Now Manipur Police up in arms against Arambai Tenggol: What is the radical Meitei group?

It added that “with Manipur police being targeted, the need for calling in Army and Other Central Forces will have to be enhanced”.

This was a rare instance of pushback against the organisation, which shot to prominence after the violence between the Meitei and Kuki groups began last May. In January, more than 30 MLAs across party lines, as well as Minister of State for External Affairs and Inner Manipur Lok Sabha MP Rajkumar Ranjan Singh and Rajya Sabha MP Leishemba Sanajaoba, had gathered for a meeting in Imphal upon “summons” from Arambai Tenggol.

Chief Minister N Biren Singh was among those who later signed a document containing demands of the group.

Subsequently, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh claimed that the party’s legislators had been attacked at the meeting.

The organisation

Formed as a socio-cultural outfit in 2020, the Arambai Tenggol has come to prominence since the Meitei-Kuki conflict began in Manipur nine months ago, garnering public support and administrative clout. The group derives its name — which roughly translates to “spear wielders” — from the ancient war tactics of the Meitei warriors.

While it has an armed cadre strength of around 2,000, the outfit is supported by several thousand volunteers across the Valley.

Soon after the violence broke out in the state last May, members of the group were seen to be at the forefront of the clashes with Kukis, and were accused of looting arms from State armouries and defending Meitei villages against Kuki attacks. Multiple FIRs registered by the Manipur Police during the initial days of the violence in the state named Arambai Tenggol.

Kuki groups claim that Tenggol fighters have led mobs that torched their villages and killed their people, while the Manipur Police remained a mute spectator. The group’s cadre are also suspected to be involved in the recent clashes with Kuki militants in Moreh.

In an environment of a near-institutional collapse in Manipur, along with a complete separation of Meitei and Kuki populations and a general lack of trust on the fairness of police and security forces, a lot of radical and militant organisations have become operational on either side of the ethnic divide. Sources in the security establishment say that Tenggol and its newfound clout are a product of this.

The group also carries a political shadow. In a social media post in August 2022, the group claimed to have met Biren Singh. A picture of the meeting showed Biren Singh and Sanajaoba sitting with Khuman and other members of the Arambai Tenggol.

A Facebook post in September that year by Sanajaoba, who is also the titular king of Manipur, showed Tenggol members taking “oath” at his residence.

Tenggol members typically wear black T-shirts with a red coloured picture of Meitei cavalry on the back. They also hoist Salai Taret flags which have seven colours; each represents a clan of the Meiteis.

Security establishment sources say that leaders of the group often invoke ancient Meitei culture and the historical Meitei kingdom of Kangleipak as well as use nationalistic rhetoric and talk about the protection of the Sanamahism religion.

“By putting themselves at the forefront of violence against the Kukis and defending villages against Kuki attacks, the group has garnered tremendous public support in the Valley. It has sophisticated arms, mostly looted from police armouries, and enjoys some sympathy in the Manipur Police constabulary. At a time when the credibility of Manipur politicians is rather low, the group has gained clout. Everyone, including political leaders, want to associate with it,” said a Manipur official.

Sources had said the security establishment too is wary of taking any action against the group, or even against the Kuki militant groups, given the support they enjoy at the moment in their respective areas of influence.

In May last year, when it began making headlines in context of the violence in the state, the Arambai Tenggol group had announced its dissolution. Security establishment sources, however, say it merely made a pretence of going underground.

Not much is known about the background of its chief, Khuman, barring that he comes from a humble background and worked as a government contractor before starting the group. He often puts his pictures on social media wearing a bullet-proof vest and carrying sophisticated guns.