If a shocked mother stared down from a framed snapshot of her dazed confusion to see her 12-year-old son shot dead in front of her own eyes, orphaned children looked askance from unmoving walls in wide-eyed bewilderment.
"The study was conducted to map the impact of the conflicts on local people in both states that revolved around campaigns for 'sovereignty' by various armed groups. The photographs displayed here are part of the reality I have tried to capture," Kausiki Sarma told TOI. The photographs were shot across the three districts of Kokrajhar, Dhemaji and Sivasagar in Assam and three districts in Nagaland, namely Peren, Kohima and Tuensang, she said.
"In the course of travels for this project we met many women whose lives have been changed irrevocably by decades of violence that gripped the states. Each family, each woman had stories of personal loss and bereavement, of physical and emotional trauma to narrate," Kausiki said.
Kausiki, who has been traveling all over the Northeast and photographing for several years now, expressed sorrow that the real tales of the victims of various insurgencies in the region are still not known to the outside world. "For many of the victims it was the first time anyone from another part of India visited their villages, sat with them and listened to their tales," said the native of Assam, who has been staying in Delhi after completing her Bachelors in statistics and Masters in operational research from the University of Delhi.
"These are stories that the world does not know and has never cared to know. I just make an attempt to make an honest portrayal of their stories through my lenses," Kausiki signed off.