Manipur is a Northeastern state of India which shares its boundaries with Nagaland, Mizoram and Assam on three sides and Sagaing Region of Myanmar on the remaining. A part of the seven sisters, its name translates to jewelled land. The strategic location of Manipur has enabled it to be a junction of cultural and economic exchange between Indian subcontinent, central Asia and Southeast Asia.
Initially a princely state, Manipur became a part of Indian democracy in 1947 when its monarch signed an instrument of merger with India. Imphal is the largest city of the state as well its capital.
Lying at 790m above sea level, Manipur is surrounded by hills on all its sides, as such the geography of the state consist of both types of features. It has rugged hilly terrain on the outer part of the state while mostly plains present within its enclosure. Being water surplus due to the presence of four river basins, the major crops grown are rice, orange, rubber, tea, coffee, etc with rice being the staple for the region. One of the most notable geographical features of the state is the Loktak lake, which is the largest freshwater lake in our country.
Apart from being geographically rich and strategically important, Manipur is also well known for its people who have gone on to make a mark for themselves. Notable amongst them are Irom Sharmila Chanu, a civil rights activist also known as the iron lady of Northeast, MC Mary Kom, six time world women boxing champion and most recently Saikhom Chanu Mirabai, the first silver medalist from India in weightlifting at Tokyo Olympics.
The candle march was led by Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, over the violence in Manipur, with party leaders accusing the Centre of having failed to control the deteriorating law and order situation in the northeastern state.
Noting that Rahul Gandhi had claimed that armed forces could restore peace in Manipur within two days if allowed, Ravi Shankar Prasad enquired if Gandhi sought what ex-PM Indira Gandhi, his grandmother, had done by ordering the Air Force to drop bombs on Aizawl in 1966.
The Congress accused the BJP of not allowing its own Manipur MP and Union Minister of State (MoS) Rajkumar Ranjan Singh to speak in Parliament.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that in Manipur, he encountered distressing situations that he had never witnessed elsewhere in the country.
A couple of days after Smriti Irani attacked Robert Vadra in the Lok Sabha, the latter on Saturday said Irani "brings up negative things" about him. Vadra's statement came in reference to his and Gautam Adani's photo displayed by Smriti Irani in the House.
NPP leader Rameshwar Singh, an ally of the BJP in Manipur, said "some effective action like surgical strike should be done to solve the problem for once and all".
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma criticised Rahul Gandhi's suggestion of Army intervention in Manipur, and said that a lasting solution should come from the heart, not force.
Rahul Gandhi attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his speech in Parliament. The Congress MP said, "the PM was joking and mocking" while the question was about Manipur violence.
Recent violence in Manipur has severely impacted the state's economy, resulting in a significant drop in agricultural and trading business with no hope for recovery in 2023.
A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said subjecting women to sexual crimes and violence is completely unacceptable and constitutes a grave violation of the constitutional values of dignity, personal liberty and autonomy.
The Mizo National Front (MNF), an ally of the BJP-led NDA, voted in favour of the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha. Its lone MP, C Lalrosanga, said his party was not happy with the government's handling of the Manipur violence.
The people of Manipur want Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come to the strife-torn state, sit with them and witness the ground reality. They said the Prime Minister should have spoken about the Manipur violence sooner.
The Opposition hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his reply to the no-confidence motion, saying he did not make a mention about the ethnic violence in Manipur for "90 minutes" and only spoke after they walked out of the Lok Sabha.
Bihar minister and JD(U) leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary accused the BJP-led government in Manipur of taking sides during the ongoing ethnic clashes.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) and all Kuki-Zo tribals said that they felt let down by Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his comments on ethnic clashes in Manipur.
Mary Millben's remarks came not so long after PM Modi's speech in Parliament on Thursday, while replying to the no-confidence motion against his government.
Targeting the Congress and lauding his government’s work, Modi’s Lok Sabha speech was a pitch for General Election 2024. He spoke about Manipur but only after the Opposition had vacated the benches
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was suspended from Lok Sabha on Thursday, accused PM Modi of remaining ‘Nirav’, or silent, on the Manipur issue.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, while replying to the no-confidence motion on Manipur, used references from post-Independence history to show how the Congress had allegedly acted against the interests of the people of the northeast region.
Talking about the Manipur violence, PM Modi said that the central and state governments are making all possible efforts to ensure strictest punishment to those guilty.
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