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PM Modi’s Manipur Visit: Peacebuilding Beyond Optics
Context: Prime Minister recently made his first visit to Manipur after the ethnic violence erupted in 2023, emphasised peace, unity, and development, calling Manipur the “crown jewel of India.” He laid foundation stones and inaugurated multiple development projects worth over ₹8,500 crore.
What initiatives have been taken for peacebuilding in Manipur?
- Symbolic Outreach: Prime Minister’s visit to Churachandpur (Kuki-Zo dominated) and Kangla Fort, Imphal (Meitei dominated) was designed to bridge ethnic divides. In Imphal, he invoked Operation Sindoor and remembered martyr Deepak Chingakham, signalling respect for Meitei sacrifices. He also acknowledged Ima Keithel, Asia’s oldest women-run marketplace, highlighting women’s agency in social healing.
- Development as Confidence-Building: Modi announced projects worth ₹8,500 crore, including super-specialty healthcare, hostels for working women, and IT infrastructure in hill areas—long considered neglected.
- Security and Governance Measures:
- President’s Rule (Feb 2025) helped contain violence with impartial security deployment.
- Renewal of Suspension of Operations (SoO) Agreement with Kuki-Zo armed groups facilitated camp relocation and opened dialogue channels.
- Measures like border fencing, biometrics, and review of the Free Movement Regime were announced to address illegal immigration concerns.
- Institutional Mediation: Governor Ajay Bhalla stressed dialogue, inclusive governance, and prevention of illegal settlement, framing reconciliation as a state priority.
Background of Manipur Violence
- May 3, 2023 – Outbreak of Ethnic Violence
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- Trigger: Manipur High Court’s directive on considering Meitei ST demand, opposed by Kuki-Zo and Nagas fearing land loss.
- Impact: ~300 killed, 60,000 displaced (MHA, 2025); villages abandoned, thousands still in relief camps.
- Historical Context
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- Colonial Divide: British-era valley–hill segregation under ILP fostered mistrust.
- 1992–98 Naga–Kuki conflict: Over 1,000 deaths, 100,000 displaced.
- Recurring demands — Meitei ST status, Kuki autonomy, Naga integration — create overlapping claims.
- Structural Drivers
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- Political imbalance: 40 of 60 Assembly seats lie in Meitei-dominated valley.
- Land & identity tensions: Hills (90% area) reserved for tribes; Meiteis confined to 10% valley.
- Resource factor: Coal, limestone, hydrocarbons in hills sharpen competition.
- Militarisation: Groups like Arambai Tenggol (Meitei) and Kuki militias escalate violence.
- Strategic Importance
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- Geopolitical location: Shares ~400-km border with Myanmar.
- Act East Policy: Stability vital for India–Myanmar–Thailand Highway and Kaladan Project.
- Security risks: Cross-border militancy, narco-trafficking, and illegal migration.
- Developmental stakes: Economic Survey 2024–25 stresses peace as prerequisite for Northeast’s integration into global value chains.
What challenges remain, and why?
- Justice Deficit: Survivors and displaced families—over 60,000 still in relief camps—seek accountability for killings and sexual violence. The absence of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, unlike models in South Africa, has left wounds unaddressed.
- Developmental Bias: Historically, valley areas received disproportionate funds (Down to Earth, 2024). Without equitable distribution, new projects may deepen resentment in tribal hills.
- Representation, Identity and Land: Contention over disproportionate seat allocation, Meitei ST demand and forest eviction drives continues to inflame tribal insecurities.
- Trust Deficit in Governance: PM’s emphasis on optics without a clear political roadmap risks alienating both sides. Peace cannot rest only on infrastructure; it needs acknowledgment of pain and justice.
The Economic Survey (2024-25) underlines that peace in conflict-prone regions requires a trinity of peace, development, and trust. Development can be a catalyst, but without justice and trust-building, it risks becoming—as economist Wolfgang Sachs notes—“a myth which comforts societies.”
