Massive tension gripped Imphal, the capital of violence-scarred Manipur, on Thursday afternoon when hundreds of protesters mobilised by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) marched towards Hapta Kangjeibung, the main venue of the upcoming Sangai Festival 2025, determined to enforce a complete boycott of the state-sponsored cultural extravaganza.

Carrying banners and raising thunderous slogans such as “We boycott Sangai Festival” and “Displaced lives matter,” the demonstrators attempted to storm the heavily guarded venue, denouncing the government’s decision to host a ten-day tourism event while over 60,000 people remain trapped in relief camps nearly two years after the ethnic clashes between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities erupted in May 2023.

Security forces, including Manipur Police and central paramilitary units, swiftly formed multiple cordons around the festival grounds and fired several rounds of tear gas shells to halt the advancing crowd. The air soon filled with choking smoke as protesters scattered, coughing and retreating, though some regrouped at nearby locations. Authorities detained a number of demonstrators for questioning, but no major injuries or hospitalisations were reported from the clash.

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The confrontation has laid bare the deepening rift between civil society organisations and the Governor A.K. Bhalla-led administration functioning under President’s Rule since February 2025. COCOMI and allied groups have accused the Centre of using the Sangai Festival as a propaganda tool to falsely project normalcy while systematically ignoring demands for resettlement, rehabilitation, and political resolution of the ethnic conflict. A dawn-to-dusk valley-wide bandh has already been enforced, with markets, schools, and transport remaining shut in solidarity.

The Sangai Festival, named after Manipur’s iconic brow-antlered deer and traditionally organised by the Tourism Department from November 21 to 30, was envisioned as a platform to showcase the state’s rich cultural heritage and revive tourism battered by prolonged unrest. However, displaced persons and valley-based organisations maintain that celebrating dance, music, and ethnic cuisine while thousands continue to live in makeshift camps constitutes an affront to human suffering. Despite the protests, the administration has vowed to conduct the festival under unprecedented security cover, insisting it will proceed as scheduled from November 21.

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