Imphal: Manipur is in a state of total conflict over the proposed visit of Naga separatist leader, T Muivah.
Schools are virtually empty, petrol pumps have shut down, patients in hospitals are desperate for medicines which cannot reach them because highways have been blocked since April 11 by Manipuri groups opposed to Muivah's visit. But in the border area, Manipuri Nagas are waiting for their leader Muivah, holding demonstrations to ask that he be allowed to visit his ancestral village in Manipur.
In an attempt to find a compromise, Home Secretary GK Pillai met Muivah in Nagaland near the Manipur border on Wednesday morning, along with the chief minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio. A solution was not reached.
Muivah delayed his trip last week after reports that warned of violence if he entered Manipur. Naga NGOs were among those who asked him to wait a few days.
As the General Secretary of the Nagaland National Socialist Council (NSCN-IM), Muivah is among the leaders who wants 'Greater Nagaland' - the unification of areas dominated by Nagas in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, which are all opposed to the proposal.
The Chief Minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio, met Home Minister P Chidambaram last week in Delhi and refused to allow Muivah's trip.