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Understanding India’s Manipur Conflict and Its Geopolitical Implications

Violent ethnic clashes in northeast India have a long local history — but the effects could reverberate across South Asia.

By: Binalakshmi Nepram ;   Brigitta W. Schuchert

Publication Type: Analysis

Since May 3, the northeastern Indian state of Manipur has witnessed repeated inter-ethnic clashes primarily between two local ethnic communities, the Meitei and Kuki. The violence has resulted in over 75 deaths and the burning of at least 1,700 buildings (including homes and religious sites). More than 35,000 people are currently displaced as well, with many now living in one of the 315 relief camps in the state. As the fighting continues, these numbers may also be rising.

The state government response has largely echoed the strategies India has previously employed during unrest in the Northeast or Jammu and Kashmir. This has included issuing military curfews, suspending internet services and deploying approximately 17,000 troops and paramilitary forces with shoot-on-site orders in effect for “extreme cases.”

While the violence in Manipur is some of the worst witnessed in the state in decades, it is not an unfamiliar occurrence in India’s Northeast, where the identities of different ethnic communities have repeatedly been weaponized to serve the interests of a powerful few. Any moves toward peacebuilding in the medium- to long-term will have to reckon with what has long been a weaponization of colonial fault lines — as even decades after India’s independence, very little has been done to foster understanding between different communities regarding one another’s history, culture and traditions. 

Democracy at Gun Point: The Current Manipur Violence in Context

Manipur, which means “Land of Jewels,” consists of a valley surrounded by mountain ranges. The state is home to 39 ethnic communities following different faiths, including Hinduism, Christianity and Islam, as well as Indigenous religious traditions such as Sanamahi. Opposition to the manner of Manipur’s merger with India in 1949 laid the groundwork for the nascent stages of resistance and separatist movements and remains at the heart of the dispute between New Delhi and many restive portions of the Northeast.

To quell this resistance, the Indian government imposed the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act in 1958. The act provides broad-based powers for the military and paramilitary groups to “[maintain] public order,” in “disturbed areas,” which have been primarily applied to regions of the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir.

The act has been criticized by rights groups and contributed to a deep trust deficit between the state and central government in Manipur, while the central government argues it has been necessary for maintaining order in areas with a history of insurgency — some predating India’s independence. In the Northeast (and elsewhere), the central government has also emphasized the threat of foreign support for separatist movements.

Today, the region features multiple conflicting claims to ethnic and communal homelands — and armed insurgent groups to defend those claims. In Manipur, there are at least four valley-based armed groups, several Naga groups and nearly 30 Kuki armed insurgent organizations. The proliferation of armed groups — at one point estimated to stand at around 60 — contributed to the sense of a “ war within a war ” in the state.

Those closely connected with political power took advantage of the tumultuous situation, and the state became the site of rampant gun-running and narco- and human-trafficking. Armed groups frequently back candidates in state elections. In 2022, two Kuki insurgent groups issued statements in support of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), and in 2019 images on social media reportedly showed a letter written by armed groups to Indian Home Minister Amit Shah asking for a party ticket to be given to a candidate of their choice — although the armed group later disputed this.

Northeast politicians have reported intimidation by opposing armed groups, and civil society organizations in Manipur emphasized that the 2022 elections were overshadowed by “ open intimidation ” from militant groups and violence across polling stations. This has led to “democracy at gunpoint” in this fragile region.

What Sparked the Latest Violence in Manipur?

The most recent violence began after the Manipur High Court asked the state government to consider Scheduled Tribe status for the Meitei community, which is the majority population in Manipur. This status would ensure protection within the Indian Constitution and allow the Meitei expanded access to benefits, including reserved seats in government.

The Meitei community in Manipur had long requested this status. However, there were strong concerns that such a move would deepen ethnic divisions, particularly with the Kuki and Naga Indigenous communities. Indeed, soon after the court announcement, a rally was held in protest by the All-Tribal Students Union of Manipur on May 3.

The violence began that same day, when reports surfaced that the Anglo-Kuki War Memorial Gate had been burnt down. This led Kukis to burn several villages inhabited by Meitei communities in Churachanpur, which in turn prompted retaliation by the Meitei, who reportedly torched several localities belonging to the Kuki community in the Imphal Valley areas, leading to several casualties.

While the protests may be identified as the most immediate trigger of violence in Manipur, intra-Indigenous community tensions had been rising in the state for several years. The current state government’s handling of Indigenous land rights issues, for instance, has been perceived as targeting the Kuki communities primarily living in the hill areas surrounding the capital valley. Efforts to survey reserved forests in the hill regions was said to be an effort to reduce poppy cultivation, but has resulted in evictions in Kuki villages.

Meanwhile, another point of contention is the current land imbalance between Indigenous communities: Meiteis cannot buy lands in the previously mentioned hill regions, but Kukis and other tribal communities can buy lands in the valley.

Additionally, the influx of refugees following the 2021 military coup in neighboring Myanmar — particularly those from Sagaing region, who have strong ties with the Kukis — has also created a greater sense of insecurity for the Meitei Indigenous community. Though the real decision-making in the conflict lies with those who control the guns, drugs and politics, the ones most affected in both the communities are women and children. The identities of different ethnic communities were weaponized in the current conflict to suit the agenda of a few.

The Evolution of the Conflict

While getting reliable information from Manipur has been difficult, images and reports from the state portray an ongoing “war zone,” with heavily armed militants continuing to roam, villagers arming themselves and a sharp deterioration in trust between citizens, governance and security.

Social media posts that manage to circumvent the internet blackout are often rife with messages of hate, division and desolation. Prices of essential commodities are skyrocketing and trucks carrying food, medicine and essential supplies have been left stranded . While it is unclear at this point how the conflict will evolve in the short-term, two trends are of particular importance to watch:

Response of the Indian State. At the start of the violence, there was a notable silence from the central government. This elicited criticism from opposition parties , which have accused the BJP of focusing more on the upcoming elections and using silence to foster violence.

With the violence ongoing for nearly one month, India’s Home Minister Amit Shah did recently arrive in Manipur for a four-day visit aimed at “restoring normalcy” to the state, while India’s chief of army staff also recently visited Manipur to assess the situation. At a press conference in Manipur on June 1, Shah announced that a judicial probe that would “investigate the violence” on behalf of the central government, led by a retired High Court judge. He further announced the creation a peace committee between members of different communities, additional fencing on the Myanmar border, and called for the return of an estimated 1,420 weapons looted from local police since the start of the clashes.

The ongoing violence, however, will be a key determining factor in whether these commitments can be met. Amid the chaos on the ground, armed groups continue to exploit the situation, while others have raised concerns of cross-border attacks. Given the concerns and promises to expand border fencing, India will likely need to engage with its neighbors in the region if the violence continues. 

Reconciliation Prospects. Several communities in the state and the region are holding peace and prayer meetings, religious leaders have called for peace, and others have called for the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Women’s groups across northeast India have issued appeals and formed “Mothers Peace Committees” in various localities.

Ending the current violence and fostering long-term reconciliation efforts, however, are fundamentally two different — although interlinked — ends. Any reconciliation must contend with the legacies of violence from multiple insurgencies and the often heavy-handed responses by the government, which have contributed to lasting trauma within the state.

Across all communities, the people in Manipur have suffered immensely for years as they saw their rice fields turned into battlefields and peace be taken away by a few power-hungry people who have engineered division and sown violence. Citizen-centric dialogues and engaging civil society will be key to addressing decades of deep distrust and historical hurt that have polarized Indigenous communities across the region. Indigenous peacemaking initiatives, truth-telling and forgiveness ceremonies could be a wat to start to soothe the fractured hearts and minds of communities who have lived through violence for decades. Women in peacebuilding is also needed, to begin what will be a long process of building responsive governance and transparency in the region.

Binalakshmi Nepram is a senior advisor for USIP’s religion and inclusive societies team.

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India: the roots and drivers of the violence in Manipur

Manipur state, located in the northeastern corner of india, has been embroiled in a conflict since may 2023, which has now escalated into a humanitarian crisis. in this background article we look at the causes of the violence and the economic and political factors that are driving it..

Anti-Kuki graffiti in Manipur. csi

The situation in Manipur, characterized by almost daily violent incidents primarily affecting the Kuki-Zo Christian community, represents a complex interplay of historical grievances, insurgencies, ethnic tensions and political dynamics. An overview of these elements of the conflict is crucial for anyone looking to form an informed opinion on it.

The conflict has taken a heavy toll in human life and property. According to the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum , a Kuki-Zo group, the violence has led to at least 158 deaths within their community.

Displacement and destruction

The scale of displacement and destruction is also staggering. Nearly 41,000 individuals have had to flee their homes. And over 7,000 Kuki-Zo homes and more than 350 churches have been razed. Compounding the horror are reports of the gang-rape of an unknown number of Kuki-Zo girls and women.

Additionally, in the district of Churachandpur alone, which is currently hosting about 21,000 displaced people, more than 80 displaced individuals have died due to a shortage of medicines and specialized doctors.

While most goods and medicines used to be transported from the Imphal Valley, only about 60 kilometers from Churachandpur. However, that road has been closed since the onset of the violence. The only remaining route is from Aizawl, the capital of the neighboring state of Mizoram, more than 330 kilometers away on hilly terrain. This has created a major shortage of goods and medicines, leading to an unprecedented level of inflation.

Ethnographic background

Manipur, which borders Myanmar and the Indian states of Mizoram, Nagaland and Assam, is home to three main ethnic groups. The largest group is the Meiteis, who are predominantly Hindu.

There are also two predominantly Christian communities, the Kuki-Zo and Naga peoples. The Meiteis inhabit the Imphal Valley, the state’s political and economic heartland. The Kuki-Zos and Nagas reside in the hill districts. The Nagas account for about 20-30 percent of the population, while the Kuki-Zos make up 15-25 percent.

The Kuki-Zo people of Manipur, the Mizo people of Mizoram, and the Chin people of Myanmar belong to a larger ethnolinguistic family. They are often collectively referred to as the Zo people. These linguistic similarities foster a sense of kinship and mutual understanding that transcends international state borders.

The majority of Kukis, Mizos, and Chins adhere to Christianity, a faith that plays a significant role in their cultural and community life. This shared religious identity further cements their bond, often manifesting in joint religious gatherings and cultural exchanges. Culturally, these communities have similar traditional practices, folklore, dances and attire.

This pan-Zo identity also plays a crucial role in their collective response to political and social issues affecting their communities, including the ongoing conflict in Manipur.

