from a region where masculine norms appear rigid.

Keywords: masculinity, migration, northeast india, militarization, tribals

Topics: Armed Conflict, Displacement & Migration, Migration, Gender, Men, Masculinity/ies Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: India

Year: 2012

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