ROLE OF PAITE ELITES IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
PAITE AND ZOMI IDENTITIES IN MANIPUR
Thesis Submitted for the Degree of
Thesis Submitted for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy to
North-Eastern Hill University
Department of Political Science
School of Social Sciences
Shillong, India
Dedicated to
(L) S. Vungzagin Ngaihte
My Father
--------------------
Declaration
October 28, 2010
I, S Thianlalmuan Ngaihte, hereby declare that the subject matter of this thesis is the record of the work done by me. The contents of this thesis did not form basis of the award of any previous degree to me or to the best of my knowledge to anybody else, and that the thesis has not been submitted by me for any research degree in any other University / Institute.
This is being submitted to the North-Eastern Hill University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science.
This is being submitted to the North-Eastern Hill University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science.
Thianlalmuan Ngaihte
Author
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PREFACE
A number of people have helped me in completing this thesis. I sincerely acknowledge their cooperation, and valuable advice and express my deep appreciation to all of them. At the outset, I express my gratitude to Dr. H Srikanth, my PhD research supervisor, who guided me at every stage of my research work. His critical but constructive inputs and advice has greatly enriched my understanding of the subject matter and improved the quality of my arguments. I thankfully acknowledged my indebtedness to him and also to his wife Dr. Mala Ranganathan, Department of English, NEHU.
I also express my sincere gratitude to Professor B J Deb, Head of the department of Political Science and other teachers of the department for the help and valuable suggestions I have received from them. I am also thankful to the non-teaching staff of the department of Political Science for their assistance in all official matters relating to the research.
I am very much obliged to the Paite-Zomi leaders and elites for their kind cooperation during the course of my fieldwork. They took keen interest in my work and sincerely responded to the questionnaires and interviews administered to them, thereby providing much needed information and feedback necessary for the study. My special thanks also go to Pu H. Chin Khenthang IAS (Retd.) and Dr. N. Pauzakhup for their help in translating Paite (Zokam) vernacular songs and lyrics to English.
I benefited from the discussions and interactions that I had with my friends and research fellows viz. Dr. Mhathung Yanthung, Dr. Haans J Freddy, Lalmalsawma Khiangte, Thangkhanlal Ngaihte, Lianthangsang Guite, Miss Liankhoman to mention a few. Some of them even allowed me to use their computers and other necessary things before I could buy my own.
I also express my deep sense of gratitude to Professor Niklesh Kumar, the then Head of the Department of Sociology, NEHU whose help I sought in the initial years of my research work. I extend my thanks to the Librarian and other staff members of NEHU and Manipur University Libraries for helping me in locating important books. Also to the office staff of SSPP, PTC and other Paite organizations for giving me access to their files and documents. And to C J Thomas, Acting Director, ICSSR NERC, Shillong and his team for providing platform to share my views and ideas with fellow researchers and other academicians from the northeast and other parts of India. Without such help, my research work would not have reached its final destination.
I would not be able to bear the expenses of my work if I had not received financial assistance from Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and University Grants Commission (UGC). The centrally administered doctoral fellowship awarded to me by ICSSR, New Delhi; Contingency Grant from ICSSR NERC; and the UGC’s Rajiv Gandhi National Junior Research Fellowship have greatly made my work much easier to handle the financial expenditure. I declare my heartfelt thanks to ICSSR and UGC for enabling me to work on the thesis without bothering about financial matters.
I am also grateful to my mother (Thiankhongai Ngaihte), brother (S Kam Khan Mung). A very special note of appreciation is also due to my wife (Rosemary Mannemkim) and my two daughters (Chinghuaisiam and Ngainunnem). My father S. Vungzagin Ngaihte, who taught me to pursue knowledge and encouraged me to take up research work, is always a source of my strength. Even though he was really eager to see his son complete his research work, he left me on March 01, 2006.
Finally, I give glory to the Almighty God for the accomplishment that I have achieved, one significant milestone in my life.
I also express my sincere gratitude to Professor B J Deb, Head of the department of Political Science and other teachers of the department for the help and valuable suggestions I have received from them. I am also thankful to the non-teaching staff of the department of Political Science for their assistance in all official matters relating to the research.
I am very much obliged to the Paite-Zomi leaders and elites for their kind cooperation during the course of my fieldwork. They took keen interest in my work and sincerely responded to the questionnaires and interviews administered to them, thereby providing much needed information and feedback necessary for the study. My special thanks also go to Pu H. Chin Khenthang IAS (Retd.) and Dr. N. Pauzakhup for their help in translating Paite (Zokam) vernacular songs and lyrics to English.
I benefited from the discussions and interactions that I had with my friends and research fellows viz. Dr. Mhathung Yanthung, Dr. Haans J Freddy, Lalmalsawma Khiangte, Thangkhanlal Ngaihte, Lianthangsang Guite, Miss Liankhoman to mention a few. Some of them even allowed me to use their computers and other necessary things before I could buy my own.
I also express my deep sense of gratitude to Professor Niklesh Kumar, the then Head of the Department of Sociology, NEHU whose help I sought in the initial years of my research work. I extend my thanks to the Librarian and other staff members of NEHU and Manipur University Libraries for helping me in locating important books. Also to the office staff of SSPP, PTC and other Paite organizations for giving me access to their files and documents. And to C J Thomas, Acting Director, ICSSR NERC, Shillong and his team for providing platform to share my views and ideas with fellow researchers and other academicians from the northeast and other parts of India. Without such help, my research work would not have reached its final destination.
I would not be able to bear the expenses of my work if I had not received financial assistance from Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and University Grants Commission (UGC). The centrally administered doctoral fellowship awarded to me by ICSSR, New Delhi; Contingency Grant from ICSSR NERC; and the UGC’s Rajiv Gandhi National Junior Research Fellowship have greatly made my work much easier to handle the financial expenditure. I declare my heartfelt thanks to ICSSR and UGC for enabling me to work on the thesis without bothering about financial matters.
I am also grateful to my mother (Thiankhongai Ngaihte), brother (S Kam Khan Mung). A very special note of appreciation is also due to my wife (Rosemary Mannemkim) and my two daughters (Chinghuaisiam and Ngainunnem). My father S. Vungzagin Ngaihte, who taught me to pursue knowledge and encouraged me to take up research work, is always a source of my strength. Even though he was really eager to see his son complete his research work, he left me on March 01, 2006.
Finally, I give glory to the Almighty God for the accomplishment that I have achieved, one significant milestone in my life.
