The word “muscular” has come into prolific use over the last decade in debates about the Narendra Modi government’s policies. Is it then a strong or a weak government today? Manipur is a good place to begin.

If a Modi-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) backer, you’d call its handling of Manipur an act of strength. For its critics, it would represent its biggest failure. What if we suggested that the answer is neither of the two? And no, this isn’t one of those convenient cop-outs that say there’s some truth in either.

The answer is that Manipur represents the BJP’s

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BJP's muscular approach in NE falters, but party sticks to its strategy

Manipur represents the BJP's unique ideological approach to governing Northeast by playing identity politics jiu-jitsu. It hasn't gone well yet and is getting worse, but party insists on continuing