Conflict and communication in everyday life: An exploration of intercommunity conflict in Assam, India

Abstract

Ethnic conflicts have proved to be inherently dangerous and repressive across the globe. While this signification cannot be negated, a deeper articulation of liminal existences in the conflict‐prone areas requires more attention. Using case studies with a qualitative research design, the paper emphasizes on conflict as a social force, facilitating the (re)structuration of communities entangled within it. The paper explores the mundane lived experiences of the Adivasis and the Bodos, two of the ethnic communities living in Assam, a Northeastern state of India, by making a few claims. First, ethnic conflicts reorient social relations, intercommunity interactions and economic exchanges between the Adivasis and Bodos. Second, ethnic conflicts recourse varied negotiations and emotions in their being(ness), aspirational values, and embodied meanings in mundane life‐processes. The complex realization of identities for the Adivasis and the Bodos is fostered by the exposure of fear, past loss of life, and the varied interactions between victims and perpetrators in everyday social life.