Roads are no longer just roads in Manipur since May 2023 when the Meitei-Kuki ethnic violence erupted in the state bordering Myanmar. Every new bridge, bypass or transport corridor is seen as an attempt at setting a narrative for political geography, but not a development project. Infrastructure is no longer about engineering in the state where territory has become deeply contested. It is now connected with questions about identity, administration, security and competing visions of Manipur's future.
The absence of official clarity over the approval, regulation and oversight of several such projects has added to the confusion and even raised questions about transparency. This has only deepened public suspicion and intensified the political significance attached to such projects.
On July 10, a 270-foot Bailey bridge was inaugurated in Manipur's Chandel district. That has sparked a new debate over territory, mobility and the Kuki tribes' demand for breaking up Manipur.
The Kukis say the bridge is a rural connectivity project that serves the underserved between Chandel district and Kuki settlements in southern Manipur's Churachandpur district. They say they had been cut off following the outbreak of the ethnic violence. The bridge took 18 months to complete at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore, all of it crowdfunded with no government help, Kuki organisations say.
The Kuki Inpi Manipur has refuted allegations that the bridge would be used as a route for carrying out unlawful activities, including drug trafficking. The bridge only restored an essential transport link severed by the violence that killed over 260 and displaced thousands.
But the controversy refuses to go away because of one question: how did a project like this evade official scrutiny?
In December 2025, a 'ring road' allegedly paved without the state government's approval and passing through forests in six districts was found in Manipur. The matter came to light after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered the Manipur government to ensure no more construction work was done on the 'ring road'. After the NGT order, an umbrella body of civil society organisations of the Meitei community told reporters that the road has been locally referred to as "German Road" and at certain stretches as "Tiger Road". 'German' and 'Tiger' are nicknames of Kuki insurgents.
Engineers say the 270-foot Bailey bridge needs specialised steel components, engineered foundations, heavy equipment and professional supervision. They say the cost seems technically plausible if voluntary labour and donated resources were used, but there are no clear answers about the source of the bridge components, engineering certification, statutory approvals and compliance with public safety standards.
Soon after the inauguration of the "crowdfunded bridge", several social media accounts that supported the demand for breaking up Manipur into separate territories on ethnic lines, described the bridge as a major achievement in connecting Kuki settlements in Churachandpur with Chandel, Tengnoupal and Moreh along the porous border with Myanmar. The online chatter after the bridge's inauguration showed that infrastructure had become inseparable from the Manipur crisis.
The new bridge, called Khulmi, adds another chapter to the long list of controversial projects in Manipur, such as the so-called "Tiger road" or "German road".
Named after German H Haokip of the insurgent group Kuki National Front (MC), the 'road' connects Kangpokpi, Churachandpur, Chandel and Tengnoupal, mostly bypassing the state capital Imphal, which lies in central Manipur's valley region. Built and upgraded in phases through mountainous terrain, this 'road' connects Kuki settlements that depended on routes passing through the valley.
The Kuki tribes show the road as an example of community initiative undertaken through voluntary contributions and crowdfunding.
The Manipur government has questioned the legality and strategic purpose of the road and clarified that it had not officially sanctioned the project. It said legal action would be taken for carrying out the illegal project. The NGT's scrutiny showed the matter's seriousness on the implications it would have on the environment.
These issues seem connected only with infrastructure, but on closer look they occupy administrative, legal and political spaces because both the bridge and the 'road' point at an engineered change in the geography of connectivity across Manipur's hill areas. Territory acquires an administrative meaning when it becomes physically connected - since connectivity enables movement of people, goods, institutions, emergency services and governance itself. Infrastructure is not politically neutral in that sense. It decides how territories function and future political possibilities are predicted.
These projects have become central to discussions on the Kuki tribes' demand for a separate administration carved out of Manipur.
Since May 2023, some Kuki organisations have said coexistence under the existing administrative arrangement is not possible. So, infrastructure connecting the imagined administrative space acquires significance beyond development due to the simple reason that it serves the areas identified by the proponents of the call to break up Manipur.
The projects get an ominous vibe when seen with the so-called "Zalengam Diary", whose authenticity is yet to be independently verified. This diary was said to have been recovered from the designated camp of an armed group under the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement after ethnic violence began in May 2023. Reports say it outlines a long-term strategy from the 1980s for achieving a separate "Kuki homeland", described as "Zalengam", through demographic consolidation, political mobilisation, institutional influence, identity politics, infrastructure development and administrative preparedness.
It has become part of debates on the recent developments, from seeing the bridge and road as isolated community initiatives following the ethnic conflict to serving as physical milestones in a political project aimed at strengthening the territorial viability of an imagined administrative unit in future.
Infrastructure is dual-purpose. A bridge built for civilians also serves the administration, or a road that facilitates commerce can also enable political integration and territorial consolidation. In a troubled place like Manipur, they can easily be exploited by organised criminal networks and armed groups to move goods, for extortion and setting up parallel systems of control.
Infrastructure alone can't create states, redraw constitutional boundaries or change administrative jurisdictions because those powers rest solely with the Constitution and democratic institutions. But there have been many instances when infrastructure preceded politics. By connecting territories, roads can gradually reshape political demands and make some constitutional futures more conceivable than others.
(Sunzu Bachaspatimayum is an award-winning filmmaker, journalist, writer and media consultant based in Imphal, Manipur. He also serves as secretary of the Manipur State Film Development Society)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.
