New Ethnic Violence in India's Manipur, Continued Loss of Life, Political Crisis Deepens, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh Resigns

New Ethnic Violence in India's Manipur, Continued Loss of Life, Political Crisis Deepens, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh Resigns

New ethnic violence has sparked a political crisis in India's northeastern state of Manipur, leading to the resignation of the state's Chief Minister over the weekend. Amidst the nearly two-year-long ethnic conflict, N. Biren Singh, a senior member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), submitted his resignation to the Governor on Sunday.

This resignation came just one day before the state legislative assembly was scheduled to begin its session. It is now expected that the state will come under President's rule, meaning it will be directly governed by Modi's government.

In his resignation letter, Singh expressed gratitude to Modi's federal government and praised its efforts to safeguard the interests of Manipur. He called for further measures to curb border infiltration and to deport "illegal immigrants."

The ethnic conflict in Manipur began in 2023, when the state’s High Court ordered the government to grant Scheduled Tribe status to the Meitei community. This would have extended economic benefits and job and education quotas meant for marginalized groups, like the Kukis, to the majority Meitei community, which led to tensions. Over 250 people have been killed in the ongoing violence.

Kuki groups have accused Singh of siding with the Meitei community and demanded his resignation after the conflict broke out. As the violence continued, many BJP lawmakers also called for his resignation, criticizing his handling of the crisis.

International human rights organizations have accused both the state administration and Modi's government of allowing vigilante groups to operate with impunity in the state, stoking ethnic tensions, and failing to maintain law and order. Amnesty International stated last year that "the BJP governments in New Delhi and Imphal have completely failed to end the violence and displacement and protect human rights in the state."