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Indian Express
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
The paradox of Manipur's political crisis
On May 28, 10 NDA MLAs walked into the Raj Bhavan in Imphal, claiming the support of 44 legislators, and sought to form a 'popular government' in Manipur. In another time, such a move would have been unremarkable — an expected feature of parliamentary life. However, in today's Manipur, it looks less like a step toward democratic normalcy and more like a performance as the foundations of the political community are still fractured, and far from 'normal'. In Manipur, President's rule has been in place since February, when Chief Minister N. Biren Singh resigned after months of escalating violence. The Centre's stance has been cautious: No rush to restore a government, no appetite for political experiments. Expectedly, the BJP leadership dismissed the MLAs' visit as a mere 'courtesy call.' What lies beneath, nevertheless, is a messier reality. The 44 MLAs' claim, on the surface, suggests a consensus. But consensus in Manipur is a fragile word. Their claimed support excludes the 10 Kuki-Zomi MLAs (seven of whom won on BJP tickets) and the five from the Congress. Such arithmetic proposes a government that represents only one section of the society The protests that erupted over the past week expose the fault lines. A state-run bus carrying journalists to the Shirui Lily Festival was stopped at a checkpoint. Security forces reportedly asked the staff to cover the word 'Manipur' on its windshield to allow safe passage through Kuki areas. The decision, in context, was pragmatic. The response in Imphal, however, was fury. To cover the state's name was to erase its identity. COCOMI, the Meitei civil society group, mobilised swiftly, demanding the Governor's apology, the removal of top officials, and an end to what they see as a systematic undermining of Manipur's sovereignty. While they have signalled a willingness to engage with MLAs, COCOMI's stand is clear: Three months of President's rule have failed to restore peace or hold anyone accountable, deepening mistrust in Manipur's divided polity. The protests also spilt over onto the streets. Human chains lined the roads; mothers and students carried placards demanding the Governor's apology. In no uncertain terms, they made it clear that Manipur's identity is non-negotiable. The Governor had to be airlifted to Raj Bhavan from the Airport — the leader is shielded from the very people he is meant to represent. The Centre's reluctance to end President's rule is less a bureaucratic delay than a recognition of enduring instability. The looted weapons — estimated at 3,000 — remain largely unrecovered. The displaced remain in camps. The roadblocks, both literal and metaphorical, persist. The lines of control are found in the everyday geography of fear and formal orders. Without reckoning with these realities, a government formed now would not have the required legitimacy. The MLAs' push for a government is, at one level, a procedural demand. But it is also an admission of exhaustion. It reflects a desire to move on, to restore the machinery of governance, and to claim that the worst is over. The Centre's hesitation, in contrast, suggests that the crisis is far from contained. A political arrangement that ignores the exclusions at its core will not heal — it will harden divisions. What is missing from the debate is a reckoning with the nature of the political community in Manipur today. Can a state where the Valley sees the Hills as hostile territory, where the Hills view the Valley as a threat, and where the Naga districts increasingly assert their distinct identity, be governed as a single polity? A popular government requires a shared sense of belonging, a basic agreement on political rules, and a willingness to coexist despite profound differences. Manipur, a year after its collapse into violence, lacks these foundations. The demand for a government, however procedurally correct, needs to take into account the challenges of rebuilding trust, recognising mutual legitimacy, and confronting the structural inequalities that fuelled the conflict in the first place. A popular government without a people is a contradiction in terms. Manipur's crisis is not about the absence of a government, but of a shared political imagination — one that sees governance as more than majoritarian arithmetic. Until that imagination is rebuilt around a lasting peace, any government will remain fragile, provisional, and unmoored from the realities on the ground. The writer is a researcher and writer based in Manipur
The Print
28-05-2025
- Politics
- The Print
‘Z-Plus' status of ex-Manipur CM intact, excess personnel withdrawn: Officials
