Dam as Estrangement: Collective Memory and Development Questions in the Tribal Resistance Against Hydropower Project in Tripura, Northeast India

The Government of India's developmental plans to transform its Northeastern region into a major hub for large-scale hydropower projects on nearly all its perennial rivers has incited significant Indigenous tribal resistance. Many of these resistances arise from the previous experiences of the dam and in response concerns were expressed that such new dam construction could further impact river ecosystems, the livelihoods, and the cultural heritage of Indigenous communities that are linked to their epistemologies. Using the lens of collective memory, this paper examines how past experiences of dam have coerced Indigenous tribes to resist the new dam construction, with a special focus on a newly proposed dam over the Haora (Saidra) River in Tripura-a last corner state of Northeast India.