NEW DELHI : Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said that restoring peace in Manipur would require patience, sustained dialogue and trust-building among communities, stressing that while the violence is gradually subsiding, healing deeper social divisions will take longer.

Speaking after a recent visit to the state, Bhagwat said he had met tribal leaders, social organisations and youth representatives across Manipur. He described the prevailing situation as largely a law-and-order challenge that is “abating slowly” and could stabilise within about a year.

“But bridging the minds is a great task, and it will take time,” Bhagwat said, underscoring that dialogue remains the only viable path to bring the opposing sides “to one page”. He added that the foundation for reconciliation already exists. “That can be done, because basically the spirit is already there,” he said.

Addressing a programme marking the centenary year of the RSS, Bhagwat cited reconciliation efforts in other northeastern states to express confidence about Manipur’s future.

“We could do it in Arunachal, Meghalaya; we are doing it in Nagaland and other places,” he said, adding that peace would eventually return to Manipur, though “definitely it will take time”.

He also noted that the RSS operates around 100 shakhas in Manipur, indicating a sustained organisational presence during the reconciliation process.

On the Sangh’s relationship with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bhagwat said the RSS maintains organisational distance from all political parties. “We stay very distant from all BJP leaders,” he said, while acknowledging long-standing personal associations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Dismissing speculation about strained ties, Bhagwat said such narratives should be ignored. The RSS, he added, does not hide its relationships with anyone, including political organisations, and remains focused on its broader social role.

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