NorthEast India

Inclusive Optics, Hollow Power: The Narrow Possibilities and Hard Limits of State Governance in Manipur

The recent reconfiguration of Manipur’s political leadership has been presented by the Central Government as an exercise in inclusiveness as well as an attempt to restore balance, calm, and administrative credibility in a state devastated by nearly two years of ethnic violence and mass displacement. On the surface, the appointments appear carefully calibrated with a …

Land, Legitimacy and Armed Presence: How Kuki Claims and Encroachments Set the Stage for another Gunfight with Nagas in Manipur

A fresh gunfight in Manipur’s volatile hill districts has underscored how disputes over land, governance and armed authority are converging into a dangerous flashpoint. The Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF), an armed group representing Zeliangrong interests, has claimed responsibility for a military operation targeting what it described as Kuki underground camps near Kharam Vaiphei village in Kangpokpi …