There’s no end in sight to the ethnic conflict that began three years ago between the Christian-majority Kuki-Zo and Hindu Meitei communities in Manipur, India.

Even though mass riots have tapered off, armed and bloody violence in the state has effectively split the region into two ethnic zones of Kukis and Meiteis, respectively, separated by government security-patrolled “buffer zones” that Christians and other residents cannot safely cross and vice versa.

Unresolved Grievances

Well-known Indian writer and activist John Dayal, who is also a former president of the 102-year-old All India Catholic Union, said that the most damning fact today is that not one person appears to have been convicted of murder, rape, or arson committed since May 3, 2023.

“The violence that tore Manipur apart along its ethnic fault lines completes three years in a condition worse than when the killings began, with an inevitable religious separation,” Dayal wrote in The Quint.

Following the end of a year-long federal “President’s Rule” in February 2026, the Kuki-Zo Christian community had largely resolved not to participate in the new state administration led by the current Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh, citing unresolved ethnic grievances.

The PUCL Independent People’s Tribunal, chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph, documented in its August 2025 report the survivors’ belief that the state either allowed the violence or participated in it.

The conflict continues to significantly impact Christians in Manipur, with ongoing displacement, segregation, and barriers to religious practice.

Official records up to March 2026 confirm 58,821 persons remain in 174 relief camps, with 7,894 permanent houses destroyed and 2,646 partially destroyed. Many Christians from the Kuki-Zo community cannot return to their original homes in the Imphal valley, the capital region, because their property has either been destroyed or is occupied by others.

Decisive Action Needed

The United Christian Forum (UCF) has written to the current Manipur Chief Minister expressing deep concern over the deteriorating situation in the state and calling for urgent, decisive measures to restore peace and stability.

In a letter dated April 25 from Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, Toko Teki, spokesperson for the UCF’s Northeast region, described the ongoing unrest in Manipur as a “grave and escalating humanitarian crisis.”

He stated that continued violence between communities has resulted in loss of lives, destruction of homes, displacement of families, and a pervasive climate of fear among civilians.

The forum further appealed to key community-based organizations, including the United Naga Council, Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity, and Kuki Inpi Manipur, to work collectively toward peace and reconciliation.

The UCF is a New Delhi-based human rights group in India that monitors, reports, and provides legal support regarding violence and discrimination against Christians.

Struggle for Basics

Families in relief camps continue to struggle for necessities like milk, clean water, and adequate food.

While India’s Supreme Court directed the state to secure and restore places of worship, many congregations still lack a permanent place to gather three years later.

But according to reports, in the Meitei-dominated valley, Christian converts face continued persecution from extremist groups. Some have been barred from prayer fellowships even in their own homes and stripped of social privileges.

Many civil society organizations continue to call for decisive federal intervention to disarm militant groups and ensure a permanent peaceful settlement. However, it’s still a long and rough road to the end of the tunnel.

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