Act now: Editorial on Manipur’s looming three-sided ethnic conflict

Deadly clashes between sections of the Kuki and the Naga communities in Manipur late last week have bared the frightening prospect of the deepening of a second front in the ethnic conflict that has devastated the promise of peace in the state for over three years. At least nine people were killed within a span of 24 hours in three districts after deaths in crossfire between security forces and armed fighters rapidly escalated and spiralled into broader violence. Those killed include members of the Naga and the Kuki communities and, reportedly, one Nepali man. Until this past summer, the violence that has marred Manipur's landscape in recent years was underpinned by tensions between Meiteis and Kukis. The crisis exploded in May 2023 after a judicial directive asked the then state government to consider scheduled tribe status for the Meiteis. This would have given Meiteis access to job and education quotas previously reserved for STs. Since then, nearly 300 people have been killed and 60,000 have been displaced as a result of the violence. The state has effectively been partitioned into parts that are no-go zones for Meiteis and areas where Kukis cannot safely enter. But since February 2026, clashes have also erupted between Kukis and Nagas. Last week's violence is part of that fresh fracture that has further divided Manipur along ethnic lines.

For the Bharatiya Janata Party-led governments at the Centre and in the state, it would be convenient to try and pin the blame for each episode of clashes on armed groups across the border in Myanmar, or on refugees from that neighbouring country who have fled to India. But that would be both dishonest and counterproductive for Manipur and India's internal stability. Hostile groups in Myanmar are a reality. But the blame for the failure to end years of strife in Manipur ultimately rests with the state government and the Centre. Credible, independent reporting has revealed prejudices on the part of officials; yet no one in a senior position has truly been held accountable. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to avoid visiting Manipur for two years after the violence, sending a signal — perhaps unwittingly — that the unrest there was not important enough for him to intervene. Massive volumes of arms, big and small, are available across the state today, fuelling the prospect of ceaseless flames. New Delhi and Imphal must get their act together before a three-sided ethnic conflict ensnares Meiteis, Kukis and Nagas in Manipur.