Neoliberal Urbanisation& Its Impact on the Tribal Population in Guwahati City: A Critical Analysis

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-561-4_21How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Neoliberalisation; Tribal Population; Guwahati; Indigenous

Abstract

The term ‘neoliberalisation’ refers to a dominant political and economic ideology that advocates free trade, deregulation, globalisation and a reduction in government spending, which has existed globally over the last four to five decades and is widely prevalent in academic and political debates. The policy emphasises the laissez-faire school of economics, which prescribes minimal government intervention in economic matters and emphasises the role of privatisation to the greatest extent. The policy began gradually in Assam after the Government of India adopted the New Economic Reform Policy (NEP) in the post-1990s period. Over recent decades, Guwahati has transitioned from a predominantly tribal settlement to a rapidly urbanising regional hub, driven by market-oriented policies, infrastructural development and private-sector involvement, which highlights the rapid implementation of neoliberalisation in the city. Such ongoing transformations of the 21st century have led to significant socio-economic and cultural shifts. This study critically examines the effects of neoliberal urbanisation on the tribal communities in Guwahati, Assam. The study also looks into the impact of neoliberal urbanisation on the tribal groups by focusing the ratio of displacement, land alienation, cultural erosion and livelihood disruptions. It reflects the interplay of state and market forces driving these ongoing changes and combines theoretical frameworks with empirical data to understand how urbanisation intensifies social inequalities and endangers indigenous communities of the city.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Ritwik Rupam Sarma
AU  - Sourav Deuri
AU  - Bandana Chowdhury
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/04/23
TI  - Neoliberal Urbanisation& Its Impact on the Tribal Population in Guwahati City: A Critical Analysis
BT  - Proceedings of the Indo-Bhutan Social Science Conference 2025 (IBSSC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 230
EP  - 238
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-561-4_21
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-561-4_21
ID  - Sarma2026
ER  -