About the Institute

The Gauhati University Institute of North East India Studies was established in 2010 as a dedicated institutional site for the comprehensive study of all aspects of North East India. Its beginnings however go slightly further back to the late 1990s when the building in which it is now housed was donated by the noted historian of Assam, Professor H.K. Barpujari. It is set in a small compound at one end of the GU Campus and is -partially surrounded by a fish - laden water body that attracts kingfishers, and a variety of local and migratory water birds. The three - tier building is a quaint location for small conferences and seminars and has been used for such activities on many occasions.

It is appropriate that the Institute should have the spirit of Professor Barpujari presiding over it (a bronze bust of the eminent scholar graces the entrance to the building). The magisterial 5-volume Comprehensive History of Assamedited by him is a starting point for researchers and aspiring scholars of the region, even as the intellectual rigor and tenacious, painstaking research that he represented in all his historical writings stand as an example to those who would study the NE. The Institute periodically organizes the H.K. Barpujari Memorial Lecture to keep alive the spirit of his scholarship.

A historical perspective is essential to all work undertaken within the interdisciplinary field of North East India Studies. As the study of North East India develops, equally important are the basic tools to explore the pre-colonial and colonial archives, examine objects and their representation, understand geographical, political and economic nuances of lives lived together and in difference, and to respond adequately to environmental crises in the light of indigenous practices and knowledge systems. All of this requires familiarity with the past so that the present is adequately comprehended and the future planned for.

The Institute began with the stated aim of “studying language, culture, communication, and society etc. with an interdisciplinary approach”. Over the period of its existence and with the mandate of Area Studies expressly suggested in the Review Committee Report, the activities of the Institute have diversified to include the study of Northeast India from the perspective of various disciplines. This will be evident in the content of the lectures delivered, the multidisciplinary faculty associated with the Institute, its briefly running MPhil Program, and in the diversity within the contents of its flagship journal. The region and its complexity demand inputs from many disciplines. This was clearly in evidence during the coursework for the MPhil program. Though this course was run only for one batch, courses were taught by faculty from several Social Science, Science and Humanities departments. This collaborative model, drawing on the University’s own rich human resources is still usable for a possible PhD programme in the future.