Manipur solution isn’t in politics. Meiteis, Zo Kukis, Tangkhul Nagas vie for political power

The Supreme Court’s delimitation order for Manipur and other Northeast states risks deepening ethnic fault lines in a volatile region.

Security personnel deployed in Imphal | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

Until the announcement of the Donald Trump-brokered ceasefire on Saturday evening, India’s attention was focused on Operation Sindoor, the stoppage of Indus waters to Pakistan, and the highly contentious announcement regarding the caste census. In a sudden turnaround, this was accepted by the BJP-led NDA cabinet within days of the Pahalgam attack.

A few inches of column space in New Delhi–datelined newspapers were also devoted to the extraordinary deployment of the Punjab Police in the Bhakra Nangal Dam area, reportedly to arrest the flow of waters to Haryana.

Lost in all this tumult was another significant decision—this time concerning Manipur. On 17 March 2025, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and Joymalya Bagchi, directed the Union of India to carry out the delimitation exercise in the northeastern states of Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Assam within three months.

This direction was issued in response to a writ petition filed by the Delimitation Demand Committee representing these four states. By the time this column goes to print, half of the stipulated period will have elapsed—and there are still no signs of ground-level preparations, at least in Manipur, where the issue is most contentious. The fact that the state is under President’s Rule and the law-and-order situation is extremely tense could well serve as an alibi to buy more time—but the question is, for how long? More importantly, is there any light at the end of this very dark tunnel?

The redrawing of constituencies 

Let’s consider the background of the case. The Delimitation Act of 2002 and the Delimitation (Amendment) Act of 2003 established the procedure for redrawing the boundaries of legislative assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies. Accordingly, a Delimitation Commission was constituted, chaired by Justice Kuldip Singh (a retired Supreme Court judge), with BB Tandon, an Election Commissioner, nominated by the Chief Election Commissioner, and the State Election Commissioner of the concerned states or Union Territories as ex officio members.

While the delimitation exercise was completed in most parts of the country, five states were exempted: Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Manipur. J&K’s exemption was due to its special status under Article 370, which meant Article 170 (relating to delimitation) did not fully apply. The last delimitation exercise in J&K was conducted in 1995 based on the 1981 census. Furthermore, the J&K Assembly passed a law in 2001 to suspend delimitation until after the 2026 census.

The remaining four northeastern states were exempted under Section 10A of the Delimitation Act, 2002, which allowed the President to defer delimitation if it appeared that the unity and integrity of the country were under threat or if there was a serious risk to public order.

It is important to note that redrawing constituencies does not mean increasing or decreasing the total number of seats. That count was frozen by the 42nd Amendment (1976) and the 84th Amendment (2001), under the premierships of Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee respectively. Section 4 of the Delimitation Act, 2002 clearly states: “the division of each State into territorial constituencies for the purpose of elections to the House of the People and to the State Legislative Assembly on the basis of the census figures as ascertained at the census held in 2001.”

However, even this redrawing—based on shifts in elector populations and the reorganisation of district or tehsil boundaries—opened a Pandora’s box, especially in states with fragile demographic balances spread across complex geographies.

Examples from Uttarakhand, West Bengal, and Punjab

This columnist was a Secretary to the Government of Uttarakhand when the Delimitation Commission’s report significantly altered the political balance between the hill districts and the plains—namely, Dehradun, Haridwar, and Udham Singh Nagar. In the first elections to the Uttaranchal Assembly (as Uttarakhand was known until 1 January 2007), held in March/April 2002, there were 42 seats from the hills and 28 from the plains. By 2007, this changed to 36 and 34 respectively, nearly equalising representation and causing major disaffection in the hill regions.

Delimitation also involves redistricting. The author witnessed firsthand how ruling parties—CPM in West Bengal, Akali Dal and BJP in Punjab, and the Congress in Uttarakhand—manipulated tehsil and municipal boundaries to preserve dominance or weaken the opposition. Though unethical, these moves were legally permissible.

The author’s home constituency of Kapurthala, which for decades had been part of the Jalandhar parliamentary seat (traditionally a Congress stronghold), was shifted to Khadur Sahib, favouring the then-ruling Akali Dal. Kapurthala and its subdivision Phagwara have always been part of the Doab—the region between the Sutlej and Beas—whereas Khadur Sahib belongs firmly to Majha, beyond the Beass

The Presidential Order of 2008

While such disruptions were widespread, the northeast saw an avalanche. The foundational document for delimitation—the 2001 Census—was itself called into question. The Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee approached the Guwahati High Court to stop the process, citing discrepancies in census data, particularly in three sub-divisions of Senapati district (Mao-Maram, Pao Mata, and Purul), which had allegedly grown over 120% between 1991 and 2001.

The court ordered a household demographic survey—which remains incomplete. Meanwhile, the BJP also intervened, arguing that delimitation should await the completion of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and Manipur.

Manipur’s longest-serving Chief Minister, Okram Ibobi Singh (Congress), wanted to approach the Supreme Court but was advised by jurist Ram Jethmalani to seek a legislative amendment instead. It is reliably learned that both the forwarding letter and the draft amendment were prepared in Jethmalani’s office.

Under UPA-1, with Shivraj Patil as Home Minister and Pratibha Patil as President, the Delimitation Act was amended in January 2008. This allowed the President to defer delimitation in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, and Nagaland. On February 8, 2008, the President issued an order indefinitely deferring delimitation based on the 2001 Census, citing risks to the “delicate social equilibrium” in Manipur that could “cause alienation among different ethnic groups.” The order further noted that delimitation could trigger “ethnic clashes” and “large-scale violence,” including threats to “sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.”

President Kovind’s decision

This deferment remained in effect until February 2020, when President Ram Nath Kovind rescinded the order, paving the way for delimitation in all five states. By then, Article 370 had been revoked, and the law-and-order situation had improved considerably in the Northeast.

However, the current phase of violence in Manipur began on 3 May 2023, after the high court directed the state government to consider granting Scheduled Tribe status to the Meiteis. This alarmed the Kuki-Zo highlanders, who feared losing their share of affirmative action benefits.

A search for solutions

Needless to say, all three major ethnic groups in Manipur—the Meiteis, the Tangkhul Nagas, and the Zo Kukis—are caught in a contest for political power. Perhaps the way forward lies in the realms of culture, sports, entrepreneurship, and scholarship—looking ahead to a shared future rather than a fractured past.

In that spirit, the upcoming Shirui Lily Festival (20-24 May) offers a glimmer of hope for conciliation. After all, not every solution lies within the domain of politics.

This is the first article in a two-part series on the Manipur crisis. 

Sanjeev Chopra is a former IAS officer and Festival Director of Valley of Words. Until recently, he was director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration. He tweets @ChopraSanjeev. Views are personal.

(Edited by Prashant)