Status of Meiteis

The Meiteis, who account for about 56 percent of Manipur’s population, mass converted from their indigenous traditions to Hinduism in the early 18 th century. Like Kuki-Zo and Naga tribes, the Meiteis are also of Tibeto-Burman origin.

Despite some similarities, the Meiteis are distinct from the Kuki-Zo and Naga peoples in terms of cultural practices and traditions.

Importantly, the Meiteis do not hold an official tribal status in India. This status, typically designated for certain indigenous communities, is intended for affirmative action purposes, addressing social and economic disparities and preserving distinct cultural identities. Only peoples with tribal status are allowed to own land in Manipur’s hill country.

Historical roots of conflict

Manipur was once an independent kingdom, headed by Meitei kings and with Hinduism as the state religion. In this era, the valley-dwelling Meiteis and the hill-residing Kukis experienced periods of both conflict and cooperation.

The British colonial era brought significant changes, with administrative and land revenue systems which disrupted established land ownership patterns and social hierarchies.

In 1949, Manipur was incorporated into India, two years after India became independent from British rule. The merger was met with resistance, leading to the formation of Meitei insurgent groups. The Meiteis, driven by a sense of cultural distinctness, sought independence or greater autonomy from the Indian Union.

The Kuki-Zos, on the other hand, felt marginalized within the state of Manipur, as Meiteis dominated the state’s political and economic life. Kuki-Zo insurgent groups aspired for a separate state or administrative unit within the Indian Union, to safeguard their tribal identity and rights.

Meitei insurgency

The 1980s and 1990s saw the Meitei insurgency reaching its peak. During these decades, the Indian government implemented strict security measures, including the deployment of the army and paramilitary forces, and the controversial application of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), which grants security forces special powers in “disturbed areas.”

As a result of these security operations, many Meitei insurgent groups fled to Myanmar and established their bases there. The other Meitei insurgent groups gradually lost relevance in the eyes of the local populace. The Kuki-Zo and Naga insurgent groups signed “Suspension of Operation” pacts with the Union government, pending discussions on a political solution.

However, the spate of violence which started on May 3 revived the insurgency, and the banned Meitei insurgent groups returned from Myanmar. The Meitei civilian population was quick to lend their support to these armed groups, which they now saw as necessary in the conflict.

Economic drivers of the conflict

A critical yet often overlooked aspect of the conflict is the economic interests in the resource-rich Kuki-Zo areas. Their abundant natural resources include significant deposits of oil. This wealth has not gone unnoticed by successive state and national governments, which have shown a keen interest in these lands.

This interest notably intensified following the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coming to power in Manipur in 2017. Subsequently, the government endeavored to revise forest land legislation and reportedly displaced several Kuki-Zo families from their ancestral homes.

There is a growing concern among the Kuki community that the government’s intentions extend beyond mere administrative control and veer towards economic exploitation. Major corporations, eyeing lucrative contracts for the extraction of these natural resources, are believed to be in close consultation with government officials.

While it is a battle for cultural preservation and political rights for the Kuki-Zo people, for the government, it is about gaining control over vital economic resources.

Recent violence

The ongoing violence in Manipur appears to be a targeted campaign rather than a mere clash of ethnicities. It was triggered by a Manipur High Court directive instructing the Meitei-dominated state government to consider extending special benefits and quotas to the Meiteis. This move, potentially enabling the majority community to buy land in Kuki-Zo territories, inflamed tensions.

A peaceful rally by the tribal community on May 3, 2023, to protest the court order led to a minor clash. That evening, unfounded accusations that some Meiteis had been murdered or raped by Kuki-Zos spread rapidly in the Meitei community. Meitei extremist groups, mostly the Arambai Tenggol and the Meitei Leepun, allegedly helped to spread this disinformation on social media and messaging apps, manufacturing grounds for the violence to come.

Many Meiteis already believed that all Kuki-Zo are illegal immigrants from Myanmar and blamed them for drug trafficking in the state, calling them “narco-terrorists.” While it may be true that poppy cultivation is prevalent in Kuki-Zo areas, it is also believed that Meitei drug dealers buy poppy from Kuki-Zo farmers.

Disinformation

Local media outlets have been accused of biased reporting, skewing facts to favor the Meitei perspective. Meanwhile, editors who have reported on the violence have faced legal action from the state government.

The state police, dominated by the Meiteis, have been accused of allowing, and even participating in, the violence against the Kuki-Zos. Three days after the violence began, the Indian government deployed military forces to the region, which have largely sought to quell violence professionally and impartially.

According to state government estimates, around 5,600 weapons and 650,000 rounds of ammunition were looted, mostly by the Meiteis, to attack the Kuki-Zo people. As of mid-January 2024, only 1,500 arms and 20,000 rounds of ammunition had been recovered.

Meiteis have also been killed in the conflict, but primarily as they ventured into Kuki-Zo villages bordering Meitei areas to launch attacks, allegedly with the support of Manipur police and other state forces.

These Meitei individuals met resistance from Kuki-Zo “village volunteers,” armed young people defending their communities in Churachandpur and other Kuki-Zo areas in Manipur.

The political dimension

The state government, led by the BJP Chief Minister Biren Singh, is predominantly Meitei. The Indian federal government, also led by the BJP, has been criticized for not exerting enough pressure on the state government to prevent the violence.

Initially, the Indian government seemed to overlook the state government’s complicity in the violence. However, it later appeared to exert pressure on the state authorities. Yet, it found its influence limited due to Singh’s substantial popularity and support among the Meiteis in Manipur.

The situation has potentially escalated beyond the Indian government’s control. Any action against Singh risks significant resistance from Meitei civilians. This leaves the Indian government with a stark choice: either maintain the status quo or intervene through a military operation, which could result in high civilian casualties.

However, just like the national government, Singh also appears to be losing control of the situation. Insurgent groups, cultural extremist groups and civilians have begun to view him as a “weak” chief minister unable to “teach a lesson” to the Kuki-Zo people.

Meanwhile, the violence has persisted for over eight months. Both the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities anticipate that it could take around two years for the situation to normalize.

The situation requires a nuanced approach to conflict resolution, one that acknowledges the diverse perspectives and grievances of all communities involved.

As Manipur navigates this turbulent period, the role of the state and central governments, along with security forces, will be pivotal in steering the region towards peace and stability. If all the key players were to entirely lose control over the situation, this would lead to an unimaginable man-made catastrophe.

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Identity and Violence in Manipur, India

A history of political and economic mismanagement, paired with armed militancy based in ethnic identity, helps explain the protracted violence in the region.

The first time the world took notice of the gross human rights violations being perpetrated in Manipur, India, was in July 2023, when a video of Manipuri women from the Kuki tribe who had been tortured, raped, and paraded around naked went viral on social media. These heinous acts came on the heels of the tremendously violent communal conflict that engulfed Manipur earlier in the year.

In reality, the violence follows a long and fraught socio-political history. The region has been prone to ethnic violence for decades, ever since the king of Manipur, Bodhachandra, signed an accord with the Government of India to become a part of the newly independent nation of India in 1949. The traditional conflict was between the Naga and Kuki tribes, but the recent violence has been between the Meiteis and Kukis.

Vibha Arora and Ngamjahao Kipgen explain the origin of these ethnic groups and their conflicts in their paper, “ The Politics of Identifying with and Distancing from Kuki Identity in Manipur ,” published in 2012 in the Sociological Bulletin . Historically, the Meitei dynasty ruled the independent kingdom of Manipur. After Manipur formally joined India, it was administered as a “C” scheduled state, along with nine other states, including Ajmer, Bhopal, and Himachal Pradesh. Unlike “A” states, which were overseen by an elected governor, “C” states were governed by chief commissioners appointed by the President of India. Manipur became a Union Territory (e.g., a territory governed by the federal government) in 1956 and a finally full state, with elected governors, in 1972.

Arora and Kipgen describe Manipur as “a multi-ethnic society inhabited by three main ethnic groups—namely, the Nagas, the Kukis, and the Meiteis—who occupy distinct territories and topographies.” Manipur’s highlands are the domain of “Christianized Naga and Kuki tribes who constitute about 34 per cent of the total population,” with the Nagas living in the northern mountains and the Kukis in the southern hills. “[T]he valley areas are largely inhabited by the Meiteis, who are predominantly Hindu,” they note. Other tribes, including the predominantly Muslim Pangans, live in Manipur as well, but the conflicts between the Naga, Kuki, and Meitei tribes shape the social landscape. Over the years, the permutations and combinations of clashes between constituents may have changed, but the violence continued unabated.

In his paper “ Armed Violence in Manipur and Human Rights ,” published in The Indian Journal of Political Science in 2011, Oinam Jitendra Singh points towards three prominent reasons for this. The first, he says, is political.

“The basic structural violence in Manipur today, at the political plane,” he argues, “is the total denial of a democratic space to the Manipuri people at the ground level for such a long time.” In other words, the Manipur monarchy was forced to transition to a “C” state, after which “a corrupt bureaucracy accountable to Delhi was running the show.”

The second factor is economic. Manipur came into India with an almost entirely agrarian economy, with a surplus of rice. After the merger, household industries declined as the economy was managed centrally. As Singh argues,

[t]he opportunity to build an economy with a strong productive base was wasted by the corrupt bureaucracy here [Manipur] on the one side and by the remote controlled, centralized planning on the other. There was no room for local initiatives.

And finally, the third reason Singh offers for the conflict is social, caused by the influx of immigrants following the assimilation of Manipur into India. The state’s population rapidly increased with the arrival of new residents from mainland, with the demographic shifts leading to structural change that

alarmed the indigenous population. They naturally feel that their distinctive culture and identities are facing a grave threat from the Indo-Aryan peoples of being submerged under or assimilated by them.

Singh shows that these factors led to the rise of secondary violence in the late 1970s, as armed opposition groups, soon to be labelled “terrorist organizations,” developed along ethnic lines. As a result, the Parliament of India instituted the Armed Forces Special Powers Act of 1958, authorizing the Commissioner of Manipur to use armed forces to maintain public order. But the arbitrary and heavy-handed use of the Special Powers Act led to the “unfettered use of force even against innocent civilians,” he writes, with “gross human rights violations including torture, extra-judicial execution, rape and enforced disappearances.”

Arora and Kipgen add to this, explaining that armed insurgencies are a common way to claim ethnic homelands, followed by “negotiating with the state and the national governments, and signed accords.” That being said, few of those signed accords “have engendered durable peace and participatory development.” They wonder,

How many ethnic groups are really assessing the success of their political elites in facilitating development and trickling down resources after the formation of exclusive homelands? […] While particular insurgents disappear or get absorbed into the political mainstream, insurgency per se does not decline, as other insurgents arise.

