Page No 304-314 Temsusenla Jamir
Dimapur Government College, Dimapur, Nagaland)
The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Naga Adolescents with
regard to internal migration and to investigate their understanding of ethnic identity. A
qualitative research paradigm was followed to explore the topic of research and a semi
structured in-depth interview with the Naga adolescents was conducted primarily to
collect the data and to gain a detailed picture of the participant’s experience. Eight
Naga adolescents, 4 were males and 4 were females aged 18-25 constituted the
participants of the study. The sample for the study was selected through purposive
sampling and the data was collected from the Bengaluru metropolis. Thematic Analysis
was used as a method for data analysis since it provided a flexible and useful research
tool, which could potentially provide a rich and detailed, yet complex, account of data.
The global themes that resulted from the analyses of the data collected from the
participants included: Conceptualization of Ethnic Identity; Internal Migration, Transition
and Recontextualization of Ethnic Identity; and the Redefinition and Strengthening of
One’s Ethnic Identity. The findings of the study are consistent with previous studies
which show close relationship between internal migration and ethnic identity. Findings
indicate that the participants have conceptualized their ethnic identity through age,
experience and exposure to a new cultural context and ethnic identity development is
a developmental process. The study reveals that internal migration in itself was
associated with a heightened sense of ethnic identity. Limitations and implications for
future research are discussed