RETURN OF MILITANCY

In the Manipur of today, ethnically riven as it is between two warring communities—the Meiteis and the Kukis—facts have become stranger than fiction.

- Kaushik Deka

On January 24, a Meitei vigilante group calling itself Arambai Tenggol (roughly translated as dart-wielding cavalry) summoned 37 Meitei legislators, including Chief Minister N. Biren Singh and two MPs, to Kangla Fort—once the seat of power of the ancient Meitei kingdom. The group, which boasts a strength of 60,000 volunteers, wanted all these legislators—across party lines—pledging their commitment towards Manipur and Meitei causes.

While Biren Singh did not respond to the call, 25 MLAs from the BJP, five from the Congress, four from the National People’s Party, two from the Janata Dal (United) and one independent, besides the two MPs, turned up at the fort’s gate, which was manned

While Biren Singh did not respond to the call, 25 MLAs from the BJP, five from the Congress, four from the National People's Party, two from the Janata Dal (United) and one independent, besides the two MPs, turned up at the fort's gate, which was manned not by security personnel but by armed members of the Arambai Tenggol. Earlier that morning, young men in military fatigues and some brandishing arms, rode into the fort in open-top Gypsies.

The Arambai Tenggol volunteers made the MLAs leave behind their security staff before entering the fort.

Inside the fort, the legislators signed a pledge that included Arambai Tenggol's key demands, including abrogation of the Suspension of Operations (SOO) agreement with Kuki militants, deportation of Myanmarese refugees to Mizoram, implementation of a National Register of Citizens with 1951 as the base year, erecting a fence along the Myanmar border, and removal of Kuki immigrants from the Scheduled Tribe list. Biren Singh, too, signed it later.

However, something more sinister seems to have happened inside the fort, as Congress communication head.