<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Manipur on Saturday came too late and did too little to address the problems of conflict, unrest and distrust that have wracked the state for more than two years. A prime minister’s visit does not always offer solutions. </p><p>But this one did not offer even an intimation of a solution. Modi visited the state 864 days after trouble erupted in May 2023, and there is no explanation why he did not go to the state where some 250 people were killed and 60,000 were displaced from their homes. He has made only scanty mention of the state in his speeches in these months. </p><p>On Saturday, he talked of building a bridge of trust between two polarised regions of the state. He tried to lay a road map for the future but the road is not clear and it is not known what it is paved with. </p>.<p>Modi addressed meetings in Kuki-dominated Churachandpur in the hills and the Meitei stronghold of Imphal in the plains. He said peace was the only way forward and that his government would continue to work to restore normalcy. He inaugurated development projects worth Rs 7,300 crore in the hill districts. In his speech in Imphal, he said the violence in the state was unfortunate, and inaugurated projects worth Rs 1,200 crore. </p><p>The unrest in Manipur was not about development though it could have indirectly worked as a factor behind the Meitei demand for reservation, from where the whole trouble began. </p><p>The present phase of confrontation and violence started with Kuki protests against a court decision to grant reservation to the Meiteis. But the problem has now acquired other dimensions which cannot not be solved with the offer of development projects. </p>.<p>The government had announced two agreements—one about revival of a Suspension of Operations (SoO) with rebel groups and the other about free movement on the arterial NH 02. These were to be presented as progress in the process of reconciliation but both collapsed because there was no all-round support for them. </p><p>For the peace process to make any headway, all parties have to be engaged and involved in a broad framework of democratic discourse. This has not happened in Manipur. There was disappointment among the people from both sides over Modi’s visit as it did not seem to further the process of peace and normalcy in the state. The rival sides in Manipur still stick to their hardline positions and that is a sign of the lack of progress in moving forward.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Manipur on Saturday came too late and did too little to address the problems of conflict, unrest and distrust that have wracked the state for more than two years. A prime minister’s visit does not always offer solutions. </p><p>But this one did not offer even an intimation of a solution. Modi visited the state 864 days after trouble erupted in May 2023, and there is no explanation why he did not go to the state where some 250 people were killed and 60,000 were displaced from their homes. He has made only scanty mention of the state in his speeches in these months. </p><p>On Saturday, he talked of building a bridge of trust between two polarised regions of the state. He tried to lay a road map for the future but the road is not clear and it is not known what it is paved with. </p>.<p>Modi addressed meetings in Kuki-dominated Churachandpur in the hills and the Meitei stronghold of Imphal in the plains. He said peace was the only way forward and that his government would continue to work to restore normalcy. He inaugurated development projects worth Rs 7,300 crore in the hill districts. In his speech in Imphal, he said the violence in the state was unfortunate, and inaugurated projects worth Rs 1,200 crore. </p><p>The unrest in Manipur was not about development though it could have indirectly worked as a factor behind the Meitei demand for reservation, from where the whole trouble began. </p><p>The present phase of confrontation and violence started with Kuki protests against a court decision to grant reservation to the Meiteis. But the problem has now acquired other dimensions which cannot not be solved with the offer of development projects. </p>.<p>The government had announced two agreements—one about revival of a Suspension of Operations (SoO) with rebel groups and the other about free movement on the arterial NH 02. These were to be presented as progress in the process of reconciliation but both collapsed because there was no all-round support for them. </p><p>For the peace process to make any headway, all parties have to be engaged and involved in a broad framework of democratic discourse. This has not happened in Manipur. There was disappointment among the people from both sides over Modi’s visit as it did not seem to further the process of peace and normalcy in the state. The rival sides in Manipur still stick to their hardline positions and that is a sign of the lack of progress in moving forward.</p>
