Transnational Research Collectives as “Constellations of Co-Resistance”: Counterstorytelling, Interweaving Struggles, and Decolonial Love

Settler colonialism and coloniality dominate and dismember the truths, the bodies, and the lands of the colonized. Decolonization and decoloniality involve intergenerational, embodied, and emplaced pathways of resistance, rehumanization, healing, and transformation. In this article, we uplift the healing and transformative power of transnational stories and embodied knowledges that are rooted in four research collectives: the Palestinian Resilience Research Collective (PRRC) in the West Bank; the Mapuche Equipo Colaborativo para la Investigación de la Resiliencia (MECIR) in Chile; the Community Action Team (CAT) in Boston, USA; and the Miya Community Research Collective (MCRC) in Assam, Northeast India. We, the co-authors of this article, are directly connected to these four research collectives. Across our collectives, we work to defend the right to exist, to belong, and to express our full range of humanity as racialized and colonized communities in distinct, yet connected, sites of struggle. Our transnational focus of this article is premised on a fundamental rejection of borders, even as we recognize the material and psychosocial realities of borders. In co-writing this article, we bring decolonial solidarity into life through “constellations of co-resistance,” a concept used by Indigenous scholars such as Leanne Betasamosake Simpson to describe complex connective fabrics across decolonial struggles. We share our reflections on three practices of decolonial solidarity that shine through each of our transnational research collectives as three constellations of co-resistance: counterstorytelling, interweaving struggles, and decolonial love.

Summer monsoon low pressure systems over the Indian region and their relationship with the sub-divisional rainfall

In the present paper performance of the monthly sub-divisional summer monsoon rainfall is studied in association with the position of the Low Pressure System (LPS) over the Indian region. Existence of the LPS over a particular location increases the rainfall activities in certain parts of the country while decreases in some other parts. For this study, the Indian region (5°-35° N and 60° -100° E) is divided into 5° Lat. ´ 5° Long. grids. The duration of LPS is taken in terms of LPS days with respect to the location of LPS in a particular grid. Monthly total number of LPS days in each of the grids are computed during the summer monsoon season, June to September for the period 1891 – 1990. Maximum number of LPS days (more than half of the total) are observed in the latitude belt between 20°-25°N. The percentages of total LPS days in this area are higher in July and August which are peak monsoon months as compared to June and September. When there is a LPS are in the area 20°-25° N and 80°-90° E, there is significant increase in the rainfall activities in the sub-divisions along mean monsoon trough while northeast India and southeast peninsular India experience significant decrease in rainfall in the months of July and August. Owing to the movement of LPS from east to west through central India, most parts of the country, excluding northeast India and south peninsular India get good rainfall activity. Correlation coefficients between monthly LPS days over the different grids and monthly sub-divisional rainfall are computed to study the relationships. The performance of sub-divisional rainfall mostly related with the occurrence of LPS in certain grid- locations. The correlation field maps may give some useful information about rainfall performance due to LPS in a particular grid locations.

A structured additive modeling of diabetes and hypertension in Northeast India

Background Multiple factors are associated with the risk of diabetes and hypertension. In India, they vary widely even from one district to another. Therefore, strategies for controlling diabetes and hypertension should appropriately address local risk factors and take into account the specific causes of the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension at sub-population levels and in specific settings. This paper examines the demographic and socioeconomic risk factors as well as the spatial disparity of diabetes and hypertension among adults aged 15–49 years in Northeast India. Methods The study used data from the Indian Demographic Health Survey, which was conducted across the country between 2015 and 2016. All men and women between the ages of 15 and 49 years were tested for diabetes and hypertension as part of the survey. A Bayesian geo-additive model was used to determine the risk factors of diabetes and hypertension. Results The prevalence rates of diabetes and hypertension in Northeast India were, respectively, 6.38% and 16.21%. The prevalence was higher among males, urban residents, and those who were widowed/divorced/separated. The functional relationship between household wealth index and diabetes and hypertension was found to be an inverted U-shape. As the household wealth status increased, its effect on diabetes also increased. However, interestingly, the inverse was observed in the case of hypertension, that is, as the household wealth status increased, its effect on hypertension decreased. The unstructured spatial variation in diabetes was mainly due to the unobserved risk factors present within a district that were not related to the nearby districts, while for hypertension, the structured spatial variation was due to the unobserved factors that were related to the nearby districts. Conclusion Diabetes and hypertension control measures should consider both local and non-local factors that contribute to the spatial heterogeneity. More importance should be given to efforts aimed at evaluating district-specific factors in the prevalence of diabetes within a region.

Assam

Assam constitutes the region of northeast India bounded by the modern nations of Bangladesh and Bhutan, as well as by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Bangla, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Nagaland. Known in ancient sources as Prāgjyotiṣpūra (the “city of eastern lights”) and as Kāmarūpa (the “form” or “place of desire”), Assam remains one of the least studied and poorly understood areas of South Asian Hinduism. The home to more than forty recognized tribal communities, Assam has tremendous religious, ethnic, and linguistic diversity, which has helped shape the unique forms of Hinduism that have flourished in the region. Moreover, Assam also has a long reputation as a realm of magic, witchcraft, and the supernatural; for example, even in the early 21st century, the town of Mayong in Morigaon district is infamous as the quintessential “land of black magic.” The historical roots of Hinduism in Assam date back to at least the Varman dynasty of the 4th to 7th centuries, when Vedic sacrifices such as the aśvamedha and other Brahmanical rites were widespread. However, most of the kings of Assam from the Varmans onward came from non-Hindu tribal backgrounds, and the form of Hinduism that developed in the region has long been a complex negotiation between Sanskritic traditions and indigenous practices from the many local communities of the region. During the Assamese Pāla dynasty of the 8th to 12th centuries, Śākta traditions became dominant, and major texts such as the Kālikā Purāṇa were composed, praising the great mother goddess Kāmākhyā (goddess of desire) and her retinue of yoginīs. A unique form of Hindu tantra probably also began to flourish at this time, and Assam has a long reputation as one of the oldest heartlands or perhaps even the original homeland of tantra in South Asia. The Ahom kings of the 13th to 19th centuries continued the patronage of powerful goddesses while also building temples to Śiva, Viṣṇu, and others. During the 16th century, Assam like much of northern India witnessed a powerful revival of Vaiṣṇava bhakti, led by the devotional reformer Śaṅkaradeva (b. 1449–d. 1568). Through Śaṅkaradeva’s influence, Vaiṣṇavism remains a dominant cultural and religious force in Assam to this day. However, even in the 21st century, Assamese Hinduism remains incredibly diverse, and one can still see a wide range of indigenous, folk, and local practices that range from magic and menstruation festivals to spirit possession and ecstatic dance performances.