In this episode, anthropologist Dr. Dolly Kikon talks to us about why the 2020 Baghjan crisis in Assam is a global issue, the exploitative politics of resource extraction in the Northeast, and why development often excludes local communities.

‘In Perspective’ is our podcast series where academics reveal little-known facts about Indian history, society and culture.

Notes:

1:25- Natural resource extraction projects and their impact on social relations in a region

6:48- The 2020 Baghjan gas blowout and oil and gas developments in Assam  

13:12- Oil and natural gas extraction in Assam and how it is exclusionary of the local communities

19:33- The politics of coal mining in Nagaland and Meghalaya

26:07- The role that militarisation plays in resource extraction and how it affects the mobility of people and resources differently