In Manipur, the ethnic faultine has shifted. 27 dead in Kuki Zo-Naga clashes since new govt took over
A new state government in Manipur took charge in February 2026, following a period of President's Rule that had been imposed after the previous Chief Minister's resignation
Since February 2026, violent clashes have emerged between the Kuki-Zo and Naga communities in Manipur's hill districts, killing at least 27 people, alongside continuing, separate incidents linked to the broader Meitei–Kuki-Zo conflict that began in May 2023
Affected areas span multiple hill districts, including Ukhrul, Tamenglong, Noney, and parts of Kangpokpi and Bishnupur, with incidents ranging from targeted killings and hostage-taking to arson and firing
According to figures placed before the Manipur Legislative Assembly, the overall death toll in the state's ethnic conflict since May 2023 stood at over 300, with dozens still reported missing, as of end-August 2026
Armed formations, including Naga and Kuki-linked outfits, have been implicated in specific incidents, alongside unidentified armed actors
Manipur's Hill–Valley Administrative Divide and Autonomous District Councils
Manipur does not fall under the Constitution's Sixth Schedule (unlike Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram); instead, its hill districts are governed through a separate statutory framework — the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils Act, 1971 — which established Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) with more limited legislative and financial powers than Sixth Schedule councils. This structural asymmetry between the Meitei-majority Imphal Valley and the tribal-majority hill areas is a long-standing fault line in Manipur's governance.
Key Details
- Manipur has six ADCs covering its hill districts (Ukhrul, Tamenglong, Churachandpur, Chandel, Senapati, and Sadar Hills), constituted under the 1971 Act, not under the Sixth Schedule
- Demands to bring Manipur's hill areas under Sixth Schedule protection have recurred periodically since statehood (1972) but have not been conceded
- A Hill Areas Committee, a constitutional body under Article 371C-type arrangements specific to Manipur, also has a consultative role over hill-area legislation
The administrative weakness and limited autonomy of Manipur's ADCs are part of the structural backdrop against which both the original Meitei–Kuki-Zo conflict and the newer Kuki-Zo–Naga clashes have played out in the hill districts.
AFSPA in Manipur — Current Application
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) grants special powers to security forces in areas declared "disturbed" under Section 3, and its continuation is reviewed every six months by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Manipur has remained under AFSPA through the current conflict, with only a limited number of police station areas in the valley districts excluded.
Key Details
- As of the most recent extension, AFSPA continues to apply across Manipur except in the jurisdiction of a specified set of police stations in five valley districts (Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Bishnupur, and Kakching)
- AFSPA declarations of "disturbed area" status are made under Section 3 of the Act, typically for six-month periods, and are subject to periodic review
- AFSPA has historically been most contested in India's North-East and in Jammu & Kashmir, with civil-society and state-level demands for repeal recurring for decades
The persistence of AFSPA across most of Manipur, even as the conflict's fault lines shift from Meitei-Kuki-Zo to Kuki-Zo-Naga, reflects the continued "disturbed area" classification of the state's hill districts where the new clashes are concentrated.
The Kuki-Zo Demand for a Separate Administration
Since the outbreak of the Meitei–Kuki-Zo conflict in May 2023, Kuki-Zo civil society and political groups have demanded a separate administrative arrangement — specifically a Union Territory with a legislature, on the model of Article 239A (applicable to Puducherry) — as a political resolution distinct from continued integration within Manipur's existing state structure.
Key Details
- Article 239A empowers Parliament to create a body corporate to function as a partly-elected legislature for a Union Territory (as applied to Puducherry), which Kuki-Zo groups cite as their preferred institutional model
- The Union Government has engaged Kuki-Zo groups through talks and Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreements with various armed groups, while stopping short of endorsing a separate administrative unit
- The demand for separate administration predates the newer Kuki-Zo–Naga violence and remains a live political question distinct from the current inter-tribal clashes
The emergence of Kuki-Zo-Naga clashes complicates the ongoing separate-administration debate, since it signals friction not only between the valley and the hills but within the hill areas themselves, among communities that would potentially fall within any future reorganised administrative unit.
- New Manipur state government took charge in February 2026, after a period of President's Rule
- Kuki-Zo–Naga clashes since February 2026: at least 27 killed, per this report; broader state-wide conflict toll since May 2023: over 300 dead and dozens missing, per figures placed before the Manipur Legislative Assembly (end-August 2026)
- Manipur has 6 Autonomous District Councils (hill districts), constituted under the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Councils Act, 1971 — Manipur is NOT under the Sixth Schedule
- AFSPA remains in force across Manipur except in 13 police station areas across 5 valley districts (Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Bishnupur, Kakching)
- Kuki-Zo groups' preferred political model: a Union Territory with legislature, citing Article 239A (the Puducherry model)