Insurgency can be a profitable business, they note, but it just leads to more disorder.

Ch. Sekholal Kom’s “ Ethnic Mobilization and Militance in Northeast India: A Case of Manipur ,” published in The Indian Journal of Political Science in 2010, had already highlighted the role of ethnic mobilization in militant formations in Manipur. As Kom notes, the defining of one ethnic group “kindled and accentuated the ethnic identity of another group.”

The idea of “ethnic identity” acted as a contagion, he explains. “The prospect of greater autonomy for one group stimulated similar demands from other groups.” Should one group be awarded political power and resources based on ethnicity, why should they not also go to another group?

“Most of the political developments in Northeast, from reorganization to protracted violence, are intrinsically linked to the question of ethnicity,” he writes. Ethnic differences—and the mobilization of those differences in the context of Manipur’s politics—has led to what he describes as “ethnic militancy” in the region. “These ethnic militants…have become the most resorted means for ethnic assertion and bargaining and even to the extent of achieving economic political power.”

Kom sees ethnic militancy as “one of the most serious threats to peace, security and development” in the region. Moreover, the instability and violence has been made even worse by the state, which “has failed to contain militancy through negotiations, dialogues and peace accords and instead countered by launching a massive counter insurgency offensive through its military and intelligence.” Insurgency begets insurgency.

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Kom offers a solution to the government of Manipur, requesting that they address ethnic aspirations by providing autonomy to each group in a guided manner so that conflicts may be reduced. He ends with poignant advice that rings especially true in today’s context, pointing out that that a “resolution requires that a meaningful and acceptable political arrangement…meet[s] competing ethnic demands.” The state must demonstrate that it’s “serious in finding a lasting solution despite the many odds that would be inevitable.”

In other words, writes Kom, the Government of Manipur, like all parties involved in the conflict and resolution, needs “to tread all tracks and walk the talk.”

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Manipur violence explained: history of suspicion between ethnic groups escalates violence.

The escalation in violence in Manipur has its roots in an over 10-year-old demand by the Meitei community for a Scheduled Tribe tag. The immediate reason for this violence, however, is a Manipur High Court order directing the state government to recommend to the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry by May 29, an ST tag for the community. The petitioners have argued that this community had once enjoyed the ST tag prior to the merger of Manipur with the Indian Union and have sought the restoration of this status.

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• World Politics /

How Manipur violence is challenging India’s politics

Modi and the BJP face a no-confidence motion due to brutal conflict.

by Ellen Ioanes

Interethnic violence has grown over the summer in India ’s northeastern Manipur state, with reports on Thursday claiming three people had been killed and several homes set on fire . The clashes, between the majority Meitei ethnic group and the Kuki tribal groups, risk spilling into neighboring states, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has thus far failed to seriously address the violence or the broader underlying issues of migration and ethnic tensions in the region.

Since May 3, Meitei and Kuki residents of communities in Manipur have engaged in horrific violence including reported rapes, burnings, and decapitations, apparently motivated by the state government’s efforts to extend benefits and jobs once exclusively reserved for Kukis to Meiteis . Over the past three months, the violence has become so extreme that it has triggered a no-confidence motion against Modi’s government this coming week.

Though the proposed motion won’t affect Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) grip on power, it will serve two main political purposes: to draw attention to the government’s inaction in containing the conflict as well as other failures and to galvanize the opposition under a new umbrella group .

Interethnic, sectarian , and insurgent violence is not new to India , and Modi’s Hindu nationalist ideology has contributed to the atmosphere of discord , if not outright fueled violence in some cases . The BJP governs Manipur state, and rather than attempting mediation between the largely Hindu Meiteis and Christian Kukis, the state government imposed an internet blackout that was only partially lifted last month .

The no-confidence motion won’t topple Modi’s government and may not even bring relief for the thousands who have fled violence in Manipur — or the many more still living in fear.

Violence in Manipur has become too extreme to ignore

India’s northeastern states — collectively called the “seven sisters” — are remote, often under resourced, and ethnically diverse. Some of these ethnic groups, called Scheduled Tribes, are transitory or share kinships across different states or even into neighboring countries; the Kuki , for example, have ties to ethnic groups in neighboring Myanmar and parts of Bangladesh as well as Mizoram and Assam states.

Because of its remoteness, porous international and state borders, migratory tribal groups, and the political and economic instability of neighboring countries like Bangladesh and Myanmar, northeastern India has seen many interethnic conflicts over the decades and under Modi’s government. In Assam, for example, tensions between ethnic Assamese and Bangladeshi migrants, including those whose families had lived in Assam for decades, have always had a political dimension — which was only exacerbated in 2019 when the federal government essentially declared about 1.9 million Bangladeshis in Assam stateless .

Manipur, like Assam, is poor and under-resourced; and inequality, real or perceived, exacerbates any tensions that already exist.

In Manipur, the Meitei people make up about half of the population, per CNN, and the Kuki make up 25 percent . As Scheduled Tribes, the Kuki have special access to land permits, jobs, and other benefits because they had historically been oppressed and denied access to education and livelihoods.

But a court ruling issued May 3 suggested the Meitei people also be designated as Scheduled Tribes, giving them access to the benefits — and, importantly, land in Mizoram’s hill country— that had previously been set aside for Scheduled Tribes. Kuki and other Scheduled Tribes rallied against the ruling , leading to the statewide suspension of mobile internet services, as well as a “shoot-at-sight” order issued by police governor Anusuiya Uikey to “maintain public order and tranquility,” CNN reported at the time.

The lack of internet connectivity prevented those outside Manipur from seeing just how violent and grim the situation had become — that is until late July, when a video of two naked Kuki women being paraded through a street and sexually assaulted surfaced on YouTube . That incident sparked national outrage and forced Modi to make his only statement about the violence thus far , saying the sexual violence was “shameful” and vowing to take action. India’s Supreme Court also weighed in, saying that if state and federal authorities don’t make efforts to bring those responsible to justice, “we will,” Al Jazeera reported . Police in Manipur had reportedly arrested at least four people and were investigating 30 others by the time the video made international media on July 21.

In all, over the past three months, at least 150 people have been killed and at least 60,000 have been displaced by the violence . Some reports put the number of dead at more than 180 .

Outrage over Manipur could work to the opposition’s advantage

At one time, it would have been hard to imagine that conflict in a poor, remote state could have had an effect on Modi’s power, but the violence in Manipur is also coinciding with a newly vigorous and unified opposition — and some clear frustration with the ruling party.

In a signal to other Kuki constituencies in Manipur, The Kuki People’s Alliance, or KPA, withdrew its political support from the governing BJP in Manipur Sunday with a letter from party president Tongmang Haokip, the Hindu reported . Though as a new party the KPA has only two seats in Manipur’s 60-seat state assembly to the BJP’s 32, the move could push the eight other Kuki representatives to take a stand.

On the national stage, the upcoming no-confidence motion will be the first test of the new Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA, opposition coalition. Throughout Modi’s tenure, opposition parties including the once-dominant Indian National Congress party have struggled to break the BJP’s hold on both national and state politics. It’s unclear whether the INDIA coalition, which comprises some 26 political parties, many of which are regional and had been unable to coalesce on the national level, will be able to challenge the BJP’s dominance in the states and in parliament. But, as Reuters reported last month , they are building a platform to challenge Modi and the BJP’s Hindu nationalist ideology, as well as improving economic outcomes for Indians by combating inflation and unemployment.

Rahul Gandhi, perhaps the best-known and most outspoken opposition politician and the scion of both the Gandhi and Nehru political dynasties, is also marking his return to the Lok Sabha, the parliament’s lower house where the BJP still holds the majority of seats. On Friday, the nation’s Supreme Court blocked Gandhi’s conviction for defaming Modi during a 2019 speech , and he is now allowed to return to parliament.

As of now, Modi and the BJP look to have a solid grip on power despite the horrors in Manipur and the newly unified opposition. That is unlikely to change before the upcoming 2024 national elections , but the no-confidence measure is an opportunity for the opposition to grill Modi and the BJP on persistent problems like violence against women, as Bloomberg reported Sunday .

Modi remains popular in India, riding on his twin messages of economic development and Hindu nationalism, but weakening the BJP on a state-by-state and seat-by-seat level could be possible, as a May victory by the Congress Party in the southern state of Karnataka indicated .

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It also points to the role of armed groups from the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities in the prolonged violence in northeastern India.

Kangpokpi/Imphal, India – On Christmas Eve, it was eerily calm inside a makeshift bunker with piles of gunny bags and a tin roof. Hunkered inside and clutching their single-barrelled rifles, 19-year-old Chonminlal Kipgen and 26-year-old Paolal Kipgen from the predominantly Christian Kuki-Zo community looked out and scoured the hills of Kangpokpi district for armed fighters from the rival Meitei community.

They said they were village volunteers – civilians who had taken up arms to defend their homes.

Not so far away in Manipur’s capital, Imphal, the majority-Meitei community had similarly muted celebrations during their most cherished festival, Ningol Chakouba, in early November.

For the past 11 months, the two communities in India’s northeastern state of Manipur have been locked in what is arguably the country’s longest-running ethnic conflict in the 21st century under the watch of a federal government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The conflict has killed 219 people, injured 1,100 and displaced 60,000. It has revived an array of armed groups, sweeping up men and boys as recruits from both communities. On Saturday, two Kuki-Zo “village volunteers” were killed and their bodies allegedly mutilated in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district. In their press release, tribal groups accused “central security forces, who aided Meitei militants” of being behind the killings.

The conflict is frequently oversimplified as a struggle between the Hindu Meitei and Christian Kuki-Zo communities, mirroring the religious polarisation seen in communal conflicts and assaults on religious minorities in various parts of India. While the Kuki-Zo communities are almost entirely Christian, the Meitei community predominantly follows a syncretic form of Hinduism and their own Indigenous faith system, called Sanamahism. A smaller number of Meitei people also follow Christianity and Islam.

But an assessment prepared by Assam Rifles officials in Manipur highlighted a different set of factors that are unique to the conflict in Manipur. The Assam Rifles is the federal government’s paramilitary force with a long and controversial history in the state. It is the oldest paramilitary force in the country and shoulders the responsibility of maintaining law and order in the northeast along with the army.

The Reporters’ Collective (TRC) reviewed the assessment, made in a PowerPoint presentation, late in 2023. The officers who showed the presentation wished to remain anonymous. They took me through the presentation, which was in sync with the views one of the officers shared with me while explaining the reasons behind the Manipur conflict.

