Editorial

Of pot holed roads and others Surviving Manipur

Keeping aside the ongoing Kuki-Meitei clash which is galloping towards the two years mark, Manipur still has miles to go on all other fronts. And it has been like this for decades, meaning the 15 years rule of the Congress did nothing worthwhile to put Ma..

Emerging politics at play Looking across the border

There have to be reasons why the Government of India is so adamant in carrying on with the Suspension of Operation pact with the Kuki-Chin armed outfits. There have to be reasons why there is a sense of camaraderie between the Indian security force, parti..

Ban on SUP has come into force Need to show seriousness

Ban on single use plastic (SUP) to come into force from April 15, 2025, but till late into the evening no credible information was received on whether any crackdown or drive against SUP has been taken up or not. It was on April 6 that the Principal Secret..

Marching towards the 2 year mark The unseen hand

In less than 20 days the ongoing ethnic clash would have completed two years and in the last 730 or so days, certain points would have emerged to the eyes of all keen observers. The May 3, 2023 violence started in Churachandpur and Torbung. Gun wielding e..

Cocking a snook at Delhi meet Clear tone of defiance

Two months since President’s Rule was imposed on February 13 and the question doing the round is whether things have taken a turn for the better or whether it has only emboldened the radical elements on the side of the Kuki-Zo community to come out..

Of shabby and pot holed roads Defining Imphal

On the shabby, pot holes filled roads criss-crossing the length and breadth of Imphal and beyond is writ large the utter failure of the double engine Government. And the people have every right to be peeved and this is what can be discerned in the ultimat..

Another ban on single use plastic Will it work this time ?

To slightly twist the tongue in cheek comment of Oscar Wilde, ‘Giving up smoking is easy, I have done it a hundred times,’ one may say ‘Banning single use plastic is easy, we can ban it many times in a year or in a couple of years,’..

Mum on pre-conditions at Delhi do Politics of dialogue

The politics of dialogue and the Kuki-Zo civil society organisations appear to have mastered this ‘art’ well, if one takes a look at the April 5 talk convened by the Union Home Ministry. It was not from the Union Home Ministry or the organisat..

Phamba Challadi Hippa Challi (Channaba Touee) Targeting the hosts

Phamba Challadi Hippa Challi (Channaba Touee) or something along this line, a rough translation of which will come close to the understanding of ‘Give them an inch and they will demand a mile’ and this is the line that has been maintained by t..

After Delhi meet of April 5, what next ?Emerging truth and reality

What next ? This is the question that must be right up there in the mind of every thinking man and woman in Manipur now that the first ever meeting between representatives of the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities   under the aegis of the Union Home..

Setting pre-conditions for Delhi talk Need to play the card right

The obvious but unstated would not have blown over the consciousness of Delhi. Even as representatives of the All Manipur United Clubs’ Organisation (AMUCO) and Federation of Civil Society Organisations (FOCS) have proceeded to Delhi for the anticip..

23 months on and Delhi still lost ! Deliberate or otherwise ?

Out of ignorance or out of wittingly failing to acknowledge the truth or out of being fed wrong or doctored reports, New Delhi has got it wrong on at least two points, as evidenced in the 9 minute speech of Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Manipur in the..

Setting pre-conditions for talks Riders to cease hostilities

Three preconditions and that too qualified by the term ‘non-negotiable’ and one is left wondering whether the Kuki-Zo civil society organisations are actually serious about ceasing hostilities. Or is this a ploy to strike a tough stand and be..

The stand against delimitation False premise unacceptable

The bottomline in the stand against any move to go in for delimitation on the basis of faulty or erroneous headcount should be understood and appreciated. It is not against delimitation perse but anything based on something false and artificial can only l..

Over a month since PR came into force What is the way forward ?

What is the way forward ? More importantly, has any tangible steps been taken up to put Manipur on the road to normalcy ? For now, let’s look at the steps taken up so far, after Manipur came under President’s Rule on February 13. The first and..

Details of drug smuggling coming to light Now go for the bigger fishes

Good job, but the question still remains whether this will begin and end with the seizure of over 9 kilogrammes of heroin and arrest of three persons or some follow up action can be expected. This poser is being raised not without reasons but first let..

Step down nudge to political appointees Art of clinging to the chair

Not exactly a rap on the knuckle but it is something definitely more than a nudge and why not ? N Biren put in his paper as the Chief Minister of Manipur on February 9 and President’s Rule followed and the Assembly was kept under a state of suspende..

