Many families displaced in last year’s ethnic violence say the ₹3 lakh compensation offer is “detached from reality” and “a cruel joke.”
BY Navin Upadhyay
July 2025 — Manipur Chief Secretary PK Singh’s announcement on Friday—that the state government will shut down all relief camps by December and offer ₹3.03 lakh in compensation to those whose homes were destroyed during last year’s ethnic violence—has triggered a storm of backlash from both sides of the ethnic divide.
Singh said the resettlement of over 57,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) would take place in three phases. But for many affected by the conflict, the offer is not only inadequate—it is deeply offensive.
“Can anyone build a house from scratch with ₹3 lakh?” asked a Kuki-Zo student from Delhi. “What about the land? Who’s going back to homes that were burned to the ground or seized by mobs?”
The ethnic divide, many say, has become so entrenched that Kuki-Zo families are unlikely to return to their former homes in Imphal Valley—just as Meitei families displaced from Churachandpur and Kangpokpi are unlikely to return either. Physical displacement has now solidified into a psychological and political chasm.
🚨 Manipur Chief Secretary, PK Singh: IDPs from Moreh, CCPur, Kangpokpi will not be able to go back even after December. 🚨
Who are the IDPs from the mentioned areas. CSOs @Paari_Athouba, MLAs @NBirenSingh @meghachandra_k, MPs @Bimol_Akoijam @MaharajaManipur should be awared. pic.twitter.com/JK2UE26rzb
— Pukning (@PukningWarol) July 4, 2025
Lost Homes, Stolen Lives
While the government touts the compensation package as a step toward reconciliation and rehabilitation, survivors see it as a cruel reminder of what they’ve lost—and what the state failed to protect.
Many Kuki-Zo homes in Imphal, abandoned during the May 3, 2023 violence, were looted or set ablaze. Armed groups like Arambai Tenggol reportedly took over entire neighborhoods as law enforcement stood by.
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“₹3 lakh can’t bring back what we lost,” said a Kuki-Zo elder. “These weren’t just buildings. They were homes filled with memories, savings, electronics, furniture, ancestral land—and dignity.”
Entire neighborhoods like Khongsai Veng, Games Village, Langol, Mantipukhri, Haokip Veng, and Paite Veng—once home to hundreds of Kuki-Zo families—were destroyed. In Khongsai Veng alone, more than 100 houses, many worth crores, were reduced to ash.
Among those affected were senior officers and retired bureaucrats, including Holkholet Khongsai, Thangsuo Baite (former MP), Doukhomang Khongsai, Dr. Dongkhanlal—and brothers Lalam Hansingh and WL Hansingh, both long-serving civil servants.
“We lost everything,” Lalam Hansingh told this correspondent. “Our house was in the heart of Imphal. A lifetime of work vanished overnight. After we fled on May 4, it was looted, taken over, and destroyed.”
A businessman from Churachandpur was blunt: “Let the Chief Secretary build a house with ₹3 lakh and live in it. We’ll even raise the money for him. He’s living in hallucination.”
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Even modest homes, both in the hills and the valley, cost at least fifteen times more than the compensation offered.
Hundreds of Meitei homes in Churachandpur, destroyed by enraged Kuki-Zo mobs after May 3, now stand as blackened ruins. For these families too, the ₹3 lakh package feels like a bad joke. In Imphal, where land prices are steep, that amount wouldn’t even cover a year’s rent.
Almost all Meiteis fled Churachandpur district, and their homes were subsequently attacked and torched. Entire Meitei colonies—especially in areas like New Lamka, Zoveng, and Hiangtam Lamka—were wiped out.
Though not on the same scale, Meitei homes were also targeted and destroyed in parts of Kangpokpi, Moreh, and Chandel districts in the aftermath of the 2023 violence.
Now, Meiteis too are asking the same question:
Can anyone build a house or buy land with ₹3 lakh?
The Government’s Plan
Singh outlined a three-phase return plan prepared with the Ministry of Home Affairs:
- Phase 1 (July): IDPs who can return immediately
- Phase 2 (October): District-level assessments
- Phase 3 (December): Closure of all remaining relief camps
He said around 7,000 homes were structurally intact but dilapidated and would be eligible for repair aid. For the 8,000–10,000 people unlikely to return—especially from Moreh, Churachandpur, and Kangpokpi—the state is building 1,000 prefabricated houses.
