NEW DELHI: India’s northeastern state of Manipur has implemented an internet blackout and curfew following days of deadly ethnic violence and clashes between protesters and police.
The state has been plagued by ongoing conflicts for over a year between the Hindu Meitei majority and the Christian Kuki community, creating ethnic enclaves across the region.
Last week, violence between the two groups surged once again, resulting in at least 11 deaths after months of relative calm. In response, the state’s home ministry has ordered a five-day shutdown of all internet and mobile data services to control the unrest.
The notice from the home ministry cited concerns that social media could be misused to spread images, hate speech, and inflammatory messages, exacerbating public unrest. “It has become necessary to take adequate measures to maintain law and order, by stopping the spread of disinformation and false rumors,” the notice stated.
Manipur experienced a similar internet shutdown last year during an earlier outbreak of violence, which displaced around 60,000 people, according to government figures. Many residents are still unable to return home due to ongoing tensions.
On Tuesday, hundreds of Meitei individuals in the state capital, Imphal, defied the newly imposed curfew, demanding action from security forces against Kuki insurgent groups whom they hold responsible for recent attacks. Indian TV broadcasters reported that police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Student-led protests on Monday turned violent when demonstrators threw stones and plastic bottles at security forces. In a separate incident, protesters in another district seized police weapons and fired at officers. According to police, one officer was struck in the thigh by a live round, and another was hit in the face by an unknown projectile.
The violence was triggered by a series of insurgent attacks involving improvised weapons and drones that killed 11 people last week, marking a “significant escalation” in the conflict, according to police.
The tensions between the Meitei and Kuki communities are rooted in competition for land and public jobs, with rights activists accusing local leaders of inflaming ethnic divisions for political gain. Manipur is governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
