This study on the state of civil society and governance in the North-east state of Manipur focuses on the social and political movements in the state: their causes, development and impact over time. It deals with crucial questions relating to development of the state and development of administration, and the many political and administrative ills plaguing Manipur such as electoral rigging, political defections, violent protests, suppression of dissent, glorification of the official ideology, politicisation of the armed forces, large-scale corruption and concentration of powers. Presenting a review of the state’s political and social background over the decades, it views changes of bureaucracy with the neo-liberal policy. It looks into people’s position to retail in FDI, absence of decentralisation of the planning process, caste system in democracy and central intrusion into the state list as problems that need to be addressed.