Issues, Responses, and Consequences: An Analysis of Persistent Imbroglio in Manipur

Manipur, the land of jewel, is increasingly turning into the land of conflict zone. Various reasons are responsible for this transition. The complicated multidimensional issues, mostly violent in nature, that afflicts the land accounts for the land being distinct from other states in the region. Historically, the state has witnessed high level of violence, particularly armed insurrection and political violence directed, in equal measure against settlers, against different ethnic groups and the authorities, stemming mostly from ethnic and state subjugation. There has been a continuous engagement on the part of the state to address issues and crisis in the Northeast in general and Manipur in particular but it has remained unresolved till date. Using content analysis and historiography this paper analyses pertinent issues of boundary contestation, insurgency and ethnic identity, the nature of state’s response and its consequences.