The presentation put part of the blame on the state government, headed by Chief Minister N Biren Singh, a member of Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and his “political authoritarianism and ambition”.

It is the first candid assessment from a federal government agency that has made it into the public domain.

It is significant because Modi this month, in the run-up to a general election, had asserted that the federal government’s timely intervention had led to a “marked improvement in the situation” in Manipur . This was one of the few times that the prime minister had spoken of the conflict. Meanwhile, the federal home affairs minister has placed his faith in the chief minister’s ability to bring peace, which so far has not provided a resolution. The state’s two seats in India’s lower house of parliament vote on April 19 and April 26, in the first two phases of the national elections.

The assessment by the Assam Rifles listed causes of the conflict as determined by officers in the thick of the violence.

It highlighted the impact of “illegal immigrants” from neighbouring Myanmar, the consequent demand for a national register of citizens to reduce migration and the demand for Kukiland.

Kukiland is a separate administrative unit that the political and armed Kuki leadership wants cleaved out of Manipur. The demand for Kukiland has been revived during the ethnic conflict.

Additionally, the presentation asserted that armed groups from the Meitei community are equipping people with weapons, and the Kuki community’s armed groups are backing “volunteers”.

All of this has intensified tensions and contradicted attempts by both communities’ leaders to present the conflict as common citizens volunteering for self-defence against the other community.

TRC could not independently verify if the views in the presentation are endorsed by the Assam Rifles as an organisation. Detailed questions were sent to the paramilitary force’s official spokesperson.

Initially, a spokesperson said the Assam Rifles would not be able to respond to something that was “hearsay”.

In a follow-up email, the Assam Rifles said it would “respectfully decline to engage in discussions regarding speculative or unverified matters. As a professional institution, we focus on our core duties and responsibilities, and we have no further comments on this issue at this time.” Later, it asked for a copy of the presentation.

The Assam Rifles did not respond to TRC’s follow-up emails asking if it held the views reflected in the presentation.

Queries to the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Manipur chief minister’s office remain unanswered.

Hours after this investigation was originally published, Assam Rifles issued a statement saying that the “contents of this article may not be construed as the organisational viewpoint of Assam Rifles.” The statement claimed that “no such presentation has been made by Assam Rifles”. Al Jazeera has independently confirmed that the presentation was made, and has reviewed it.

The chief minister’s role

The immediate trigger for the violence was a demand by the dominant Meitei community for Scheduled Tribe status, a form of affirmative action granting quotas of government jobs and college admissions. It was opposed by other tribal groups, including those from the Kuki-Zo community.

But in the presentation, Assam Rifles officials pointed to policies of the chief minister that they believed fed the animosity between the communities. It noted Singh’s “hard stance” on the “war on drugs” and “vocal social media dissent”, among other things, for inflaming the conflict.

The presentation accused Singh of creating divisions between communities in the state’s campaign to stop drugs from being manufactured, traded and sold in Manipur. His forceful drive against the cultivation of poppies, grown in hilly regions of the state bordering Myanmar, drove home the impression that he is targeting Kukis.

The presentation also cited “state forces’ tacit support” of the violence and the “dismemberment of law-and-order machinery”.

Another factor in the conflict, the presentation noted, is “Meitei Revivalism”. Revivalism refers to the long history of the Meitei community aspiring to revert to its identity before the advent of Hinduism in the 18th century and later the merger of Manipur into India in 1949. The campaign led to a revival of Sanamahism in the 1930s and fuelled the armed movements subsequently.

The presentation lists Meitei Leepun and Arambai Tenggol, two Meitei organisations, as among the factors that has fuelled the conflict.

Arambai Tenggol was formed in 2020 “under the aegis of the titular king of Manipur and BJP Member of Parliament Leishemba Sanajaoba”, a police officer told me.

The Tenggol was initially formed as a sociocultural organisation focused on the revival of Sanamahi culture and later took up arms. It earned a more vigilante-like reputation in April last year after it broke into the house of a Meitei Christian pastor who had allegedly insulted the Sanamahism faith.

The Arambai Tenggol is helmed by Tyson Ngangbam, who goes by the pseudonym “Korounganba Khuman”. (Korounganba is a common Meitei name that means “sunshine” while Khuman is the name of a clan.)

TRC sent questions to Ngangbam through his social media account, which he has used during the conflict. The report will be updated if he responds.

In January, in a show of strength, Arambai Tenggol summoned 37 members of Manipur’s Legislative Assembly and two members of parliament from the state, including RK Ranjan Singh, the federal minister of state for external affairs and education, for a meeting at Kangla Fort, the palace of the Meitei kings in the heart of Imphal. It included lawmakers from the Meitei community across party lines.

Ngangbam spelled out the group’s demands, including updating the National Register of Citizens, a process by which the Indian government hopes to identify and exclude undocumented migrants.

The group also demanded abrogation of the Suspension of Operation – a peace agreement – with the Kuki-Zo armed groups, the relocation of refugees from Myanmar to the neighbouring state of Mizoram, border fencing along the Indo-Myanmar border, the withdrawal of the Assam Rifles from Manipur and the delisting of “illegal migrants” from the Scheduled Tribes list – a move that would exclude Kuki-Zo people from Myanmar from accessing the Indian government’s affirmative action policies. The lawmakers committed to back the demands.

Meitei Leepun, which is also of recent origin, is perceived as influenced by the ideology of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the fountainhead of a spectrum of hardline Hindu organisations, including the BJP. The leader of Meitei Leepun openly professes allegiance to the state’s chief minister and BJP leader Biren Singh, a Meitei.

Both Meitei Leepun and Arambai Tenggol face accusations from Kuki leaders of spearheading assaults by the Meitei community against their people. While Arambai Tenggol leans towards a stronger Meitei nationalist stance distinct from Hinduism, Meitei Leepun aligns with the Hindutva campaign led by the RSS and BJP.

A Meitei Leepun leader, Pramot Singh, told me: “We [the Meiteis] are followers of sanatana dharma. … If Meitei becomes extinct, the last outpost of sanatana dharma in Manipur is gone in the same manner Kashmiri Pandits are gone.”

Pramot Singh was referring to an upper-caste Brahmin group that lived in Kashmir but was forced to flee in the 1990s as they faced persecution and threats of violence by Kashmiri armed groups.

The Revivalists, in contrast, see Meiteis as distinct from the rest of India with their own cultural and religious identity and an erstwhile Manipuri kingdom called Kangleipak, which was merged by coercion into India in 1949.

The Assam Rifles presentation was silent on the political and business underpinnings of the conflict, the role of the federal government – under the BJP – and the Assam Rifles’ own failings and alleged bias.

According to the Assam Rifles presentation, the conflict is divided into three phases: “initiate”, “mutate” and “stalemate”. It laid out how the nature and character of the violence have changed through these stages.

My reporting over six months helped draw out details of what the paramilitary force’s presentation mentioned and what it left out.

The initiation

The embers of the current conflict – Biren Singh’s alleged political authoritarianism, hard stance on poppy cultivation, undocumented immigration, demand for Kukiland and Meitei Revivalism – have long smouldered.

But in April last year came the spark that ignited the simmering tension. This period was referred to by the Assam Rifles presentation as “initiate”.

That month, the Manipur High Court had asked the state government to consider petitions for including the Meitei community in the list of Scheduled Tribes – the constitutional provision that in the case of Manipur includes property ownership in the hilly areas dominated by Kukis. The Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act of 1960 doesn’t include all hill areas in its purview.

Heeding a call by the All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur, the leading tribal civil society organisation in Manipur, for a “solidarity march” in the hill districts where tribal communities dominate, rallies were held on May 3 in Senapati, Ukhrul, Kangpokpi, Tamenglong, Churachandpur, Chandel and Tengnoupal.

As the march was winding up in the town of Churachandpur, news spread that a tyre had been set on fire in front of the Anglo-Kuki Centenary Gate, which was built to commemorate the 1917-1919 Kuki uprising against the British.

Subsequently, a group of young people approached the gate wielding weapons. Soon, word spread, suggesting that “militants” were provoking the crowd, Outlook magazine reported. Within a couple of hours, rumours spread through the state that Kuki mobs were vandalising Meitei houses.

The Assam Rifles officers’ presentation said the period of conflict starting May 3 was characterised by “high intensity riots”, “selective targeting” and it was “orchestrated and led by militias”.

Mobs ran amok in the towns, particularly in Imphal, located in the valley with a predominantly Meitei population.

“On the night of May 3 at 8pm, people wearing black shirts attacked us. We fired blanks, which forced them to retreat but just for some time,” said 43-year-old L Ngampao Khongsai, who had been living in Imphal’s Khongsai Veng area, a predominantly Kuki-Zo area.

According to Khongsai, a Kuki-Zo, the mob continued to attack the neighbourhood despite pushback from the security forces. “They would be saying that Kuki should be killed and threw stones.”

Khongsai fled with his family and hid at a nearby school. Like thousands of others from the valley, he ran and made his way to the Kuki-Zo-dominated Churachandpur district.

In the hill areas and closer to the foothills, mobs attacked Meitei neighbourhoods. A pregnant Warepam Rameshwori was forced to flee her village. “Our village is at the foothills in Tronglaobi Maning Leikai [in Bishnupur district] surrounded by Kuki villages. On May 3, the firing started. … [The Kukis] had sophisticated weapons and started firing at us, and we didn’t have any weapons to defend, so we ran away from there and found shelter at a relative’s home,” she said.

Seventy-nine Kuki-Zo and 18 Meitei individuals lost their lives from May 3 to May 23, according to an Assam Rifles estimate. This period also recorded a wave of attacks and looting of arms from police stations. According to the Assam Rifle assessment, 5,668 weapons were looted.

“[The state government] allowed the looting of arms. I mean, it is obvious because it is impossible for people to just enter the police stations and take out arms,” a retired police officer familiar with the security and intelligence operations in the region told me.

“So the Meitei civilians and the rebel groups had gotten weapons and started maintaining vigilance in the town. … In response, the other side felt that the SoO [Suspension of Operations] arms people should get out and distribute weapons amongst the Kukis,” he said.

The Suspension of Operations is the peace agreement signed among Kuki-Zo armed groups, the federal government and the Manipur government. The SoO requires Kuki-Zo militias to stay in designated camps and all their weapons be kept in the camp’s central armoury under the supervision of the state.

“The divide was complete, and that was the stage in the beginning when the political leadership should have cracked down very, very heavily,” the officer said.

