Get on the road

Ever since Thuingaleng Muivah,leader of the NSCNIM,made clear that he was headed towards his native village in Manipur,the state has been on edge. The Naga leader has only temporarily,he clarifies been prevailed upon by the Centre to keep those plans on hold,but the consequent tension with Nagaland has made more acute the sense of siege in Manipur.

This week the state has been gripped by three blockades,targeted at National Highway 39,the artery that brings in supplies from outside Manipur. This month-old blockade has predictably led to an economy of shortages,and worryingly,food and medicine supplies are running low. To make matters worse,an intra-state blockade too has been sought to be imposed between the Imphal valley and the Naga-populated hill districts of Manipur. One need not revisit the strife of 2001 to know the dangers of allowing the situation to drift and there is a possibility that the suffering produced by the blockades could lead to violence.

Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai has been meeting with leaders in Manipur and Nagaland,and with Muivah,to find a way of breaking the current impasse. The clear lesson already is that the Centre cannot take a hands-off approach,and leave it to the two states to sort it out. In fact,given the stakes,the Centre must show it has enough leverage to prevail upon all involved and stop the situation from spinning out of control. This crisis has also shown the importance of connectivity and of having options to stop such blockades from so easily being won. The big test therefore is to forthwith get the supply routes moving,even if it be via the alternative route of NH-53 with additional airlifts.