Caught in the Crossfire
National security is at stake if the conflict in Manipur is not resolved soon.
Force, August 2026, pp. 18-21.
The three-year long ongoing conflict in Manipur between Meiteis and Kukis is one of the largest civil war-like situations in post-Independent India. The fact that it is still simmering since 2023, shows how widespread and deep-rooted it is. On the face of it, the conflict is a result of the opposition by tribal student groups in the Manipur hills against the single-bench judgement of the Manipur High Court. The court had directed the state government in April 2023 to submit a recommendation in response to the ministry of tribal affairs on the scheduled tribe status demand by the Meiteis. However, the violence that followed the peaceful protest rally on 3 May 2023 was much more complex; it had layers of multiple and overlapping conflicts as old as the post-colonial Indian state. The intensity of the conflict manifested not only through the number of people killed and how prolonged it was, but also through the deep division and polarisation it created because of political machinations. It is going to take decades to restore the broken social fabric in the state. The conflict has already resulted in total segregation of the two communities. The Manipur government under N. Biren Singh had taken quite a partisan position in total demonisation of the Kukis, leading to a strong demand by them for a separate administration in the form of a Union Territory with legislature.