Ethnicity and place in a ‘disturbed city’: ways of belonging in Imphal, Manipur

Abstract

This article explores the relationships between ethnicity, place and belonging in the city of Imphal, capital of the state of Manipur in India’s Northeast border region. Manipur has experienced decades of conflict from ethno-nationalist separatism, inter-ethnic territorial disputes and counter-insurgency operations. These ethnic conflicts play out on the urban landscape of Imphal. Control of the city from above is diffused among the civilian government and the armed forces. Non-state actors such as insurgent groups and ethnic organizations exert their own control from below. On such unstable ground, struggles by residents seeking to create place and a sense of belonging affirm ethnic boundaries. These boundaries are not static and the lines between inclusion and exclusion are continually redrawn along existing and emerging fault-lines among the population. Yet these boundaries are also transcended in unusual ways that may seem trivial but in Imphal are essential to realizing alternative ways of belonging.