More than two years since violence broke out in Manipur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is finally gearing up for his visit to Manipur on September 13. However, the people of the state have little to no expectations from the visit.
According to reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address two separate rallies in Imphal and Churachandpur.
Officials said Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla met with at least five Kuki-Zo MLAs in Churachandpur on Tuesday. The meeting comes ahead of the PM’s likely visit on 13 September.
Modi is expected to visit Manipur after he visits neighbouring Mizoram. Officials and security forces said that Modi might address the crowd, composed largely of Kuki-Zo community members, at the main ground in Churachandpur town on Saturday afternoon. This is Modi’s first visit since ethnic violence broke out in the state, leaving a long-term division, with hundreds and thousands displaced.
On Wednesday, the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) in a statement extended a “warm welcome” to Modi, while reiterating its long-standing demand for a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo community.
Calling the expected visit a “historic and rare occasion,” the Council said it comes nearly four decades after an Indian Prime Minister last visited the region.
In its statement on Tuesday, the KZC highlighted the community’s “immeasurable hardships” since ethnic violence erupted in 2023 and “more than 250 innocent lives have been lost at the hands of the majority Meitei community”.
Maktoob reached out to people in Manipur who did not share the same sentiment.
A displaced Kuki person, who not only lost her home in Imphal but also everything her family had built, said, “The wars were over way back. All life lost and all that’s left behind in Imphal are our personal loss now. “
A Meitei family, who did not want to be named and were displaced, echoed the same sentiments by saying they think “nothing of the visit”.
Wounds are still fresh, and enmity will never end, is what many believe. Meanwhile, the council also reiterated its demand for a UT with legislature under Article 239A of the Constitution, the KZC said the call for separation “arises not from convenience, but from necessity for peace, security, and survival”.
Speaking about the whole situation, Siam Phaipi, a Supreme Court lawyer, who was also displaced from Imphal, said the situation is not going to change despite the visit.
“As far as the Manipur violence and the tension in Manipur are concerned, nothing will change because there is no practical solution given about anything regarding Manipur even in these past two and a half years,” he said.
Phaipi said that while the news channels call it a peace deal, in reality, it is not.
“It will be the same here, where a picture will be painted that Manipur is peaceful and back to normalcy on paper, but in reality, nothing could be further from the truth. The only thing which the news of this visit has brought so far is exposing some of our so-called leaders who are more interested in his visit and appeasing him than seeking justice or accountability,” he added.
The lawyer, whose house and a school, built by his father, were burnt down, said that people should stay at home.
“I am suggesting to my people to just stay at home and go on about their business, and maintain some respect and dignity for themselves and especially for those who have fallen in this Manipur violence,” he added.
