PM Modi Manipur Visit- Key Unresolved Issues 27 Months into the Conflict

The visit by PM Modi to Manipur highlights the unresolved challenges: pushing people out, ethnic division, limited movements, failed dialogue, and stagnant governance, 27 months of the already pre-existing conflict.

PM Modi’s Visit to Manipur – Why It Matters Now

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Manipur for the first time since ethnic clashes began in 2023.Twenty-seven months after conflict in Manipur, the statehas been trapped in an intricate humanitarian and governance crisis since the ethnic conflict initiated in the state in May 2023. This is due to the protracted violence level that has led to massive displacement of people, increased territorial boundaries, and a failure of trust between the parties. Although security measures and administrative efforts have taken place, ineffective political interaction has aggravated the situation. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Manipur in September 2025, the first visit of such a high-profile political outreach to the state since the conflict was declared, it once again became the focus of attention regarding the unresolved structural and social problems facing Manipur.In this article, we will critically analyze major factors that have worked against peace and recovery in Manipur, namely: the protracted displacement of thousands, ethnic movement of mobility, the breakdown in dialogue process, the entrenchment of buffer zones, and the paralysis of governance. Placing the outlined issues in the wider framework of state reaction, civil society involvement, and geopolitics of the region, the article is going to help explain the process of the conflict in a finer light and clarify the conditions under which the situation can be stable. The discussion highlights the need to have an inclusive policymaking process, open rehabilitative models and programs to bring about a normal way of democratic operation and social integration back in Manipur.

Protracted Displacement and Rehabilitation

Displacement is one of the persistent humanitarian emergencies that has persisted for twenty-seven months of the ethnic strife in Manipur. The insecurity and slow and fragmented efforts of the administration have seen the affected communities returning and being rehabilitated slowly.

Magnitude and Character of Displacement
The riots that took place in May 2023 displaced more than 58,000 people, and they are currently housed in 281 relief camps in Manipur. The movements were of ethnic character: Meitei families were displaced in the border and hill districts (Churachandpur and Moreh), and Kuki-Zo in Imphal and valley towns were driven out. Other people fled to the neighboring states of Mizoram and Meghalaya. The camps, which can be overpopulated and lack facilities, provide fewer access points to medical care, hygiene, and education, trapping these institutions in the cycle of vulnerability and trauma.

Rehabilitation Framework in Government and Its Loopholes
In mid-2025, the Manipur government declared the plan of resettlement in 3 phases, so by the end of the year, all relief camps should be closed. The plan proposes some phased returns by the residents in the fringe area and some prefabricated housing for other residents. Nonetheless, it has been slow in its implementation. By August 2025, the number of individuals who returned home was less than 5,000, and most camps were still open. The impunity of honesty, consultations with the community, and quality of security has compromised the perception of people with respect to rehabilitation. Amnesty International has criticised the lack of a timeless, inclusive policy, and the delay in outcry has been called unacceptable keeping the magnitude of suffering.

Obstacles to Safe and Voluntary Return
Fear and insecurity are the key discouraging factors to go back. A lot of houses have been demolished or are now taken by power groups, and when security forces have created buffer zones to prohibit mobility between the ethnic lands. According to the reports of the community leaders, displaced persons are not in the mood to go to the same places where they will not feel safe or unwanted. Ethnic split has been hardened by the psychological stress of camp life, coupled with no system of reconciliation in place. Viable protection against safety, justice, and restitution is absent, and hence voluntary return has not been reached.

Policy Imperative
The long-distance displacement in Manipur has contributed to the realization that the measure of rights-based rehabilitation is needed. This should comprise housing of safety, sustenance care, psychosocial care, and legal responsibility against violence. The civil society organizations have urged the central and state governments to be more coordinated, and that the displacement, which has not been solved, would only lead to a scenario of ethnic cleansing and make the situation more and more unstable. With the renewed attention to national issues during the visit of PM Modi, the restoration of the occupied groups should be discussed as one of the foundations of peacebuilding and democratic restoration.

