Two Years Too Late: Manipur’s Displaced Tribals and the PM’s Visit That Brought No Healing

By Nazmin Saikia

Photo AI Gemini

Background: Roots of the Conflict

Manipur, a northeast Indian state with a delicate ethnic balance, has long seen tensions between the Meitei community (mostly residing in the Imphal Valley) and the Kuki-Zo tribal communities in the surrounding hills. These tensions have been fueled by competition over land, jobs (including quotas), identity, and administrative status.

In May 2023, violent clashes broke out after a tribal group protested the Meitei demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. This demand was seen by many Kukis as an encroachment on their traditional rights. What began as protests escalated rapidly into inter-communal violence. Villages were burned, families displaced, and lives lost. The number of deaths is estimated at around 260 by mid-2025, with over 60,000 people displaced. (Reuters)

Entire mixed villages — once places of coexistence — in districts like Bishnupur were turned into “no man’s land” as mobs attacked, burned homes, and the social fabric was torn. (India Today)

Displacement, Trauma, and the Situation on the Ground

The scale of displacement has been large and deeply traumatic:

• Over 41,000 Kukis are displaced and living in relief camps. (India Today)

• Over 7,000 houses destroyed, more than 200 villages targeted. (India Today)

• In relief camps, conditions have been poor: inadequate healthcare, lack of livelihood, children out of school, and families uncertain of returning home. (India Today)
  
  

The sense of insecurity remains strong. The geographic division is real (valley vs hills), as are lasting distrust, buffer zones, and restricted movement. Even now, many displaced people express that they don’t feel safe to return without strong guarantees. (India Today)

Prime Minister’s Visit: Two Years Later

For more than two years, many in Manipur felt ignored by the national leadership. It was only on September 13, 2025, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Manipur — his first visit since the outbreak of violence in 2023. (Al Jazeera)

The visit included:

• Meeting displaced families in Churachandpur, and then in Imphal. (India Today)

• Announcing development projects: infrastructure, roads, drainage, women’s hostels, schools, and health facilities. The financial package announced was around ₹7,300 crore (for Churachandpur) plus other projects worth over ₹1,200 crore in Imphal. (India Today)

• Pledging to build about 7,000 new homes for displaced families. (Al Jazeera)
  
  

He addressed residents in relief camps, saying, “I am with you,” urging peace, dialogue, and a “bridge of brotherhood between the hills and valley.” (India Today)

Reactions: Relief, Doubt, and Anger

The response to PM Modi’s visit was mixed:

• Many displaced families expressed relief to finally see national leadership physically present. The interaction was welcomed in some quarters as a sign that the state was not forgotten. (India Today)

• However, others accused the visit of being too little, too late. Opposition leaders called it a token gesture rather than an action-oriented oriented. (The Times of India)
  
  

For example:

• Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge described the three-hour stopover as a “grave insult” to the suffering people. He criticised that many had died, many displaced, many injured — and yet the Prime Minister had avoided the state until now, despite being in power. (The Times of India)

• Priyanka Gandhi said that the visit should have happened long ago, noting how people suffered for so long before official attention. (The Times of India)
  
  

Other issues raised:

• Some tribal MLAs demanded separate administration or Union Territory status for the tribal-majority hills (Kuki-Zo), citing neglect and marginalisation. (The Economic Times)

• Local communities noted that though projects were announced, implementation has been slow, trust is unbroken, and basic issues like security still remain unaddressed. (India Today)
  
  

Themes: Displacement, Land Conflict, Tribal Rights, and Delayed Redress

This situation can be analysed along several overlapping themes:

1. Displacement and Loss of Land
   Many tribal families lost ancestral land and homes. Entire villages were razed (in Kuki-Zo areas, mixed areas). The displacement isn’t just physical — it’s also cultural: loss of connection to place, identity, livelihood. (India Today)

2. Government Delay and Symbolic Action
   The fact that PM Modi’s visit came only after over two years of violence — with opposition pointing out that lives were lost, houses destroyed, people displaced, all while there was no national-level visit — feeds into perceptions of neglect. Many suffering feel the visit is more symbolic than substantive. (The Times of India)

3. Tribal Rights and Autonomy
   The Kuki-Zo tribal demand for recognition, for ensuring safety, for rights over land and hills, and for administrative arrangements (even Union Territory proposals) underline that many feel constitutional protections and tribal rights are being eroded. (The Economic Times)

4. Security, Normalcy, but Continual Fear
   While overt violence has reduced, mistrust remains. Buffer zones, restricted travel, fear of reprisal—many displaced persons are reluctant to return without assurances. Relief camps are still operational. (India Today)

5. Development vs Justice
   Infrastructure and project announcements are important, but they are viewed by many as insufficient unless accompanied by land restitution, legal redress, compensation, accountability for violence, and recognition of tribal rights. The rapid or large project announcements are welcomed, but there is also demand for transparency in who gets land, who builds, and who benefits.
   
   

Present Day: Unresolved Pain

Even after the PM’s visit:

• Many displaced families remain in camps, with health, livelihood, and education issues. (India Today)

• Travel constraints remain: buffer zones, restricted crossings between valley and hills, difficulties in access to medical care and education because of long detours. (India Today)

• Some local leaders and activists say that despite project launches, implementation tends to be delayed or promises unfulfilled. The declaration of new homes, hostels, and roads is welcome — but what matters is speed, fairness, and the security that displaced people want before returning.
  
  

Implications for Democracy and Tribal Rights

This episode in Manipur shows the intersection of land rights, ethnic identity, displacement, and political neglect.

• Tribal rights are not just legal; they are tied to land, administration, safety, and recognition.

• Delay in response from national leaders deepens distrust and can exacerbate grievances.

• Symbolic developments (speeches, project announcements) can help, but need backing by action: restitution of land, compensation, restoration of destroyed homes, and legal recognition & protection.
  
  

Conclusion: What Must Be Done

To address the wounds in Manipur and honour tribal rights, a few concrete steps seem essential:

1. Speedy implementation of relief and rebuilding, especially homes and infrastructure in displaced villages.

2. Land restitution and legal safeguards for tribal communities, including secure land rights and protections against encroachments or violence.

3. Transparent administration of projects — ensuring the tribal areas benefit and that development is inclusive.

4. Dialogue and political reforms, such as considering autonomy or administrative special arrangements for tribal-majority hill districts, and empowering local tribal leadership.

5. Security and trust building, including ensuring displaced persons feel safe, provision of services in relief camps, and ending buffer zones that hinder normal life.

Manipur’s crisis is a test for India’s commitment to tribal rights, land justice, and democratic responsibility. The PM’s visit may have opened a window of hope — but delayed healing, symbolic gestures, and ongoing displacement suggest that much more than speeches will be required for the scars to fade. The people of Manipur deserve far more than late promises; they deserve justice, restoration, and real recognition.