The state of Manipur in India has been in a state of turmoil and militarization since the time it lost its princely status in 1949. And over the years since then it has witnessed mushrooming of various insurgent groups among the numerous ethnic communities in the tiny state. In as much as the causes for such state of insurgent movements, the nature and dimensions of insurgency in the state is diverse. It would be of paramount importance to understand the nature of insurgency in Manipur rather than just see all groups from the prism of “Law and order” problem but perhaps the root cause of it could be related to an ancestral agriculture practice and its ownership. This will surely enable the government to have a multi-prone approach to finding a lasting solution to the prolonged narrative of insurgency issue which is socially divisive, economically expensive and politically national integration is at stake.
Read full abstract