Civilians pick up arms to man Manipur's 'bunkers'

They call it Tiger Camp.

- Utpal Parashar

One-and-a-half hours away from the town of Churachandpur, winding up a lush green hill, is a narrow gravel road. Travel up it, and a clearing emerges, dotted with makeshift structures to keep away the sun and the rain, made of plastic sheets, locally sourced bamboo and wood. Inside, between 50 and 60 Kuki men take turns looking out into the distance with powerful binoculars from their bunkers, rifles hung across their shoulders. Some rifles point out into the distance, as the men stare out into the undulating distance from where one can see villages of three different districts, Kangpokpi, Chandel and Kakching. In their field of vision, and also the primary focus of their surveillance are similar bunkers built by the Meiteis, that in turn, keep an eye on them. This is Manipur, in the middle of what is close to civil war; where citizens, that had normal workaday lives, have turned "village defence volunteers", guarding their villages with weapons in hand, unsure of people that they once called neighbours.

Take for instance, 40-year-old Orlando in olive green military fatigues, who only wants to be identified by his first name, and is one of the men with a rifle in hand. Until five months ago, Orlando lived in Mumbai, a village success story. For more than two decades, he built a career as a social worker, spending time in Delhi, even a year in Germany. Earlier this year, he returned home after he was separated from his wife. "I left Manipur when I was 17. But I decided to return to my village after we got separated because I wanted my 13-year-old son to get a chance to learn his mother tongue," he says.