Manipur coalition says armed groups must be addressed in conflict response

A coalition of 14 civil society organisations in Manipur has criticised Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju for describing the State’s prolonged violence primarily as a communal conflict. The coalition said armed groups and the security dimension of the crisis needed greater attention. The organisations said the conflict was not adequately explained by tensions between communities.

Shanta Nahakpam, the coalition’s convenor, said the violence had involved armed extremist groups and attacks on civilians and villages. Mr. Rijiju, speaking at a conclave in New Delhi on September 27, had called for dialogue among the Kuki-Zo, Meitei and Naga communities.

He said military intervention would not resolve the crisis. The coalition described that emphasis on dialogue as reflecting an inadequate understanding of the security situation. It compared the violence with unrest in Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang, Longding and Tirap districts, where, it said, armed groups—mostly comprising Nagas—had been active for more than three decades.

According to Manipur Home Minister Konthoujam Govindas, the conflict that began on May 3, 2023 had killed 306 people and left 49 missing by the first week of September 2026. More than 60,000 people were also left homeless, the source material says. The coalition questioned the Centre’s decision to continue the Suspension of Operations arrangement with 25 Kuki-Zomi armed groups.

It noted that the Manipur Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution in February 2024 seeking to end the arrangement. The agreement, signed in 2008 with the Kuki National Organisation and the United People’s Front, was extended in September 2025. Separately, the Manipur government urged the Just and Fair Delimitation campaign group to suspend its protest.

Government spokesperson Sapam Ranjan Singh said the administration was considering its demand to update the National Register of Citizens before the Census. The campaign is driven in part by concerns that illegal entry from Myanmar is changing Manipur’s demographic profile, according to the source material.