India, Feb. 5 -- The swearing-in of Yumnam Khemchand Singh as the next chief minister (CM) of Manipur holds the potential to act as a decisive break from the unrest that has cleaved the province, driven deep wedges between communities, and tanked public faith in both the government and law and order. On paper, the new arrangement offers a chance for the region to move forward after two years of discord. Singh is considered to be a moderate leader from the dominant Meitei group, and his two deputies are drawn from the Kuki-Zo and the Naga communities. In building a new, more representative government, the Centre appears to want to address communal antagonisms and give warring groups a stake in the stability of the new administration - something that was sorely lacking when President's Rule was imposed almost a year ago. In the past, this newspaper has bemoaned how the seeds of the violence in the state - where at least 260 people have died since May 2023 and another 60,000 displaced - were first sowed by the unilateral action of the then government which withdrew from a tripartite accord and further actions by former CM N Biren Singh that were seen by the Kuki-Zo communities as partisan. The high court's decision on the scheduled tribe reservation lit this powder keg, widening chasms between communities. That the initial clashes snowballed into a complete breakdown of law and order and fractured the state into ethnic enclaves was due to a loss of faith of the common citizen in the impartiality of the administration, especially since then CM Biren Singh appeared either unwilling or unable to crack down on militia from the dominant community. Merely bolstering the security apparatus did little to bridge this chasm of trust deficit - the core reason why the state has not returned to normalcy despite a cessation in violence. The new administration has a chance to turn the page. But to achieve lasting peace, the government must commit itself to nurturing inter-community relations, stop any attempts at sowing strife, and ensure genuine justice for the many victims of the violence. The administration must eschew a parochial view of the state and, instead, encourage a vision that holds space for diverse communities and their claims and interests. In a state where scars have cut deep over the past two years, no governance misstep can be tolerated again....