Welcome and Inaugural Keynote Address

09:00 - 09:45 AM: State of Manipur- A Converging Internal Security Crisis

Context
Manipur today represents a convergence of ethnic insecurity, insurgency, cross-border narcotics, illegal arms movement, displacement, land anxieties, weak trust in state institutions and the spillover effects of Myanmar’s civil war. The crisis cannot be understood through one lens alone. It is simultaneously a border security challenge, an organised crime challenge, a political violence challenge, a state legitimacy challenge and a social cohesion challenge. This opening session will frame Manipur as a contemporary internal security test case for India’s eastern frontier.

Guiding questions

• What makes the Manipur crisis different from a conventional law-and-order problem?

• Which risks require immediate containment, and which require long-term political and social repair?

• How should India define success in Manipur: absence of violence, restoration of trust, disruption of criminal networks, or return to shared civic life?

Speaker

Nomination from Ministry of Home Affairs / Security Establishment / Former Director General, The Assam Rifles

10:00 - 10:45 AM: Race, Ethnicity and Identity- Ethnic Insecurity, Land Anxieties and the Politics of Belonging

Context
The Manipur conflict is rooted in securitised ethnic identity. Communities do not merely disagree over administration; they fear loss of land, status, safety, representation and political future. The Meitei, Kuki-Zo, Naga and other communities carry different historical memories and territorial anxieties. Land is not only property; it is identity, ancestry, protection and power. This session will focus strictly on how ethnicity, identity, land and belonging have become security questions in Manipur.

Guiding questions

• How have land, ancestry, tribal status, territorial memory and demographic anxiety become sources of ethnic insecurity?

• Why has identity in Manipur shifted from cultural belonging to perceived survival threat?

• How can the state address community fears without validating collective blame or ethnic separation?

Speaker

Nomination from Academic / Strategic Affairs Expert on Northeast India

11:00 - 11:45 AM: Globalisation and Organised Crime- Narcotics, Arms, Illicit Finance and Cross-Border Networks

Context
Manipur’s location near Myanmar and the Golden Triangle places it inside a wider transnational illicit economy. Narcotics, synthetic drugs, precursor chemicals, illegal arms, informal finance, transport corridors and borderland facilitation networks have converted geography into criminal opportunity. This session will focus strictly on organised crime: how illicit markets operate, how they are protected, how they are financed and how they exploit instability.

Guiding questions

• How do narcotics, illegal arms, precursor chemicals and informal finance move through Manipur’s borderland economy?

• What organised crime principles explain these networks: profit, protection, corruption, logistics, intimidation and laundering?

• How can enforcement shift from seizures alone to dismantling financiers, transport chains, protection networks and local facilitators?

Speaker

Nomination from Narcotics Control Bureau / Directorate of Revenue Intelligence / Manipur Police / Assam Rifles

13:00 - 13:45 PM: War on Drugs, Narco‑Economy and Strengthening State Response in Manipur

Context
Manipur’s experience with the “War on Drugs”, forest and land protection, refugee management and insurgent ceasefire arrangements (SoO) highlights how complex security, governance and social challenges interact in a sensitive border state. Operations against poppy cultivation, cross‑border trafficking and illegal arms have had to run in parallel with management of ethnic relations, land tenure concerns and humanitarian pressures from neighbouring Myanmar, often under AFSPA or similar special‑powers frameworks.[idsa]

These overlapping pressures have produced difficult trade‑offs for policymakers, security forces and civil administration. At the same time, they offer valuable lessons on how future standard operating procedures, inter‑agency coordination and communication with communities can be further strengthened—so that legitimate enforcement against narcotics and armed violence also supports long‑term public trust, inclusion and stability. This session will take a forward‑looking approach, focusing on practical ways to refine policy design and on‑ground SOPs, rather than apportioning blame.

Guiding questions

• How can lessons from Manipur’s War on Drugs, forest/land protection, refugee and SoO experiences be used to better design and sequence security‑related programmes in ethnically diverse, borderland contexts?

• In what ways can implementing agencies—police, civil administration and central forces—further adapt their SOPs and communication strategies so that firm action against narco‑trafficking and illegal arms is clearly distinguished from the everyday lives and identities of law‑abiding communities?

• What are some constructive models for improving investigation, prosecution and victim‑support processes, building on existing legal frameworks and court directions, so that confidence in justice delivery is enhanced across all groups?