Singh also claimed farming activity had resumed on both sides of the ethnic divide, calling it a “good sign,” though he acknowledged that “some incidents” were still occurring.
Kuki-Zo Community: ‘Completely Detached from Reality’
The response online was swift and furious. Many Kuki-Zo users on X accused Singh of being “completely detached from reality.”
“A Kuki-Zo was recently shot dead. A Meitei farmer was attacked. Clashes over farmland are ongoing,” wrote one student. “If things are truly normal, why are thousands of paramilitary troops still deployed? Why are people still too scared to cross into each other’s territories?”
ITLF spokesperson Ginza Vualzong dismissed the compensation offer as “ridiculous.”
“It’s an insult. Where will people find land? What can they build—maybe a tin-roofed hut? ₹3 lakh isn’t compensation—it’s rubbing salt into wounds.”
He also slammed the administration’s portrayal of normalcy:
“This is governance through denial. Pretending things are fine will not solve a crisis that remains active and unresolved.”
‘It’s Not Justice, It’s Hush Money’
Dr. Thangsingh Chinkholal, a respected physician and president of Lamka City of Hope, issued a searing indictment of the government’s approach:
“₹3 lakh for someone who lost everything in a genocidal conflict is not justice—it’s hush money.”
He questioned the fundamental assumptions behind the state’s plan:
“Are IDPs being treated like homeless slum dwellers in need of a shelter grant? What about the rapes, the killings, the destruction of entire villages? What about justice? Accountability? Dignity?”
Thousands remain displaced in relief camps across Churachandpur, Guwahati, Shillong, and Delhi.
“Can the Chief Secretary restore their lives with ₹3 lakh?” Dr. Chinkholal asked.
“Peace can’t be built on silence. Stability can’t grow from injustice. And democracy can’t survive if brutal crimes are buried instead of prosecuted.”
Social and Political activist Dr Lamtinthang Haokip @DrLamtinthangHk spelled out the danger of imposed settlement. “Forced resettlement of IDPs without addressing the underlying issues is unlikely to bring any intended solution. In fact, this may rather invite more confusion and pressure, and likely to escalate more tensions between the warring community.”
Forced resettlement of IDPs without addressing the underlying issues is unlikely to bring any intended solution. In fact, this may rather invite more confusion and pressure, and likely to escalate more tensions between the warring community.@rashtrapatibhvn @INCIndia… pic.twitter.com/OrMqZPTFQv
— Dr. Lamtinthang Haokip (@DrLamtinthangHk) July 4, 2025
Even Meitei Voices Raise Doubts
“Skepticism has also emerged from within the Meitei community, with many expressing outrage over the Chief Secretary’s assertion that at least 1,000 displaced persons who fled Moreh, Kangpokpi, and Churachandpur may not be able to return home and will instead be accommodated in prefabricated houses.”
@EnhancingChanu wrote:
“So Meiteis from Moreh, Kangpokpi, and Churachandpur can’t return and will be placed in prefab shelters instead? That’s a confession that the state can’t even protect its own people.”
🚨𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐃𝐏𝐬‼️
It’s glad to hear the news of a few thousands of IDPs (Internally displaced people) returning to their homes. The government… https://t.co/a5dnK4B7Kd pic.twitter.com/Xb4CSDGIT2— Bikramjit Kangabam (@BikramjitMK) July 4, 2025
@BikramjitMK welcomed the intention behind the initiative but raised practical concerns:
“Is ₹3 lakh enough when construction and material costs have soared? Prefab homes are not permanent. What about dignity, security, and actual resettlement?”
Several other Meitei users have slammed the resettlement plan announced by the Chief Secretary, criticizing both the inadequate compensation and what they see as discrimination against Meitei IDPs
Reality Check
On paper, Singh’s plan suggests that Manipur is moving toward healing. But on the ground, survivors say they see only surface-level measures that do little to address deep, festering wounds.
The ethnic separation has calcified—fortified not just by bloodshed but by silence, denial, and fear.
Any genuine effort at reconciliation must begin not with token compensation, but with truth, justice, and security.
For thousands of displaced Manipuris, ₹3 lakh is not relief—it’s a reminder of everything they’ve lost, and how little the system is willing to give back.
