Ensure dignity, way back for Manipur’s displaced

Earlier this month, the Manipur government told the state Assembly that the number of IDPs in relief camps and temporary locations had come down to 28,899, from nearly 60,000 at the peak of the violence.

2 min readSep 19, 2026 06:40 AM IST First published on: Sep 19, 2026 at 06:40 AM IST

The Supreme Court’s expression of shock over reports of deaths, including unnatural ones, in relief camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Manipur should be an eye-opener for the Centre and the state government. It raises the larger question about what prolonged stays in these camps do to people, who have nowhere else to go. The IDPs remain trapped in a crisis that has been intractable for over three years. Continued displacement deepens vulnerabilities that extend beyond the loss of a home, particularly in access to healthcare.

Manipur’s healthcare system is heavily concentrated in Imphal. The state’s two tertiary government hospitals — the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences and the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences — are located in the capital. Once the violence-induced ethnic segregation set in, Kuki-Zo people from the hills could no longer travel to the Valley for treatment. Healthcare facilities in the hills lack specialists and essential equipment. An August 2023 report in this newspaper revealed that some patients had to seek healthcare outside Manipur — the closest destination being Aizawl, a journey of over 12 hours by road. Persistent blockades have compounded the crisis, affecting not only patients trying to reach hospitals but also the movement of medicines and medical personnel. By all accounts, the food provided in many camps is nutritionally deficient.

What was meant to be a temporary refuge has left thousands of people dependent on an inadequate and fragile healthcare system. Earlier this month, the Manipur government told the state Assembly that the number of IDPs in relief camps and temporary locations had come down to 28,899, from nearly 60,000 at the peak of the violence. More needs to be done. For those still living in the camps, the state must ensure adequately staffed medical facilities at or near the camps, along with supplies of medicines and other essential services. Without a durable solution to the Meitei-Kuki conflict — which has increasingly acquired a Naga-Kuki dimension as well — the conditions for a safe and sustainable rehabilitation will remain elusive. Dialogue and confidence-building measures must pave the way for a political settlement that ends the violence and allows displaced people to rebuild their lives with security and dignity.