Manipur CM N Biren Singh Meets PM, Discusses State’s Ongoing Crisis, Residents Hopeful For Peace To Be Returned

Notably, this was CM Singh’s first meeting with PM Modi since violence broke out in the state.

After 14 months of violence in Manipur, Chief Minister N Biren Singh finally met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Sunday evening.

During their 25-minute meeting, CM N Biren Singh talked about the violence affecting the state.

With this, now the people of Manipur, especially those displaced by the unrest, are hoping for peace and adequate government support.

The meeting between the Prime Minister and the CM N Biren Singh took place on the sidelines of the Niti Aayog meeting chaired by PM Modi and the Chief Ministers’ Conclave in New Delhi.

The meeting became significant as the problems of Manipur were highlighted again in front of the Prime Minister.

However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is yet to pay a visit to the trouble-torn state ever since the violence broke out.

Notably, this was CM Singh’s first meeting with PM Modi since violence broke out in the state.

Why and when violence started in Manipur?

The violence in Manipur has its roots in the state government’s actions to remove encroachers from reserved forest areas in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi, over 10-year-old demand by the Meitei community for a Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, and the ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised on May 3, 2023 opposing High Court order for inclusion of Meitei community in the ST category.

Tension had been building in Churachandpur and Kangpokpi since late February 2023, when the Manipur government demolished a few Kuki houses in Churachandpur for encroaching on reserved forest land.

Violent clashes broke out between protestors and police in Kangpokpi in March when they tried to hold a rally against ‘encroachment of tribal land in the name of reserved forests, protected forests and wildlife sanctuary”.

Public unrest against CM Biren Singh eventually led to violent protests in April.

On April 30, a mob partially burnt down a newly set-up open gym at PT Sports complex at New Lamka, burnt the chairs and demolished a venue where CM Biren Singh was supposed to address a public rally.

Violence escalated in the state after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ organised on May 3, 2023 in Churachandpur by the All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) opposing the High Court order directing the state government to recommend to the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry for inclusion of Meitei community in the ST category.

The violence in Manipur has claimed the lives of over 200 people and left nearly 60,000 people displaced.

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