Mission Manipur - A Frontline Podcast

Frontline

Mission Manipur is a Frontline podcast that takes an in-depth look at the ongoing armed conflict in India's north-eastern State of Manipur.

  1. 11/29/2025

    Mission Manipur - Pi Hoichong | Episode 14

    The latest edition of Mission Manipur turns its attention away from official visits and political posturing to the lives of the women who continue to bear the weight of Manipur’s unending crisis. The episode travels through relief camps and resettlement sites of the Vaiphei tribe—one of the worst-hit communities in the hill districts—to understand what it means to remain uprooted for nearly three years. Their accounts reveal a landscape shaped not by state support but by fraying supplies, premature talk of dismantling camps, and a daily grind of uncertainty. Yet within this harsh terrain, listeners encounter vivid expressions of self-reliance and quiet determination, voiced by displaced women who refuse to let neglect define their futures. From the shrinking resources at Lanva camp to the church-funded resettlement efforts on Saron hills, these conversations expose the stark gap between official claims and the lived conditions of more than 60,000 people pushed out of their homes. The episode lingers on the story of Hoichong Vaiphei, a farmer who once grew ginger on her land in Kamuching and now transforms a tiny 200-square-foot shelter into a flourishing patchwork of plants. Her makeshift garden—with Roselle shrubs and crops coaxed out of clay-heavy soil—is representative of a form of defiance that stands in contrast to the state’s abdication of responsibility. Through these voices, the episode asks what survival looks like when institutions fail, and how communities carve out dignity and continuity in the face of abandonment. Credits: Reported and narrated by Greeshma Kuthar Edited by Abhijeet Parimi Team Frontline Saatvika Radhakrishna Siddarth M Mridula V Kavya Pradeep M Shruti Paliwal Produced by Frontline

    45 min
  2. Mission Manipur - Refugee | Episode 8

    04/29/2025

    Mission Manipur - Refugee | Episode 8

    In Episode 8 of Mission Manipur, Greeshma Kuthar delves into the use of the term "refugee" as a tool to incite hatred and division in the ongoing Manipur conflict. The episode highlights how the label "refugee" has been forced onto the Kuki-Zo community in Manipur which in turn has been weaponised by civil society organisations in Manipur, including former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh. The situation intensified after Myanmar's military coup in 2021, leading to an influx of Burmese refugees into Manipur. A campaign was constructed to target these refugees and their identity, which started from branding them as "illegal immigrants" to using them as fuel to exacerbate existing ethnic tensions between Meiteis and the Kuki-Zo. Kuthar underscores the precarious living conditions of the refugees, particularly in makeshift camps, and examines the broader implications of India’s refugee policy, especially in the north-eastern region. The episode questions why politicians use the plight of refugees to manipulate public opinion and ignite fear, pointing to the complex and often overlooked discussions surrounding refugee policies in this region. It also features insights from experts like Manoranjan Pegu and Angshuman Choudhury on the issue. While Pegu highlights the historical discomfort that has existed in the region when it comes to refugees and questions the idea of tribal solidarity, Choudhury draws stark parallels between the situation playing out in Manipur today with that of Assam (and its National Register of Citizens exercise) in the recent past, pointing at imagined anxieties, alarmist tendencies, and xenophobia towards refugees.

    1h 8m

About

Mission Manipur is a Frontline podcast that takes an in-depth look at the ongoing armed conflict in India's north-eastern State of Manipur.