After spending nearly two-and-a-half years in relief camps following the ethnic violence in Manipur, Meitei Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have begun returning to their homes in Torbung village of Bishnupur district
Manipur attempts to rehabilate IDS
After spending nearly two-and-a-half years in relief camps following the ethnic violence in Manipur, Meitei Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have begun returning to their homes in Torbung village of Bishnupur district, which borders Churachandpur.
According to official sources, a total of 97 families comprising 389 individuals have been resettled so far in the Bishnupur district. Of the total returnees, 187 are male and 202 are female. The resettlement covers villages including Phougakchao Ikhai Mamang, Maning, Mayai and Awang; Haotak and Haotak Tampak Khunou; Loyakhong; Pombikhok; Chairel Mangjing; Khoijumantabi; Laingoubi; and Sandangkhong Makha Leikai.
As part of the rehabilitation package, the district administration has transferred ₹40,000 to each returning family.
Within a day of resettlement, fresh violence erupted on the evening of December 16 in the sensitive peripheral areas of Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts, throwing resettled villages of Torbung and Phougakchao Ikhai back into fear and uncertainty.
Local sources said heavy cross-firing broke out between security forces and unknown armed groups operating from the Churachandpur side. The exchange followed an alleged bomb and gun attack by suspected Kuki militants, who reportedly opposed the recent resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Torbung.
Meanwhile, the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) on Tuesday expressed concern over a fresh incident reported last night in the highly sensitive Torbung buffer zone, warning that recent administrative decisions risk reigniting violence in an area that marks the very epicentre of the Manipur conflict.
In a strongly worded press release, the KZC recalled that the ethnic violence of May 3, 2023, originated in Torbung, Churachandpur—an area once shared by Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities. The council noted that Torbung witnessed the first killing of the conflict when Pastor Sekhonohao Kipgen was brutally beaten to death in broad daylight, and that 45 Kuki-Zo lives were lost within the first two days alone.
Against this backdrop, the KZC termed the decision of the Deputy Commissioner of Bishnupur to flag off the resettlement of Meitei internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Torbung buffer zone as “deeply irresponsible and provocative.” It asserted that any sensitive administration would have avoided resettlement in such a volatile area, warning that the move amounts to an open invitation to renewed conflict.
Manipur has remained divided under buffer zones even after almost 3 years of the conflict. On 3 May 2023, ethnic violence erupted between the Meitei people, a majority that lives in the Imphal Valley, and the Kuki-Zo tribal community from the surrounding hills.
