Manipur
WWII invasion turning point now torn by ethnic conflict between valley Meiteis and hill tribes
On May 3, 2023, a tribal solidarity march in Manipur's hills ignited violence that has not stopped burning. Over 258 dead. 60,000 displaced. The state that fought the Japanese at Imphal in 1944 now fights itself, cleaved along an ethnic fault line that decades of grievance finally cracked open.
Manipur's identity was forged at Kangla Fort, seat of the Meitei kings for nearly two millennia until British forces stormed it in 1891. The fort remained under military occupation until 2004, a wound that defined Meitei consciousness. In the hills surrounding the Imphal Valley, Kuki-Zo and Naga tribes maintained distinct identities, protected by constitutional provisions reserving hill lands for tribal peoples.
The immediate trigger was a high court recommendation that the majority Meitei community receive Scheduled Tribe status, which would grant them access to tribal land. The hills people saw an existential threat. What followed was not a riot but a rupture. Villages burned. Churches and temples were torched. Weapons looted from police armories armed both sides. By September 2024, drones dropped bombs on villages. Leaked audio tapes, allegedly revealing the Chief Minister claiming he instigated the violence, led to his resignation in February 2025. President's Rule followed, placing the fractured state under direct federal control.
Today, Manipur exists as two ethnic zones separated by buffer areas and security patrols. The Meitei control the valley with its airport, hospitals, and government offices. The Kuki-Zo are confined to hills with limited resources. Movement between zones is nearly impossible. Two communities that once shared a state now inhabit parallel territories. The Loktak Lake, with its floating islands that shelter the endangered sangai deer, still shimmers. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which grants soldiers immunity, remains in force.
By 2026, Manipur faces no clear path to reconciliation. No election timeline exists. The question is no longer whether Manipur can heal but whether it can remain a single state at all.