PM Modi’s Absence in Manipur: A Strategic Failure in the Northeast

The Crisis:

Since May 2023, Manipur has burned:

Over 60,000 displaced, hundreds killed, a state split along ethnic lines.

Two years later, Prime Minister Modi still has not visited, even as he toured other northeastern states and abroad.

Why Has Modi Stayed Away?

⿡ Political Evasion

Manipur’s conflict is messy — no clear heroes, no easy fix.

Any visit risks angering one side and owning the failure.

Modi has chosen to protect his image, leaving Home Minister Shah to absorb the blows.

⿢ Symbolism Dismissed

BJP claims “symbolism” is useless and that action matters more.

But in Manipur, Modi’s silence and absence became the symbol — of neglect, detachment, and Delhi’s cold calculus.

⿣ Strategic Blindness

The biggest failure is strategic:

The Northeast is India’s bridge to Southeast Asia — critical for the Act East Policy.

Manipur sits on the Asian Highway, connecting India to Myanmar and ASEAN.

But with Myanmar under a pro-China junta and Manipur in chaos, India has lost both ends of the bridge.

Insurgent groups, emboldened by weapons, safe havens in Myanmar, and drug money, now dictate terms.

India has ceded ground — to China, to militias, to its own indecision.

🔷 What Does This Signal?

That India’s Act East Policy is hollow if its gateway is in flames.

That Delhi cannot stabilize its periphery while projecting power beyond.j

That symbolism does matter — and ignoring Manipur undermines both internal cohesion and external credibility.

The Verdict:

PM Modi’s absence is more than political caution — it is a strategic retreat.

In protecting his image, he has surrendered moral leadership, weakened India’s hand in the Northeast, and exposed the limits of India’s regional ambitions.

Manipur has become not just a humanitarian tragedy but a strategic humiliation — a test India has so far failed.