Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Imphal: The Centre has granted a seventh extension to the Commission of Inquiry investigating the 2023 Manipur ethnic violence. A government notification issued November 13 pushes the final reporting deadline to May 20, 2027. Time is ticking. The three-member panel now has nearly four years to conclude its work.
Former Supreme Court judge Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan currently leads the commission. He assumed charge on March 1 after the resignation of former Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Ajai Lamba, who stepped down February 28. The panel was originally formed on June 4, 2023, following the initial violence in May of that year. It faces a tall task.
The violence erupted on May 3, 2023, after a Tribal Solidarity March in the hill districts protested the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status. Sources report between 260 and 300 deaths from the conflict. Thousands remain displaced while the region faces deep social and geographical divides between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities.
The Gazette notification explicitly directs the panel to submit its findings to the Centre "as soon as possible but not later than May 20, 2027". The inquiry must evaluate the sequence of events, assess administrative responses, and investigate potential negligence by officials or organizations. It also examines the destruction of property and the factors that fueled the crisis. The commission was established on the recommendation of the Manipur government to determine if state measures to stop the bloodshed were adequate.
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