Resistance, negotiation, and desire: Development and the state in the hills of Manipur

The article examines the dialectical relationship between resistance and negotiation with the state, on the one hand, and the desire to be part of the state, on the other. In doing so, it uncovers the micromanaging nature of the state. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, the study shows how this micromanaging state is resisted and negotiated in relation to the distribution and implementation of development schemes and programmes in a hill district of Manipur. It further argues that, despite such resistance and negotiations, there remains an aspect of the state that attracts people and fosters a desire to be part of it. This emphasizes attending afresh to the details of socio-temporal settings to understand how the multilayered, multiethnic state functions in Manipur.