Post-Conflict: Hardened Buffer Area and restricted Mobility

Twenty-seven months subsequently, in a state where the ethnic violence started, there is a very bleak situation where relocation throughout the state is very limited. Institutionalized ethnic segregation and disruption of normal life are achieved by the use of the security forces in the form of buffer zones.

Ethnic Frontiers and Buffer Areas
The Manipur geography has been spatially re-organized by the conflict between the communities of Meitei and Kuki-Zo. What were soft borders between valley and hill districts have been replaced by hardened borders consisting of militarized buffer zones. These areas are patrolled by the paramilitary forces that ensure that movements are not made between the areas controlled by Meitei and Kuki in the valley and the hills, respectively. Other such districts as Bishnupor and Kangpokpi have even become frontiers by mere hearsay after one dares to cross, and by force, both will keep that dealman as their prisoner.

Influence on Civilian Movement and Public Services
Limited mobility has experienced significant implications on access to education, medical care, and jobs. Meiteis are not allowed to go to the hill districts, and residents of Kuki-Zo cannot enter Imphal, which houses an airport, medical colleges, and administrative offices within the state. Even emergency travel involves going around other states, such as Mizoram, due to which, additional financial and logistical chores are necessary. Aizawl is not easily accessible to its residents; as it was observed by one resident of Churachandpur, the only reason he travels to Aizawl is to get a flight. This imposed seclusion has increased distrust and ethnic staging.

Unsuccessful Free Movement and Revived Violence
At the beginning of 2025, the central government tried to reintroduce free movement in some important highways, such as Imphal-churachandpur. Nonetheless, such attempts provoked new violence, and people were killed, and new curfews were declared. Even though fundamental necessities are free to move through buffer zones agreed upon terms, the free movement of human beings is strictly regulated. Kuki-Zo factions have also allowed supply trucks to go to the valley and, but, block Meitei access to hilly regions. Kuki-Zo civilians who are seeking services in the valley have not been allowed reciprocally to access the services.

Implications of the Policy and the Demilitarization Dynamism
Persistence of buffer zones is indicative of a reconciling mechanism and failure of governance. With the clarification of actions, these areas may become an indelible aspect of the Manipur movement. Scholars believe that the critical recovery factor after a crisis is to reclaim normalcy, not just in the economic recovery but also in the distribution of inter-community confidence. As symbolic as it was, PM Modi has to be followed by concrete measures to break these barriers and bring back the fractured geography of the state.

Collapse of Inter-Community Dialogue and Trust

Although the apparent violence has reduced, what is more devastating about Manipur is the loss of intercommunity trust. There is still minimal substantive development, and dialogue mechanisms are weak, poorly constructed, and symbolic.

Symbolic Peace Talks and Specific Participation
The initial official peace negotiation between the representatives of Meitei and Kuki-Zo took place in the presence of the Ministry of Home Affairs on April 5, 2025. As themanagement called the talks a landmark move, the meetings were somewhat skeptical with poor attendance. The central Meitei umbrella organization, the Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), refused to be involved directly, sending in its place proxy organizations. The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) was present but did not approve the minutes of the meeting on the grounds that they were not guaranteed and were not taken in good faith. To the extent that complete stakeholder participation was not used, the dialogue was not valid and did not put a roadmap to reconciliation.

Mistrust and Ethnic Polarization
The long-lasting war has vested ethnic rifts, and each community considers the other a threat to its existence. Migrations of mixed communities, including the Kukis at Imphal, Lambulanearea, have destroyed decades of coexistence. Armed forces are still working within Suspension of Operations (SoO) contracts, yet there is still mutual speculation. Even the existing civil society initiatives are divided and insurgent in terms of resources. Lack of neutral forums and deliberate mediation has separated communities, and dialogue has been one-dimensional.

