Phalneivah Khonsai fled her neighborhood in northeast India with her family when ethnic violence erupted, taking only the essentials and hoping to return soon. However, 19 months later, the 35-year-old remains displaced, living in squalid conditions at a relief camp in Kangpokpi, about 50 kilometers from Manipur's state capital, Imphal.
Khonsai, her husband, and three children left their home in May 2023 after it was torched by a mob. Like thousands of others from her Kuki-Zo community, they sought refuge in the hills. The camp they now call home, a converted government building, houses at least 75 families separated by fabric partitions, offering little privacy.
“It’s very difficult to live here,” Khonsai said, adding that her family’s health is deteriorating. Fear for their safety prevents them from returning home. “If we go back, they will kill us,” she said.
The ethnic violence in Manipur has claimed over 250 lives and displaced more than 60,000 people since it began last year. The clashes primarily involve the majority Meitei community, who are mostly Hindus, and the minority Kuki-Zo tribes, who inhabit the state’s hilly regions.
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The conflict was triggered by Meitei demands for Scheduled Tribe status, which would grant them government benefits like job and education quotas, but also restrict non-Meiteis from buying land in their strongholds. The Kukis opposed the move, arguing that tribal benefits should be reserved for economically and socially disadvantaged groups.
Protests escalated into violence, with both communities torching homes, attacking civilians, and forcing tens of thousands to flee. Manipur is now divided into ethnic zones patrolled by armed militias, with security forces maintaining buffer zones between the regions.
Kuki-Zo leaders accuse Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, a Meitei, of bias and have called for his removal. They are demanding federal rule over Manipur and greater autonomy for their community. Singh denies the allegations, blaming hill tribes for using drug profits to fund a conflict against the Meiteis.
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While the Kuki-Zo community has largely sought refuge in the hills, displaced Meiteis have found shelter in camps in Imphal. Yengsom Junksom Memi, a Meitei who fled her home in Kangpokpi, now lives with 600 others in a relief camp in Imphal. “We have no future left,” she said. “It’s difficult to even manage food.”
Community leaders, such as Ngamminlun Kipgen of the Committee on Tribal Unity, blame the federal government for failing to resolve the crisis. Kipgen suggests dividing Manipur into two separately administered regions to restore peace.
“The Kukis and Meiteis cannot coexist for now,” Kipgen said. “The government must not force both communities to come together at this critical juncture.”
India's opposition parties have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Manipur, but he has yet to do so. Instead, Home Minister Amit Shah has been tasked with finding a solution. For now, the violence has left both communities grappling with uncertainty and struggling to rebuild their lives.