Published Paper Details:

Resistance, Opposition, Hostility and Conflict are words strewn across the media constantly in the present times. There are many strife-torn regions across the globe, where war and bloodshed have been the norm since eons, with no respite in sight. The source of conflict could be religious, political, social or cultural but the base agenda for any ethnic group is to fight for hegemony over the rest. In this exercise for dominance amongst themselves or against the State, untold miseries have been borne by the masses, and yet they persist, trudging wearily and painstakingly, maimed and mutilated towards a Mirage of Peace and Realization, which keeps eluding them. There are horrendous tales of killings, deaths, abductions, disappearances, torture and rape which are poignantly chronicled in the literary works originating from these regions. These works are an engrossing source which recount the occurrences feebled by the passage of time. In India while delineating state borders after Independence, ethnic and cultural specificities were grossly overlooked which led to a lot of resentment and unrest. Almost all separatist or ethnic conflicts in a multi-cultural society is rooted in the issue of affirmation of the identity. The 'I' and 'We' against 'They' and 'Them', process of identity formation in one's culture and collective consciousness, asserts visibly how someone is different from another. But in most cases this activity of 'Othering', leads to abuse, misinterpretation of culture, aggressive nationalism and physical violence. Assertion of one's identity leads to legitimization of savagery in most cases. Nevertheless, the works of Art that emanate from these areas ought to be esteemed and preserved, for their historical and humanistic estimate. This paper is a brief compilation of works, from the erstwhile state of J&K and the Northeast, that reiterates that human trauma can be transcended and transmuted through works of Art. It could serve as a ray of hope and change from the labyrinthine darkness and disillusion that many of our fellow beings find themselves in by a bad twist of History and Geography.