As identities are mobilised to serve the political designs of vested interests, it seems obvious that the idea of a Naga 'nation' and a Manipuri 'nation' behind the 'national liberation'/ 'secessionist' movements in the region is seemingly at least, incompatible with the idea of the Indian 'nation state'. However there is a need to resolve whether the two conceptions, are themselves incompatible with one another. And it is the Indian 'nation state' will have to play the role, not of an enemy but of a powerful and probably benevolent mediator. Manipur, probably the last vestige of a real composite cultural and political character in the Indian subcontinent, should not in the interim become a sacrificial lamb for establishing the political legitimacy of the Indian 'nation state'.
