At first glance, the ethnic violence in Manipur that erupted in May 2023 appeared to be a tragic fallout of identity politics — a bitter clash between the Meitei and Kuki communities. But if you listen carefully, beneath the slogans, behind the burned homes and barricades, you’ll hear another, quieter war — a war against opium. And the Meiteis, often vilified, are standing on the front lines of it.

This isn’t just a tribal conflict. It’s a Dharma Yudh. And it’s time we saw it for what it truly is.

🔥 A Land Caught Between Fire and Smoke

Manipur, tucked between the green folds of Northeast India and the shadows of Myanmar’s drug routes, has always been a region of resilience. But since May 2023, it has also become a region of unrest. Over 250 people have died. More than 60,000 — including women and children — remain displaced, scattered across relief camps in difficult conditions.

What triggered the violence was a court order recommending Scheduled Tribe status for the Meitei community, which led to fears among Kukis of losing their tribal protections. But what escalated this tension to full-blown conflict wasn’t just identity.

It was territory, control, and most critically — opium.

🌿 The Dirty Secret: Opium Farming and Organized Crime

Let’s confront the elephant in the room.

Several Kuki-dominated hill districts, particularly Churachandpur, Tengnoupal, and parts of Kangpokpi, have witnessed a rise in illegal poppy cultivation. These aren’t small-time farmers growing herbs for medicine. This is a multi-crore narco economy, with direct links to insurgent groups and armed militias operating along the porous Myanmar border.

This opium trade:

• Funds cross-border gunrunning and narcotics.
• Fuels addiction among youth in the region.
• Destroys sacred forests and biodiversity.
• Undermines state law and Indian sovereignty.

And who stood against it?

The Meiteis.

Youth organizations from the valley, often unarmed, led multiple anti-drug campaigns, uprooted opium plantations, and demanded an end to this poisonous economy. In return, they were met with bullets, social media vilification, and political gaslighting.

⚖️ The Moral Stand: Meiteis as Protectors of Land and Future

In a world where silence is the norm, resistance becomes revolutionary.

The Meitei community’s resistance to illegal poppy cultivation is not just activism — it’s a spiritual and civilizational act. They are protecting:

• The next generation from falling into addiction.
• The forests and hills from irreversible ecological damage.
• The sanctity of Manipuri culture, which is built on clean living, classical arts, and unity.

By opposing narcotics, they are choosing slow, just transformation over fast, bloodstained money. And that makes them the true guardians of peace — not the ones brandishing weapons for territory.

🧨 But Why Did Violence Escalate?

Because the opium cartels — threatened by crackdown — struck back.

Insiders believe that the ethnic tensions were weaponized to protect the drug routes. Arms flowed in. Civilians were recruited. Riots became a cover for something much darker. And while the world debated identity and reservation, a narco-fueled shadow war brewed beneath the headlines.

AK-47s were found in civilian zones. Cross-border insurgent groups were reportedly involved. And all the while, innocent Meitei villagers, whose only crime was opposing drug farming, suffered.

🔁 What’s Happening Now: Peace Talks or a Pause?

By April 2025, the Indian government finally initiated tripartite peace talks in Delhi between Meitei and Kuki leaders. Kuki representatives came with three non-negotiable conditions:

• Movement restrictions for security forces.
• A six-month ceasefire.
• A guarantee of protection in contested zones.

Meanwhile, many Meitei civil organizations rejected the talks, calling them a PR exercise that ignored the drug cartel issue entirely. They demanded real justice, not optics.

And truthfully, they aren’t wrong.

🏛️ A Political Shift, But Is It Enough?

In February 2025, under mounting national pressure, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh resigned. A Meitei himself, Singh was accused of bias — but also of failing to act decisively against rising cartel power.

President’s Rule was imposed. Delhi took direct control. Peace talks were resumed. But in relief camps, none of this matters yet.

Because children still sleep without beds. Women still cook in communal tents. And youth stare at broken textbooks, wondering if school will ever feel safe again.

🌸 Why We Must Support the Meiteis — Loudly, Proudly, and Publicly

Let’s be clear:

• Not all Kukis are drug farmers.
• Not all Meiteis are saints.

But today, it is the Meitei community — especially its youth and cultural guardians — who are standing against a powerful and illegal drug empire that thrives on silence, fear, and fake victimhood narratives.

They are the ones who’ve said no to narcotics. They are the ones who’ve fought for clean soil and clean souls. And they are the ones being punished, vilified, and displaced for it.

This is a moral war, not just an ethnic one.

Final Thought

When a society chooses Dharma over wealth, it bleeds first — but it wins in the long arc of history.

The Meiteis have chosen Dharma. They have chosen to fight not just for land, but for purity of purpose. And India must stand with them.

Because if we don’t support the ones fighting opium today, we’ll be crying for our youth tomorrow.