Renewed violence breaks out in Manipur State

Renewed violence broke out in India’s Manipur State on 12 April, just days before general elections are due to begin in the country.

Reports indicate that a gunfight broke out between Meitei and Kuki armed groups in Tengnoupal district at around 9.30am, resulting in injuries to three Meitei insurgents. State and central security forces were immediately brought in to control the situation. There are conflicting reports of who initiated the violence; several media outlets claim that Kuki militants fired first, while Kuki sources assert that Tengnoupal is a Kuki-majority district and therefore that they wouldn’t initiate a gunfight on their own land.

In a separate incident on the same day, at around 2.45am, unidentified men set fire to a Meitei-owned sawmill in Kakching district, destroying it completely.

The following day, on 13 April, violence spread to other parts of the state. Two Kuki militants were killed in clashes in the Kuki-majority Kangpokpi district, which borders the Meitei-majority East Imphal district. Their bodies were shot multiple times after they were killed, and subsequently dragged down the road and later mutilated into pieces.

The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum condemned the killings in a statement, alleging that central security forces aided the Meitei militants in the firing. Although the police haven’t officially identified the bodies, Kuki organisations have named the victims as Kamminlal Lupheng, 23, and Kamlengsat Lunkim, 22, both residents of Kangpokpi.

Violence first erupted between the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur on 3 May 2023, resulting in over 200 deaths and the forced displacement of over 75,000 people. Prior to the 12 April clashes, the state had experienced over a month of relative peace for the first time since the conflict broke out in May last year.

Manipur is set to go to the polls in two phases on 19 and 26 April, but some locals have expressed disinterest in the elections. Kuki sources told CSW that there are ongoing discussions within Kuki communities on whether they should collectively vote NOTA (none of the above), an option provided for citizens to express their discontent that will be considered a neutral vote.

One grievance among both the Kuki and Meitei communities is that India’s current Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not visited the region in the 11 months since the violence began.

There is also discontent among displaced Manipuris who are unable to vote. Although a petition was filed seeking to make alternate arrangements for internally displaced citizens to vote, the Supreme Court rejected the plea, stating that it was too late to implement such arrangements.

CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘It is very worrying to see that the ongoing conflict between the Meiteis and Kuki communities in Manipur has still not come to an end. Distrust and escalating division between the communities have only been exacerbated due to the lack of commitment by the central government to intervene in any meaningful way. With general elections on the horizon, and no clear solutions to the situation in the state, there appears to be no clear pathway to integrating these communities, or any plans for development. We urge the government to prioritise the needs of the people of Manipur and bring a complete end to the conflict which has resulted in the loss of lives and livelihoods, internal displacements and regional instability.’