Manipur Ethnic Conflict

Manipur is a small state in Northeast India with three main groups of people: the Meiteis, the Kuki-Zo tribes and the Naga tribes. Each group lives mostly in its own area and has its own worries about land, jobs and identity. Since 3 May 2023, clashes between these groups have killed hundreds of people and forced tens of thousands to leave their homes. To understand Manipur, you have to understand the map, the laws on land and the history of each community.

The map: valley and hills

Think of Manipur as a bowl. In the middle is the flat Imphal Valley, which is only about 10% of the state's land. Around it are hills, which cover about 90% of the land. The Meiteis, who are roughly 53% of the population, live mostly in the valley. The Nagas and Kuki-Zo, about 40% of the population together, live mostly in the hills. So the largest group lives on the smallest area, and the smaller groups live on most of the land.

Who are the three communities?

• Meiteis: Mostly Hindu, with some following the older Sanamahi faith, plus Meitei Muslims called Pangals. They speak Meiteilon (Manipuri), which is in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. They are not a Scheduled Tribe (ST); most are in the general or Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
• Nagas: Tribes such as the Tangkhul, Mao, Maram, Liangmai, Rongmei and Zeme. Most are Christian and are recognised as STs. Many live in the northern and eastern hill districts such as Ukhrul, Kamjong, Senapati and Tamenglong.
• Kuki-Zo: Tribes such as the Thadou, Paite, Hmar and Vaiphei. Most are Christian and are recognised as STs. Many live in the southern and western hills, such as Churachandpur and Kangpokpi. They are related to the Chin people of Myanmar and the Mizos of Mizoram.

Why is land the biggest issue?

Under Manipur's land law, the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act, 1960, the valley and hills are treated differently. Hill land is mostly held by tribal villages and chiefs under custom. People who are not STs generally cannot buy land in the hills. But STs can buy land in the valley. Many Meiteis feel this is unfair, because the valley is crowded.

Many tribal people fear that if Meiteis became STs, they could buy hill land and the tribes would lose their only land base.

Where did it come from?

Manipur was a princely kingdom that merged with India in 1949. It became a Union Territory and then a full state on 21 January 1972, under the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971 (Meghalaya and Tripura became states on the same day). Tensions between the communities are much older than 2023:

• Naga movement: Since the 1950s, some Naga armed groups have demanded a "Greater Nagaland" (Nagalim), which would include the Naga-majority hill districts of Manipur. Meiteis strongly oppose any break-up of Manipur.
• Naga-Kuki clashes (1992 to 1997): Nagas and Kukis fought over overlapping land claims in the hills. About 1,000 people are reported to have been killed and thousands of homes burnt. The wounds of this period still shape Naga-Kuki relations.
• Kuki movement: Kuki armed groups have demanded a separate homeland or more self-rule. Many of them signed a Suspension of Operations (SoO) ceasefire with the Centre and the state in 2008.

What happened in 2023?

In March 2023, the Manipur High Court directed the state government to consider adding Meiteis to the ST list. Tribal groups protested. On 3 May 2023, a "Tribal Solidarity March" was held in the hill districts, and violence broke out between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo the same day. It spread fast. By November 2024, official figures put the toll at about 258 dead and around 60,000 displaced.

As of August 2026, the state Home Minister told the Assembly that 306 people had died and 49 were still missing. As of March 2026, the state government counted about 58,800 people displaced since May 2023. The state was effectively split, with Meiteis leaving the hills and Kuki-Zo leaving the valley. "Buffer zones" guarded by central forces were set up between them.

How did the institutions respond?

