Youth Narratives on Violence in the Indian State of Manipur

Violent clashes over land and political resources among the ethnic communities of Manipur have been recurring themes in its history for the last few decades. Profoundly different in 2023, however, was the widespread usage of instant-messaging Social Media platforms, such as WhatsApp and Instagram, in disseminating information at breakneck speeds. The spread of the spectacles of violence and bloodshed, accompanied frequently with the political mobilization of youths within digital spaces, led to spontaneous constructions of narratives of violence.

Our research paper will focus on the changing nature of violence in India as a developing country - the role of technology in the intensification of violence, and how digital media implies the growing importance of emotional proximity to conflict as transcending traditional physical limitations. We shall highlight the perspective of youth on the origin of violence, its continuation, and their visions for the future, along with their views on the (in)actions of the State in the violence.

We adopt a mixed methods approach incorporating in depth interviews (n=50), surveys (n=300), and content analysis across popular social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram to understand in detail the narrative construction, knowledge production and sense-making of the violence by Youth.

Findings from our pilot reveal sharp differences in how events are interpreted by stakeholders from different vantage points. Crucially, all youth interviewed in the pilot project have expressed critical views on the State Government’s acts of omission and commission during the duration of the conflict. They have also expressed the need for structural transformations. We have also found very different views on the initial impetus for the conflict among those interviewed. Our findings will have implications for stakeholders of the conflicts including policy makers and civil society at large through its ability to inform possible reconciliation and/or conflict resolution strategies.