Uphul-Waiphul and Leikhom-Leinang Pathetic roads all over

The link between Uphul-Waiphul, Leikhom-Leinang and the Weather-God is something clearly seen on the roads of Manipur and to The Sangai Express the dust and slush is most clearly visible on the roads and leiraks of Imphal. With the sky yet to open, it is..

Significance of fencing the border NRC before delimitation call

Connect the dots and the complete picture should emerge. Even as Delhi has committed itself to the task of fencing the 1643 kilometre long Indo-Myanmar border, strong voice of concern has been raised over the delimitation proposal and with good reasons. T..

Growing defiance of the radical elements March 8 to March 22

March 8, 2025-It was the Kangpokpi based Committee on Tribal Unity which derailed the free movement call of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. March 22, 2025 it was the Churachandpur based Chura-chandpur District Bar Association which opposed the inclusion of..

Yapping on the mobile while driving Nuisance on the road

Nuisance on the road and the tragedy is, no one seems to have realised the immense nuisance value they carry. One wish the ‘street or road heroes and heroines’ take time off to listen to some of the sage words that have come from responsible p..

March 2025 : A significant month so far Refusing to learn in 23 months

March 2025 has been significant in many ways and will be an important footnote when the story of Manipur is told and retold ten or twenty years down the line. One is obviously the March 8, 2025 botched attempt to ensure that all the roads are open to all..

Time to say No to separatist agenda

It is a historical fact and an undeniable reality, even if some people don’t want to accept it, that Manipur has always been a multi-ethnic state. Manipur has been a common home to diverse ethnic groups since ages, though of late, this pluralistic i..

Call to surrender arms, call for free movement Looking back at last 30 days

One month or 30 days since President’s Rule was imposed on Manipur with the Assembly kept under suspended animation and the big question doing the round is, what are the big changes that one can see ? For one, there was an immense positive response..

Of regulating cross border movement Understanding logic of regulation

Backs regulating movement across the India-Myanmar border but opposes border fencing as well as the decision to do away with the Free Movement Regime. Back in 2024, the Mizoram Assembly passed a resolution opposing the decision of the Centre to fence the..

Turning NH-2 to a battlefield Lessons from March 8

8th March 2025 has come and gone and what lessons has the Government learnt from it ? Forty eight hours after the free for all that one could see on National Highway 2 and the tales that came along with the circus that was enacted, there is nothing much t..

Cutting short trip to Senapati Much more needs to be done

Delhi should take note, take note of not only how the Kuki-Zos are hell bent on derailing any initiative taken to put Manipur on the track of normalcy but also how the people who matter here abysmally failed to read the situation and connect it to how the..

Clear all roads instruction Date with March 8

8th March, 2025. To many this will be more than just a date on the calendar for this has been marked by no one less than Union Home Minister Amit Shah to ensure free movement of all the people in Manipur. This is also perhaps the first time that Manipur h..

Hosting foreign rebel groups Interestingly intriguing

Interesting as well as intriguing and dangerously so for the North Eastern States, particularly Manipur which has been reeling under an ethnic violence for 22 months now. Even as Union Home Minister Amit Shah issued strict instructions to ensure free move..

Polluting future pillars of society Probe the malaise deeper

Something is rotten to the core and it is a pity that the Government does not seem to have any approach to deal with the malaise effectively. To many it is more than a case of the ‘unfortunate few’ getting caught and the matter coming to light..

Solution first, peace later slogan Mischievous war mongers

Solution first, peace later. This was the slogan coined by the Kangpokpi based Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) and which was quickly lapped up by the Chura-chandpur based Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF). And it is obvious that CoTU is hell..

Infiltrators from across the border Rational of border fencing

Clear all roads by March 8. Complete fencing work on both sides of the designated entry points along Manipur’s inter- national border at the earliest.  Entire network involved in the drug trade should be dismantled. This was Union Home Minister..

From February 9, 13 to now Deadline of March 8

Things seem to be moving fast and with a purpose. Chief Minister N Biren asked to  step down on February 9. President’s Rule imposed on February 13. Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla comes out with an open notification on February 20 asking all to sur..

Making a mockery of the HSLC exams Go in for a re-examination

Question paper leak-Confirmed. Status of candidates-Unclear. Examination-High School Leaving Certificate Examination 2025 or Matric exam. The question paper leak is itself abominable but the rationality in the stand of the Board of Secondary Education, Ma..

