The killing has not ceased even after it had started more than three years ago in Manipur. At least nine people lost their lives and the families in Kamjong, Kangpokpi and Ukhrul were driven out of their homes by gunfights and arson on 9-10 October. Four days later, four more were killed in two separate incidents and bodies were taken by protesters towards the chief minister’s residence.
At least 36 lives have been lost in Kuki-Naga cycle in 2026, in addition to the Meitei/Kuki divide that opened in May 2023, as per one report. The war is far from over. It is multiplying.
This is the BJP’s record. A party with government power has been in control of both Delhi and Imphal. Manipur has been currently under President’s rule since February 2025 when BJP leader Biren Singh resigned and a new BJP-led government headed by Y. Khemchand Singh came into place a year later. A change of face has not led to a change of outcome.
An official response is scripted: Deployments, prohibitory orders, high-level meetings and assurances. Narendra Modi has pledged to help and support the state authorities but again, as this report says, supporting words are a promise and not proof of the end of the violence. Police trace the Chassad shooting to an anti-bunker mission, but community groups refute some of those claims. If there’s been a breakdown in trust, even a rightful business is seen as suspect.
His rehabilitation also falls short of the mark. The Centre has approved five thousand new houses for displaced families but in the villages the houses are being burned at a quicker rate than building up.
What is missing is politics. What Manipur needs is a credible inter-communal dialogue, disarmament for all armed groups and an accountability that is not limited to the village guard. When the State is seen as a law-and-order issue, the government has got it wrong. The BJP has been in office for three years now and it has something to answer for the people of Manipur more than another meeting and another pledge.
