Years of Fatal Inaction in Nagaland, Manipur, and Ladakh have escalated tensions. Citizens’ patience is fraying as solutions remain stalled.
By Navin Upadhyay
September 29, 2025: Across India’s rugged borderlands and bustling metropolises, a slow-burning unrest simmers. It is rooted not only in ethnic or regional grievances but also in a deeper sense of betrayal—of promises made and never fulfilled, of aspirations dangled but never realized. In sensitive frontiers like Nagaland, Ladakh, and Manipur, where local discontent intersects with national security, the Centre’s prolonged inaction has fostered mistrust, fueled violence, and weakened faith in governance. These failures, however, are not isolated to the periphery. From the undelivered pledge of doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022 to the unfulfilled guarantees of jobs, housing, and statehood, the BJP-led government’s track record reverberates far beyond the Northeast—spilling into Dehradun, Bengaluru, Delhi, and beyond.
Is this repeated cycle of broken promises and delayed delivery the result of bureaucratic inertia, deliberate neglect, or a calculated strategy to keep crises suspended without resolution? This report dissects three troubled timelines, links them to wider national patterns, and argues that unkept pledges are the tinder for India’s growing restiveness.
Nagaland: A Decade of Stalled Peace
For more than 11 years, the much-touted Framework Agreement of 2015, signed with fanfare by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NSCN-IM, has remained locked in secrecy. Heralded as a breakthrough to end India’s oldest insurgency, the pact was supposed to honor the Nagas’ “unique history” through shared sovereignty, even contemplating the integration of Naga-inhabited areas across states into a wider “Nagalim.” Yet, its contents remain concealed, leaving Nagaland’s 1.2 million people uncertain and disillusioned.
READ:
NIA Takes Over ₹18.85-Crore Manipur Bank Robbery Linked to NSCN(IM) https://t.co/DtKHgPxJDC #PNBRobbery #NIAProbe #NSCNIM #ManipurSecurity #Nagaland #RebelFunding
— POWER CORRIDORS (@power_corridors) September 24, 2025
Core demands for a separate Naga flag and constitution remain unresolved, with NSCN-IM accusing Delhi of deliberately diluting the accord by omitting crucial phrases such as “new relationship.” Instead of reconciliation, the 1997 ceasefire has enabled the outfit’s parallel governance structures to flourish. Between January 2024 and April 2025, police logged 58 extortion cases in Dimapur alone, making 81 arrests and seizing 78 weapons, including Chinese-origin AK-47s. The group’s 2025–26 “budget” even projected Rs 2 crore in revenue from smuggled Myanmar betel nut—funds earmarked for arms procurement and intimidation. The yearly extortion target set by the NSCN (I-M) is staggering, with every employee, entrepreneur, shopkeeper, and even truck driver forced to contribute to their coffers.
The NSCN-IM keeps threatening to resume “armed violence,” accusing Delhi of betrayal. With more than 600 rounds of talks in 27 years producing no final settlement, Nagaland stands precariously on a knife’s edge. As external actors exploit this vacuum, the Centre’s prolonged silence risks turning a “fragile peace” into renewed conflict.
Ladakh: Five Years of Broken Vows
Ladakh, strategically perched on the edge of India’s northern frontier and sharing a sensitive border with China, is once again in the national spotlight—not for its scenic landscapes, but for simmering unrest born of unkept political promises. In 2020, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a decisive victory in the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) elections, capturing 15 of the 26 seats. The party’s pledges were clear: implement Sixth Schedule protections, secure tribal autonomy over land, employment, and cultural preservation, and empower local governance. Today, five years on, almost none of these promises have been realized.
🚨As claimed by numerous eye witnesses, the protest consisting majorly youth was peaceful initially, enraged but not violent. But were allegedly provoked by tear gas shelling that led to chaos, resulting in the chain of unfortunate incident costing lives.pic.twitter.com/rUKcXZ06JZ
— Ladakh ལ་དྭགས (@Ladakhism) September 27, 2025
Frustration among locals has steadily grown. Sonam Wangchuk, the acclaimed climate activist and Gandhian figure known for his 2013 Leh-to-Delhi peace march, emerged as the most prominent voice of dissent. On September 10, 2025, Wangchuk launched a 35-day hunger strike, demanding statehood for Ladakh, the creation of a public service commission, and an additional Lok Sabha seat to ensure political representation. Speaking to reporters, Wangchuk warned that the youth of Ladakh were increasingly disillusioned: “This is a Gen Z outburst. Joblessness, cultural erosion, and broken promises are fueling anger across the region.”
The tension escalated dramatically on September 24, when two elderly strikers collapsed during demonstrations, igniting widespread protests across Leh. In the ensuing chaos, the BJP office and the Hill Council building were torched. Authorities imposed curfews, and police reportedly fired live rounds to disperse crowds. The human cost was stark: four dead and at least 80 injured.
