One very visible benefit for Manipur's people from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit on September 13 is a pothole-free road from the historic Kangla Fort in the heart of capital Imphal to the city's Bir Tikendrajit International airport. An entire editorial in one of the state's leading newspapers describes in considerable detail how gaping months-old potholes on this six-kilometre stretch of road have been filled up and flattened by road rollers over the last few days just in case the Prime Minister chooses to skip the chopper and instead drive to the airport after his Kangla Fort programme.
Other than that, and Rs 7300 crore worth of new development projects and the inauguration of Rs 1200 crore worth of projects, what can the people of Manipur hope to gain from the Prime Minister's historic visit? Yes, historic, because it is the first time he is coming to Manipur after ethnic clashes sent the state up in flames two years, four months and 10 days ago and left 250 dead, over 60,000 displaced and people scarred and divided as never before.
Rs 8500 crore worth of projects is welcome then but no compensation for the trauma that Manipur is going through even today.
Where the PM could begin and the many cross currents
An apology may be a good start. Everyone but everyone in Manipur believes the Prime Minister should have visited much earlier, if not days or weeks after the May 3, 2023 conflagration, then a few months later. Why didn't he? That is the question haunting the people.
So, at both the Peace Grounds in the Kuki-Zo stronghold of Churachandpur and at the Kangla Fort in Meitei-dominated Imphal, if the Prime Minister begins his speech with an apology for not visiting Manipur earlier, it could be a good start at repairing the damage to his image in the eyes of Manipuris and to its loss of faith in New Delhi's governance.
That the Prime Minister has to address two separate public meetings in his barely three-hour visit to the state—one for the Meiteis and another for the tribal population—speaks volumes about the fragility of the uneasy calm in Manipur today and about how deep the divisions are. Pockets of tension have flared just before his visit.
With less than 48 hours to go, unidentified elements damaged banners and bamboo fences near the Churachandpur helipad where the PM will land on Saturday just before noon. In the plains of Imphal, the Coordination Committee or Corcom—an umbrella outfit of valley-based insurgent groups—has called for a boycott of the Prime Minister's public meeting. It may or may not impact attendance at Modi's Kangla Fort rally but it has caused unease among ordinary people.
These are just a sample of the multiple cross currents swirling around the Prime Minister's visit. The Suspension of Operations deal was arrived at between the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Kuki-Zo Council on September 4. Among other things, it should have meant highways would open for goods vehicles and passenger transport. But on September 8, a bus was stopped at Molnom village in the Naga-dominated Ukhrul district by armed, uniformed men believed to be Kukis and phones snatched from passengers for allegedly taking photos of Kuki camps visible along the roadside.
The powerful Nagaland based organisation, NSCN (IM), condemned the incident as provocative. The Village Volunteers Coordinating Committee, another Kuki outfit, condemned the Kuki-Zo Council for agreeing to the SoO deal.
Meanwhile, the United Naga Council (UNC), apex body of Naga tribes in Manipur, declared a trade embargo on national highways 2 and 37 running through half a dozen districts with large Naga populations, including Ukhrul. The embargo was a protest against the Centre's decision to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the 1,643 km India-Myanmar border and allowed Indians to enter Myanmar for up to 16 km from the border without a visa. And vice versa. But the Centre has now scrapped that regime and plans to fence the border.
The UNC is against the fencing and declared the embargo, bringing traffic to a halt in multiple districts. However, after intense persuasion and promises of early talks by the Centre and the state—read governor—the embargo was lifted effective 6 pm on September 11, less than 48 hours before the Prime Minister's visit.
Better late than never
The timing of the Prime Minister's Manipur visit, in short, is sensitive. But then the timing has been sensitive for a very long time, since May 3, 2023.
The question in the minds of the people is, why now? Why has the Prime Minister chosen to come to Manipur on September 13, just ahead of his birthday and the festive season across the country?
The answer to that question possibly lies in layers of political imperatives, which will surface by and by. But the big expectation is, PM Modi—after suffering political setbacks in Manipur and earning the wrath of Manipur's people and the country's Opposition for his no-show—is not coming empty handed. The grudging hope is that he will have some outstanding plan, some formula, some strategy to offer that will make Manipur's wait for two years four months and 10 days worth it. And that at the end of the Prime Minister's visit, people can say, well, if not a "masterstroke", Modi has at least delivered an extraordinary healing touch.
The trouble is the greater the expectations, the greater the chances of disappointment. Manipur does not deserve the latter.
(Views are personal. Monideepa Banerjie is a journalist of over 30 years of standing and has reported from Kolkata and the northeast for the nation's topmost TV channels and publications.)