That did not happen. The conflict spread and mutated, the Assam Rifles presentation noted.

More than 8,000 reports

TRC tried to redraw the initial period of the conflict by analysing 8,169 first information reports (FIRs) – 5,818 were filed in May and 2,351 in June.

An FIR is the first complaint filed either by citizens or police, which the police then have to investigate to determine whether a crime has been committed.

On May 3, an FIR was filed recording the initial trigger of the violence between the two communities. According to the FIR filed by the authorities: “A huge [number] of Kuki and Meitei youths numbering about 1,500 clashed among each other and vandalised and burned down many houses of both communities at Torbung Bangla. In that, many houses numbering about 300 houses and some private vehicles were also burnt down by the rioters. The police personnel fire[d] some rounds of tear gas smoke bombs and other ammunition to disperse the mob.”

The looting of weapons was reported as starting on May 4 with the first registered incident being reported at Manipur Police Training College in Imphal. According to the FIR, “The large mob overpowered the sentry and broke the lock of arm kote room and looted a large number of arms and ammunitions [sic],” including automatic rifles – 157 INSAS rifles, 54 SLR rifles and AK-47 rifles, among others. The looting of weapons continued until May 31, as recorded in these 8,169 FIRs.

In the first two months of the conflict, 7,831 cases of vandalism and incidents in which residents were forced to flee were reported. In addition, 189 cases of killings, assaults – including sexual assault – bodily harm and missing persons, and 79 cases of mass looting of weapons were also recorded.

Multiple FIRs were nearly identical or similar. For instance, on May 10, 76 FIRs filed in the Sagolmang police station in Imphal East District included a similar complaint: “Some unknown persons holding arms and deadly weapons numbering about 1,000 suspected to be Kuki Community from different villages entered at [name of place] and damaged the properties as well as burnt the house.” The only differences in the reports were the place names and the lists of damaged items.

A similar trend was seen in the police complaints filed by the opposing Kuki-Zo side.

“If a village with 40 households was burnt, there would be 40 complaints,” a second police officer said on the condition of anonymity. According to him, the “identical” cases were all combined to help the inquiry being led by a special investigative team.

The second phase

According to the Assam Rifles presentation, the character of the conflict began to change at the end of May.

This is the time when federal Home Minister Amit Shah made a four-day trip to Manipur to stitch up a truce. By then, the federal government, in an unprecedented move, had appointed a federal officer in charge of all security and policing operations in the state, bringing the state police and the federal paramilitary and army under one command.

The federal government may dismiss a state government and take over control of the state’s functions if it believes “the constitutional machinery” has failed. The constitution also requires the federal government to protect a “state against external aggression and internal disturbance”.

But in this case, the federal government kept its faith in the state government and did not invoke either of these constitutional provisions.

Again unprecedented, the government sought to achieve a truce by drawing up an ethnic boundary, calling it a buffer zone, dividing the Kuki-Zo from Meitei-dominated areas and enforcing this boundary through its armed forces.

Shah’s visit and the strategy to impose a unified federal policing command and the buffer zone failed.

The violence abated in the main Kuki-Zo or Meitei-dominated towns, but it shifted to rural areas. These rural areas, stretching from the Imphal Valley to the Kuki-dominated hills, are made up of small hamlets, villages and townships where Meitei and Kuki people have traditionally lived next to each other.

Now, the villages of both communities came under attack from armed groups on both sides. A battle to forcibly create ethnic territories had kicked off.

This phase stretched from May 23 to June 15.

On a September night, when I visited the Meitei village of Singda Kadangband, located at the edge of the Meitei-dominated Imphal West district, its residents spoke about the sleepless nights they had spent for the six months of the conflict.

About 170 men from 165 households had been taking round-the-clock shifts to stand guard at 10 bunkers set up on the periphery of the village.

In early June, the villagers were approached by Meitei fighters. “They came forward to help us, but we didn’t allow them. We are afraid that later they will take advantage of us,” said N Bobi Singh, who had been organising the surveillance.

This is when the Assam Rifles presentation acknowledged groups of fighters from both communities got involved.

The state has a long and troubled history with more than 30 armed groups from different ethnic communities that call it home. They have fought for demands that range from separate nation-states to the creation of new states within India based on ethnic identities.

Many of them draw resources from and camp in Myanmar. The influence of the Meitei armed groups, which were particularly targeted by the government’s armed forces, had been waning since the 2000s. And a majority of the Kuki-Zo armed groups had signed the SoO agreement with the government.

Researchers noted reports of how the Indian armed forces, with the help of Kuki militias, have strategically isolated militia factions from other ethnicities. This allegation, coupled with a track record of human rights violations and unlawful killings, has significantly tarnished the Assam Rifles’ standing within the Meitei community. The paramilitary is perceived as biased whereas the state police have faced accusations of bias against Kuki communities.

This conflict gave the Kuki and the Meitei armed groups a new lease on life, besides leading to the emergence of new Meitei militias.

On the Kuki-Zo side, the groups bound by the ceasefire had begun from the initial stages to help civilians who had taken up arms.

“Some of the [cadres] of the Suspension of Operations groups helped us set up the bunkers because they have experience,” said 35-year-old Mimin Sithlou, the joint secretary of the defence committee under the Committee on Tribal Unity, a conglomerate of civil society organisations functioning largely in Kangpokpi district, who oversaw the management of the bunkers there.

The involvement of these cadres put the “VBIGs under pressure” to also join the conflict to fight on behalf of the Meitei community, the Assam Rifles document noted. VBIGs are valley-based insurgent groups, referring to the older Meitei-affiliated armed groups.

They began “providing arms and ammunition”, consolidating their base and “increasing recruitment and ideological support”, the presentation said.

As militias on either side of the divide began amping up recruitment and training of young people, particularly from rural areas, the conflict would sometimes ebb but then pick up again. The stalemate came into being.

The stalemate

In Haipi village, located about 15km (10 miles) from the trenches dug at the border of Kangpokpi district, Christmas passed without any celebrations for Janggoulun Kipgen’s family.

I first met 19-year-old Kipgen in one of the bunkers in September. “We were trained for five to six days back in our village,” he told me, holding a rifle.

On December 25, sitting inside her house in Haipi, Kipgen’s mother, Neinkhongah Kipgen, told me: “Who won’t fear to send their son to the front lines? We can only pray that he’s safe.”

Meitei civilians in villages like Singda Kadangband also face a similar dilemma. The nights seem endless, and the days are spent with unceasing uncertainty.

“Except for the 60+-year-olds, everyone is expected to do 24-hour shifts,” a villager who didn’t wish to be named, told me back in September. “I have a one-year-old baby and work as a welder. I feel scared, but we don’t have much choice.”

“This will have a long-lasting impact, particularly on the young and future generations. They have guns to defend their community, but that is not exactly how it will pan out. The person might use it to solve personal enmity. Then some unemployed people might start extortion. Then there can be cases of mistaken identity killing and then revenge killing. It is going to become a vicious cycle,” retired Lieutenant General Konsam Himalay Singh told me.

What Lieutenant General Singh said had begun to play out by December when I last reported from Manipur. Videos of gun-toting men in the valley and the hills had proliferated on social media. The armed “volunteers” were being valorised on social media while in personal spaces, many spoke of the worries of young men being lured or recruited by militias, spawning a never-ending cycle of attack, revenge and turf war.

This is despite more than 60,000 armed personnel of the federal government’s paramilitary forces, the army and the state police enforcing a buffer zone dividing a large part of the state into two ethnic territories that each community fears crossing.

On April 19, Manipur will vote — along with several other parts of the country — even as the conflict rages on between the two communities.

“The chief minister should have been thrown out. He is the head of state, and if he can’t be trusted, … the army and police should have gone on overdrive and taken control over the area, … but eventually, it was allowed to continue because when it simmers, your voting aggregate increases,” said the retired police officer familiar with the security and intelligence operations in the region.

The second part of this series looks at the role of the drug trade, politics and armed groups in keeping Manipur on a boil.

Angana Chakrabarti is an associate member of The Reporters’ Collective.

(With inputs from Harshitha Manwani, Mohan Rajagopal, Aryan Chaudhary and Vedant Kottapalle)

• DOI: 10.34104/ajssls.023.01790188
• Corpus ID: 265061079

The Manipur Violence; Beginning of the End or End of the Beginning? A Critical Study

• Published in Asian Journal of Social… 6 November 2023
• Political Science, Sociology

16 References

On violence: why feminist reflections and critique continue to matter, white-collar crimes: how to combat the offence of bribery, reading women's protest in manipur: a different voice, politics of ethnic conflict in manipur, how civilian attitudes respond to the state’s violence: lessons from the israel–gaza conflict, structural violence, intersectionality, and justpeace: evaluating women's peacebuilding agency in manipur, india, ethnicity and violent conflicts in northeast india: analysing the trends, violence against women working in sex trade: a study in bangladesh, networks, space and belonging: the marwaris in manipur, prevalence and attitude of workplace violence among the post graduate students in a tertiary hospital in manipur, related papers.

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As ethnic violence rages on in Manipur, Indian government accused of looking the other way

Zeba Warsi Zeba Warsi

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• Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/as-ethnic-violence-rages-on-in-manipur-indian-government-accused-of-looking-the-other-way

Indian Prime Minister Modi hopes to secure a third term in elections now underway. He's promising voters a rising, united India. But in India’s northeast, a state is at war with itself. Hundreds are dead, tens of thousands displaced and the government is accused of looking the other way. Zeba Warsi reports with support from the Unity Productions Foundation. A warning, some details are disturbing.

Read the Full Transcript

Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.

Geoff Bennett:

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hopes to secure a third term in elections that are now under way, his promise, a rising united India.

But, in India's northeast, a state is at war with itself. Hundreds are dead, tens of thousands are displaced, and the central government is accused of looking the other way.

Producer Zeba Warsi got rare access to the deeply divided state of Manipur.

And a warning:

Some details in her report are disturbing.

Zeba Warsi:

It feels like a militarized border between two warring countries. But it's a road between two districts in an Indian state.

Across 40 miles, we crossed a dozen checkpoints controlled by Indian security forces and civilian militias to reach the Christian minority stronghold Churachandpur.

Ichan Lunginlal, Churachandpur, India, Resident (through interpreter):

Our fathers and forefathers lived together in Manipur. But the ethnic conflict in Manipur has been so sudden.

Thirty-one-year-old Ichan Lunginlal is a Hindu from the majority Meitei Tribe who was married to Lalneo Lunginlal, a Christian of the minority Kuki tribe. They fell in love as teenagers. Their youngest daughter is 6-year-old Lamkholhing.

