VIRTUAL Manchester Livable Cities

Abstract

Imphal, the capital city of the north-east Indian state of Manipur, has a long-standing history of ethnic violence perpetuated by territorial politics that was introduced to the region during colonial times. The city has been occupied continuously since 1891 by British and Indian armed forces and has been an arena for separatist conflict and counter insurgency struggles conducted by left-wing and ethno-nationalist groups. Territorial politics and anxieties have characterized the way the city is governed, leaking into economic and development policies at various levels. This paper aims at analysing how the Smart City Mission (SCM) rhetoric and implementation strategy fit into the cultural, political and spatial dynamics of Imphal. The paper argues that despite its claims, the Smart City Mission is a repurposed developmental scheme echoing the principles of colonial period that exacerbates the ongoing ethnic conflict in the region. Through a reading of official policy documents and oral historical sources, the paper makes two key arguments. First, it draws parallels between the urban planning projects in the 1930s and the current Smart City Mission rhetoric wherein one could observe the transition to a technocratic state. Second, it analyses the disparity between the hill and valley infrastructure that is reflective of the territorial politics of the region. It addresses the gap between what the mission stipulates versus the on-ground reality highlighting the detrimental effects of “digital urban utopias.” Thereby exploring how smart infrastructure solutions within socio-political context of cyclic violence have shaped new ideas of mobility, liveability and governance in Imphal but have led to consequences mirroring the past.