Restoring trust between communities fractured by months of ethnic violence in Manipur will be a long and demanding process, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said on Sunday, underlining that peace cannot be imposed overnight even as law and order conditions show gradual improvement.
Speaking at a programme in Kolkata held to mark the centenary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Bhagwat said his recent visit to Manipur involved extensive engagement with tribal leaders, social organisations and youth representatives from across the state.
While expressing confidence that normalcy would eventually return, he cautioned that healing psychological and social divides would take far longer than restoring administrative order. “But bridging the minds is a great task, and it will take time,” Bhagwat said, stressing that sustained dialogue remained the only viable path forward.
According to the RSS chief, disturbances in the violence-hit state, largely linked to law and order challenges, were slowly subsiding. “That can be done, because basically the spirit is already there,” he said, adding that efforts to bring the warring sides to “one page” must continue.
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Drawing parallels with other northeastern states, Bhagwat said similar outreach initiatives had yielded results elsewhere. “We could do it in Arunachal, Meghalaya, we are doing it in Nagaland and other places,” he said, suggesting that Manipur would follow a comparable trajectory.
Bhagwat also noted the organisational presence of the RSS in the state, saying it currently runs around 100 shakhas in Manipur, which, he indicated, play a role in social engagement at the grassroots.
Reiterating his belief that peace would ultimately prevail, he said, “But definitely it will take time.”
During the interaction session, Bhagwat was asked about perceptions of distance between the Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s top leadership. Rejecting such narratives, he said the RSS has consistently maintained organisational independence. “We stay very distant from all BJP leaders,” he said, before adding, “We have always been close to Narendra bhai (PM Modi), Amit bhai (Union Home Minister Shah).”
Bhagwat maintained that the Sangh has never concealed its associations, political or otherwise, and urged audiences not to be swayed by speculative interpretations of its relationships.
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