READ: Ladakh Students to MHA: Ensure Fair Probe, Free Wangchuk
While the Ministry of Home Affairs attributed the unrest to Wangchuk’s “provocative speeches,” analysts argue that the root of the crisis lies in Delhi’s persistent inaction. Promises made to Ladakh’s residents, particularly regarding tribal rights and local governance, have gone unfulfilled, leaving the population feeling marginalized. Experts warn that in a region critical to India’s border defense, such alienation is not merely a political problem—it is a strategic vulnerability. The young, disillusioned population that India relies on to protect its frontiers may feel increasingly detached from the very state they are expected to defend.
Amid growing tensions, local voices emphasize that without concrete policy actions, further unrest is inevitable. “Ladakh cannot remain a spectator to promises made and broken,” said a local community leader, reflecting the sentiment of many. The coming months may test both the resilience of Ladakh’s people and the seriousness of Delhi’s commitment to its frontier regions.
Manipur: Two Years of Ethnic Agony
Manipur, bordering Myanmar, has become a tragic case study of state failure. Ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo tribes since May 2023 has claimed more than 260 lives and displaced 60,000 people into 281 relief camps. These camps remain in subhuman condition, starved of sanitation, healthcare, and food.
The Justice Ajai Lamba inquiry commission, formed in June 2023, has been extended repeatedly—now till November 2025—with little accountability for atrocities or alleged state complicity. Leaked audio recordings forced former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s resignation in February 2025, leading to President’s Rule. Yet, violence persists: 187 incidents were recorded in 2023 alone, underscoring the failure of law and order.
Chinese sponsored terrorists in Manipur have attacked the soldiers of Assam Rifles.
Three Soldiers have attained Supreme sacrifice 🙏
Revenge will be taken and an example will be set 🇮🇳
— Kreately.in (@KreatelyMedia) September 19, 2025
And still, no efforts have been made to ensure accountability or deliver justice to the victims. The alleged Biren Singh audio tape, currently before the Supreme Court, could be a crucial piece of evidence to establish political culpability, yet the Centre has reportedly done everything possible to delay the probe. Similarly, no action has been taken to arrest the commander-in-chief of the Meitei militia Arambai Tenggol, despite his prominent role in violence, killings, and arson. In fact, even after two years, the police have not made a single arrest in at least a dozen heinous cases.
READ: Analysis: NIA Terror Case Lacked Even Prima Facie Evidence — Was Mate Framed?
Militias continue to operate freely, arms flow across the porous Myanmar border, and the state remains engulfed in uncertainty, as the “wait-and-watch” policy of inaction persists.
Beyond the Borderlands: A National Malaise
Nagaland, Ladakh, and Manipur exemplify how national security crises and local grievances intertwine. But they are also symptomatic of a larger national malaise: the BJP’s repeated failure to translate electoral pledges into tangible outcomes.
In its 2014 and 2019 manifestos, the party promised a roof over every head by 2022, 20 million jobs annually, and a doubling of farmers’ incomes by the same year. None materialized. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana missed its targets, leaving 20 million rural homes incomplete. A 2024 NSSO survey found that farm incomes grew only 1.4% annually since 2016—far short of doubling. Unemployment hit a 45-year high of 8.8% in 2023, with urban youth joblessness in cities like Bengaluru and Delhi hovering around 25%.
These failures feed discontent nationwide. In Dehradun, students held massive protest in the last week of September; in Bengaluru, tech workers demonstrated against “anti-migrant” policies, citing broken promises of a startup ecosystem. In Delhi, farmers once again blocked highways in January 2025 over MSP guarantees promised as far back as 2020.
Inaction or Design? The Cost of Delay
The timelines—11 years in Nagaland, 5 in Ladakh, 2 in Manipur—tell a story of promises made, deadlines extended, and trust eroded. In sensitive regions, inaction creates security vacuums ripe for insurgents and foreign interference. Nationally, unfulfilled pledges on jobs, housing, and incomes fan the flames of youth unrest, with 65% of India’s 1.4 billion under 35.
Is this deliberate—a strategy of keeping populations in limbo, manageable but unresolved? Or is it simply paralysis, a government overwhelmed by its own ambitions? Whatever the explanation, the human cost is undeniable: Nagaland’s citizens coerced into paying “taxes” for insurgent guns; Ladakh’s Gen Z torching offices in despair; Manipur’s displaced languishing in relief camps.
Money flows, but peace remains elusive. As Wangchuk himself warned: “Voters trusted a cheque; now they demand it be cashed.” Unless Delhi delivers transparent accords, binding timelines, and visible accountability—from Kohima to Karnataka—unrest will deepen, eroding both stability and the democratic fabric of a nation at crossroads.
