Manipur: Light at the End of the Long Tunnel Ahead

Prime Minister Modi is expected to visit Manipur on Sept 12 or 13, in what will be his first visit to the state since ethnic violence broke out in May 2023.

The stage is being set for the visit so to say with a landmark agreement in the first tangible breakthrough in the sixteen months of impasse in the crucial North Eastern State.

On September 04, in a press release, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced that the Kuki-Zo Council has decided to open the National Highway-02 for the free movement of commuters and essential goods. 

The decision came after a series of meetings between officials of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and a delegation of KZC in the last few days at New Delhi. KZC has given commitment to cooperate with Security Forces deployed by GoI to maintain peace along NH-02 said the press release

It was also announced that a tripartite meeting among representatives of MHA, Govt. of Manipur, and Kuki National Organisation/KNO and United People’s Front/UPF was held at New Delhi on the same day.  The meeting saw the signing of renegotiated tripartite Suspension of Operations (SoO) Agreement . The re-negotiated terms and conditions and ground rules were to be effective from September 03 for a period of one year.

The revised ground rules reiterated on the territorial integrity of Manipur and a negotiated solution to bring lasting peace and stability to the State of Manipur.

The two Kuki Mizo groups -  KNO and UPF have also agreed to relocate seven designated camps away from areas vulnerable to conflict, reduce the number of designated camps and relocate the weapons with nearest CRPF/BSF camps. Stringent physical verification of cadres by Security Forces to de-list foreign nationals, if any will be carried out.

A Joint Monitoring Group will closely monitor enforcement of ground rules, and violations will be dealt with firmly in future, including review of the SoO Agreement. 

Indeed, this is a welcome development that provides a window of opportunity for the resolution of vexatious ethno-political-military conflict in Manipur, which has intricate complexities. One strand of the same issue has now been addressed, but others require attention.

The process will be long, and staying the course will be necessary. Such a development is not new in the North East as the Naga groups, particularly the NSCN IM and the Centre, have been engaged in dialogue for a final accord for the past 28 years, since 1997.

The SOO pact was signed in 2008 and has been renewed periodically. However, it has not been renewed since February 2024 due to the ethnic strife that Manipur has witnessed for more than two years.

Hopefully, the peace process and settlement in Manipur will not take that long, even though it is more complex than that in Nagaland.

Manipur Divided Opinion

The Village Volunteers Coordinating Committee (VVCC), a Kuki-Zo outfit, has expressed deep shock and disappointment after learning about a recent press statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an apex Meitei civil society group in Manipur, has strongly condemned and opposed the central government’s decision to extend the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with Kuki-Zo insurgent groups.

Sections of the valley population, including Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM), a Thadou community group, have been demanding abrogation of the SoO, alleging that the agreement was one of the main reasons behind the ongoing unrest in Manipur.

Joining the opposition chorus, Meetei/Meitei Tribe Union (MMTU) alleged that the extension of the SoO was nothing but Centre not respecting the Manipur government’s decision.

Arambai Tenggol, a Meitei activist organisation, on Saturday welcomed the tripartite suspension of operations (SoO) agreement signed among the government of India, the government of Manipur and the Kuki militant groups amid opposition from various quarters.

Afsara Shaheen, Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management, writing in South Asia Intelligence Review [SAIR] in Weekly Assessments & Briefings Volume 24, No. 12, on September 8, 2025, at SATP.org has highlighted the complexities involved as risks persist. There is a need for sustained political dialogue to meet multiple demands of the ethnic communities in the State, which has been behind the violence in the past two and a half years.

Will the Centre be prepared to concede autonomous administration in the Kuki Zo areas within the overall Manipur state? If so, will this be acceptable to the larger community, comprising both Meitei and Kuki? This remains to be seen.

Resources, forest and land rights are another dimension, as is that of special status and constitutionally approved privileges to the community.

Moreover, there are other issues that will impact the North East, including illegal immigration, drug running, spillover of the civil war in Myanmar and spurring of activity by the Meitei militant groups in the recent past.

Overall, while the immediate trigger may be the visit of the Prime Minister to Manipur in the coming week, the renewed SoO agreement though limited in nature offers scope for a sustainable settlement. All sides should seize the opportunity rather than give way to facile pretensions of the moment.