PM Modi’s First Visit to Manipur Since Unrest: Timeline of the Conflict & Current Situation

PM Modi’s First Visit to Manipur Since Unrest: On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make his first trip to Manipur since the unrest broke out in 2023. Given that the Northeastern state has been plagued by huge migration, arson, and murders, PM Modi's visit is noteworthy.

Thousands of people, including women and children, are still in relief camps. Manipur is under President’s Rule following the resignation of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh in February.

The Prime Minister had already talked about the Manipur violence in the Parliament. Now, he is visiting the state and is expected to address the people of the state on their soil, as the clashes have started. However, PM Modi’s visit comes amid a mix of hope and doubts – Some see it as a long-overdue attempt to connect to the people, while others call it as merely symbolic visit.

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In July 2024, PM Modi told the Rajya Sabha that violence in Manipur was “steadily declining." He said more than 11,000 FIRs had been registered and over 500 people arrested since the violence began. Schools, colleges and offices, he emphasised, had reopened in much of the state, and examinations had been conducted without disruption.

The Prime Minister also reminded the House that both the Centre and the Manipur government were in constant dialogue with stakeholders. Modi had linked the crisis to Manipur’s long history of social conflict, recalling that President’s Rule had been imposed there ten times under Congress rule and that similar unrest in 1993 had lasted five years.

At the time, Modi urged Opposition parties to set aside politics and cooperate in restoring peace, while warning that “those elements who are adding fuel to the fire" would one day be rejected by the people of Manipur.

In July this year, the PM, in the Upper House, violence in the state is ‘steadily declining’ and over 11,000 FIRs had been filed against culprits. He said police arrested over 500 people who were responsible for the violence. He highlighted that many schools, colleges and offices had resumed operations, and that exams were held smoothly.

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The Peace Ground in Churachandpur is notably a Kuki-majority region. According to Goel, PM Modi would also travel to Kangla, a Meitei-majority area in Imphal. He will launch projects of Rs 1,200 crore there. Manipur will receive development projects totaling Rs 8,500 crore. Additionally, PM Modi will speak at public events in both locations.

Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday called the trip “no big deal.” He said that the real national issue was vote theft.

“The issue in Manipur has been ongoing for a long time. It is good that he is going there now. But the main issue in the country is that of ‘Vote Chori’. The election mandates in Haryana and Maharashtra were stolen…People everywhere are saying ‘Vote Chor’,” Rahul Gandhi said.

Congress’s Jairam Ramesh posted on X that PM Modi’s three-hour visit would be a “farce, not a force for peace.”

“So now it is official. The PM will spend less than 3 hours in Manipur tomorrow. This visit instead of providing a force for peace and harmony is actually going to be a farce,” he said.

It is worth noting that the Grand Old Party has repeatedly argued that PM Modi’s visit comes too late, after nearly 29 months.

BJP officials, such as Sambit Patra and former chief minister N Biren Singh, have expressed support for the visit, suggesting it may pave the way for reconciliation.

How Have Political Parties Reacted?

The announcement of PM Modi’s visit has drawn sharp political reactions. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, speaking in Gujarat on Friday, called the trip “no big deal," saying the real national issue was “vote chori" or vote theft.

“The issue in Manipur has been ongoing for a long time. It is good that he is going there now. But the main issue in the country is that of ‘Vote Chori’. The election mandates in Haryana and Maharashtra were stolen…People everywhere are saying ‘Vote Chor’," Congress MP said.

Jairam Ramesh, the Congress communications in-charge, posted on X that the Prime Minister’s three-hour visit would be a “farce, not a force for peace."

“So now it is official. The PM will spend less than 3 hours in Manipur tomorrow. This visit instead of providing a force for peace and harmony is actually going to be a farce," he stated.

Local voices, however, have shown a mix of hope and scepticism. Retired Lieutenant General LN Singh from Imphal described the visit as the “first stone" of the rebuilding process, while Churachandpur leader Ginza Vualzong called it “historic" and expressed hope for a political solution. Others, like Congress’s Keisham Meghachandra Singh dismissed the trip as symbolic.

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