Abstract
The book is an ethnographic exploration of a small city called Imphal situated on the borderlands of India’s Northeast region. It illuminates the ways Imphal is controlled and the ways this control is challenged from below by people in search of belonging and trying to ‘make do’. The framework of the book is founded upon the two concepts of ‘sensitive space’ (Dunn & Cons, 2014) and ‘fragmented sovereignty’ (Lund, 2011). Imphal classified as a ‘disturbed’ area sees controls at different levels. The book has two parts. The first part of the book deals with space control and contention within the city. On the ways authority is controlled and fragmented across the city, the author points out that ‘the city authority is fragmented into microsites of contention where state, quasi-state (military and paramilitary) and non-state actors seek to control space’ (p. 15).
The second chapter of the book focuses on ‘plurality’ through a demographic profile of residents, polarity in the ways ethnic politics are played out and reflected in the urban landscape of the city and neighbourhood as how alternative spaces of belonging are created that characterise everyday life in a disturbed city. The author characterises Imphal as a ‘Meitei city’, wherein he also argues that the Hill tribes’ migration towards the city has been due to ethnic conflicts and for education. Polarity, best mirrored in residential landscapes, has broken down in neighbourhoods where people irrespective of ethnicity meet. These neighbourhoods, in a sense, provide security for residents who have lived in a militarised environment for a long time. The most intriguing argument the author makes here is how resident produces ‘alternative places’ outside of their neighbourhood. ‘These are space(s) in the city where members of different ethnic communities gather regularly and peacefully’ (p. 57) and ‘yet ethnicity is transcended, even if temporarily, in alternative places ranging from a sports complex to sites for performing and consuming popular culture to illicit drinking dens’ (p. 63).
Given the tag of a ‘disturbed’ city, the author lucidly brings into light the fragmented spatial control of Imphal by different agencies such as the armed forces, the civilian government and non-state actors in the third chapter. ‘The armed forces control spaces through security, the civilian government through development and planning… underground groups and residents fill, and create, the gaps in between’ (p. 66). The author’s classification of control by the armed forces and the civilian government here is problematic. By armed forces he means ‘different army, paramilitary and state police forces’ (p. 68). As the state armed forces come under the state command, that is the civilian government, spatial control by his definition overlaps one another. The author’s discussion of control by non-state actors is a vivid manifestation of how central and state agencies do not remain unchallenged from below. The way non-state actors ‘deliver services, provide safety, and advocate for justice where civilian authorities lack the will or capacity to do so and where the armed forces are the source of insecurity’ (p. 78) shows a lack of trust and a feeling of alienation from the state’s machineries. Control by the non-state actors is a true reflection of fragmented sovereignty at play.
The fourth chapter on exclusion within the city is a comprehensive analysis of the previous chapters that focused on belonging and control within the city. Exclusion produces belonging, and belonging produces control over place, and ‘place is a way of countering the diffused hegemony of state, non-state, and quasi-state actors’ (p. 94). The author discusses how conflicts between different ethnic groups in the state have played out in Imphal. The three major ethnic groups, namely the Meitei, Naga and Kuki, have been at loggerheads in the past. The Hills inhabited by the tribals, Kukis and Nagas, and the Valley inhabited mostly by the Meiteis are controlled and excluded on ethnic lines. The author makes a coherent analysis of how challenges to hegemonic power in the state by ethnic groups are negotiated through bandhs, strikes and economic blockades, thereby directly affecting Imphal, the capital city. Given the diverse political interests of the various ethnic groups and past history of ethnic conflicts, there has never been a common platform for all ethnic groups with common interest and goals. In fact, even the movement against non-Manipuris called the Inner Line Permit (ILP) movement didn’t see inter-ethnic participation. The tribals as they are protected by Article 371C of the Indian Constitution don’t see any threat from the non-Manipuris. So it would be a mistake to argue that ‘the ILP issue brought these communities back together’ (p. 115).
The second part of the book explores the transformation of the city from a frontier city into a gateway city because of government policies. However, the author does not rest his argument solely on the notion of government projects. The author argues that Imphal is seen as the gateway from Southeast Asia to India through government policies such as the Act East Policy. With improving connectivity with the rest of the country and the Southeast and East Asian countries, Imphal has a huge potential for growth particularly in the manufacturing and service sectors. While there are various governmental policies at various levels that promote market connectivity with the outside world, the author very interestingly discusses the way residents are taking advantages of this opportunity to find new ways of ‘making do’ such as the popular cloth trading business. The most visible manifestation of ‘make do’ is the flourishing second-hand clothing business seen all over the city.
Given the city’s popularity as a medical hub not only within the state, but from its neighbouring states and even from Myanmar and other parts of the borderland, the author also calls Imphal a ‘health city’. He reasons that the private health sector is booming thanks to a decaying public health system, availability of cheap land for constructions, and liberalisation of the country’s healthcare sector. What is most striking is the author’s argument on human capital. ‘Studying medicine and nursing have long been ideal pathways for young people in Manipur’ (p. 154) that have eventually given rise to ‘surplus qualified medical workers’ (p. 155). In spite of the unfavourable law and order condition in the state and a high demand for qualified medical professionals outside the state, the process of returning professional migrants back to the city to look out for opportunities gives us critical insights into the whole out-migration and return-migration phenomena.
While the author’s dubbing of Imphal as a ‘health city’ may be acceptable, his portrayal of the city as an ‘education city’ of the borderland draws some reservations. There has been large out-migration of the youth outside the state due to violence, insecurity and limited opportunities for the last few decades. So far this migration process has been confined to the youth who have migrated mostly for further studies and work. Family migration outside the state has so far remained unexplored. The author’s argument that ‘the boom in the private education sector that requires land is driven by the desire of residents to leave Manipur and pursue aspirations for a better life in other parts of India’ (p. 174), in fact, needs deeper analysis and research. And clearly, when the city has failed to retain its youth to gain higher education in its colleges and universities, how does it qualify as an ‘education city’? There is a huge growth of private educational institutions in many other borderland cities such as Shillong, Aizawl and so on. The question is what makes Imphal different from them when it has not attracted students from within the state itself (the Hills districts), neighbouring states and neighbouring countries like the way the health industry has. These are some queries that should be taken into account.
Overall, the book is valuable for anyone interested in borderland studies. More so as there is a dearth of published academic works on this part of the country. The book shows critical insights into the ways residents in a conflict zone, characterised by spatial control from various state’s agencies, negotiate their life, conduct businesses and create a sense of belonging. The book’s exploration on the way the transgender community asserts their existence and identity through participation in political activities is also insightful. In a society where there are strict codes of moral behaviour and gender roles, the marginal community’s attempt to become part of the mainstream gives us critical insights into the question of ‘inclusion’ and ‘belonging’.
But the holistic classification of the ethnic groups into three main groups, namely Kuki, Naga and Meitei, leaves out a holistic understanding of Manipuri society vis-à-vis Imphal: for instance, the exclusion of the Meitei Pangal in the whole book. Understanding their religious and cultural distinctions as apart from the majority Meitei instead of clubbing them under one head would have made the book more inclusive and richer.