War Residues

War Residues will explore how memories of the Second World War continue to circulate through everyday objects and oral histories in the highland borderlands of Nagaland and Myanmar. Often described as a "Forgotten War," WWII profoundly shaped Naga communities along the India–Myanmar borderlands, yet their perspectives remain largely absent from dominant historical narratives.

The project will focus on wartime objects—such as aircraft debris, weapons, and tools, that were repurposed by local communities for everyday use after the war. These objects, along with oral histories preserved in local Naga languages, are expected to reveal forms of agency, creativity, and negotiation that challenge Euro-American portrayals of the region as passive or peripheral.

Fieldwork will be conducted in border districts including Noklak, Meluri, and Kiphire, documenting endangered oral histories and artefacts from a rapidly disappearing generation of war witnesses. The project will also examine the emergence of village based war museums and grassroots heritage initiatives, situating them within broader debates on memory, nationalism, tourism, and globalization.

Using an interdisciplinary and multimodal approach: combining ethnography, oral history, object-based research, photography, illustrations and other creative methods, the project aims to reframe WWII from the perspective of marginalized border communities. Planned outcomes include an illustrated booklet, academic publications, and public workshops hosted by the Highland Institute.