It has been more than a week since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s long-awaited visit to Manipur, seen as a tentative first step towards resolving the crisis that has engulfed the Northeastern state ever since an ethnic civil war tore it apart more than two years ago. His personal appeal to both the warring protagonists—Kuki tribals living in the hills and the Metei people inhabiting the Imphal Valley—to make peace, not war, and the announcement of an economic package and development projects were meant to restore normalcy. Unfortunately, it is already feared that the visit may turn out to be just a symbolic gesture with both.

Less than a week after Modi travelled down the recently reopened Highway 2, the lifeline in Manipur that connects the hill areas with the Imphal Valley, unknown miscreants ambushed an army truck, killing two Assam Rifle jawans and injuring five others. There is now widespread tension across the state after the attack, the first of its kind against central forces since last year. On Sunday, the Committee on Tribal United (CoTU), an influential Kuki-Zo group in Kangpokpi district in the Sadr hills, announced a three-day economic blockade.

Even during the Prime Minister’s visit, the tension was visible. Hours before he reached the state, there was violence, as posters and banners welcoming him were torn down by Kuki protestors. Not long after he left, violence erupted again as rampaging Metei mobs torched the residence of a prominent........

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