• Courts: In May 2023, the Supreme Court called the High Court's observation on ST status factually wrong. In February 2024, the High Court deleted that direction, noting that only the President can add a community to the ST list under Article 342. In August 2023, the Supreme Court set up a three-member committee of retired women judges led by Justice Gita Mittal to oversee relief and rehabilitation.
• Centre: Central forces (Army, Assam Rifles, CRPF, BSF) were deployed in large numbers, and AFSPA stayed in force outside the valley police stations.
• President's Rule: Manipur came under President's Rule (Article 356) on 13 February 2025. It was lifted on 4 February 2026, when a new elected government took office.
• Ceasefire talks: The SoO with Kuki-Zo groups (the Kuki National Organisation and the United People's Front) was renegotiated on 4 September 2025. The new terms included respecting the territorial integrity of Manipur, moving camps away from sensitive areas, and checking cadres to find and deport foreign nationals.

Special constitutional protections for the hills

Manipur's hills are not under the Sixth Schedule. Instead, Article 371C, added by the 27th Amendment Act, 1971, lets the President create a Hill Areas Committee made up of Assembly members elected from the hill areas. Laws affecting the hills are sent to this committee. Separately, the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils Act, 1971 created elected district councils in the hills.

What does each community want?

Stated simply and neutrally:

• Many Meitei groups want ST status for protection of land and identity, the territorial integrity of Manipur, action against illegal migration (including a National Register of Citizens), and an end to free movement across the Myanmar border.
• Many Kuki-Zo groups want a separate administration for their areas, such as a Union Territory with a legislature, saying they can no longer live safely under a common state structure.
• Many Naga groups oppose any new unit carved out of land they see as Naga ancestral land, and want the Naga peace talks (the 2015 Framework Agreement) to be concluded. These demands often clash with each other, which is why no single solution satisfies everyone.

The Myanmar factor

Manipur shares 398 km of border with Myanmar. After the 2021 military coup in Myanmar, civil war there sent refugees into Manipur and made arms easier to get. Armed groups on both sides of the border have family and tribal links. This makes border control, the Free Movement Regime and fencing a key part of the conflict.

Commonly confused concepts

• Article 371C vs Sixth Schedule: Article 371C gives Manipur's hill areas a special Assembly committee. The Sixth Schedule creates Autonomous District Councils with law-making powers, and applies only to Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, not Manipur.
• Article 355 vs Article 356: Article 355 is the Centre's duty to protect every state from external attack and internal disturbance. Article 356 is President's Rule, used when the state government cannot be run according to the Constitution.
• Suspension of Operations vs peace accord: An SoO is a temporary ceasefire while talks go on. A peace accord is a final settlement that ends the conflict.
• Kuki-Zo vs Naga: Both are tribal and mostly Christian, but they are different groups with different languages, histories and land claims. They have clashed with each other, as in the 1990s.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

• Deep mistrust: Communities now live apart, with buffer zones between them. Rebuilding trust takes time and local dialogue, not only security.
• Displacement: Tens of thousands still live in relief camps. Safe return, housing and livelihoods remain a big task.
• Looted weapons: Thousands of weapons were looted from police armouries in 2023. Recovering them is essential for lasting peace.
• Competing land claims: Naga and Kuki claims over the same hill areas can spark fresh violence, as seen in districts like Kangpokpi and Kamjong.
• Border management: Fencing and tighter border rules may reduce arms and militant movement, but they also affect families and trade that cross the border.
• AFSPA debate: Security agencies say AFSPA is needed in such conditions. Human rights groups argue it weakens accountability.
• Way forward suggested by experts: Political dialogue with all three communities together, stronger hill autonomy under Article 371C, faster justice for violent crimes, fair relief and rehabilitation, and a clear land-record system in the hills.

Concepts to Know

• Scheduled Tribe (ST): A community officially listed by the President under Article 342 as a tribe needing special protection. STs get reserved seats, jobs and land protections.
• Buffer zone: A strip of land between two hostile groups, guarded by security forces, where neither side is allowed to enter.
• Territorial integrity: Keeping a state's borders and land whole, without splitting it into new states or territories.
• Displaced people: People forced to leave their homes because of violence, who now live in camps or with relatives inside the same country.
• Insurgent group: An armed group that fights the government to win political goals such as a separate state or more self-rule.
• National Register of Citizens (NRC): An official list of legal citizens. So far a full NRC has been prepared only in Assam.