Members of Arambai Tenggol came with the weapons in vehicles at the 1st Manipur Rifles camp in Imphal.
Credit: X/@ShahNawazKhanMM
Guwahati: In a significant step towards peace in strife-torn Manipur, Meitei radical group Arambai Tenggol accused of attacks on the Kukis and "dictating" the Meitei leaders, deposited 246 sophisticated weapons on Thursday, the last day of the deadline issued by Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla to deposit the illegal weapons.
This assumes importance given the fact that Arambai Tenggol had earlier claimed itself to be an unarmed organisation fighting for protection and promotion of identity and culture of the Meitei community.
Members of Arambai Tenggol, accompanied by Meira Paibis, the Meitei women vigilante group, which came with the weapons in vehicles at the 1st Manipur Rifles camp in Imphal and deposited the weapons on Thursday afternoon. Media was not allowed to enter the camp, where the weapons were deposited.
A statement issued by Manipur Police said a total of 307 weapons were surrendered in Manipur on Thursday that included 246 deposited by the Arambai Tenggol. It however, did not clarify how many of those were looted ones.
As nearly 4,000 weapons, which were looted allegedly by the Meiteis including the members of the Arambai Tenggol during the Meitei-Kuki clash in May 2023, remained missing, Governor Bhalla on February 21 served a deadline to voluntarily deposit the weapons within a week or face action. More than 6,000 weapons were looted from armories in the Valley in 2023.
Complying with the Governor's deadline, several weapons were deposited both in the Meitei-dominated Valley and the Kuki-dominated hill districts. But Arambai Tenggol was reluctant to follow the directive.
A four-member team of the Arambai Tenggol met Governor Bhalla on Tuesday at Raj Bhavan in which they put several conditions for surrender of their weapons. The conditions included rejection of the Kuki groups' demand for a "separate administration," abrogation of the Suspension of Operations agreements with the Kuki rebel groups, implementation of the NRC with 1951 as the cut-off to detect "illegal migrants", fencing the India-Myanmar border, besides others.
On Thursday, Arambai Tenggol leaders said the group decided to deposit the weapons following assurance by the Governor to address their grievances.
Arambai Tenggol
Arambai Tenggol was formed in 2020 as a cultural watchdog of the Meitei community, but the group members took to violence after the Meitei-Kuki conflict broke out.
Sources in a central security force told DH that the group has over 50,000 members across the Valley and enjoys strong influence in the Meitei society.
The group displayed their clout in January 2024, whey they "summoned" more than 40 Meitei MLAs, irrespective of party affiliations to the historic Kangla Fort at Imphal and "forced them" to sign resolutions seeking action against the Kukis.
Three MLAs, who reportedly refused to comply with the dikat, were reportedly thrashed by Arambai Tenggol members. Members of the group were also arrested with weapons in extortion and abduction cases, but the group has not yet been officially banned.
Response of the Kukis
Although Manipur police said that the voluntary surrender of the weapons would "significantly help" in promoting communal harmony and lawfulness in the state, two influential Kuki organisations on Thursday called the Arambai Tenggol's move as a "mere gesture."
"This accounts for only 5 per cent of the total 6,000 looted arms from the Imphal valley. This move is a strategic attempt to improve their public image, particularly after their meeting with the Governor. It is a tactical move to garner sympathy and legitimacy. The fact that this gesture follows their meeting with the Governor raises questions about the motivations behind this action," Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum and Committee for Tribal Unity, two Kuki Organisations, said in a joint statement on Thursday evening.
The group alleged that Arambai Tenggol was responsible for "ethnic cleansing" of the Kuki-Zos that involved killing of more than 230 people, displacement of over 40,000 others, burning of 7,000 houses and 360 places of worship.
Meitei organisations described the surrender as a "ray of hope" for restoration of peace in Manipur.
Police statement said no legal action would be initiated against those voluntarily depositing the weapons.