India, July 30 -- In 2023, ethnic violence erupted between the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zo tribal community in Manipur. Since then, nearly 60,000 people have been internally displaced and 7894 homes have been destroyed. Despite the loss of lives and repeated violence, not enough attention has been paid to the issue. Such apathy is often attributed to the lack of connection between the North-Eastern states and "mainland" India. At such moments, it is fiction that can cross the borders of indifference and this is exactly what Jim Wungramyao Kasom's The Last Free Naga, a collection of 12 short stories, does.

Set in Manipur in the 1990s, these stories describe the lives of Tangkhul Nagas living in remote villages. Back then, every parent wanted ...