'Planned, ethnically targeted': Manipur still in turmoil 27 months on; Tribunal blames State and Centre

By A Representative

The Independent People’s Tribunal on the Ongoing Ethnic Conflict in Manipur, convened by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has released its detailed findings in New Delhi on August 20, 2025, after over a year of hearings, field visits and consultations. The report presents a disturbing picture of prolonged ethnic violence, massive displacement, and what the jury called “a collapse of constitutional governance in Manipur.”

The Tribunal, chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph, and comprising 14 jury members including retired judges, senior administrators, academics and human rights activists, noted that the violence that began on May 3, 2023, was “not spontaneous, but planned, ethnically targeted and facilitated by state failures”. It documented testimonies from more than 150 survivors and several group depositions across districts such as Bishnupur, Churachandpur, Imphal East, Kangpokpi and Senapati, as well as in Delhi.

Quoting directly from the report, the jury wrote: “The testimonies of the survivors present a stark picture of the failure of the state authorities and institutions to protect them, leaving them to fend for themselves. The Central government too failed to fulfil its constitutional responsibility to ensure that Manipur remained under the regime of both rule of law and the Constitution”.

The Tribunal recorded brutal accounts of killings, torture, sexual assaults, dismemberment and parading of victims. Survivors described how women who approached police stations for protection were instead handed over to mobs. As the report states: “Even when women sought protection from the police and security forces, they were not only refused help, but there were instances when the police handed them to violent mobs. Due to the complete loss of trust in the state machinery, women survivors instead sought protection from their own communities”.

Healthcare was another sector devastated by the conflict. According to the Tribunal, “The already fragile healthcare system in Manipur crumbled completely in the face of violence… Patients were denied healthcare on communal lines, while the internally displaced were left with inadequate nutrition and no access to mental health support”.

The report condemns the role of radical groups such as Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun, and criticised the inaction of former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, who, it said, “downplayed the violence, made no significant arrests of radical groups, and in spite of public demand, did not step down until February 2025”.

The Tribunal also found fault with the media’s role in intensifying hatred. “The jury found across testimonies, strong evidence of the impact of these narratives and hate propaganda that incited feelings of enmity and mistrust between the Meiteis and Kukis. The media actively shaped public perception and escalated tensions”.

Relief and rehabilitation, it concluded, were “grossly inadequate, delayed and unevenly distributed.” Camps were overcrowded, sanitation was poor, and survivors lacked access to education, livelihoods, and psychological support. The jury was alarmed at what it termed “a sense of hopelessness and futility” among displaced families, who remain without any durable rehabilitation plan 27 months after the violence.

In its recommendations, the Tribunal demanded urgent judicial intervention. “Accountability and justice is foundational to rebuilding the trust, democracy and coexistence in Manipur. The report calls on India’s Judiciary, Parliament and civil society to reclaim this duty and ensure that Manipur does not become a template for future impunity”.

It called for a permanent bench of the Manipur High Court in the hill districts, a Supreme Court–monitored Special Investigation Team drawn from outside the state, and criminal action against police and security officers found complicit. It further urged recognition of command responsibility in sexual violence cases and the prosecution of hate speech by political leaders.

PUCL President Kavita Srivastava described the report as “a collective cry for peace, justice and accountability.” She said, “The Tribunal has shown that the Manipur violence is not merely a law-and-order problem but a collapse of constitutional governance itself. Justice and structural change are indispensable if peace is to be restored.” PUCL General Secretary Dr. V. Suresh added: “This is a call to the nation. Manipur cannot become a template for impunity. If such failures are allowed to pass unchallenged, they will repeat elsewhere.”

The report closes with a grim warning: “Even more than 27 months after the ethnic violence first erupted, Manipur remains a disturbed state. This constitutes a collective failure, which can no longer be disregarded”.

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