New Delhi [India], November 17 : Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi expressed on Monday that the security situation in Manipur, which has been going through violence for over two years, is improving with "rays of hope, and enthusiasm" coming back to the state and people putting their trust in the government and each other again.
According to the COAS, President Droupadi Murmu "might visit Manipur in the coming days" due to the improving security situation following the imposition of President's rule. Earlier in September, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited Manipur, interacting with displaced people and visiting other northeastern states.
"The days of hope and enthusiasm are coming back. In September too our Prime Minister visited the state, and called it a 'ratna' of India. With these talks happening, there is a hope coming back to the people. If everything goes well, the President might visit Manipur in the coming days," COAS General Dwivedi said while addressing the curtain raiser event of the Chanakya Defence Dialogues in New Delhi.
The Chanakya Defence Dialogues is a flagship international seminar organised by the Indian Army with the aim of bringing together policymakers, strategic thinkers, academia, defence personnel, veterans, scientists, and subject matter experts from India and abroad to examine India's strategic directions and developmental priorities.
Talking about the violence which broke out in May 2023, he said that the situation has improved a lot since imposition of president's rule in February 2025.
"When it comes to Manipur, the incidents which happened on May 2023 is known to everyone. I also felt really pained by that because I have also worked in Manipur so that is why I was also sad to see such a beautiful state is in such a bad state. But since February 2025 when President's rule was imposed, till then we can see that there is more trust among the people and on the government," he said.
As proof of normalcy slowly returning to the state, the COAS highlighted how large gatherings are being organised, including the annual Shirui Lily festival and the Durand cup which saw huge crowds come in. Similarly, the security forces have been able to clamp down on violent elements, with police forces managing to ramp up arrests and seizures of looted weapons.
According to the COAS, in 2023, officials arrested only 28 people during the start of the violence in 2023, but currently they have arrested 88 people, showing the increasing effectiveness of investigative agencies. Similarly, in 2023 around 200 tonnes of weapons and ammo was seized every month, currently the forces recover around 400 tonnes per month.
"Today if we see many changes have come, like the Shirui Lily festival which was celebrated in the state, everyone participated in that. Then the Durand Cup, there the crowd was such that it was difficult to control. Even the DGP was busy with crowd control instead of watching the match.
On arrests and seizures of looted weapons, he added, "regarding violence, it has been quite different than before, the police were also troubled, and people were worried too. Before we could arrest only 28 people before, nowadays the arrests are 88. With the looting of weapons which happened, in 2023-24, we used to recover around 200 tonnes of weapons every month, in today's date it has come up to 400 tonnes."
Violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, over two years ago. Following which, in February 2025, President Droupadi Murmu imposed President's rule in Manipur after receiving a report from the state governor days after N Biren Singh's resignation from the Chief Minister post amid violence and political instability.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the state, while on a multi-state visit across northeast on September 13. While in Imphal, he inaugurated multiple development projects worth Rs 1,200 crore.
He also emphasised the need to build a strong bridge between the people of hills and valleys in Manipur during his visit to Imphal, stressing that any kind of violence in Manipur is unfortunate and a great injustice to ancestors and future generations, urging unity for peace and development.
The COAS interacted with locals, urging them to shun violence and work towards restoring peace in the state. He stated that a new dawn of "hope and confidence" is emerging in the northeastern state.