New Delhi: A full 864 days after ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the strife-torn state on Saturday, September 13.Modi is slated to visit Imphal and Churachandpur, according to a release by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) which laid speculation of his visit to rest by announcing his itinerary on Friday.In the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur, Modi will lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth over Rs 7,300 crore at around 12:30 PM and address a public gathering. Then he will move to Imphal where he is slated to inaugurate various projects worth over Rs 1,200 crore in Meitei-dominant Imphal at around 2:30 PM and address a public function. Modi will also interact with internally-displaced people.Since the violence first broke out in May 2023, over 200 people have died while more than 60,000 people have been displaced, who are now living in relief camps. Since then, the north eastern state has been virtually divided into two, with people in the Meiteis of the valley not being allowed into the Kuki-dominant hill areas and vice versa.Manipur chief secretary Puneet Kumar Goyal, while announcing Modi’s visit on Friday, said that it will “pave the way for peace, normalcy, and accelerate growth in the state.”“The state government appreciates the efforts of the people of Manipur, both in the hills and the valley, for successfully moving forward to restore peace and normalcy in the state,” Goyal said in a press conference. “Manipur is not just a border state, but a central pillar of India’s Act East policy, a gateway to South-East Asia, and a proud guardian of India’s diversity. Peace is not only the absence of violence but the presence of trust, harmony and reconciliation. The visit of the Prime Minister will pave the way for peace, normalcy, and accelerate growth in the state,” he added.Modi’s visit comes with significant challenges, with the United Naga Council (UNC) imposing an indefinite “trade embargo” on key highways, and an umbrella body of Meitei insurgent groups calling for a “total shutdown” on the day of his visit, September 13. On September 4, ahead of the announcement of Modi’s visit, the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement between the Union government, the Manipur government and Kuki-armed groups was formally extended after months of uncertainty. The pact says negotiations will be pursued for a political settlement, which Kuki groups interpret as recognition of their demand for a separate administration.However, groups who signed the pact have said that the PIB, the government’s official information arm, has spun information of the official agreement which has seriously upset Kuki-Zo sentiment ahead of Modi’s visit to Churachandpur.How Modi has kept away from Manipur over two yearsWhile there have been several demands for the prime minister to visit the state since violence broke out, Modi has kept away even as activists and opposition delegations have visited the state. Modi, who is known to campaign extensively across the country during elections, avoided campaigning in the state during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The first time that Modi spoke about the violence in the state was on July 20, 2023, over 70 days after violence started, and a day after a video went viral on social media showing two Kuki women being paraded naked in Kangpokpi on May 4 that year. In his speech outside parliament, however, Modi had then made a deliberate attempt not to single out Manipur – where the BJP was then in power – and included then-Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan as well for states where the governments must take action against perpetrators of violence against women.It was a month later, in August, that Modi broke his silence on the violence in Manipur in parliament for the first time, after a no-confidence motion was moved against his government. However, in his speech that lasted around 2 hours 20 mins, Modi spoke about the violence-hit state for barely 10 minutes, even though the goal of the no-confidence motion, according to the opposition, was to make him speak on the issue.Ahead of the elections, Modi claimed that “timely intervention” by his government “improved the situation” in Manipur. The Wire has reported on how his claims rang hollow, with later even the elections in the small state being carried out in two phases.Diminished in size in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, in July that year, in the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, Modi addressed the violence-torn state in the Rajya Sabha. This, a day after sloganeering by the opposition throughout his speech in the lower house demanding justice for the northeastern state.Almost two years since violence first started, President’s Rule was imposed in February 2025 when N. Biren Singh stepped down as chief minister. However, it was only in April, after two back-to-back midnight sessions, that parliament passed the statutory resolution on the proclamation of Union government rule in Manipur. President’s Rule was extended in the monsoon session of parliament last month. While in the Lok Sabha minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai said on July 30 that there are no law and order issues in the northeastern state, violence and curfews have continued.While Modi has kept away from the strife torn state, his government has repeatedly defended him for doing so inside parliament, while listing series of comparisons with opposition ruled states and incidents of violence in Manipur under previous governments.