Political Punchline

After N Biren Singh resigned from the post of Manipur’s Chief Minister on 9 February 2025, the President’s Rule was imposed in Manipur on the evening of 13 February 2025. This is the eleventh time the President’s Rule has been imposed in the state. However, the state assembly has been kept in suspended animation, meaning it can be revived when the political unrest subsides. His resignation comes amid the violence that has ripped the state for almost two years now. It may be observed that the Bharatiya Janata Party has faced revolts from its legislators. This was sharpened when the violence broke out between the Meiteis and Kukis on 3 May 2023, with ten of the party’s legislators belonging to Kuki, Zomi and Hmar groups demanding separate administrative arrangements out of Manipur.  The ten legislators labelled the N Biren Singh-led BJP government as the ‘Meitei government’, saying that he was siding with the Meiteis during the violence. In another sense, the BJP, as the majority par...

On 24 January 2024, thirty-seven members of the Manipur Legislative Assembly and the two Lok Sabha members of the parliament adopted  five resolutions  at the lawn of the Kangla Uttra inside the Kangla Fort in Imphal. The Fort has been pivotal in the state’s socio-religious and political history. The members were summoned by Arambai Tenggol, a socio-religious organisation under the patronage of Manipur’s titular Monarch. The day is now regarded as historic for Meitei unity. Meanwhile, the resolution received endorsement from various Meitei frontal organisations, which deemed it legitimate and aligned with protecting India against external security threats. Source: https://www.e-ir.info/2016/01/13/review-marxs-concept-of-the-alternative-to-capitalism/ (image by Shubert Ciencia) Adopting the resolution signifies the consolidation of Meitei ethnoreligious assertations intertwined with a political dimension influenced by Hindutva politics. Since then, the Meiteis Sanamahi r...

Antonio Gramsci’s writings are difficult to read but can be interpreted in various ways. However, his ideas are often held in ‘developed’ capitalist societies. This makes it difficult to apply his ideas in a state like Manipur, where class analysis of society is despised, and capitalist forces have not yet materialised. The people of the state are living in a highly ethnopolitical charged time. This essay attempts to interpret Manipur’s politics regarding ongoing violence by using Gramsci-inspired theories while prioritising ‘ethnicity’ over ‘class.’  During his public speeches, the Inner Lok Sabha candidate of Manipur, Dr Bimol Akoijam (now Member of Parliament), frequently refers to ‘ Meeyamna ,’ a vague translation of ‘common people’ in Manipuri. Upon reading Gramsci, I find that he often highlights the significance of organic intellectuals in treating ordinary people holistically and elevating them. In another sense, Akoijam amplifies Gramsci’s ideas about the roles that organi...

The 2024 general election results have hit a new low for the Bhartiya Janata Party and its allies. Political analysts have hinted about the revival of India’s celebrated parliamentary democracy following the defeat of many BJP candidates, including the must-anticipated Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, where Ayodhya City is located. This has put a thrust for the Indian National Congress and, more generally, the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance bloc to oust the BJP. Nevertheless, the biggest obstacle the INDIA bloc could overcome is the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s ideological hegemony through Hindutva in modern Indian politics. Until recently, the bloc employed Caste politics to challenge the BJP and the RSS. Where does Manipur fit in light of these political shifts in India? To be clear, Manipur still has a functioning Legislative Assembly. Despite the state being well-known for horse trading and shifting party allegiances, the five oppos...

The widening manifestations of the Manipur violence between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo communities reveal that it will stay prolonged. It has rendered the State into administrative chaos and gruesome killings involving armed groups on both sides, which is unusual in the State’s political history. However, the violence has the feature of having a “sui generis” moment for Manipur in a way that will make the State revisit, reform, and restructure its political foundations. This will be achieved when the “other” belligerent groups stop “terrorizing” Manipuri people to obtain “separate administration” from the State of Manipur, which has remained “absolutely inseparable” since its political foundations. It would be naïve to say that the demand for a separate administration by Kuki-Zo communities employing an “armed aggression” against the State of Manipur and the Manipuri people, which is “undemocratic,” will be achieved easily. Despite the unabated violence, the State’s territorial and admi...

The Act East Policy (AEP) has long been discussed in India’s foreign policy circles; it was upgraded from the Look East Policy (LEP) shortly after Narendra Modi was elected Prime Minister in 2014. Since then, India’s engagement has expanded beyond the Southeast Asian region to include the broader Indo-Pacific region as well as with East Asian countries. The AEP is India’s ambitious strategy for countering China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region while bringing development to the North East Region (NER).  The NER has received particular attention during the policy implementation of AEP, which has increased connectivity. Although the region is troubled by the oppressive Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), which has undermined the region’s democracy. The region has a long history of secessionism, ethnic conflicts, and widespread illegal drug trafficking from neighbouring countries. These challenges and the Hindutva project of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtri...