It is an appeal from the helpless andVoiceless of our rotten societyNow our society is going from badTo worse because of the situationThat obtains. The peopleHave forgotten to share happiness andEnjoy their life because of the news of terror,Massacre, rape, corruption…How to end this suffering?

It is an appeal from the helpless andVoiceless of our rotten societyNow our society is going from badTo worse because of the situationThat obtains. The peopleHave forgotten to share happiness andEnjoy their life because of the news of terror,Massacre, rape, corruption…How to end this suffering?

This was written by a Manipuri poet for a play called Shooting the Sun in 2020, three years before the violence in Manipur made headlines. The question remains: how to end the sufferings of the people living in Manipur?

This year began with attacks on Meiteis, and then moved on to deadly attacks on Naga villages and people travelling on the Ukhrul-Imphal road despite security being provided for them. Once again, Manipur is gearing up for another deadly round of violence and this time too there are allegations that the security forces are not neutral and are not protecting civilians.

Manipur has been divided into zones which even the chief minister or a Supreme Court judge cannot cross if they belong to one or the other community. And the communities are armed to the teeth despite the claims that most of the arms looted from armories and police stations in 2023 have been recovered.

But there still are the illegal arms in the hands of insurgent groups, village defence groups, community militias, armed volunteers, criminal groups and armed vigilante outfits (such as Arambai Tenggol, Meitei Leepun) and individuals.

The people have no one to represent their interests and they turn to the armed groups for protection. Civilians going about their daily business fall victims to bullets and firebombs being thrown on their homes and to rocket launchers. Children find their schools and colleges are closed for months on end. Thousands have left Manipur in search of jobs, mostly as migrant workers in cities and towns. Ironically, far from home they share accommodation, help each other and share a meal because they share a bond of being from Manipur.

There are calls for disarming all groups but how can anyone lay down their arms when their very life or the lives of their family or community needs protection? It is a deadly and vicious circle.

Manipur today.Imphal and Ukhrul pic.twitter.com/wvYnoUwHx3— Vijaita Singh (@vijaita) April 25, 2026

Manipur today.Imphal and Ukhrul pic.twitter.com/wvYnoUwHx3

For the security establishment, the only way to deal with........

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