PM Modi’s Manipur Visit
Today marks Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first trip to Manipur since the state’s violent outbreak in 2023. His presence is noteworthy to many in the state because Manipur has been plagued by mass migration, murders, and arson. Thousands of families are still living in relief camps, and the state is currently governed by President’s Rule following Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s resignation in February of this year.
Although the Prime Minister has previously discussed the situation in Parliament, this will be his first time speaking to Manipur residents on their territory since the fighting started. There is a mixture of excitement and skepticism around his arrival; some have written it off as a long-delayed outreach effort.
Prior to this visit, what did PM Modi say about Manipur?
PM Modi informed the Rajya Sabha in July 2024 that Manipur’s violence was “steadily reducing.” Since the violence started, he claimed, more than 500 persons had been arrested and more than 11,000 FIRs had been filed. He emphasized that exams had been held without incident and that schools, colleges, and offices had reopened throughout most of the state.
The Prime Minister further reminded the House that the administration of Manipur and the Center were always communicating with interested parties. Modi attributed the issue to Manipur’s lengthy history of social unrest, pointing out that the state had experienced 10 instances of President’s Rule during Congress control and that a comparable period of turmoil had lasted five years in 1993.
What’s on the schedule for this trip?
PM Modi will now travel to Manipur in person, over a year after making those comments. The Prime Minister will meet with internally displaced people (IDPs) in Churachandpur and Imphal, Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel said. He will lay the cornerstones for projects totaling Rs 7,300 crore at the Peace Ground in Churachandpur, an area with a Kuki majority. Later in the day, he would unveil projects valued at Rs 1,200 crore at Kangla, which is in the Meitei-majority region of Imphal. A total of Rs 8,500 crore worth of development projects will be announced.
