After around two years of mounting pressure and a deepening crisis, Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh has finally stepped down. However, his resignation does not reflect a sense of moral responsibility for the catastrophic destruction of Manipur. Had he truly been guided by ethics, Singh should have resigned in 2023 when widespread domestic and international condemnation called for his removal. Even members of his own party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and coalition partners had demanded his resignation. Instead, Singh remained in power, presiding over a government that not only failed to prevent but allegedly fueled the devastating communal violence that erupted in early May 2023. His December 2024 admission that his administration had instigated the violence was not an acceptance of accountability, but rather an attempt to justify the government\u2019s actions. Singh\u2019s resignation came only when it became clear that his tenure had reached an impasse. Even BJP legislators in Manipur recognized that his continued leadership was untenable. This crisis has also exposed the alarming apathy of the BJP\u2019s national leadership, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose government has tolerated extreme ethnic violence in what was once India\u2019s most progressive state. Manipur was allowed to function under a chief minister who, instead of restoring order, oversaw a systematic targeting of specific communities. From February 2023 onwards, the Modi administration granted Singh an unprecedented degree of latitude, even as Manipur descended into chaos. The state effectively became lawless, with mobs burning homes, churches, and entire villages. Reports suggest that over 200 churches were reduced to ashes, nearly 300 people lost their lives, and more than 60,000 were displaced. The scale of devastation and targeted violence was staggering, yet the response from the Centre remained indifferent. The BJP leadership\u2019s reluctance to intervene underscored a broader pattern of neglect towards regions facing ethnic strife. Shockingly, the very individuals said to have orchestrated the violence continued to receive political backing. Even in Parliament, discussions on Manipur were stifled. During a crucial debate in 2023, two MPs from Manipur-Lorho S. Pfoze of the NPF (a BJP ally) and R.K. Rajan Singh, a BJP Union Minister-were prevented from addressing the state\u2019s dire situation. The silencing of these voices only deepened the crisis, as it became evident that the BJP was more invested in damage control than in actually resolving the unrest. Certain tribal communities have suffered disproportionately, with divisions between ethnic groups reaching an irreparable breaking point. Hatred, fear, and vengeance now dominate Manipur\u2019s socio-political landscape. In a striking rebuke of the BJP\u2019s handling of the crisis, all communities in Manipur united to elect two opposition Congress candidates to the Lok Sabha. Yet, during the no-confidence motion in Parliament-where Manipur was a key issue-the government offered little response to the opposition\u2019s allegations. Prime Minister Modi, despite his carefully curated public image as a devout religious figure, has failed to address the people of Manipur beyond a vague acknowledgment of their suffering. He has yet to visit the state, let alone reassure its citizens that his government has not abandoned them. The pressing question now is whether Manipur\u2019s situation will improve under a new leader. The new leader and ministry should set up a commission of inquiry into factors that have triggered mayhem and violence so as to unearth the truth which the people of Manipur and the entire nation deserve to know.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After around two years of mounting pressure and a deepening crisis, Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh has finally stepped down. However, his resignation does not reflect a sense of moral responsibility for the catastrophic destruction of Manipur. Had he truly been guided by ethics, Singh should have resigned in 2023 when widespread domestic and international […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[685],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-470488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-editorial"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470488\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nagalandpost.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}