The northeastern Indian state of Manipur has been witnessing intense protests and civil unrest in the recent days as students are taking to the streets demanding for peace and no more violence which has been going on for months now. The latest protests that started this week have involved violent confrontation with police, officers and protesters have been hospitalised and the state government has had to impose curfews and shut down the internet to try and control the situation.

The current violence is as a result of ethnic clashes that have been simmering in Manipur for the past few months. Kuki-Zo and Meitei conflicts which began in May 2023 have led to more than 230 people killed and almost 60,000 others displaced. Today’s wave of protests is primarily student-based, and people are still protesting to solve the conflict and to make local leaders answer for their actions.

On September 10, 2024 Tuesday, students protest turned violent when protesters engaged security personnel in the streets of Imphal, the state capital with more than 50 students injured. The police justified the use of tear gas and stun grenades saying some of the protestors used petrol bombs, firearms and slingshots with iron balls. Nevertheless, a number of students continue to insist that their demonstrations were not violent until they were confronted by the security forces.

In this regard, in order to contain the situation, the state government declared an indefinite curfew in three districts of the Imphal Valley including Imphal East, Imphal West and Thoubal. Moreover, the mobile data and internet services were also shut down in all the five districts of the valley for some time. These measures have been taken as “preemptive actions to counter anti-national and anti-social entities, preserve law and order as well as communal harmony and avoid any loss of life or damage to property.

These protests have also seen all post graduate and under graduate examinations within Manipur University put on hold and any further notice. This is an all-women’s market in Khwairamband area of Imphal and many students including juveniles have been protesting there from Monday demanding the sacking of the State’s security advisor Kuldiep Singh and Director General of Police Rajiv Singh for their inability to protect lives and properties of people.

The situation in Manipur has not changed much, the calm in the Imphal Valley is rather tense. Police officers and other security forces are still on the ground while majority of the citizens stay at home. Small groups of students have been occupying some strategic areas, yet being orderly and peacefully protesting for the solution of the ethnic issue.

The current conflict situation in Manipur shows that there are so many issues that affect the society and which include ethnic problems, political problems, and the need to find the middle ground. As the conflict develops, people demand actions from state and central government to stop the conflict and find the ways to restore peace in the troubled state.