Speaking in the Rajya Sabha after a parliamentarian from Manipur criticised the silence — inertia — of the country’s political leadership towards Manipur, the prime minister had stated that there was a need to rise above partisan politics to return the troubled state to peace and harmony. It now appears that it is the leader of the Opposition — not Narendra Modi — who has risen above political fault lines to lend a healing touch to Manipur. There is no doubt about the fact that Mr Modi’s government at the Centre as well as the Bharatiya Janata Party that is in power in Manipur has failed the state. The loss of over 200 lives in an ethnic conflict between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo people that continues sporadically has not been deemed enough by Mr Modi to visit the strife-torn state. In a typical act of deflecting blame, the prime minister had asked the Opposition not to “add fuel to the fire” at a time when Manipur, in his eyes, was returning to normalcy. Perhaps Mr Modi thinks that normalcy entails the lack of rehabilitation of over 60,000 displaced Manipuris as well as the existence of deep divisions between the communities. Mr Gandhi, unlike the prime minister, has visited the state thrice since Manipur began to burn: a true leader, after all, needs to be among the people in a crisis.

What Mr Gandhi stated on this occasion is perhaps as significant as his constant efforts to turn the attention of an indifferent government towards the sufferings of Manipur. Eschewing the lure of competitive politics, Mr Gandhi urged the prime minister to take time off to visit the state and — this is important — added that his party would support measures to improve the situation on the ground. In fact, there is a case for stakeholders — the Central and the state governments, Meiteis and Kukis, civil society and philanthropic entities — to take a leaf out of Mr Gandhi’s emphasis on collective action and build a bridge across the gaping chasm that has divided Manipur. Only empathy and collaboration can make that bridge durable. Mr Modi must turn his lofty rhetoric — the need to act independently of political considerations — into action. A joint effort by the Centre and the Opposition to rescue Manipur would be a wonderful example of India’s federal spirit.