The officials were responding to some media reports that reported a downgrade in the former chief minister's security. They said Singh continues to enjoy 'Z-plus' security cover, a categorisation that mandates robust protection which includes a pilot and a protection vehicle at rear besides static guards at home. Imphal, May 28 (PTI) The Manipur administration on Wednesday refuted claims of a security downgrade for former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, clarifying that only surplus personnel deployed with him have been recalled, officials said. According to officials, Singh continues to be guarded round-the-clock by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), an elite central armed police force responsible for securing vital installations and high-profile people across India. Under standard protocol, a 'Z plus' protectee is entitled to six personal security officers (PSOs) provided by the respective state or union territory police. However, during a recent security audit, it was found that during his tenure as Chief Minister, Singh had 23 police personnel assigned to his security detail. Following this audit, 17 excess personnel were immediately asked to report to their parent units, the officials said. Manipur has been under President's Rule since February, following Singh's resignation as Chief Minister which came amidst widespread criticism regarding his government's handling of the ethnic clashes that erupted in May 2023. The violence, which has claimed the lives of over 260 people and displaced thousands, has primarily pitted Imphal valley-based Meiteis against Kuki-Zo groups, predominantly residing in the hill areas. The Centre has subsequently placed the state assembly, whose term ends in 2027, under suspended animation. PTI SKL MNB This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
The Print
28-05-2025
- Politics
- The Print
3 months into President's Rule, Governor's airlift to Raj Bhawan shows Manipur is still volatile
This is corroborated by security stakeholders, state government officials and Manipuri MLAs that ThePrint spoke to regarding the situation in the Northeast state. The episode encapsulates the fragile situation in Manipur, a state that remains volatile even after over two years of the ethnic conflict. Three months into the President's Rule, which was imposed 13 February— four days after Chief Minister N. Biren Singh resigned —there has not been any significant difference on the ground. New Delhi: On Monday, an Army helicopter airlifted Governor Ajay Bhalla from the airport to drop him at the Raj Bhavan after protesters lined up along his route. This was after a Meitei organisation announced protests against the bid to 'undermine the identity of Manipur.' Even as there has been no large scale violence reported since the President's Rule was imposed, they told ThePrint that there is not much improvement—be it recovery of looted weapons, reining in extortion cases, opening national highways, or outreach between the two ethnic communities: the non-tribal Meiteis and the tribal Kukis. The latest round of protests that led to Bhalla's airlift was triggered after central security personnel allegedly asked some state government employees to cover the word 'Manipur' painted on the state transport bus, which was taking journalists to the Shirui Lily festival in Ukhrul on 20 May. Though an investigation was ordered, the administration was unable to placate Meitei civil society organisations. They sought an apology from the Governor and demanded the removal of chief secretary Prashant Kumar Singh, Director General of Police (DGP) Rajiv Singh, and security advisor Kuldiep Singh. 'There is a complete disconnect between what the Centre is doing and what the people including the BJP leadership in the state want,' a BJP MLA told ThePrint. The BJP MLAs have been demanding installation of a government for a while now but with the party a divided house, the Centre is not too confident if it's the right time to stake claim. Though the assembly is in suspended animation, the BJP continues to be in majority in the 60-member House. Extortion up again, looted weapons a worry A senior security official said that there was a lot of expectation that with the Centre in charge, the law and order situation will improve. 'In fact, in the first two months after the President's Rule, extortion was under control. But, there is an uptick again.' The official added that extortionists from insurgent groups in the Imphal Valley have changed their modus operandi. 'They no longer send extortion letters. Instead, they call their target and if the person does not comply, they put a hand grenade outside his house to threaten him.' In April, security agencies seized seven-eight hand grenades from houses of the people, who were being targeted by the extortionists, the official said. 'Some grenades were recovered the next month as well.' Extortion is rampant in the hills too, but it is very organised there unlike in the Valley. 'Areas are divided between different underground groups. A particular underground group operating in an area won't venture into another's territory. In the hills, the general public gives donation to the different groups to protect their areas,' another security official said. Another area of concern, security officials said, is a very limited recovery of looted weapons. A second security official in the state government said that of the total 6,020 weapons looted from police armouries, only 2,900 weapons have either been returned or recovered, so far. 