Manipur: two years of ethnic violence under state failure

What happened

On 3 May 2023, violence broke out in Manipur between the majority Meitei community of the valley and the Kuki-Zo tribal communities of the hills, following protests against a High Court order concerning Scheduled Tribe status for Meiteis. Mobs burned villages, churches and temples; police armouries were looted of thousands of weapons; and the state effectively partitioned into ethnic zones patrolled by armed groups. By government figures reported in late 2024, more than 250 people had been killed, around 60,000 displaced into relief camps, 4,786 houses burnt and 386 religious structures vandalised.

A state-wide internet shutdown ran for months. In July 2023 — 78 days into the violence — a video surfaced of two Kuki-Zo women being paraded naked by a mob, an assault from 4 May; national outrage followed, the CBI took over the case, and the Prime Minister made his first public comments on Manipur.

What the official record shows

The Supreme Court, hearing the video case in 2023, described the situation as a breakdown of law and order and of constitutional machinery in the state, and appointed a committee of three former women High Court judges to oversee relief, rehabilitation and compensation. Prosecutions for the assault and killings proceed in multiple cases, several moved outside the state.

Where it stands

The chief minister, N. Biren Singh, remained in office for nearly two years of the conflict, resigning in February 2025, after which President’s rule was imposed. In March 2025, Supreme Court judges visited the relief camps, where tens of thousands remained displaced almost two years on. The violence, the scale of displacement, and the duration of state and central inaction are documented record.