India, June 11 -- The northeastern state of Manipur is once again burning. A state already scarred by the Meitei-Kuki clashes since May 3, 2023, has now seen a return of Naga-Kuki violence, not seen since the 1990s when the two groups battled over a homeland of their own. Despite the end of President's Rule and the emergence of a new political leadership drawn from the state's principal communities, normalcy remains elusive, and the atmosphere remains vitiated enough for low-level friction to reopen old wounds that had never healed.

On June 9, 2026, after several rounds of talks and intervention by the intelligence bureau, church and civil society leaders, Naga groups released 14 Kuki men after 27 days in captivity. But the discovery of ...