Rajya Sabha Approves Extension of President’s Rule in Manipur Till Feb 2026

Amid persistent ethnic unrest and a crippled administrative apparatus in Manipur, the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a Statutory Resolution extending President’s Rule in the state for another six months, effective from August 13, 2025. The move follows the Lok Sabha’s earlier approval on July 30 and marks a continued period of direct central governance in the violence-ravaged northeastern state.

The resolution—tabled by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai—was passed even as opposition MPs raised slogans in protest, highlighting what they allege is the Centre’s failure to bring normalcy to Manipur more than two years into the conflict. The official statement noted the “continuance in force of the Proclamation dated the 13th February, 2025, in respect of Manipur, issued under Article 356 of the Constitution… for a further period of six months.”

What Article 356 Implies for Manipur

Article 356, often referred to as "President's Rule," is invoked when a state government is deemed unable to function in accordance with constitutional provisions. The proclamation, as published in the Gazette of India, authorises the President to assume control of the state's governance through the Governor. Consequently, legislative powers of the Manipur Legislative Assembly now rest with Parliament. The extension suspends the democratic mechanisms of local governance and brings Manipur fully under central administration until further notice.

This latest extension comes in the wake of Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s resignation on February 13, 2025, amidst unrelenting violence and political deadlock. His resignation formally triggered the imposition of President’s Rule, with the Centre citing constitutional breakdown and security collapse in the state.

A Conflict Without Resolution

Manipur has been engulfed in violence since May 2023, when ethnic clashes erupted between the majority Meitei community—largely settled in the Imphal valley—and the tribal Kuki-Zomi groups residing in the surrounding hills. The tensions initially flared over the Meitei demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, which the hill tribes viewed as a threat to their land rights, affirmative action quotas, and socio-political autonomy.

The violence has since evolved into one of the country’s worst internal security crises in recent years, with a humanitarian fallout that includes:

• Over 60,000 people displaced from their homes

• More than 200 lives lost in ethnically targeted killings

• Large-scale destruction of homes, churches, temples, and community infrastructure

• A de facto ethnic partition, with Meiteis and Kukis no longer cohabiting in mixed areas

Repeated calls for peace from civil society, including women's groups and student bodies, have had limited success. Efforts to hold talks between the warring communities have stalled multiple times, and security forces—including the Assam Rifles and central paramilitary units—have struggled to contain the violence or build trust among local populations.

Political Vacuum and Administrative Paralysis

Following Biren Singh’s resignation, Manipur has effectively lacked an elected government for nearly six months. No consensus has emerged within the BJP-led coalition or the broader political spectrum on a viable leadership alternative. The ongoing extension of President’s Rule underscores the central government’s apparent reluctance—or inability—to facilitate a political resolution or conduct fresh Assembly elections in the current volatile climate.

The opposition has criticised this as a failure of democratic accountability. “Manipur has become a symbol of the Centre's apathy,” remarked an MP from the Indian National Congress during the Rajya Sabha debate. “Rather than restoring democracy, the government is prolonging a constitutional breakdown.”

The BJP, however, has defended the extension as a "necessary administrative step" given the fragile law and order situation. Union Minister Nityanand Rai reiterated the Centre’s commitment to restoring normalcy and said the situation was under "constant review."

Implications and the Road Ahead

The extension of President’s Rule raises serious questions about the future of governance in Manipur. While it provides the Centre with the tools to directly control the administration, it also suspends democratic processes, fuelling disenchantment among the citizenry. Civil society leaders, especially from the hill areas, have expressed fears that prolonged central rule may ignore grassroots grievances and embolden one community over another.

The larger concern remains whether the Centre has a long-term political roadmap for reconciliation and state-building. Simply extending President's Rule every six months does little to resolve the underlying ethnic fissures or to rebuild trust between communities.

Observers say what Manipur needs is a truth-and-reconciliation process, bolstered by transparent judicial probes, rehabilitation of displaced families, and a neutral interim administration that can prepare the ground for democratic elections. Without these, the state risks becoming a protracted internal conflict zone with irreversible damage to its social fabric.

For now, the Centre's message is clear: with the situation still deemed too volatile for electoral or political restoration, direct rule will continue—at least for another six months.

Also Read: Security Forces Nab 15 Militants in Manipur, Recover Major Weapons Cache