Disarming all with eyes on normalcy Taking the right steps so far

A firm stand and this is exactly what Raj Bhavan has demonstrated and so far there is nothing much to complain. After Chief Minister N Biren Singh put in his paper on February 9, New Delhi did not lose much time in rolling up its sleeves and came calling ..

Sounding Delhi’s man with ST call Send the report as sought

This is perhaps the first time that the proposal that the Meiteis be included in the Scheduled Tribe list of the Constitution of India has been submitted to a man handpicked by Delhi to look after the affairs in Manipur and this is what is significant. Th..

Ultimatum to return all illegal arms How about guns of SoO cadres ?

The Meitei Alliance has a point, a solid point and it has verbalised the felt but unexpressed sentiments of the people. In reminding Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla of the indispensability of applying the drive to collect all illegal arms equally across the St..

60,000 security personnel for what ? Opening up highways

For nearly 730 days National Highway-2 or the Imphal to Dimapur road has been off limit for all Meiteis, courtesy the ethnic clash that erupted in all its ugliness on May 3, 2023. Likewise Imphal has been off limit for all the Kuki-Zo community during the..

Reaching out to CCpur, Moreh, Kpi Governor on track

Obvious that former Union Home Secretary and now Governor of Manipur Ajay Kumar Bhalla has the opportunity to write history, a sort of history that would go down as perhaps the first ever meaningful steps that Imphal has taken after May 3, 2023.  Sho..

Nuisance value of modified silencers Sticking to traffic rules

Nuisance with a capital N. This should about sum up the modified silencers youngsters fit onto their two wheelers and then zoom around in Imphal much to the annoyance of a good number of people. Noise pollution is too mild a word to describe the nuisance ..

Noting the call for ‘Actual Population’ Of abnormal growth

‘Actual population needs to be worked out’ and muscled this up with the observation, ‘Census key to address Manipur situation.’ This was former Union Home Secretary GK Pillai at a Delhi do held under the theme, Manipur Ki Baat. Kya..

Line of ‘First sanitise the place’ Raj Bhavan on the go

Raj Bhavan seems to have started off on the right foot, if one goes by what has been put into action in the last few days, but there is still a lot more to go. And it was along this line that Manipur woke up to the news that a man from Kangpokpi has been ..

No CM material since Feb 10 ? Is an honest search on ?

February 9, 2025-N Biren Singh ‘convinced’ to put in his paper as Chief Minister of Manipur. February 13, 2023-President’s Rule imposed and the State Assembly kept under suspended animation. In between there was trouble shooter Sambit Pa..

Straight talk from top BJP leader Important lessons to learn

The vice president of the State unit of the BJP has spoken his mind and while The Sangai Express prefers not to take a stand on his observation that it would be wrong to hold Speaker Th Satyabrata responsible for the current phase of political uncertainty..

Resuming border trade: Misplaced priority?

The report that India and Myanmar have discussed the importance of resuming border trade through roads and agreed to take steps on the same issue evokes mixed feelings. It was way back in 1994 that a formal border trade agreement was signed between India ..

Delhi decides who is named CM Farce of a reason for PR

Things have certainly moved fast since the evening of February 9. Or make that February 8. On February 8 evening the then Chief Minister N Biren Singh was summoned to Delhi and the next day he returned and submitted his resignation paper to Governor AK Bh..

President’s Rule has come ! Not a shocker at all

The Centre has not explicitly spelt out, but there have to be reasons why N Biren Singh was persuaded to put in his paper and Manipur wants that this should serve some purpose. Why was Biren Singh removed ? Is it because of the growing voice of dissent fr..

Patra, Bhalla : Men of the moment Betraying folks of Manipur

The man, correction men, of the moment are undoubtedly BJP North East in-charge Sambit Patra and Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla and for the fourth consecutive day, that is since the evening of February 9, the focus of everyone has been on the Raj Bhavan. It i..

Moving fast but to which direction Suspense over suspension

Moving at breakneck speed but no one knows towards which direction Manipur is galloping. Three days after N Biren put in his paper to Governor AK Bhalla and the same was accepted, no one seems to know who is likely to be named the next Chief Minister. Thi..

Resignation of CM sinking in Missed opportunities

How has Manipur taken to the resignation of N Biren Singh as the Chief Minister of Manipur ? The answer is perhaps best left to the people to whom this poser is raised, but equally interesting would be to study how the BJP as a political party in Manipur ..