Abstract

The study tries to highlight the construction process of the Garo community's ethnic identity and the way the people of Garo communities represent themselves in the changing world. It also emphasized the reasons behind their perception and representation, whether their identity persists or changes over time. The study was conducted in the Aronkhola Union of the Modhupur Upazila of Tangail District of Bangladesh. A stratified random sampling technique selected the 75 respondents from the study area. A mixed method approach was followed to complete the study, and semi-structured interviews, KII, IDI, and FGDs were the data collection methods. The significant findings were that the perception of identity and representation of the Garo communities was historically constructed and linked with the historical subjugation, discrimination, and marginalization processes. The construction of ethnogenesis is deeply rooted in the exclusion processes, where dominant culture pushes them to formulate such an identity that helped them to counter the existing prejudices and stereotyped images where Garo was invisible. The Garo communities also emphasized the need for integration and interaction with the larger society to represent themselves in the way they want. As a result, their societal aspects have changed rapidly in the last three decades, shaping their perception and representation of themselves on a larger scale. Today, the Garo communities simultaneously prefer individual identity, which was constructed in recent times through individual efforts, and group identity, which was constructed through ethnic boundaries over history.

Keywords

Ethnic identity, Ethnogenesis, Ethnic Boundary, Exclusion, Representation,