In a major move, Manipur’s Meitei and Kuki MLAs will take part in peace negotiations in New Delhi on October 15 for the first time since the start of ethnic conflicts in May 2023. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will oversee the conference, which aims to promote communication and peacemaking between the two communities. The conversations will also involve Naga MLAs, who have been mediating them for the past ten months. In the past, they have individually met with representatives of Meitei and Kuki in neutral places like Guwahati and Kolkata.
However, this meeting marks a significant turning point as the two communities come together in one location after May 2023, after the violence broke out. “Several MLAs of both Meitei and Kuki communities have already arrived in Delhi, and few other MLAs are expected to arrive on October 14 prior to the meeting in New Delhi,” a state government official said. We have been assured that representatives from all groups will be there, even if we are unable to confirm the exact number of Kuki MLAs attending. All Kuki community MLAs, including ministers, have fled Imphal for safety fears after the ethnic violence broke out on May 3, 2023. Since then, the Kuli MLAs are not even taking part in the Manipur assembly sessions. It has been a continuous effort from the centre and the negotiators to convince the two community representatives to sit together for peace negotiations.
The meeting in Delhi will take place under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Home Minister Amit Shah. Top officials of the home ministry will be present in the meeting. The MHA has not disclosed whether the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, will be present in the crucial meeting. However, the meeting will have a lasting effect on restoring peace in the troubled state. Manipur has been grappling with violence since May 2023, and over 200 people have lost their lives in the continuous violence. Over 60000 people have been internally displaced in the last 18 months of violence. The violence started on May 3 2023, during a protest march by Kuki student unions against the tribal status demands of the Meitei community.
