A video clip featuring a leading mixed martial arts player from Manipur making a “humble request” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “please” visit the state has once again put the spotlight on Modi not going to the northeastern state since the conflict began last May.

In the 0.43-second video that went viral on Monday, an emotional Chungreng Koren is seen making the appeal in his speech after winning the Interim MFN Bantamweight Championship at an MMA facility in Noida on March 9, a relative of the MMA player based in Imphal told The Telegraph.

Modi has not visited Manipur since the ethnic conflict erupted on May 3, 2023, leaving at least 221 dead and over 67,000 displaced.

Koren is heard saying in the video: “ I want to tell one thing. This is my humble request, Modiji... a message from my side. There is violence in Manipur, it is almost one year. Everyday people are dying. Relief camp inmates are not getting adequate khana-pina (food-water) and children are not being able to study properly.”

He adds: “We are worried about Manipur’s future. Modiji, please immediately visit Manipur once. Manipur wants peace jald se jald (immediately). Please.”

Though Koren could not be contacted, his relative said the 26-year-old hails from the Kamu Koireng village in Kangpokpi district on the border with Imphal East district. His widowed mother, wife, two sons and a daughter live in the village. Koren frequents them from his training base in Gurgaon.

Both districts have been the worst affected in the conflict. Koren belongs to the Koireng tribe. It is one of the 33 “officially recognised indigenous communities” of the state and has remained neutral in the conflict, his relative said.

“However, everybody is worried and concerned, irrespective of communities. The conflict has affected all of us and this should end soon. This could have been a reason why Koren must have made the emotional appeal, which has been welcomed by most. Though I spoke to him after his win on Saturday and Sunday, I also did not know about the video. I saw it today,” the relative said.

The Opposition Congress latched onto the video to have a go at Modi for not visiting Manipur. During his last visit to the Northeast on Saturday, Modi had dedicated projects worth Rs 3,500 crore for Manipur from Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh.

Congress MP from Assam, Gaurav Gogoi, posted Koren’s video on X and stated: “This
is not the voice of one man but that of the entire Northeast. Power, money and
drugs have turned the BJP blind to the plight of the people in Manipur.”