Ichan Lunginlal (through interpreter):

We could not spend even one day apart. It felt like a love straight out of a movie. It was difficult for us to spend any time away from each other.

They did not consider themselves star-crossed, but their love story ended when Manipur's fault lines cracked.

I spoke to him and asked, how is the situation right now? He responded and said the situation has become tense now. I could also hear his voice shaking, but he still consoled me and said: "Don't worry."

At around 11:

00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., I received a call from my husband, and I could hear him shouting: "Ichan, Ichan, they have found me and they are going to kill me."

What began last may as a protest over political participation and state benefits turned into an armed conflict between two tribes and religions that engulfed the state in flames. Entire villages were razed and hundreds of churches burned.

The bulk of the dead and missing belong to the Christian Kuki minority, including Lalneo Lunginlal. He was last seen in this video with two other Christian Kuki men left to bleed on the street.

The mob killed my husband after brutally assaulting him like an animal. I don't think even animals are subject to such levels of violence.

At the wall of remembrance, Kukis display death, empty coffins in a line, one for every life lost.

This wall bears the human cost of this conflict. The Kuki community calls it state-sponsored ethnic cleansing, and they tell us each picture on this wall has its own story to tell.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi portrays India's future as strong and united. But Election Day in Manipur was marred by violence. The Hindu majority Meitei militia allegedly captured polling booths. They are heavily armed and throughout the conflict accused of killing with impunity.

Civil rights advocates accuse the state government run by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, of protecting the perpetrators, and exploiting ethnic divisions.

Kim Gangte, Kuki Women’s Human Rights Network:

This is a war crime. This is ethnic cleansing. And, plus, this is a religious persecution.

Kim Gangte is a Kuki women rights activist who has documented sexual crimes.

Kim Gangte:

Most of our women who are there in the valley, they were being tortured. They were being raped. They were being killed.

In May last year, two Kuki women were paraded naked, beaten, and sexually assaulted by a mob of hundreds. One of them was allegedly gang-raped.

We are very much Indian. We are very much the daughters and sons of India. We really wonder why the central government is still keeping silent.

Repeated requests for an interview with state government officials were ignored. After months of silence, Modi addressed the turmoil in Manipur only after the report of a gang-rape.

Narendra Modi, Indian Prime Minister (through interpreter):

In this country, in any corner of this country, in any state government rising above politics, law and order and respect for women is important. I want to assure the countrymen that no culprit will be spared.

But for the Christian Kuki community, that reassurance rings hollow. They no longer believe in living with the Hindu Meiteis. They want separate union territory, as we saw in the hillside town of Moreh.

Last year, this local economic hub was engulfed in flames. Today, it is heavily guarded by Indian armed forces and nearly inaccessible to anyone outside. After a six-hour wait at a security checkpoint, we were allowed to enter.

David Wapei, Kuki Student Organization:

The moment one community sees the other community, they want to kill each other.

David Wapei is a Kuki activist in Moreh. He says there is an invisible boundary between these hillside towns and the capital forged on hate.

David Wapei:

There's so much of divisions or mistrust between the two communities that the two communities cannot live together now.

But Manipur's violence is on both sides. During our visit, an angry Kuki mob set the police station on fire. And more Hindu majority Meiteis have been forced out of their homes and now live in camps restricted to a small corner of the state.

Hijam Kulajit, Imphal, India Resident (through interpreter):

On that day I couldn't take her to her private tutor, as I usually could, as there was pain in my eye. This thought haunts me to this day.

Hijam Kulajit, a Hindu Meitei, is still to bury his 17 year old daughter with dignity. She was last seen with a classmate after they were abducted by Kuki militias. After weeks of outrage and protests, the accused were arrested, but her body was never found.

Kulajit has made a shrine of memories of his daughter, who had big dreams.

Hijam Kulajit (through interpreter):

She had a cup with future she had a cup with "Future Doctor" written on it. She wanted to become a doctor to help the underprivileged.

The last drawing she made, the last book she read, her last Father's Day card bring pain, tears, and rage.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not utter a single word about this case or the violence in Manipur all these month, even though the prime minister's so called slogan is save daughter, educate daughter. Will they be able to bring back my daughter?

There is no justice for a father who lost his daughter. And there is no closure for victims on both sides, who say they have been neglected.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Zeba Warsi in Manipur, India.

Neel Madhav, Omair Farooq and Alishan Jafri contributed to field producing this piece.

This reporting was supported by a grant from Unity Productions Foundation

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Zeba Warsi is a foreign affairs producer, based in Washington DC. She's a Columbia Journalism School graduate with an M.A. in Political journalism.

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What is really behind the violence in Manipur?

The immediate provocation is the demand to grant st status to the meiteis, but there are other reasons behind the simmering anger..

Published : May 06, 2023 21:19 IST - 10 MINS READ

Houses were set ablaze in Torbung area of Churachandpur in Manipur on May 4, after a tribal solidarity march by the All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur against granting ST status to Meiteis. | Photo Credit: ANI

Over the past three days, reports of violence, arson, and mayhem have emerged from various districts in Manipur, including Churachandpur, Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, Tengnoupal, and Kangpokpi. In a move that was seen as being distinctly over the top, district magistrates were authorised by the Manipur government to issue shoot-at-sight orders.

The violence began on May 3, after the All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) held a solidarity march in all districts opposing the recent Manipur High Court order, which had asked the Manipur State government to send a recommendation to the Centre regarding the demand to include the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes (STs) list.

On May 4, as the violence escalated, the Centre invoked Article 355 of the Constitution, which is a part of emergency provisions. It empowers the Centre to take necessary steps to protect a State against external aggression or internal disturbances. In the last few days, convoys of trucks belonging to the Army, the Assam Rifles, the Rapid Action Force, and local police personnel have moved into the State and entered several affected areas.

Over a dozen people have been reported killed, hundreds have been wounded, and over 9,000 people belonging to the Kuki and Meitei communities, besides others, have been displaced so far. Defence sources said that around 9,000 people were rescued from violence-hit areas and given shelter. Buildings, homes, and other property, including vehicles, have been destroyed. There is no official confirmation of the number of fatalities yet.

At a temporary relief camp set up by the Army in Imphal, on May 5. | Photo Credit: PTI

Continuing tensions

As I write this on the third day of violence and chaos, authorities are struggling to control the situation, despite the flag marches conducted by the Army. Mobile data and broadband connections continue to be suspended. I dictated this piece to a Frontline reporter at the Chennai office over phone. I had to move my family out of our home in Khuman in Bishnupur after shots were fired less than a kilometre away, near a Village Defence Forces training centre.

As of now, some 5,000 people have been shifted to safe homes or shelters in Churachandpur, another 2,000 in Imphal Valley, and 2,000 people in the border town of Moreh in Tengnoupal district. According to police sources, an armed mob in the Torbung area of Churachandpur district attacked people of the Meitei community during the May 3 march. This led to retaliatory attacks in the Valley districts. Many shops and houses in Torbung were vandalised and gutted in violence that lasted more than three hours.

Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s plea for calm has proved futile. Suggesting that the violence was the result of a misunderstanding, Singh said that the government was taking all measures to maintain law and order, including requisitioning additional paramilitary forces. Central and State forces have been directed to take strong action against individuals and groups found engaging in violence.

Indefinite curfew has been imposed in the Meitei-dominated Imphal West, Kakching, Thoubal, Jiribam, and Bishnupur districts, as well as in Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal districts. Latest reports said that around 500 people belonging to the Kuki community have sought shelter at the CRPF camp in Lamphelpat in Imphal.

In the Motbung area of Kangpokpi district, where the Kuki people have a significant presence, over 20 houses have been set on fire. More than 1,000 people belonging to the Meitei community have fled the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur district.

Violent incidents have also been reported from the border town of Moreh in Tengnoupal district, where many Meitei houses were set on fire. Incidents of violence have also been reported from many parts of the capital city of Imphal.

At a protest by people from Manipur against the clashes in their State, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on May 6. | Photo Credit: Mohd Zakir/ANI

The real causes of conflict

The immediate provocation for the ethnic unrest appears to have been the demand for the Meitei community, which accounts for 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and primarily inhabits the Manipur Valley, to be included in the ST list.

But that is only a proximate cause. The underlying anger, simmering for a long time, has other reasons. These are linked not just to the government’s clampdown on reserved and protected forests in the State’s hill areas but also to the Kukis’ feeling of being persecuted. Several Chin, people of the same ethnic group from across the border in Myanmar, have entered India, fleeing violence and persecution, and the government’s tough stance against these so-called illegal immigrants has angered the Kukis, whose kin they are.

The BJP Chief Minister’s tough stance against what he calls encroachment of reserved and protected forest areas in the hills of Manipur by tribal communities stems from various causes, including the fact that many acres of land in the hills are being used for poppy cultivation. The government sees its crackdown on forest areas as part of a bigger war against drugs, but it is also guilty of using “drug lords” as a blanket term against all Kuki people.

Secondly, there is serious pressure on land in Manipur. As populations increase in the tribal villages, they tend to spread out into surrounding forest areas, which they consider their historical and ancestral right. This is contested by the government. Simultaneously, the Meitei, who live in the valleys, are angry because they are not allowed to settle or buy land in the hill areas, while tribal people can buy land in the valleys.

The government has no real policy about how it plans to recognise new villages. Nor is there any transparent forest policy in Manipur. This has led to resentment even within its own party.

BJP MLA’s protest

On April 12, Paolienlal Haokip, a BJP MLA,  questioned the sudden revenue and forest survey undertaken in the Churachandpur-Khoupum Protected Forest in Churachandpur district, which was designated a protected forest in 1966.

In a letter dated April 12 addressed to Biswajit Singh, Minister for Power, Forest, Environment, and Climate Change, Haokip, who represents the 59 Saikot  Assembly constituency reserved for STs, described the forest survey as a matter of great public anguish and perceived injustice.

Haokip said that he had recently pointed out in the Assembly that the State government’s nullification of the orders of an earlier Assistant Settlement Officer (ASO) excluding certain villages from proposed protected forest areas was wrong. He wanted to know how the State government could nullify the orders of an ASO, the statutory authority under the Indian Forest Act of 1927 to settle any claims of pre-existing rights on land in the absence of a Forest Section Officer (FSO), a post that is currently vacant.

Haokip said that the delay in processing claims, cited as a reason, was the fault of the authorities concerned and not of the landowners. He added that it cannot be a reason for annulling any order that excludes lands claimed by the forum of tribal chiefs from the protected forest area.

