Unrest erupted in Manipur after two children were killed in a suspected missile attack, triggering a security crackdown in the state.
Manipur has been on the brink of late due to a recent incident that left two children – siblings – dead in a suspected bomb attack, an incident that sparked fresh unrest and a security crackdown in the region.
Manipur has remained tense since May 2023 after a Supreme Court order sparked a deadly incident of ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities. While reports of violence declined in 2025 after three years of unrest, the peace situation in the state remains fragile.
A now-reversed Manipur High Court order, in May 2023, granted the Meitei community certain benefits, including land ownership in protected areas and quotas in government jobs.
What’s behind the recent tensions in Manipur?
A suspected rocket attack on a house killed a five-year-old boy and his six-month-old sister in the early hours of April 7, raising tensions. Later that day, a group of protesters stormed a CRPF camp, vandalized it and set vehicles on fire. Security forces then allegedly opened fire, killing three people. More than twenty others were injured.
The Internet was cut and a curfew was imposed in some areas of Manipur as unrest led to a security crackdown.
In the latest developments linked to the unrest, lockdowns called by various organizations to protest the killing of the two children and several civilians in separate incidents by suspected militants affected normal life in several hill and valley areas of Manipur on Monday.
Women’s organization Mira Babes has called for a five-day strike since Sunday to protest the April 7 bomb attack in Trunglupi in Bishnupur district, in which a 5-year-old boy and his 6-month-old sister were killed in their sleep, and their mother was injured.
The United Naga Council also called for a “total lockdown” for three days starting Monday to condemn the killing of a retired army man and another person after suspected militants opened fire on an Ukhrul-bound convoy of civilian vehicles coming from Imphal on April 18.
Educational institutions and markets remained closed, while public transport was off the roads in all five districts of the valley, home to the Meitei community, and Naga-inhabited areas of Ukrul and Senapati districts, news agency PTI quoted officials as saying.
Sit-ins against the killings were observed in various parts of the Imphal Valley, including the Uripuk and Nagaram areas of the state capital.
Meanwhile, six people, including three women CRPF personnel, were injured after a clash broke out between protesters and security forces during the torch march held in Manipur’s Thangmibandh area of Imphal on Saturday, according to police.
This happened when a large number of protesters marched towards Khoiramband Emma Market and were blocked at several locations. Clashes broke out in Thangmiband, Sagulband and Yoribuk areas of Imphal West.
Security forces fired tear gas, fake bombs, rubber bullets, and live bullets to control the demonstrators, who responded by throwing stones and slingshots.
At least six people, including three CRPF personnel – Ritika Kumari, Santosh Kumari and Sansita Indra – were injured and were rushed to the nearby healthcare centre.
The unrest in Manipur has claimed at least 260 lives and displaced about 60,000 people since May 2023. It first began among the Meitei and Kuki communities and has since included almost all groups.
