The judge's words still sometimes echo in her mind, even years after Juthamat Srihatthapadungkit observed the trial against a group of community rights defenders in northeastern Thailand. "What do you know about anything? Do you even have a fourth grade education?" the judge's voice thundered across the courtroom. The incident shook the young law student, leaving her with a nagging doubt about Thailand's justice system. She began questioning her dream of becoming one of the country's few female judges, an ambition she had worked hard for. But it also opened up a new path for her. 

Dressed in colourful traditional garb, the village's female elders gather around a young woman as two large cameras begin recording. In a soft but firm voice, 18-year-old Pornchita Fahpratanprai explains why they are standing up against a coal mine threatening their peaceful community in the mountains of northern Thailand.

India’s northeast has had a chequered history of youth movements and has been home to some of the recent strong pro-democracy movements in the country. Being young in India’s northeast necessitates acts of social interventions of various kinds. In this conversation, Dr. Kaustubh Deka and Dr. Soibam Haripriya reflect on the locality of youth movements and the long history of the culture of protest in the region, as well as its larger resonance.