Contending Nationalisms

The Manipur crisis is a complex, interconnected mess that spills across several borders, national and international

Northeast India's conflict-torn Manipur had four months of relative calm after a yearlong nightmare since May 2023. The victory of the main Opposition party, the Congress, in both the parliamentary seats from the state in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, carried at least two messages: public loss of trust in Chief Minister N Biren Singh's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and the people's desire for peace. But the post-election lull of four months ended on September 1, 2024, with the shocking news of aerial bombing using drones.

"In an unprecedented attack in Koutruk, Imphal West, alleged Kuki militants have deployed numerous RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) using high-tech drones," the Manipur Police said in a statement. "While drone bombs have commonly been used in general warfare, this recent deployment of drones to deploy explosives against security forces and civilians marks a significant escalation." The bombing happened in an area dominated by the Meiteis, the state's majority ethnic group, and the police blamed Kuki militants right away. The recipe was perfect for the return of the nightmare that Manipur lived through from May 2023 to May 2024, a period that recorded over 225 deaths, with over two dozen missing and over 60,000 displaced.

As protests broke out from the night of September 1 and nearly a dozen lives were lost in clashes over the following days, the state government resorted to a shutdown of mobile internet, broadband and VPN services once again.