Manipur’s mental health crisis, a year after violence

On 3 May last year Esther Haokip, a 23 year old Kuki student, was inside her hostel when a violent mob attacked her university in Manipur, northeast India. She recalls that a mob of 40 men climbed the walls and entered the hostel premises, set vehicles on fire, and even pelted stones at windows before breaking down the main gate. Haokip, who currently lives with her relatives in Delhi, said that the girls in her hostel started hiding in groups in bathrooms as they heard the mob breaking the doors of their rooms.

“Initially I thought that it hadn’t affected me,” she says. “But as time goes by it becomes more difficult to cope. I find myself having multiple breakdowns. I get scared when I hear people shouting.”

It’s been one year since ethnic clashes erupted in the Indian state of Manipur—the start of a murderous civil war between the Meitei and Kuki communities that has engulfed the northeastern state, leaving at least 227 people dead and around 70 000 displaced. Thousands of people from both communities continue to languish in relief camps throughout the state: Manipur has at least 350 camps.

The violence in the region has left women and children struggling to cope with psychological trauma, including depression, sleeplessness, panic attacks, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The six decade long conflict in Manipur had already significantly affected the mental health of the region’s population, a 2020 study having estimated a 20% prevalence of mental health problems in adults before the most recent outbreak of violence.1 This figure is notably higher than the national average of 10.6%.