Articles by Hanjabam Isworchandra Sharma

Centralised planning during the time Manipur was a union territory saw lopsided investment in the transport and communication and social sectors, while agriculture, which was its productive base, and industry were neglected. Statehood in 1972 was followed by half-hearted attempts at industrialisation and irrigation that were swept away by the liberalisation of the 1990s. Central agencies such as the North East Council and the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region have failed to fulfil their roles as catalysts for development. Manipur is now a dependent state that serves as a captive market for products from the rest of India. Bolstered by the huge inflow of central funds for infrastructural development, its economy is a purely monetary phenomenon, which in reality has no leg to stand on.