Analysing the intersection between Power, Identity and Accountability in Assam; A case study of Dvoters

Abstract (English)

Power and Identity are complex terms when they meet, they do not hold anyone accountable, as can be assessed through few D Voter cases. According to Max Weber, Power is the ability to exercise one's will over others whereas, accountability is an obligation to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions, which is very difficult, as no one wants to be held accountable for their actions if they bring bad image to them. Through this paper, we will try to understand how the power dynamics restrain leaders and politicians from working towards the people sharing the same religious identity and there is no one to hold them accountable. The objective of this paper is to throw light on the intersection of power, identity and accountability in Assam through a study of D voter cases which proves very essential concerning Migration and Citizenship in Assam in particular and National Security in general. We will examine the process of marking anyone as 'D voter' and what are the challenges faced by them. Existing research on Dvoters have largely overlooked the political, social and economic aspect of D voters. This is a ethnographic research paper which tries to bridge the gap in the existing research, which has primarily focused on the political and legal aspects of D voters. D voter tag can be seen as a political tag but it impacts every aspect of a D voter lives as they are denied of all the social, economic as well as political rights.