1st Edition

Empire’s Backyard Colonial Modernity and Northeast India

By Kailash Baral Copyright 2026
258 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge India

258 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge India

This book transcends traditional historical analysis to explore the intricate tapestry of colonialism, modernity, and identity formation in Northeast India. Moving beyond a simplistic view of the region as the British Empire’s ‘backyard,’ it examines the transformative processes that turned Northeast India beyond Sylhet, the empire’s eastern outpost, into a vibrant frontier. While recognizing the... Read more

Acknowledgements

Introduction

1.      Empire’s Backyard: The Northeast Frontier and Beyond

2.      Modernity: A Contrapuntal Reading

3.      Coloniality, Modernity, and India

4.      The Missionaries and the Civilizing Mission

5.      Colonial Modernity and Northeast India

Conclusion

References

Index

Biography

Kailash C. Baral is former Professor of English and India Studies at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, where he also held the position of the Pro-Vice Chancellor. He served at the North-Eastern Hill University and was also the Director of the Shillong Campus of the EFL University. His recent works include Cultural Forms and Practices in Northeast India (2023) and Theory after Derrida: Essays in Praxis (2018). His research has been published widely in journals such as Pedagogy: Critical Approaches to Teaching Literature, Language, Composition, and Culture, International Journal of Baudrillard Studies and South Asian Review, among others. His research interests include critical theory, India studies, and Northeast India studies.