More endorse call to boycott Sangai Fest
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, September 29 2026: Two more organisations have come out strongly against the State Government's alleged plan to organise the Manipur Sangai Festival this November amid violence and heightened tension between communities.

The All Manipur Youth Protection Committee (AMYPCO) and the League of Indigenous People's Upliftment (LIPUL), in separate statements, said that they will boycott the festival.

LIPUL said it endorses COCOMI's boycott call, and encouraged people to take a similar stand they took the previous year and abstain from attending the festival.

Notably, several organisations including the Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) had boycotted the Manipur Sangai Festival organised in 2025 during the President's Rule administration.

Disrupted by the violent conflict that broke out in May 2023, the festival had made a comeback in 2025 .

Organised amid strong opposition from different sections, the 2025 festival had failed to attract visitors as usual.

With negligible footfall, many stalls and venues were empty, and a grand "Children's Disneyland" arena which was installed with great expectation was pulled down hardly 2 days after the festival began.

Meanwhile, LIPUL said the State Government must not organise the Sangai Festival amid the unrest in the State when thousands of internally displaced people are still languishing in relief camps.

The All Manipur Youth Protection Committee (AMYPCO) too raised similar concern, and stated that the situation in Manipur is not conducive for hosting the Sangai Festival.

Even when the conflict born out of the onslaught of the Chin-Kuki narco-terrorists on Meiteis has not been addressed, another conflict has erupted in the hills where indigenous communities are being targeted and killed.

The State Government organising the festival amid such circumstances would mean subduing the indigenous peoples, AMYPCO said.

It urged the Government against organising the festival.

The Manipur Sangai Festival is a 10-day tourism event organised annually from November 21 to 30 .

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