Stepping into 2026 on the wrong foot ? Need to loook forward
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Year 2026 has not started on the right note at all and in just the first month of the new year, Manipur grabbed headlines for two very wrong reasons. First was the news that a Kuki woman, who was allegedly raped on May 15 of 2023 at New Checkon area passed away at a hospital in Churachandpur and even as debates and thoughts were shared over the rape allegations, came the news of a young Meitei man executed in cold blood, the killing of which was captured on camera and which soon went viral on the social media. And even as these two cases numbed the senses of the people, came the speculation, which was immaculately designed as a news item, that a first time MLA, a Naga, is most likely to be the next Chief Minister of Manipur. These are the three incidents which have underlined the latter part of the first month of 2026 and not once has anyone thought it fit to question what roadmap or approach would the popular Government have once it comes back, to put Manipur on the track of normalcy. Not that this is the first time that talk of the return of the popular Government is doing the round, but ever since President’s Rule was imposed on February 13 of 2025, the focus of the political class and those close to the power corridors has been on Government formation, while giving the more important point of restoring normalcy a ‘quiet burial’. The question that any sane person should be asking now is, what can one expect from the return of the popular Government ? A question which is far more important than the question of who is likely to be the next Chief Minister. As stated many times in this column, the silence of the gun should not be equated to normalcy and what happened to the young Meitei man at Churachandpur late in the night of January 21 should be more than enough to underline this point. It is still not clear which group is responsible for the killing, but fingers of suspicion have been pointed at the non-SoO group, the United Kuki National Army (UKNA), a group which has bases in India and Myanmar as well and one wonders what steps the Union Home Ministry would have taken up to rein in the activities of this particular group. This is another point which political leaders and political parties should be focusing on. At the same time, it should be acknowledged that Lok Bhavan responded swiftly to the incident in roping in the service of the National Investigation Agency to probe the matter and announcing an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh for the family of the butchered man, but yet at the same time, the killing itself is a damning statement on how the rule of law has been tossed for a big six in the hill districts. A point which Lok Bhavan cannot brush aside that easily.
If thoughts are not pooled in, if no sincere efforts are made to walk the road of normalcy, if the hate mongers are allowed to continue with their agenda, then the script of 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 (as it is now) will be carried over into 2027. There should be no doubt on that. This is where it becomes crucial for the people not to lose their focus. The focus is obviously on taking Manipur to the path of normalcy and in the absence of any visible proposal to resolve the issue, the return or not of the popular Government should not concern the common people so much. Priority number one is and should be restoration of normalcy. Open the National Highways and ensure free movement of all. Let Imphal airport be open to all. This should be the first step towards walking the road to normalcy and the focus of the people should be on this. Once this is achieved then take it up a notch or two higher and ensure resettlement of all, let the Kuki-Zo folks who left the place they once called home at Imphal be allowed to return and likewise the displaced Meiteis go back to their homes at Churachandpur, Moreh and Kangpokpi. If the return of the popular Government can work towards this, then let it do so, and the first step towards this should be to ensure that a climate is created that the elected Kuki-Zo MLAs feel free and safe to attend the Assembly session in Imphal. This is where the focus of the people should be.
If thoughts are not pooled in, if no sincere efforts are made to walk the road of normalcy, if the hate mongers are allowed to continue with their agenda, then the script of 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 (as it is now) will be carried over into 2027. There should be no doubt on that. This is where it becomes crucial for the people not to lose their focus. The focus is obviously on taking Manipur to the path of normalcy and in the absence of any visible proposal to resolve the issue, the return or not of the popular Government should not concern the common people so much. Priority number one is and should be restoration of normalcy. Open the National Highways and ensure free movement of all. Let Imphal airport be open to all. This should be the first step towards walking the road to normalcy and the focus of the people should be on this. Once this is achieved then take it up a notch or two higher and ensure resettlement of all, let the Kuki-Zo folks who left the place they once called home at Imphal be allowed to return and likewise the displaced Meiteis go back to their homes at Churachandpur, Moreh and Kangpokpi. If the return of the popular Government can work towards this, then let it do so, and the first step towards this should be to ensure that a climate is created that the elected Kuki-Zo MLAs feel free and safe to attend the Assembly session in Imphal. This is where the focus of the people should be.