Political Environment and Conditions of Protest: Manipur Experience.

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to initiate an exploration of various environmental factors associated with the incidence of collective social protest activities, which is directed mostly towards the state authority and its agencies in Manipur. Good governance is considered to be a requisite for the smooth functioning of the state machineries, which induces an ideal environment for the socio-economic development of the state as well as its citizens. The legitimacy of the state authority is dependent on the trust the people has on the authority. This legitimacy of authority and trust could be sustained by the conventional functioning of the state agencies such as the courts and the police. The courts and the police are the two main agencies of the state which is directly responsible for the rights, justice, equality and safety of its citizens. When these two agencies are unresponsive in a political setup, it gives rises to conditions of social protest activities.