Northeast’s growth engine? Ground reality tells another story

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mizoram on 13 September 2025 was marked by fanfare. He flagged off the Bairabi-Sairang railway line and a new Rajdhani Express to Delhi, declaring that the Northeast “had earlier suffered heavily due to vote-bank politics” but is now “the country’s growth engine.” Roads, bypasses, sports, and energy projects worth thousands of crores were inaugurated, framed as a leap into development, connectivity, and jobs.

Yet the reality next door is starkly different. Manipur in the Northeast, has been in crisis for over two years. Ethnic violence that erupted in May 2023 left tens of thousands displaced, homes burned, and lives shattered. The state government fell when Chief Minister N. Biren Singh(BJP) resigned in February 2025, and President’s Rule has run the administration since then, including an extension in August 2025. Security, governance, and rehabilitation remain incomplete, leaving thousands waiting for basic support.

Against this backdrop, Modi’s claim that the entire Northeast has become a “growth engine” is deeply ironic. For two years, the home state has been under central administration due to governance and security failure, while rhetoric celebrates regional development. Infrastructure projects alone cannot mask the continued human suffering and administrative neglect in Manipur.

Mizoram may benefit from connectivity and new opportunities, but without addressing security, justice, and rehabilitation in neighbouring states, such declarations ring hollow. Roads, railways, and projects cannot heal communities traumatised by long-running violence or restore trust among displaced populations.

The contrast is glaring: development for some, neglect for others. The optics are politically and morally striking, inaugurating ambitious projects in one state while another state remains under emergency rule and lacks governance for over two years underscores the gap between rhetoric and reality.

Reality checklist:

• Bairabi-Sairang railway and Rajdhani inaugurated: 13 September 2025

• Manipur CM resigned: 9 February 2025

• President’s Rule imposed: 13 February 2025 and extended in August 2025

• Tens of thousands displaced since May 2023, with scores dead

What needs to be done:

• Safe return and rehabilitation of displaced people

• Establishing a good and sound governance

• Impartial investigations and accountability for violence

• Targeted livelihoods and reconstruction linked to local infrastructure

• Reconciliation mechanisms and security guarantees before celebrating development

In short: Mizoram may be on the fast track, but the Northeast cannot truly claim “growth engine” status while Manipur,neglected for two years,still struggles under President’s Rule. Celebrations of connectivity risk looking hollow when real governance and humanitarian crises remain unresolved.