Haokip pointed out that if there were no survey records with the State government, it would only prove that the Gazette declaring the Churachandpur-Khoupum forest area as a protected area was flawed and therefore void. He went on to request that further surveys be stopped until there is clarification in the issue.

The MLA, who is a Kuki, said that unless such surveys were conducted in all protected forests, they would be perceived as being selective and targeted in nature.

Defiant State government

Despite Haokip’s and other tribal people’s protests, Biren Singh remained unfazed, and has stridently pushed back against the tribal people’s protests against expanding reserved forests. It has been reported that Singh said that his government uses satellite mapping to learn about changes in forest compositions in the hill districts. And that it takes encroachments very seriously and would deal with it accordingly. According to Singh, anybody who protests against this goes against the Constitutional provisions, which provide for protecting forest lands.

On April 11, 2023, at least two of 26 houses were demolished inside the Langol Reserve Forest. On February 21, 2023, residents of K. Songjang village in Churachandpur were evicted after a Google Maps image showed no settlement in the area in 2020. The eviction came after the forest department issued a notification in November 2022, derecognising 38 villages in the Churachandpur and Noney districts, claiming they fell within the Churachandpur-Khoupum protected forest. The notification said that the permission for settlement was granted to the villages by an officer who was not qualified to do so.

But according to the Kukis, the 38 villages, with a population of over 1,000 people each, have existed for the last 50-60 years. The Kuki Inpi Manipur or KIM, the apex body of the Kukis in Manipur, alleged that Biren Singh’s statement about the issue was false and intended to divert attention from the dissent of the tribal communities against the “authoritarian rule” in Manipur.

The anger within the Kuki community against what it sees as its “selective targeting” by the BJP-run State government appears to have spilled over during the current protest march as well, leading to the violence.

The Centre has backed Singh’s stand. During a recent visit to Manipur, Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, asserted that the 1927 Forest Act became a State subject after Independence but that after the 1976 Amendment, forest land came under the jurisdiction of both the State and Central governments. The State government retains ownership of the forest and was solely responsible for protecting reserved and protected forest land, he said.

Previous protest rallies

On March 10 itself, mass rallies had been held across hill districts, including Churachandpur, Ukhrul, Kangpokpi, Tengnoupal, Jiribam, and Tamenglong. Thousands of members of the Kuki tribe had then protested the BJP-run government’s so-called selective targeting of Kukis. They had raised slogans against the eviction of residents from K. Songjang village.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), a recently formed conglomerate of tribal groups, which includes the Kukis, had called for the rallies.

On March 11, the State government retaliated by withdrawing from the ongoing tripartite talks. It withdrew the Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement with two armed political groups, the Kuki National Army and the Zomi Revolutionary Army, accusing them of inciting protesters during the rallies.

The SoO agreement is a ceasefire agreement that the Central and State government signed with the two conglomerates of tribal armed outfits in the hills, the United People’s Front and the Kuki National Organisation, in 2008. The Kuki National Army and the Zomi Revolutionary Army are both part of the Kuki National Organisation. These are all armed organisations.

KIM had asserted that the rallies were a result of public discontent over the “extreme disregard” by the government of the Scheduled Hill areas and of Articles 370 and 371 C of the Constitution, which applied to Manipur. The organisation said that it took exception to the Chief Minister’s terming of the rally participants as “encroachers, poppy cultivators, drug smugglers, and illegal immigrants”.

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh chairs a meeting with the representatives of Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity to review the situation in the State, in Imphal on May 6. | Photo Credit: ANI

Flawed government responses

Given the existing tensions in the State, the High Court order asking for a government recommendation to grant ST status to Meiteis is being seen as provocative. Even among the Meiteis, there is opposition to it. Their history asserts to the Meiteis being a settled agricultural community for over 2,000 years.

Invoking Article 355 in the State also seems a rather extreme response, and points to other motivations for the Centre to keep the tension simmering in Manipur. The excessive build-up of security forces in the State, purportedly in response to the violence, might be indicative of a larger game plan that is more likely related to Manipur’s status as a border State.

Meanwhile, there are signs of normalcy returning, but one must wait and watch to see how well the BJP-ruled Centre and State succeed in bringing in a long-lasting agreement that is acceptable to all.

Dhiren A. Sadokpam is Editor of The Frontier Manipur.

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Ethnic violence in India’s Manipur escalates, six killed

Six people, including one civilian, were killed as fresh violence broke out between two warring ethnic communities in the northeast Indian state of Manipur on Saturday, authorities said.

The majority Meitei community and the tribal Kukis have clashed sporadically since last year after a court ordered the state government to consider extending special economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education enjoyed by the Kukis to the Meiteis as well.

More than 225 people have been killed and some 60,000 have been displaced.

Saturday’s gunfire incident represents the most number of casualties for a single day in the latest spurt of violence that began a week ago. The attacks earlier this week have also seen the use of drones to drop explosive devices in what authorities have called a significant escalation.

Police say they suspect that the drones were used by Kuki militants - a claim denied by Kuki groups.

“Fighting has been going on between armed groups of both the communities since the morning,” said Krishna Kumar, deputy commissioner of the state’s Jiribam district where the clash occurred.

According to Indian media reports, the civilian was shot dead in his sleep. “He was fired upon in his room itself,” Kumar told Reuters, adding that security forces had been deployed to control the situation.

Manipur ordered all schools in the state to remain shut on Saturday.

A state of 3.2 million people, Manipur has been divided into two ethnic enclaves since the conflict began in May 2023 - a valley controlled by the Meiteis and the Kuki-dominated hills. The areas are separated by a stretch of no-man’s land monitored by federal paramilitary forces.

On Sept. 1, two people were killed and several injured in the valley district of Imphal West. Later in the week, a 78-year-old man was killed and six were injured when a “long-range rocket” was deployed by militants and fell on the house of a former chief minister in the valley’s Bishnupur district, police said on Friday.

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Manipur Violence: Casualties Mount To 7, Security Forces Use Anti-Drone System To Thwart Aerial Attacks — Video

Fresh violence in manipur's jiribam district has killed seven and injured 15. amidst the ongoing escalation of violence, cm n biren singh went to the raj bhavan and met governor lakshman acharya.

At least seven people have been killed, and 15 others were injured as a fresh spate of violence erupted in Manipur's Jiribam district. As per police, suspected Kuki insurgents attacked Nungchappi village in the district, killing a 63-year-old man identified as Yurembam Kulendra Singha. The attack came a day after an elderly man from the valley-dominant Meitei community was killed while offering prayers, in a rocket-propelled bomb attack by Kuki insurgents in Manipur's Moirang town. The five others were reportedly also killed in a gunfight between armed groups of the Meitei community and the hill-dominant Kuki tribes.

Amid violence, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh met Governor L. Acharya on Saturday evening and briefed him on the situation. CM's meeting with LG came after an emergency meeting of ruling coalition MLAs and ministers at the CM secretariat to discuss the prevailing law and order situation in the state. As per reports, 25 MLAs from the ruling coalition, comprising the BJP, Naga People's Front, and National Peoples Party (NPP), attended the meeting with CM to discuss the prevailing law and order situation in the state.

Meanwhile, Manipur Police has deployed anti-drone systems in response to recent drone and rocket attacks on civilians. Security forces on Saturday also gave a demonstration of an anti-drone system. This comes days after a man was killed in weaponised drone attacks launched by suspected Kuki insurgents from the hills near the valley district Imphal West. The attacks, which the Manipur Police said were carried out by suspected Kuki insurgents, were the first recorded use of weaponised drones to drop bombs on civilians by suspected insurgents in India.

#Anti_Drone_System in Manipur pic.twitter.com/AHqWyMu4lS — Nishar (@Nishar_Khann) September 7, 2024

Briefing reporters about the technology, Inspector General of police (Intelligence) K Kabib said a robust anti-drone system has been deployed and police are in the process of buying additional weapons to counter the attacks on civilians. "The state force is closely monitoring the situation and senior officers have been deployed on the ground. Due to the recent drone attacks, an anti-drone system has been deployed and the state police are in the process of purchasing additional anti-drone guns, which will be deployed soon," he said.

He added that army helicopters are conducting aerial patrols, and security personnel have been deployed in vulnerable areas. Meanwhile, the police has intensified combing operations on both sides—hills and valley—focusing on areas from which long-range rockets and drones were fired.  These operations will cover a minimum of 3-5 km, concentrating on these areas, with an aim to prevent any further attacks.

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Manipur Violence Escalates with Drone Attacks; 9 Killed in Clashes

Guwahati: Amid escalating violence in trouble-torn Manipur, where at least nine people have been reported killed in the past few days in battle between two armed groups, security forces on Sunday deployed anti-drone systems in the fringe areas of the Imphal Valley to repel any "rogue drone" attacks. Amid fresh violence, Manipur CM N. Biren Singh met governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya and submitted a memorandum.

The situation in Manipur deteriorated further after several foothill villages in the valley were attacked with improvised rockets and bombs dropped from drones. On Saturday, at least five people were killed after a gunbattle erupted between two armed groups following the killing of an elderly Meitei man in Manipur’s Jiribam district.

Security sources said that some suspected “Kuki militants” barged into the home of 63-year-old Y. Kulachandra in Ningthem Khunou, about 5 km from Jiribam police station at the district headquarters, on Saturday morning and shot him dead. The incident allegedly occurred at 5 am, when Kulachandra was still asleep.

A subsequent gunbattle between the armed assailants and another armed group in the Nungcheppi area led to the deaths of four armed Kuki men and an armed Meitei man, said police.

On Sunday, according to security forces, heavy firing and shelling at Chirachandpur, Bishnupur border areas were reported. Firing was also reported at Kangpokpi.

The escalating violence has triggered speculation in the state’s political corridor that the Central government is contemplating invoking Article 355, thereby taking over the law and order of the state under its command by forming the unified command of security forces.

After a fresh round of violence, Manipur chief minister on Sunday called on the state governor and discussed the prevailing law and order situation of the state.

According to sources in the ruling party, during the meeting, Mr Singh pleaded with Mr Acharya that the unified command of security forces should function under the command of the state chief minister. Mr Singh also proposed that the suspension of operation (SoO) with Kuki rebel groups and the ministry of home affairs, which lapsed in February this year and not extended so far, should also be scrapped.

Earlier on Saturday, the Manipur chief minister led a meeting of ruling party MLAs -- the BJP-led government in Manipur also includes MLAs from the Naga People’s Front, the National People’s Party and the Janata Dal (United). According to an MLA, 24 legislators -- including six Cabinet ministers -- attended the meeting. BJP MLA from Lamlai Kh Ibomcha said that a decision had been taken to pressure the Centre to “take up befitting actions to bring the militants under control”.

