As the Northeast approaches the bicentenary of the historic Treaty of Yandabo (1826), we begin a special podcast series exploring one of the most consequential yet often overlooked turning points in South Asian history.
In the inaugural episode, “The Treaty of Yandabo: The Turning Point That Reshaped Northeast India,” we are joined by two distinguished voices on the region’s history and politics - Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, senior journalist, author, and National Affairs Editor at The Wire, and Samrat Choudhury, journalist, author, and writer of Northeast India: A Political History.
Together, they unpack the dramatic events that led to the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826), the signing of the Treaty of Yandabo in a small village on the Irrawaddy River, and the far-reaching consequences that followed. The conversation examines how the treaty altered the political fate of Assam, Manipur, and the wider Northeast, transformed regional power dynamics, accelerated British colonial expansion, and laid the foundations of many geopolitical realities that continue to shape the region today.
From Burmese imperial ambitions and British strategic calculations to questions of borders, identity, memory, and colonial governance, this episode traces how a single treaty became a defining moment in the making of modern Northeast India. It also explores how the treaty is remembered differently across India, Myanmar, and Western historical narratives, and whether Yandabo represented a diplomatic settlement or merely the first step in a larger imperial project.
As we mark 200 years of the Treaty of Yandabo, this special series aims to revisit its legacy through multiple perspectives. In the coming weeks, we will feature leading historians, journalists, researchers, and subject experts discussing the political, cultural, legal, military, and international dimensions of the treaty that reshaped an entire region.
Join us as we revisit 1826 and uncover why the Treaty of Yandabo remains central to understanding the history, borders, and identities of Northeast India today.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the podcast are those of the individual podcasters. Listener discretion is advised.
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