Ethnic tensions continue to simmer in India’s northeastern Manipur state after the region’s divisive leader was forced to step down. Chief Minister Biren Singh of the ruling BJP party resigned on 9 February, facing a no-confidence vote over allegations his government had exacerbated tensions between the warring Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities.
Swiftly after Singh’s departure the central BJP-run government imposed ‘President’s Rule’ in Manipur, a constitutional provision that takes power away from a state government in times of crisis. This measure has been evoked many times in India, but rarely in states run by the same party as the central government. The ongoing conflict, which has claimed over 260 lives and displaced more than 60,000 people in two years, stems from longstanding land-rights tensions between the Kuki-Zo community, who live in the hills surrounding the state’s valley region, and the Meiteis majority. When the Meiteis demanded legal ‘tribal status’, resulting in protests by Kukis in May 2023, these tensions erupted. The minority Kuki-Zo feared that Meiteis gaining access to status privileges like job quotas and land rights would further marginalize their community.
