Amid extensive coverage of the violence in Manipur, there has been speculation about a communal angle to the standoff between Kukis and Meiteis in the state. While some have tried to draw a link between Meitei mobilisation and Hindutva elements, there have also been murmurs about a China role. But is there any truth to such claims?
In this interview, Sanjib Baruah, an author and commentator on the politics of Northeast India, talks about the ethnic and communal fault lines in Manipur, their political ramifications, the speculation about external forces, as well as the role played by the BJP, Sangh Parivar and the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. A former professor of political studies at Bard College in New York, Baruah explored questions of ethnicity, resources, politics and democracy in the northeastern states in his book – titled In the Name of the Nation: India and its Northeast.
