Manipur unrest persists despite regime change, as Kuki groups enforce shutdown

With deep faultlines between the Kuki and Meitei communities still firmly in place, normalcy continues to elude Manipur even after the formation of a new BJP-led NDA government.

BJP MLA Yumnam Khemchand Singh was sworn in as Chief Minister on Tuesday, taking charge of a state ravaged by two years long ethnic violence. However, early signs suggest that his government has failed to secure the trust of the Kuki community.

Recent threats issued by Kuki organisations against Deputy Chief Minister Nemcha Kipgen and Kuki MLAs who participated in the government formation have heightened fears of fresh unrest. Nemcha Kipgen comes from the Kuki-Zo community.

In protest against the inclusion of Kuki-Zo legislators in the new dispensation, two tribal bodies enforced a “total shutdown” across Kuki-Zo-dominated districts, officials said.

The shutdown paralysed normal life in Churachandpur district, where clashes erupted between protesters and security forces, leaving around a dozen people injured.

Local media reported that bandh supporters blocked traffic in parts of the district headquarters on Friday morning, with some demonstrators carrying sticks.

Escalating the pressure, the influential Kuki Zo Council announced a social boycott of any legislator from the community who joins the Khemchand Singh-led government. Several Kuki organisations went further, branding the MLAs “traitors” and issuing death threats against them.

The Kuki Students’ Organisation announced a 24-hour total shutdown beginning midnight on Friday, while the Kuki Women Organisation for Human Rights (KWOHR) said it would organise a mass public rally to oppose the participation of Kuki-Zo MLAs in the government.

Amid the rising tensions, the Indigenous Tribes Advocacy Committee of Pherzawl and Jiribam districts warned against any attempt to intimidate, threaten, or harm MLA N Sanate, or to vandalise or loot his property.

Such acts, the committee said, would be seen as an affront to the collective stand of tribal communities in the two districts. It also cautioned against allowing recent political developments to fuel hostility among the Hmar, Kuki, and Zomi tribes.

Although Chief Minister Khemchand Singh said rehabilitation of displaced people would be the government’s top priority, his assurances appear to have failed to reassure the warring communities.

Speaking shortly after taking office, he promised immediate steps to improve conditions in relief camps, including access to food, healthcare, education, and sanitation.

Meanwhile, the Congress extended support to the newly formed government, though in a notably cautious tone.

Manipur Congress president Keisham Meghachandra Singh said that at this “critical juncture” the state required leadership capable of restoring peace, rebuilding trust among communities, and ensuring justice. He also stressed the need to revive democratic values, institutions, and participatory governance so that the voices of the people remain central to decision-making. 

Ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on 3 May 2023 between the valley-based Meitei community and the hill-dwelling Kuki-Zo tribes.

According to government data, at least 258 people were killed and around 60,000 displaced by November 2024, with over 1,000 injured and 32 reported missing. Nearly 4,800 houses were destroyed and 386 religious structures, including temples and churches, were vandalised, while unofficial estimates put the toll even higher.