Modi in Manipur—A Belated Bid to Heal and Reconcile
Search operation by Manipur Police on Monday Image credit X.com @manipur_police
RSS chief’s remarks in New Delhi—rejecting uniformity and stressing harmony over “we versus others”—could serve as a moral compass for India’s troubled northeast.
By MANISH ANAND
NEW DELHI, September 13, 2025 — Prime Minister Narendra Modi will strike a balance in Manipur on Saturday. He will devote equal attention to Meitei and Kuki dominated regions in ethnic strife torn Manipur.
The Northeastern state is eagerly awaiting the Prime Minister to touch down on its land. For over two years, events in Manipur pained India. The state strife concerned security experts. Parliament on a few occasions head ominous tales of Manipur.
The Prime Minister will be in Manipur as part of his three Northeastern states’ whirlwind tour. Modi will begin his Northeast outreach from Mizoram and sign off from Assam. He will unveil loads of developmental projects.
For past two years, the Opposition demanded that the Prime Minister must visit Manipur. The demands were not met until now. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost both the parliamentary constituencies in Manipur.
With much maneuvering, the BJP was able to wriggle out of N. Biren Singh, former Chief Minister of Manipur. His stint allegedly turned the BJP into a Meitei party in Manipur.
Ajay Bhalla, former Home Secretary, is learning skills as Manipur Governor to bring the Meitei and Kukis to talk to each other. GK Pillai, former Home secretary and a veteran of Northeast, in remarks made at Constitution Club this year, had underlined that the peace in Manipur is incumbent on “free movement of the people across the state, which is also a fundamental right as enshrined in the Constitution.”
“From Peace Ground in Churachandpur, a Kuki-majority area, he will lay foundation stones for development projects worth ₹7,300 crores. In Meitei-majority Imphal, the Prime Minister will inaugurate infrastructure projects worth Rs 1,200 crores,” reported Deccan Chronicle. The daily also quoted Manipur chief secretary Puneet Kumar Goel, saying: “The PM’s Saturday visit to Manipur will pave the way for peace, normalcy and growth in the state.”
The visit of the Prime Minister to Manipur also comes at a time when rebels in neighbouring Myanmar are consolidating their strongholds in border areas. While the Prime Minister unveils development baskets for two dominant tribes in Manipur, observers have long been asserting that the state is pining for a political healing touch.
Remarks by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi this month—stating that “unity in diversity is possible… it’s not about ‘we versus others,’ and the pursuit of unity among Hindus does not mean enforcing uniformity”—may serve as a guiding light for political healing in Manipur.
(This is an opinion piece, and views expressed are those of the author only)
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First of all, RSS as an organization is never to be trusted . They have been speaking in forked tongue since their inception
As far as the BJP is concerned they are directly responsible for widening the cleavage between two major communities so much so that the breach can never ever be bridged; it is no different than between Indians & Pakistani s, if not more particularly with all those videos & pictures that were floating around until they were prohibited from being published