Three months after violence broke out in Manipur, chief minister N Biren Singh used the occasion of Independence Day to make a fervent appeal for peace and a return to the path of development. He also blamed "forces from outside" for the ethnic violence in the state and said the war against drugs would continue. Over 180 people have lost their lives and more than 3,000 have been injured in the violence in Manipur, which began on May 3.