Army Chief Gen Dwivedi says Manipur situation has ‘significantly improved’ since President’s Rule

New Delhi: Chief of the Army Staff, General Upendra Dwivedi on Monday said that the situation in Manipur has undergone a major transformation, with a marked decline in violent incidents since early this year.

Speaking at the Chanakya Defence Conclave 2025, General Dwivedi said, “As far as Manipur is concerned, when the incidents happened in May 2023, they caused me deep personal pain, because I have worked in Manipur myself. It hurt me to see such a beautiful state, which felt like heaven to me, in such a condition.”

“But since President’s Rule was imposed in February 2025, what has changed is that people’s mutual trust, as well as their trust in the government, has started to improve. There has been significant improvement since then,” he added.

He referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit, recalling that the PM had described Manipur as a “gem of India”.

The Indian Army Chief said, “When PM Modi visited in September, that too helped change things on the ground. If the situation continues to improve, the President will also be visiting soon.”

Comparing the present situation with the peak of unrest, he added, “As far as the situation and the current level of violence are concerned, the standards of 2023 and today have completely changed. In 2023, the police were also troubled, and people were anxious.”

Highlighting operational gains, General Dwivedi said, “In 2023–24, we used to recover around 200 weapons per month; today, we are recovering nearly 400. The incidents have also come down. The changes will continue. I do believe that in the coming times, if the people from different communities come together and talk, then surely they will be able to come to an agreement.”

IANS