“With attacks taking place with sophisticated weapons, normalcy cannot be brought under these circumstances. So, it was discussed that we should put pressure on Central leadership,” he said.

The use of the remote-controlled small flying device "drones" as a weapon was first seen on September 1 in Koutruk village in the Imphal West district. In the attack, in which guns were also used, two persons were killed and nine others injured.

Drones were used again in Senjam Chirang, around 3 km away, the next day, injuring three persons.

Meanwhile, prohibitory orders were imposed in Jiribam district on Saturday night, preventing the gathering of five or more persons, according to a notification. Five people were killed in fresh violence in Jiribam on Saturday.

Security forces also unearthed a cache of weapons after Jiribam violence. The seized weapons include sniper rifles, pistols, guns, short- and long-range mortars, grenades and long-range rocket bombs, among other ammunition.

A massive combing operation to trace militants was underway in Manipur a day after at least five people were killed in fresh violence in Jiribam district amid drone and rocket attacks.

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Manipur violence: All schools in northeastern state to remain closed on September 9 and 10

More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.

The northeastern has experienced a fresh wave of violence following a deadly rocket attack that killed one person on Friday, September 6. The incident adds to the ongoing unrest in the region, which has been marred by frequent clashes and security concerns. 

“In continuation of this office order of even number dated the 6th September 2024, all schools of the state, Government, Government Aided, Private and Central Schools, will stay closed on the 9th of September and 10th of September, 2024," read the order issued by Directorate of Education. “All Zonal Education Officers under the Department of Education-Schools, Manipur are hereby directed to inform all concerned under your jurisdiction and take up necessary actions accordingly. This is issued with the approval of the Government,” the order added. 

Manipur CM's appeal to Centre

Meanwhile, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Sunday (September 8) appealed to the Centre to take steps to protect the territorial integrity of the state.  also urged the central government not to give in to the demand for a separate administration raised by Kuki Zo groups. Security was heightened in Manipur on Sunday following the fresh bout of violence that left several people dead, officials said. The situation was tense but under control, they added. 

• Manipur violence

It should be mentioned here that the northeastern state has been rocked by ethnic violence since May last year when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for ST status. Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal valley, while tribals, including Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mostly in the hill districts. More than 200 people have been killed and several hundreds injured in it so far.

ALSO READ:  Manipur: Man shot dead in sleep, four others killed in fresh violence in Jiribam

Read all the Breaking News Live on indiatvnews.com and Get Latest English News & Updates from North East and Manipur Section

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Will Centre Intervene As Violence Escalates In Manipur? CM Seeks Action Against Militant Groups

Violence in the manipur district started increasing in the first week of september. the terrorists of the meitei and kuki groups have been undertaking constant attacks with drones, rockets, and guns against each other and civilians..

There is serious crisis in Manipur as violence is coiling. Chief Minister N Biren Singh, on Friday, met with Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya for the second time in less than a day. CM had several key demands to bring peace and ensure the state’s safety. Key Demands For Peace And Control CM in his meeting with the Governor, pressed upon the central government to reject the Kuki-Zo groups demand of a separate administration. He advised the need for better control over the ongoing security operations in the state that are presently managed by officials from the Home Ministry, the state security adviser and the Army. Singh also demanded that the central government should take firm action to put an end to the unabated violence that has been witnessing in Manipur ever since ethnic clashes broke out last year. The demands also include calls for an end to the SoO agreement with Kuki insurgent groups-an agreement against which criticism has mounted for doing little to prevent conflict. Leaders in an all-party meeting earlier this year called for its cancellation in favor of more aggressive action on behalf of security forces. Singh has also demanded that border fencing be completed and an NRC be drawn up to list who is a legal resident, and called for deportation of illegal immigrants. Growing Violence And Tensions Violence in the Manipur district started increasing in the first week of September. The terrorists of the Meitei and Kuki groups have been undertaking constant attacks with drones, rockets, and guns against each other and civilians. Seven people were killed on September 7 in one such attack, leading to increased violence. There are also indication of a split within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, with talks about the replacement of the leadership. Singh had met the Governor earlier and had been in consultation with the ruling coalition MLAs after the recent spurt in violence. Demands Of Kuki Students Organisation The KSO has also had some demands. They include declaring the two Meitei groups, Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun, as unlawful by the central government. The KSO is also demanding a halt to what they describe as state-backed activities against Kuki-Zo territories, with coordination of extremist groups. The KSO has demanded an inquiry into the involvement of COCOMI in alleged terrorism and ethnic terrorism against the Kuki-Zo community. The latter warned that failure to comply might lead to mass protests. Measures To Restore Peace What Manipur needs at this critical juncture is nothing but urgent and effective measures to restore peace. Both the demands of the Chief Minister and those of the Kuki Students Organisation indicate the need for a balanced approach to restore peace in the area. What course the situation in Manipur takes in the future depends on what the central government does. Violence Explodes In Jiribam District Of Manipur Serious violence lashed the Jiribam district of Manipur on Wednesday morning, with six people reported to have been killed, the police maintain. Nungchappi Village Under Attack Nungchappi village, situated 229 km from Imphal, the state capital, had come under serious attack from suspected Kuki insurgents. In the attack, one man aged 63 years by the name of Yurembam Kulendra Singha was killed. Previous Incident In Moirang Town It comes a few days after a recent attack in the town of Moirang, which had one casualty from the Meitei community. The victim, an elderly man, was praying when Kuki insurgents attacked him with a rocket-propelled bomb. Shootout Between Groups From Meitei And Kuki Tribes In Jiribam, five people died in a shootout between gun-toting groups of the Meitei community and the Kuki tribes. The violence involved two “village defence volunteers” groups. Police Response SP for Jiribam along with his team arrived immediately. But they were fired at by the attackers. The police also opened fire and brought the situation under control.

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Manipur CM Biren Singh calls for targeted move on militant camps

Manipur chief minister meets governor for the second time in less than 24 hours and hands over a memorandum as violence escalates in the state; he is unlikely to resign at a time of uncertainty.

Updated - September 09, 2024 06:53 am IST - Guwahati

Security personnel stand guard in Manipur capital Imphal on September 8, 2024. | Photo Credit: PTI

Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh met Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya at the Raj Bhawan in Imphal on Sunday (September 8, 2024) morning, the second time in less than 24 hours, and demanded targeted action by central security forces at militant camps in the hills, a top source told The Hindu .

Mr. Singh is learnt to have told the Governor that the current crisis, exacerbated by the September 1 drone attack in Imphal West, requires a “professional approach” and that more “subject experts” need to be roped in, the source added.

Accompanied by several Ministers of the National Democratic Alliance and MLAs, the CM held a closed-door meeting with the Governor, and handed over a memorandum whose content has not been made public.

Also Read: Anti-drone systems deployed in Manipur to enhance security amid rise in attacks

‘Showing unity’

The source denied that Mr. Singh intended to resign. “This is not the time for uncertainty. MLAs were getting pressurised from public. The meeting was to show unity that we are doing our best to handle the situation,” the source said.

Neither the Raj Bhavan nor the Chief Minister’s Office have confirmed what transpired in the meetings.

Since September 1, at least nine people from the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo communities, including a woman, have been killed in drone attacks and gunfights

A convoy of Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh arrives at the Raj Bhavan to meet Governor Lakshman Acharya, in Imphal on September 7, 2024. | Photo Credit: PTI

Unified command structure

On May 30, 2023, the Manipur government’s security adviser Kuldiep Singh was designated as the chairperson of the unified command that is responsible for security-related decisions in the State.

On September 2 this year, BJP MLA Rajkumar Imo Singh, the CM’s son-in-law, wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying that the Union government “has to hand over” the unified command in the State to the Manipur government as the “present set up isn’t able to halt such violence.”

Asked if the CM’s memorandum to the Governor included a demand to change the structure of the unified command, the source said: “It is the prerogative of the Union Government; the State government does not have much say.”

‘Need clarity on control’

Another source said, “Most MLAs are of the opinion that their hands are tied and they are not able to respond in a way they want due to the chain of command of security arrangement. The Governor was told that there needs to be clarity on the control of the security forces and coordination of security arrangements.”

Apart from the army and Manipur Police, there are 198 companies (around 20,000 personnel) of central armed police forces deployed in the State. Ethnic violence between the State’s tribal Kuki-Zo and the Meitei people erupted on May 3, 2023. So far, 235 people have been killed, and more than 60,000 people have been displaced in the violence.

Drone bombs and gunfire

On September 2, a day after the drone attack, the CM’s convoy was stopped while he was on the way to Koutruk and Senjam Chirang in Imphal West to meet another woman who was injured in the incident. Mr. Singh is learnt to have received a call from Mr. Shah telling him to turn back as more attacks could have followed due to his presence in the area.

Mr. Singh had met the Governor late on Saturday evening, hours after gunfights between Kuki-Zo and Meitei “village volunteers” left six people dead in the State’s Jiribam district bordering Assam.

Before that first meeting with the Governor, the CM had met some Ministers and MLAs believed to be close to him. Of the 53 legislators of the NDA, 24 turned up at the meeting.

Anti-drone systems

On Saturday night, the Manipur police said the paramilitary Assam Rifles had deployed anti-drone systems in the fringe areas of the Imphal Valley to repel any “rogue drones”.

“The CRPF has also tested an anti-drone system and given it to the force deployed in the State. Some more anti-drone guns are being brought to the State by the CRPF shortly. The State police have also started the process for procurement of an anti-drone system to enhance its security measures and tackle threats from drones effectively,” a police statement read.

The police claimed that drone bombs and long-range rockets fired by Kuki-Zo extremists killed three people and injured more than 15 in three attacks on villages in the Imphal West and Bishnupur districts between September 1 and September 6.

Published - September 08, 2024 01:09 pm IST

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Manipur / unrest, conflicts and war / civil unrest

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6 killed in fresh Manipur violence, CM Biren Singh meets governor L Acharya

About the Author

Prabin Kalita is a journalist at The Times of India and is currently the Chief of Bureau (northeast). He has been reporting in mainstream Indian national media since 2001. He has been a field journalist reporting gamut of issues from India’s northeastern region and major developments in neighbouring countries like Myanmar, China, Bhutan and Bangladesh concerning India and northeastern region. He has been covering insurgency—internal and cross-border, politics, natural calamities, environment etc. He is a post-graduate in Geological Sciences from Gauhati University. Read More

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