Internal Colonisation and Indigenous Resilience: Reading Temsula Ao's "The Jungle Major"

Author(s)	Ms. V. A. Charulatha, Dr. P. Karkuzhali
Country	India
Abstract	Nagaland is one of the North-Eastern states with its unique indigenous culture and tradition. Indigenous people of this land were used to an autonomous life. The encroachment of outsiders like the British and Japanese since 1832 has fettered the land. Though the British and Japanese have left Nagaland, it is now overpowered by the Indian government. Hence, Nagaland is caught in the mire of the Indo-Naga conflict. The Indian government is exerting its autocratic power over the Nagas, while the Nagas resist the power and are fighting for autonomy. This colonisation by the Indians, which is termed 'Internal Colonization', has torn Nagaland apart, leading to violence, loss of ethnic identity and peace. Temsula Ao, a Naga writer, brings out the impact of internal colonisation on Nagaland in her short story titled ‘The Jungle Major’ extracted from her short story collection ‘These Hills Called Home’. This article proposes to bring out the impact of colonisation on Nagaland and the resistance of the Nagas. It focuses on the resilience of the Nagas and their assertion of indigenous identity as depicted in ‘The Jungle Major’ by Temsula Ao.
Keywords	Internal colonisation, Autonomy, Violence, Oppression, Resistance, Identity
Field	Arts
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 1, January-February 2026
Published On	2026-02-21
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i01.69509

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