PM talks of 10 times Manipur has been under President’s rule. A look at why and when

In his reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of the continuing Manipur conflict and said the BJP “has been making every effort to restore peace in the strife-torn Northeastern state”.

Noting that Manipur has had a “long history” of “social struggle”, the PM added: “Congress people should not forget that because of these reasons, President’s rule had to be imposed 10 times… There have to be some issues. And this has not happened in our tenure.”

Of the 10 times when President’s rule, or Article 356, has been invoked in Manipur, six were in the late 1960s and the 1970s, when the country was seeing a rise of political parties opposed to the Congress, and when there was political instability in Manipur. After a peaceful stint in the 1980s, Central rule returned, with the state remaining under Article 356 for nearly a year in the wake of bloody ethnic clashes.

Since 2001, Manipur has not seen a stint of President’s rule. However, since the Meitei vs Kuki tribal conflict began in the state 14 months ago, an officer deputed by the Centre has been the “security advisor” to the N Biren Singh-led BJP government, and was acknowledged by Union Home Minister Amit Shah as the chief of a Unified Command coordinating efforts of all security forces in an “unbiased” way.

October 25, 1967: The first time Article 356 was invoked in Manipur was against the backdrop of demands for a separate state. A Lok Sabha handbook on President’s rule notes that the Assembly had 32 seats. Longjam Thambou Singh of the United Front was the Chief Minister. A Member of the United Front moved to the Congress Party. This was followed by subsequent resignations of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker from