Light and Shadow: How Women Remember the Nellie Massacre

This paper addresses the present and absent voices of women in narrating the story of the Nellie Massacre in Assam in 1983. The women carry the stories of their violent past while dealing with and responding to the changing political landscape of Assam. This paper attempts to visibilize these stories, and in turn, add different layers to our understanding of the violent event. The women addressing such events often display different dispositions — sometimes they are animated and willing to communicate, and at other times, they are reluctant to reveal too much to inquisitive strangers. Sometimes, they speak together in a group trying to find their space in the discourse while building solidarity through remembering collectively. This paper hopes to build on the existing narratives of the massacre while focusing on the specific impact on gender during violence wrought against the idea of identity and belonging.