Anger, Distrust, and a Cycle of Unfinished Justice: Manipur on the Brink Again |
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New Delhi: The chapters unfolding in Manipur today may appear new, but they echo a script the state has already lived through. In Imphal’s streets, the anger sounds hauntingly familiar. Slogans that once rang out through 2023 have returned, this time with force: “Go back Indian Army.”
This resurgence of rage follows a brutal incident on April 7, 2026, in Bishnupur district’s Tronglaobi area, where a bomb attack by suspected militants killed two Meitei children and injured their mother. What might have remained a tragic but isolated act quickly spiralled into something larger.
Within hours, a large group of protesters marched towards a nearby Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp at Gelmol, barely a few hundred metres from the blast site. The situation escalated rapidly, culminating in firing by security forces, and pushing Manipur back into a cycle it has struggled to escape.
On May 3, the violence in Manipur will mark three years. In this time, more than 270 lives have been lost, including that of personnel from both central and state forces.
Despite a “double engine” government – with Bharatiya Janata Party in the state and at the Union – the unrest raises a bigger question: has the political leadership, across levels, collectively failed to contain a crisis that continues to repeat itself?
Anger on Manipur’s streets is no longer episodic. It is organised, vocal, and increasingly political. The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) has issued an ultimatum to the state government, calling a complete boycott of the BJP-led administration. It signals a shift from spontaneous outrage to structured resistance, with civil society groups now openly questioning the legitimacy and intent of those in power.
“The government has not yet clarified whether the UKNA cadres arrested by security forces were actually involved in the Tronglaobi killings or how they were involved,” COCOMI’s Nahakpam Shanta said, speaking to the media in Imphal.
Shanta added that........