Amid widespread shutdowns and fiery protests rocking Manipur’s valleys and hills, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh made a passionate appeal for dialogue on Sunday. At the launch of Thoubal’s Wangjing-Tentha Block Development Office, he underscored that every issue, no matter how contentious, finds resolution through open communication.
Crowds thronged the venue to greet him, as he highlighted the office’s importance in decentralizing administration and ensuring efficient public services at the block level. Contrasting his smooth hill district tours with the Thoubal backlash, Singh voiced bewilderment at the hostility.
‘Talks are the only path forward,’ he asserted. ‘Sitting across the table brings clarity and consensus.’ Recalling the heartbreaking April 7 Tronglaobi tragedy—where suspected Kuki militants killed two children and wounded their mother—the CM detailed government engagement with the victims’ JAC, including two meetings with Home Minister K. Govindas.
Job offers for the grieving parents are on the table purely on compassionate grounds, he clarified, rejecting any notion of political horse-trading. Turning to the ongoing five-day bandh enforced by Meira Paibis and civil groups across Imphal valley districts, Singh decried it as disruptive and misleading, vowing to build a vital 3.5 km road in Wangjing soon.
Roadblocks by women’s groups have crippled transport, emptied markets, and stalled businesses since April 18 midnight. In Naga-dominated regions, a second day of the United Naga Council’s three-day shutdown continues till April 23, triggered by the Highway-2 ambush killing two Ukhrul residents en route from Imphal, again pinned on Kuki suspects.
This dual wave of unrest exposes Manipur’s fragile ethnic fault lines, with valleys and hills locked in parallel grievances. The CM’s dialogue-first stance signals a strategic pivot toward de-escalation, even as security forces brace for potential flare-ups. Restoring dialogue could be the state’s best hope for stability.