• How can inter‑agency coordination (state police, CAPFs, Assam Rifles, NCB, district administration) be further institutionalised—through joint planning, shared data, and clear roles—to manage future crises more smoothly?

• Looking ahead, what practical steps in training, community‑engagement and oversight can help security institutions and civil authorities together strengthen the state’s legitimate authority while also deepening public trust?

Speaker
Nomination from Former DGP/IGP (Northeast cadre) / Senior Internal Security & Police Reforms Expert with experience in Manipur or comparable conflict‑affected states, and a demonstrated interest in institution‑building and best‑practice SOPs.

14:00 - 14:45 PM: Security and the State- AFSPA, State Legitimacy and the Monopoly of Force

Context
The state’s central responsibility is to protect citizens and maintain the monopoly of legitimate force. In Manipur, this has been challenged by insurgent groups, armed ethnic formations, illegal weapons, mobs, criminal networks and distrust of institutions. AFSPA and prolonged militarisation have also changed how many ordinary citizens understand security: not only as protection from insurgents, but also as protection from arbitrary force, detention, humiliation and weak accountability. This session will focus strictly on state authority, security law, policing, accountability and public trust.

Guiding questions

• How did prolonged militarisation and AFSPA alter the civilian meaning of security in Manipur?

• What reforms are needed to restore trust in police, security forces, investigation and justice delivery?

• How can the state recover illegal arms and restore lawful authority without appearing partisan or punitive toward any community?

Speaker

Nomination from Former Army / Assam Rifles / Judiciary / Human Rights and Security Law Expert

15:00 - 15:45 PM: Social Cohesion and Integration- Displacement, Youth Protection and Community Repair

Context
The violence in Manipur has damaged residential, institutional, economic and psychological cohesion. Displacement has disrupted schooling, livelihoods, family stability and inter-community trust. Youth are exposed to drugs, trauma, recruitment, misinformation and revenge narratives. This session will focus strictly on social recovery: rehabilitation, education continuity, youth protection, de-addiction, women-led community repair and the rebuilding of everyday trust.

Guiding questions

• How has displacement affected youth, women, education, livelihoods and community relations?

• What practical support systems are needed for displaced families: schooling, trauma care, livelihood recovery, de-addiction and safe return?

• How can Meira Paibi/Social communities and groups be reoriented toward lawful anti-drug work, youth protection and social healing?

Speakers

Nomination from Social Welfare Department / Education Department / Women’s Organisations / Civil Society Representatives from Manipur

16:00 - 16:45 PM: Multiculturalism- Shared Institutions, Coexistence and a Political Framework for Peace

Context
Manipur’s long-term peace depends on whether different communities can coexist within shared institutions without fearing domination or erasure. Multiculturalism in Manipur cannot mean symbolic diversity alone. It must mean fair representation, equal security, protected cultural identity, functioning courts, trusted police, shared markets, safe schools, minority protection and credible political accommodation. This session will focus strictly on the design of coexistence: how Manipur can move from ethnic separation toward a shared civic future.

Guiding questions

• What shared institutions must be rebuilt first: police, courts, schools, markets, local administration or peace committees?

• How can Manipur protect distinct community identities without creating permanent ethnic enclaves?

• What political and administrative arrangements can support coexistence, representation and equal citizenship?

Speakers

Nomination from Ministry of Home Affairs / Constitutional Expert / Peacebuilding Expert / Civil Society Representative

16:45 - 17:15 PM: Towards Peace in Manipur - Free Movement Regime (FMR), Comprehensive Security Framework, and NCORD

Context
The closing roundtable will consolidate the day’s discussions into a practical Manipur Peace and Security Framework. The purpose is to connect the six core lenses — ethnic insecurity, organised crime, terrorism prevention, state legitimacy, social cohesion and multicultural coexistence — into a coordinated roadmap for stabilisation. The session will identify immediate priorities and long-term institutional reforms.

Guiding questions

• What are the three most urgent actions needed in the next six months?

• What institutional mechanism should coordinate security, anti-narcotics, rehabilitation, justice and dialogue?

• What should be the measurable indicators of progress for Manipur over the next 12–24 months?                       

• What should a smart border model include: fencing, biometric passes, regulated crossings, humanitarian screening, legal trade corridors and community consultation?                                                                                    

• How to use NCORD as an intelligence-led operating system focused on financiers, logistics nodes, precursor chains, arms-drug links and political-criminal protection networks?

Speakers

Nomination from Ministry of Home Affairs / Manipur Police / Assam Rifles / Judiciary / Peacebuilding Expert