Administrative Measures and Prejudice
Trust has been further negatively affected by government announcements like the closing of all relief camps that were to be done by July 2025. The displacement of many families of displaced Kuki was seen by many as an effort at the eradication of their displacement without the guarantee of safety or restitution. Absence of a transparent rehabilitation system and security assurances has increased the nervousness of forced returns and marginalization. The Kuki view on such decisions is the feeling of insensitivity of the administration and further alienation with the state apparatus.

Pathways to Rebuilding Trust
It needs more than gestures to rebuild the inter-community trust. It requires dialogue, legitimate indispensability, and an institutionally necessary character. The scholars support the idea of the multi-layered process of peace to migrate more groups to the top, such as civil society, religious leaders, youth formations, and displaced persons. Strategies so far, as confidence-building, should be implemented, e.g., joint community projects, truth-telling forums, and taking legal action. In the absence of such, Manipur can end up institutionalising ethnic segregation and perpetrating instability.

Governance Paralysis and Political Vacuum

The state of Manipur is still struggling with a severe governance crisis as a result of twenty-seven months of ethnic warfare. It has hindered recovery and reconciliation as there is no elected leadership and institutional accountability.

Presidential Rule and Destruction of State Administration
The Union Government declared the President's Rule in February 2025 through Article 356 of the Constitution on the failure of the N. Biren Singh-led government to check the rising tensions between Meitei and Kuki-Zo groups. It was an official acknowledgement of the collapse of constitutional rule. Although it was an intended corrective period, the President Rule has turned into a long period of interregnum, with the Union Cabinet later giving an extension of half a year in August 2025. The administration of the state is now openly centralized, and the decision-making processes no longer have elected representatives; instead, they are led by bureaucrats and security agencies.

Constitutional Ambiguity
The Presidential Rule imposed has brought out constitutional issues on the position of the Manipur Legislative Assembly. August 2024, and a meeting in February 2025 had to be cancelled suddenly because the Chief Minister resigned. The Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee has raised doubts over whether the Assembly standoff is because of the lapses by its procedures by Article 174 of the biannual sittings. Such confusion has resulted in a gap in the law and deteriorates accountability through democracy and trust in the rule of law.

Administration Overreach and erosion of Public Trust
With the governance being suspended through elections, administrative ruling, including the one that was made on 20th July 2025 about closing all relief camps, has been received with skepticism. Some perceive such moves as unilateral and consultation dispensing to the displaced communities, especially those of the Kuki-Zo group. Lack of political intervention has given way to a security-centric approach, reinforcement of ethnic segregation and limited reconciliation. The opponents believe that excessive bureaucracy in the Centre has failed to stabilize the political and social divide, which still exists.

Political Re-engagement and Democratic Restoration
The fact that PM Modi is planning to examine this September 2025 visit to Manipur consummates a possible change in coping actions. These symbolic actions, however, have to be followed by real actions to re-establish the democratic leadership. These require the reformation of the Assembly, to open dialogues including all, and having clear electoral procedures. Unless a valid political structure is in place, work in rehabilitation and peacebuilding can be redundant. Rebuilding trust, accountability, and paving a sustainable future towards the state of Manipur needs to be restored through rebuilding the institutions of democracy.

Conclusion

The current crisis in Manipur, which is now in its third year, speaks of a complicated combination of displacement, ethnicization, and polarization, as well as limited mobility and institutionalization. This political visit of Prime Minister Modi is recognition that there is an urgency to solve state-related structural problems which are presently unresolved. Not only the administrative slips but also the undiminished removal of trust and constitutional order are the persistence of buffer zones, failure of inter-community dialogue, and paralysis of democratic governance. Those efforts of rehabilitation are ineffective unless they resemble some safety, justice, and inclusive policymaking. Since Manipur is at a pivotal point, rebuilding of democratic institutions, open-ended reconciliation systems, and long-standing political participation are necessary to make sure the ethnic division and institutional instability are evolved into the norm. These should be based on sustainable solutions that are based on the principles of rights-based governance, dialogue, and reestablishment of homeless communities back into the civic and political life of the state.