Chief minister of Manipur state apologises for ethnic unrest

By Reuters
January 01, 2025
People sit inside a relief camp for displaced Meiteis after their homes and shops were set ablaze, in Borobekra, Jiribam in the northeastern state of Manipur, India, November 23. — Reuters
People sit inside a relief camp for displaced Meiteis after their homes and shops were set ablaze, in Borobekra, Jiribam in the northeastern state of Manipur, India, November 23. — Reuters

BENGALURU: The chief minister of India’s northeastern state of Manipur apologised on Tuesday for months of ethnic unrest that has killed at least 250 people and prompted criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s federal government.

The strife between the majority Meitei and the tribal Kuki communities in the state of 3.2 million people broke out in May 2023 and has displaced 60,000 people.

Violence erupted after a court ordered the state government to consider extending the special economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education enjoyed by the Kuki people to the Meitei population as well.