The green shoots of peace are finally visible in Manipur after two years of violent conflict between two ethnic groups, the Kukis and the Meiteis, that led to the deaths of more than 250 people and the displacement of hundreds, many of whom are still living in relief camps.
Ahead of the expected visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Manipur on September 13, the centre inked a tripartite pact with the Manipur government and the Kuki-Zo council, the apex body of the Kuki-Zo communities.
The KZC also agreed to reopen National Highway 2 from the Imphal valley to Nagaland, which had remained closed for the Meiteis since the beginning of the violence in May 2023. In an obvious outreach to the tribal communities, the Union Home Ministry and the Manipur government signed a Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact with the Kuki-Zo insurgent groups with “re-negotiated terms and conditions or ground rules”.
The previous Biren Singh government in Manipur had pulled out of the SoO in February 2024, citing these groups’ involvement in the violence. Security forces will conduct verification of cadres and de-list foreign nationals, if any, the home ministry said.
The revised ground rules reiterate the territorial integrity of Manipur and the relocation of camps run by insurgent groups. The SoO groups, such as the Kuki National Organisation and the United People’s Front, had been demanding a separate administration or union territory along with a legislature.
Manipur has been a festering wound for over two years now. The trouble began after a High Court order to the state government to recommend to the tribal affairs ministry that Scheduled Tribe status be accorded to the Meiteis.
The largely Hindu Meiteis, who are in a majority in the plains of Manipur, constitute about 53 per cent of the state’s population. They are relatively better off, and giving ST status to them understandably fuelled anger and fear among the predominantly Christian Kukis and Nagas, worried that their quota pie would be eaten into.
The court directive triggered protests, with thousands participating in a tribal solidarity march to oppose the demand for including Meiteis in the ST list. The situation went out of control, leading to death and destruction. The court order was later rescinded, but the ethnic fault lines that had always existed in the border state were exacerbated.
The rift gradually turned into a communal conflict, as Hindutva elements among the Meiteis gained ground. Hundreds of churches in Manipur were vandalised, putting paid to the BJP’s hitherto successful outreach in the sensitive border state.
Horrific incidents of rape and murder came to light, and the Opposition, especially the Congress, was quick to latch on to the failure of the centre and state to contain the situation. The Prime Minister’s refusal to visit the state for over two years, even giving campaigning a miss in Manipur during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, gave the Opposition ample ammunition to target the “double engine sarkar”.
Amid increasing violence, the centre decided to impose President’s rule in the state in February 2025. It is to be hoped that the renewed talks with the tribal groups and the PM’s visit will lead to fresh polls being called and an elected government taking over in the troubled state. Peace is the only way forward.
