Social media storm: X has become a battleground of religious and ethnic narratives as both sides link natural disasters to past violence, stoking further division amid a humanitarian crisis.
BY PC Bureau
June 5, 2025 – Manipur is reeling from catastrophic floods caused by Cyclone Remal’s remnants since late May 2025, submerging Imphal Valley and triggering landslides in hill districts like Churachandpur and Kangpokpi. The disaster has affected over 188,000 people, damaged 10,700 homes, and claimed 17 lives, with 18,000 now in relief camps. As the state grapples with this crisis, a parallel war of words has erupted on X, where Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities are invoking religious texts—the Bible and the Bhagavad Gita—to attribute the floods to divine wrath for each other’s perceived sins, deepening the ethnic divide that has plagued Manipur since the violent clashes of May 2023.
Kuki-Zo: Imphal’s Floods as God’s Vengeance
The Kuki-Zo, predominantly Christian and concentrated in the hills, have framed the flooding of Imphal Valley, the Meitei heartland, as divine retribution for the Meiteis’ role in the ethnic violence that began in May 2023, which killed over 260 people, displaced 60,000, and destroyed 254 churches and 4,786 Kuki-Zo homes. A post by @_BeinG_TribaL on June 3, 2025, stated: “The #disrespect was loud, but #nature’s response is louder, not in words, but in deluge. The #Flood is not blind. ROMANS 12:19, ‘Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”
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Similarly, @miketlhkip, on May 31, 2025, wrote: “Every single drop of rain makes me look up into the gloomy dark sky and then I think of my home back in Imphal and it makes me smile from ear to ear. The wrath of God is not pleasant my friends. Let it rain more… for we love the rain here in #Kukiland.”
Another user, @Sumkawn , on May 30, 2024, linked the floods to past violence: “This is #Imphal, Manipur. In a city where hundreds of churches and theological buildings burnt into ashes, minority Kukis were forcefully driven out, and many of them were brutally murdered. This time no ‘President Rule’ but ‘Water Rule.’”
The #disrespect was loud, but #nature’s response is louder, not in words, but in deluge.
The #Flood is not blind.ROMANS 12:19,
“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord'”.#Manipur pic.twitter.com/KV8c0QJh38— BeinGTribaL (@_BeinG_TribaL) June 3, 2025
@Tofag_E added on June 4, 2025: “Teachings like this are dangerous… All things stem from Him, and these terms are morally defined by humans, not God,” suggesting the floods reflect divine will beyond human morality.
These posts reflect the Kuki-Zo narrative that the floods are God’s judgment for Meitei-led violence, including the destruction of churches and alleged atrocities like the July 2023 viral video of two Kuki-Zo women being paraded naked, which sparked national outrage. The Kuki-Zo attribute the floods to Meitei actions, particularly their demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, which they fear would erode tribal land rights in the hills.
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Meiteis: Hills’ Landslides as Karma
As floods and landslides ravaged Kuki-Zo-dominated hill districts, Meitei users countered by invoking the Bhagavad Gita, framing the disasters as karmic consequences for Kuki-Zo actions, including their demand for a separate administration and alleged involvement in poppy cultivation. A 12-post thread by @ThangjouPaibeee on June 3, 2025, quoted Bhagavad Gita 13:21: “Nature is said to be the cause of all material activities and effects, whereas the living entity is the cause of the various sufferings and enjoyments in this world.” The user wrote, “All thanks to increase in significant farming of poppy. Had forest cover been kept intact, the scale of devastation wouldn’t have been such but u being delulu quota blaming it on karma so u can sleep off at night, sweeping aside the plight of KPI conveniently.” The thread accused Kuki-Zo of deforestation, linking it to the landslides.
Bhagavad Gita 13.21: “Nature is said to be the cause of all material activities and effects, whereas the living entity is the cause of the various sufferings and enjoyments in this world.” @_BeinG_TribaL Haothu naithu jeng jeng blessed by poppy God! 🤡https://t.co/KToQtKN8nU pic.twitter.com/l3o4dkDYiU
— ThangjouPaibeee (@ThangjouPaibeee) June 4, 2025
Another Meitei user, @Tangba_K , posted on June 3, 2025: “There’s no jesus or Bible verse involved in the case of Imphal. Inconsiderate, pathetic Haothu with no respect for Forest who claim to be nature lovers conducted mass deforestation to cultivate poppy. Without water retaining deep root and proper cessation, flood happened.” This echoes Meitei claims that Kuki-Zo poppy cultivation in the hills, often linked to drug trafficking, caused environmental degradation, exacerbating landslides. Meiteis also cite Kuki-Zo protests, like the April 2025 blockade of Thangjing Hills during the Cheiraoba festival, as provocations defying Manipur’s unity.
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The floods have amplified Manipur’s ethnic fault lines, rooted in disputes over land, ST status, and political power. The 2023 violence, triggered by a Manipur High Court order recommending ST status for Meiteis, led to clashes that displaced Kuki-Zo from Imphal and Meiteis from the hills. Now, both communities use religious narratives to interpret the same disaster.
Magisterial Inquiry
The state, under President’s Rule since February 13, 2025, after Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s resignation, has ordered a magisterial inquiry to investigate the floods’ causes, focusing on deforestation and poor infrastructure. Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla urged unity: “This is a natural calamity, not a platform for division.” The inquiry, expected within 30 days, may probe social media’s role in fueling tensions, as posts like those from @_BeinG_Tribal and @ThangjouPaibeee risk derailing relief efforts.
The Bible and Bhagavad Gita, invoked by Kuki-Zo and Meitei users, offer solace but also deepen mistrust. As both communities suffer—Imphal under water, hills under landslides—the floods underscore a shared humanity that religious blame games threaten to obscure,
