President’s Rule and Future

• The BJP government imposed President’s Rule in Manipur on February 13, a move not a first-order preference but an escape route to avoid a potential fall of the government and a constitutional crisis.

• The crisis presents both challenges and opportunities for the BJP-led government and stakeholders to restore normalcy and establish trust in the Indian State and its institutions.

• The use of President’s Rule challenges the myth of a double-engine sarkar, a hallmark of efficiency, stability, and strength.

• The challenge lies in using President’s Rule to establish the ‘infrastructural power’ of the State, assuming the erosion of trust and legitimacy has been the biggest casualty in the 21-month violence.

The Imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur: A Call for Restoring Normalcy and Constitutional Order

• The imposition of President’s Rule is seen as a necessary step towards establishing the State’s ‘infrastructural power’ to restore normalcy and constitutional order in Manipur.

• The State must not succumb to ultranationalist and majoritarian agendas of social forces and populist leaders.

• The present and future pathways of communities and the State must be built on principles of justice, mutual trust, respect, and recognition of each other’s distinctiveness.

Building Legitimacy

• Outsourcing law and order to vigilante and armed groups must be stopped and dealt with in accordance with relevant provisions of the law.

• The ‘legitimacy crisis’ of the State is the most critical challenge in deeply divided places if social order, peace, and stability are to be preserved.

Establishing Normalcy and Durable Peace in Manipur

• Declaring Manipur as a ‘hill State’ is one solution offered by some quarters to neutralize a separate administration demand by the Kuki-Zomi-Hmar groups.

• Any attempt to use President’s Rule as a ruse to centralise powers and dissolve extant sub-State constitutional asymmetry is unlikely to secure Manipur’s ‘territorial integrity’.

Balancing Power Fairly

• Securing durable peace in Manipur impels an affirmation, not dissolution, of the existing institutional regime.