'After the President's Rule in February, a little over 250 looted weapons have been returned or recovered. In all, not even 50 percent of the looted weapons have been recovered,' the official said. Soon after the President's Rule was imposed, the Governor made a public appeal urging the people to surrender illegal weapons for which he set a one-week deadline. On 27 February, the last day of the deadline, members of Arambai Tenggol, a Meitei socio-cultural group which transformed into a radical armed outfit, surrendered 246 weapons. #WATCH | Imphal | The members of 'Arambai Tengol'- a Meitei organisation, today surrendered their arms following their meeting with Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Feb 25 — ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2025 'This was more of a public display. Not much has happened since then,' the official said. Security officials told ThePrint that in their internal meetings, Bhalla had set a 30 June deadline for recovery of looted weapons. But it's unlikely the deadline will be met. The security official quoted earlier said that on an average, 8-10 cadres of underground groups were apprehended every week. 'Since February, about 180 people have been arrested. But, they are mostly village volunteers, or low-rung cadres. A majority of them are released on bail in a week or two. None of the hardcore cadres, who underwent training in Myanmar or elsewhere, have been arrested. Our information is that most of them have fled to Myanmar,' the official said. Manipur DGP Rajiv Kumar was not available for comment. Nevertheless, Manipur-based Lt Gen Konsam Himalay Singh (retired) said that the absence of violence in a complex situation is a partial success. 'Three months of the President's Rule to some extent has been a limited kind of success, since there's hardly any violence. I say 'limited' as dialogue was to take place between members of the two communities. Dialogue did take place, but not in the right direction. The highways are yet to be cleared of disturbances even now,' Singh, the first from the North-East to become a Lieutenant General in the Army, told ThePrint. But, he added, the key issue of recovery of illegal and other looted weapons from the police armouries have not been substantial. 'That's an issue of concern… More action is needed on that front.' Also Read: As Centre steps in, Manipur underground groups tell cadre to 'lie low', but situation still volatile National Highways yet to be opened Even the two national highways—NH 2 and 37—that were closed since the ethnic violence erupted in May 2023 remains out of bounds. A Manipur government official said the authorities did try to open the national highways, but were not successful. 'There are safety concerns… Though there is no violence but the situation continues to be tense and can flare up at the slightest provocation.' In fact, the government tried to start interdistrict bus service between Imphal and the hill districts of Churachandpur and Kangpokpi twice in the last two years but were forced to call it off after failing to get passengers. There has been a rise in corruption cases as well. a retired IAS officer, said that with the President's Rule in place, the people expected that corruption would reduce. 'Though there is a reduction in corruption cases in the higher echelon, it goes on merrily at the public-government interface. No serious initiative to reign in corruption is seen. Corruption is the bane of Manipuri society and without rooting it out, there can hardly be any development,' he said. No substantive dialogue, so far With the BJP brass yet to take a decision on installation of a popular government, party MLAs are growing impatient. In April, 21 MLAs, including 13 from the BJP, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging the formation of a government. A BJP MLA told ThePrint that time is running out for them. 'People's anger against their elected representatives is growing. There has been no substantive outreach between the Meiteis and the Kukis. There have been a couple of meetings between civil society organisations on both sides, but not much has come out of it.' The President's Rule remains in effect till 12 August. If a government is not installed till then, the Centre can extend it for a maximum of three years with parliamentary approvals every six months. What is needed, according to the MLA, is a political dialogue between the two communities. 'The main grouse of the Kukis was that as long as Biren Singh is there as CM, they will not come to the table for talks. With Biren gone, political dialogue should have been initiated. If a government is in place, it can at least restart talks and try to restore normalcy.' The BJP MLAs are worried that if the stalemate continues, it will get difficult for the party to return to power in 2027, when the assembly elections are due. Lt Gen Singh (retired), too, asserted that popular government is most desirable in a democracy. 'But in this case, it seems, there is no political consensus among the different camps. This is delaying the installation of a popular government. A stable government is what is required,' he said. (Edited by Tony Rai) Also Read: 2 years after Manipur violence. The govt doesn't care to fix the pain
The Hindu
05-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
BJP Northeast in-charge Sambit Patra meets Meitei and Kuki-Zo representatives in Manipur
