Cycle of violence: On Manipur, the persistence of hostilities

📌 Summary:

• Violence in Manipur flared again following a bombing attack on April 7 in Bishnupur district that killed a five-year-old boy and an infant girl

• Alleged involvement of a Kuki extremist organisation in the bombing triggered widespread protests in the Meitei-dominated valley; Kuki groups denied the allegation

• Disinformation and rumour-mongering fuelled further violence, leading to additional deaths -- illustrating how each incident gets immediately "ethnicised" in the current climate

• Even relatively moderate Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, who has sought to rise above ethnic lines through nominal gestures, has found it extremely difficult to contain the cycle

• The editorial identifies a structural dynamic: when governments fail to nip ethnicised hostilities in the bud early, they become entrenched, making it harder for civil society and future governments to restore peace

• Any space for empathy or cross-ethnic dialogue is rapidly closed off as each new incident reinforces ethnic boundaries

• Manipur has now seen persistent conflict since May 2023, with a change of government under the BJP delivering little respite

• Editorial calls for breaking the cycle through political will at the Centre and State level, renewed dialogue, and accountability -- rather than merely policing incidents