Why PM Modi's Manipur visit focuses on strife-epicentre Churachandpur

New Delhi,UPDATED: Sep 13, 2025 07:59 IST

In Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Manipur visit, the first since ethnic clashes erupted in 2023, the focus on Churachandpur district of the northeast state is unmissable. It was a rally in Churachandpur, the key town of the hill-based Kuki-Zo tribes, that plunged the state into its worst violence in decades.

Over 250 people have been killed, scores wounded, women raped and 60,000 displaced as the violence kept simmering even after a year. Such was the ferocity of the strife that it touched Meitei and Kuki people living in Delhi.

PM Modi will lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth over Rs 7,300 crore at Churachandpur. This is "in line with his commitment to inclusive, sustainable and holistic development of Manipur," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.

The PM will also inaugurate multiple development projects worth over Rs 1,200 crore at Imphal, the PMO said.

Manipur has witnessed an Imphal-Churachandpur pull. While Imphal is in the valley where the Meiteis are in an overwhelming majority, Churachandpur is the main town of the hill districts, inhabited mostly by the Kuki-Zo tribes, other than the Naga communities.

Manipur is now under central rule after Chief Minister Biren Singh, who hung on to the post through the worst phase of violence, resigned on February 9. The Centre has been questioned by the Opposition on multiple occasions on what it had been doing to bring back normalcy. Opposition leaders, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, asked why the PM didn't visit Manipur in all these months.

PM Modi is visiting Manipur as part of a three-state trip. He will be in Assam and Mizoram too. But his visit to Manipur, especially Churachandpur, is the highlight of the visit.

SITUATION IN MANIPUR FAR MORE COMPLEX THAN IT SEEMS

Today, however, the mood and the situation on the ground in Manipur is far more complex. There is a split in the Kuki-Zo community over the PM's visit. While several Kuki-Zo groups are welcoming PM Modi, a section believes he should have visited earlier.

The Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) extended a warm welcome to PM Modi ahead of his visit to Churachandpur, calling it a "historic and rare occasion" as no Prime Minister has visited the region in nearly four decades.

Reiterating its long-standing demand, the KZC urged Modi to consider a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo people under Article 239A of the Constitution, citing peace, security, and survival as pressing needs. The council expressed hope that Modi would recognise their pain and aspirations, restore dignity, and ensure lasting protection for the community.

However, some in Churachandpur's Kuki community aren't too hopeful, having been cut off from the rest of Manipur for the past two-and-a-half years. Protests with coffins erupted near the DC Office earlier this week.

Caleb, a resident of Churachandpur, told India Today Digital, "When our families were forced to abandon our homes and live in relief camps, the Centre did not even acknowledge our suffering."

"Two years have gone by—our children have missed school, our elders are living in camps without proper medical care," he added.

Residents pointed out that children have suffered the most, with schools shut for months and entire academic years lost in some places in Churachandpur. "There are parts of Churachandpur district itself where security forces opened fire on locals (when the protests began) while the administration sat inside offices, doing nothing," Caleb said.

Meanwhile, in Imphal, the situation is relatively better.

Fakir Ahmed, who runs a travel business in Imphal, told India Today Digital that the situation in the valley was close to normal with security mostly in the peripheral areas.

"Imphal is much more normal now, with security forces only stationed at the periphery of the valley where the hills meet the plains, and where most of the clashes happened," he said.

But with the Prime Minister's visit, security has been tightened across the valley, particularly around the BJP office in Imphal.

"Last time when Amit Shah came in May 2024, there were protests, and police had to lathicharge after crowds tried to burn effigies across the city. This time it looks calmer, but in local WhatsApp groups, videos of arson from Churachandpur are already circulating," Ahmed added.

MODI TO LAY FOUNDATION FOR PROJECTS IN CHURACHANDPUR, IMPHAL

That Churachandpur, the best town in the entire hill districts lacked development, has been the grouse of the Kuki-Zo community for years now. The 2023 conflict has worsened the situation.

"Till today, we don't have access to proper petrol pumps as we did before the conflict," Zothansanga Fanai, another resident of Churachandpur, told India Today Digital.

"The damage between the Kuki and Meitei communities will take years to heal," she said.

The ethnic clashes broke out on May 3, 2023, after a high court decision that allowed the inclusion of Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribes list. This would have allowed the Meiteis to own land in the hills—something the Kuki-Zo tribes say would allow the community with more resources to sideline them.

As clashes broke out, over 6,000 Meiteis fled Churachandpur, which became the heart of the battle of the Kukis, who, to assert their identity, started referring to the town as Lamka. One could see Lamka spray-painted over Churachandpur on office and bank buildings and shops.

Kukis, mostly government employees and students, fled the Imphal Valley for the hills.

The NH2, the crucial road linking Imphal to Churachandpur, became the symbol of the distance between the two. Burnt houses lined it and armed youths could be seen patrolling it.

In a sign that some normalcy was returning to Manipur, the NH2 was finally reopened earlier in September.

Prime Minister Modi is reaching Manipur, especially Churachandpur, with the promise of "inclusive, sustainable and holistic development" of the state. It's over two years since the conflict started, but the wounds haven't healed and the state is far from normal. One can only hope that PM Modi's visit will work like a balm, and help solve the issues on the ground by infusing trust.

- Ends