Waiting for peace in a violently divided Indian state

More than a year has passed since a deadly ethnic conflict devastated homes and left more than 220 people dead in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur. But its more than three million people are still waiting for peace.

Clashes broke out In May last year, conflicts erupted between the majority Meitei and the indigenous Kuki minority. They were sparked by Kuki protests against Meitei demands for official tribal status, which would make them eligible for affirmative action and other benefits.

The violence has displaced tens of thousands of people – some 59,000 still living in government relief camps – and has divided neighbourhoods and torn apart ties between communities.

Today, Manipur is divided into two camps: the Meiteis live in the Imphal Valley and the Kukis in the surrounding hills. Borders and buffer zones guarded by security forces separate the two regions. Many residents have voluntarily taken up arms – some stolen from the armed forces, others manufactured in the country – to protect their villages from intruders.

Federal and state officials have made some attempts to end the conflict by holding peace talks between communities, but residents say it has not been enough – a recent peace agreement signed in one district collapsed in one day. Distrust between the two groups persists and violent incidents, including killings of security forcesare regularly reported.

“The situation in Manipur is still tense and full of mistrust because people need to have trust to move forward. And to move forward, the past needs to be resolved. There has been none,” says Sanjoy Hazarika, a commentator and author specialising in India’s north-eastern states.

Both communities accuse each other of fueling the violence.

The state government and the Meitei community have often blamed illegal immigration, particularly from neighbouring Myanmar, for the conflict. The Kuki community, which shares ethnic ties with Myanmar’s Chins, says this narrative has been used to target them within their own state.

“The state needs a big intervention: militarily to end the violence and psychologically to start negotiations. Trust-building (between the Kukis and Meiteis) is crucial. Trust is not built in a day,” says Shreema Ningombam, a political analyst in Imphal, the state capital.

In the village of Sugnu, about 60 km from Imphal, the divide is glaring.

It was once the residence of the Meiteis and Kukis, but the latter fled to the surrounding hills after the conflict broke out, leaving behind burnt and ransacked houses.

Despite the increased security measures, residents fear reprisals from “outsiders.” Meitei women’s groups, known as Meira Paibis, entry points to the guard village.

Yumlembam Manitombi, one of the caretakers, said she lost her 29-year-old son in the violence last year. He was the eldest of her three children and the family’s sole breadwinner.

They installed a bust of him in the courtyard of their house. An engraving under the bust indicates the reason for his death – it says Kuki Meitei War 2023.

“I want peace. Ending this war is my only wish and I am not looking for anything more,” says Ms. Manitombi.

In Churachandpur, the epicentre of the conflict dominated by the Kukis, similar security measures have been put in place. The entrance to the town features a “Wall of Remembrance” commemorating the Kukis who died in the conflict.

Boinu Haokip and his family fled Sugnu to Churachandpur last year to escape the violence and now survive on odd jobs.

Ms Haokip, who is studying ethnic violence in Manipur, says her future looks bleak.

“I have to study and take care of my family. Our society has known poverty for generations. We had started to get out of it, but this violence has set us back at least a decade,” she says.

Questions about the future haunt others as well, as schools have become makeshift camps. People have lost their businesses, their land, their jobs and have depleted their savings.

The conflict has also forced some to flee to camps in neighbouring Mizoram state. With shortages of food, water and medicine, people are resorting to odd jobs to survive.

Nengnei Chong, 52, fled with her two sons and lives in a refugee camp outside Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram. But she regrets her decision to leave.

“It would have been better if we had died at home too,” she said.

Mizoram legislator TBC Lalvenchhunga says the state government has limited resources.

“The government is in financial difficulty. If the federal government takes into account our repeated requests (for more funds) we can better help refugees,” he said.

Residents accuse the Manipur government, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the federal government of not doing enough to end the violence.

Kuki groups have accused state authorities of ignoring the Meitei violence for political reasons, which the government denies. Opposition parties say the federal government has allowed the conflict to rage for too long. The Congress party has repeatedly criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not visiting Manipur.

“Our government is making serious efforts to bring back normalcy in Manipur. Schools, colleges and offices have reopened and are functioning in most places. The hope of peace is visible,” Mr Modi told parliament recently.

But experts say mistrust between the two communities has only deepened and the divide has widened, with the Kukis firmly demanding “separate administration”, something the Meiteis vehemently oppose.

“Peace building is a very painful and slow process. It is easier to engage in violence than to build peace. If the central (federal) government can bring the two sides to the negotiating table, it will be a step in the right direction,” Hazarika said.

But he warns that it will not be a quick process.

“Healing takes time and patience before you can really move forward.”

With contributions from Dilip Kumar Sharma in Mizoram