Manipur Violence has remained a pressing issue, with Home Minister Amit Shah stating that peace has prevailed since November—despite 21 reported deaths in subsequent clashes.
The numbers on the ground, however, paint a totally different picture.
At least 34 individuals have died in Manipur between November 2024 and March 2025, 13 in relief camps and 21 in direct conflicts, as a result of what residents perceive to be medical neglect. Children, demonstrators, migrant workers, and local volunteers are among the deceased.
Deaths have persisted even after President’s Rule was imposed in February of this year.
November:
One of Manipur’s bloodiest outbreaks in months occurred on November 11.
“Manipur Violence Intensifies: Meitei Family Killed, 11 Suspected Kuki Rebels Dead, Protests Erupt in Jiribam”
Manipur Violence escalated in Jiribam district as six members of a Meitei family, including a two-year-old, went missing after a suspected Kuki insurgent attack near the Borobekra relief camp. Their charred and decomposed bodies were later discovered in the Barak River in neighbouring Assam.
Eleven suspected Kuki terrorists were killed in retaliatory fire that followed an alleged insurgent attack on a CRPF camp that same day. The Kuki-Zo Council referred to them as village defense volunteers, while the government labeled them rebels. The council imposed a 13-hour shutdown on hill areas in protest.
K. Athouba, a 20-year-old protester, was shot dead after a confrontation with security forces a few days later as demonstrations over the killings broke out in Jiribam.
December:
Manipur Violence claimed the lives of two teenage migrant workers from Bihar — Sunalal Kumar (18) and Dasharat Kumar (17) — who were killed on December 14 in Keirak, Kakching district, while returning home from work. Police confirmed they were attacked by unknown assailants, and the case remains unresolved.
N. Biren Singh, the chief minister at the time, apologized in public that same month for the state’s inability to maintain peace.
March:
Many people thought that the imposition of President’s Rule in February 2025 would be a watershed moment. However, fatalities have persisted despite governmental supervision. On March 8, the first day that Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s directive of unrestricted movement between the valley and the hills went into effect, violent conflicts broke out in Manipur, resulting in the deaths of one Kuki man and the injuries of forty-eight Kuki people. According to police, 27 security guards were also hurt.
Manipur Violence has given rise to a silent humanitarian crisis within relief camps, where at least 13 displaced individuals from the Kuki-Zo community have reportedly died since November, allegedly due to lack of medical care, according to the Kuki Khanglai Lawmpi (KKL).
Manipur Violence continues to grip the state despite the Union government’s claims of restored normalcy, with over 250 people killed since the conflict began in May 2023 and more than 60,000 still displaced in relief camps.
