by Nirmala Carvalho

While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the United States, President’s Rule was imposed on the northeastern state, shaken by almost two years of interethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki. Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh, a BJP member, quits, worsening the political crisis. Peace must be restored and the needs of the population must be met, the archbishop of Imphal tells AsiaNews.

Imphal (AsiaNews) –  India’s federal government has imposed direct rule in the northeastern state of Manipur, a few days after its Chief Minister, Nongthombam Biren Singh, resigned.

Yesterday evening, the office of President Droupadi Murmu announced that federal rule – known as President's rule – had been imposed in the state.

The announcement came as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who in two years of conflict has never visited Manipur, was on his way to a state visit in the United States to meet President Donald Trump.

Singh, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), resigned on Sunday after pressure on him mounted over the past few months, following accusations of favouritism towards the Meitei community, to which he belongs.

For more than a year, the state has been the scene of violent clashes between mostly Hindu Meitei, the majority group, concentrated in the Imphal Valley, and minority Kuki, a largely Christian group who live in the hilly areas and accuse the government of discrimination.

The violence, which broke out in May 2023, has left more than 250 people dead and displaced about 60,000 people, according to official sources.

Tensions erupted when the Kuki community began protesting against the Meitei's request to be granted Scheduled Tribe status, fearing that they would have to share state-provided benefits with Manipur’s dominant group.

In recent months, Singh's position had become untenable. Kuki groups had long accused him of favouring the Meitei, while growing discontent with his handling of the crisis spread within his own party.

After the party failed to pick a new leader, the President's Rule was imposed.

“After receiving a report from the governor and after considering the report and other information received by me, I am satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of that state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of India," said President Murmu in a statement issued by her office.

Under Article 356 of the Indian Constitution, the President's Rule allows the central government to take control of a state when the local government is no longer able to operate according to the constitutional provisions.

In this situation, political power is vested in the central government, and legislative functions pass to the Parliament while the powers of local courts remain unchanged.

Since 1950, the President's Rule has been imposed 134 times, often for short periods but also for 12 years in the case of the disputed region of Kashmir.

The Manipur Assembly met for the last time in August 2024 and a new session was set for Monday, but Governor Ajay Bhalla declared it “null and void”.

The Indian National Congress (INC) had announced plans to file a motion of no confidence against Singh, who resigned before it could come before the State Legislative Assembly.

Jairam Ramesh, an INC member of the Rajya Sabha from Manipur, called for federal Home Minister Amit Shah to resign.

In recent months the latter had tried repeatedly to end the violence through talks without any results after 20 months of tensions.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been harshly criticised for never visiting the state since the beginning of the violence.

Meanwhile, India's Supreme Court is hearing an appeal filed by a Kuki human rights organisation that accuses Singh of playing a direct role in fuelling ethnic clashes.

In support of their claims, the applicants submitted audio recordings examined by an independent forensic laboratory.

The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust claims that the audios show Singh's responsibility for how and why the conflict started.

The archbishop of Imphal Linus Neli also spoke to AsiaNews about the situation.

“A political solution is needed to resolve the political crisis," he said. “The Legislative Assembly has not yet been dissolved. We do not know what the situation will be in the coming days.”

The archbishop stressed that the priority now is to restore security to deal with the serious humanitarian crisis that developed in the last two years, a period, he said, of “intense suffering”.

"Peace for everyone is very much required now. The humanitarian crisis, the law and order situation must be resolved," he added, noting that reconciliation between communities in conflict will have to be addressed urgently, after security is restored.

"First law and order should return, and then the issue of social breakdown, bring conflicting communities together,” while the problems to be solved concern “education for children and youth, lack of livelihood, food insecurity, economic vulnerability.”

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• india
• manipur
• impha
• meitei
• kuki
• president’s rule
• interethnic violence
• narendra modi
• droupadi murmu
• amit shah