The Bharatiya Janata Party's Northeast in-charge Sambit Patra met former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, BJP legislators in the valley and hills and Kuki-Zo and Zomi civil society organisations in the northeastern State on Monday (May 5, 2025). Mr. Patra's visit comes days after 21 Manipur Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, urging them to form a 'popular government' in the State which was placed under President's rule on February 13. Speaking to The Hindu, Vumsuan Naulak, President of the Zomi Council, who met Mr. Patra in Churachandpur, said that the latter conveyed that as long as thousands of illicit arms remain in the hands of civilians not under any authority's control, 'they do not feel any urgency in installing a popular ministry.' As many as 6,020 weapons and lakhs of ammunition were looted from police armouries after ethnic violence between the Kuki-Zo and the Meitei people erupted in the State on May 3, 2023. So far, around 3,000 police weapons have been recovered, one-third of the recoveries were made after President's Rule kicked in. 'I am not sure if this visit was to explore if government could be formed or not. I told him that the dialogue process with compatible organisations in the valley such as the Meitei Leepun, Arambai Tenggol and the COCOMI (Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity) should begin. We do not want to speak to any youth club, we want to speak to people who are in the real between civil societies who are actually in the field,' Mr. Naulak said. Arambai Tenggol, an armed Meitei group has gained prominence in the aftermath of the violence. On April 4, the Kuki-Zo and Meitei civil society groups met for the first time at a meeting organised by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in Delhi. The meeting was attended by 15 representatives from the Kuki-Zo Council, Zomi Council, Federation of Civil Societies (FOCS) and All Manipur United Clubs Org (AMUCO) and was chaired by A.K Mishra, Adviser (North East), MHA. Mr. Naulak said that he also urged Mr. Patra to resume the talks between the Home Ministry and the Kuki-Zomi insurgent groups who are in a Suspension of Operations (SoO) pact with the Centre since 2008. Mr. Patra met former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh at the latter's residence in Imphal where some BJP MLAs were also present. He also met Speaker Thokchom Satyabrata Singh at his residence in Bamon Leikai and interacted with other MLAs at a city hotel. 'We discussed ways to restore peace in the hills and the valley. We also talked about the role of security forces. He (Patra) listened to us patiently and assured that our concerns will be notified to the authorities,' party MLA Kh. Ibomcha told reporters. BJP MLA Sapam Kunjakeshwor added: 'The discussions were mostly focused on law and order, and restoration of peace and normalcy. There was, however, no discussion on the recent letter by 21 MLAs to PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah about formation of government in Manipur.' Earlier in the day, Mr. Patra met two Kuki Zo MLAs – Vungzagin Valte, who had survived a mob attack on May 4, 2023, and L.M. Khaute in Churachandpur district. (With PTI inputs)
The Hindu
30-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Kuki-Zo student organisations urge people to observe shutdown on May 3 in parts of Manipur
Two Kuki-Zomi student organisations have urged people to observe a shutdown of all educational institutions and business establishments in parts of Manipur on May 3 to mark the second anniversary of the beginning of ethnic violence in the state. Zomi Students Federation (ZSF) and Kuki Students Organisation (KSO) said May 3, 2025, marks the completion of two years of the outbreak of the ethnic strife and urged all "to observe the day in silence by closing all educational institutions and all business establishments". More than 250 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in the ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023. The imposition of the President's rule came after Chief Minister N. Biren Singh resigned. The state assembly, which has a tenure till 2027, has been put under suspended animation. The student bodies also called for "hoisting black flags at the respective residences of all". These organisations also said a "mass prayer would be observed at Martyrs' cemetery and a public gathering at the wall of remembrance in Churachandpur district headquarters", and asked the public to attend the programme. Earlier, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) said May 3 would be observed as a "Separation Day". In a statement, the ITLF said, "There will be a day of reflection and remembrance for the victims of the ethnic conflict that has deeply impacted the Kuki-Zo communities". There will be a series of programmes, including prayers and exhortations for the victims and their families, a keynote address, organisational reports, and speeches by various tribal leaders, it said in a statement. Imphal valley-based COCOMI, a Meitei organisation, had on Tuesday (April 29, 2025) appealed to the people to halt all activities on May 3 and attend a public convention being organised on the day at Khuman Lampak stadium to discuss the future of the state. Federation of Civil Society Organisations (FOCS) also announced that May 3 this year would be observed as a "solemn day of remembrance and solidarity under the theme Bridging Divides for Shared Future".
