Manipur: An imposing gate opens to a small hillock dominated by a contingent of men in uniform — armed with sophisticated weapons and keeping a watch on their surroundings.
In one corner is a 30-year-old, busy cleaning his grenade machine gun, while his friends set up a game of carrom in the adjacent room.
This is no security headquarters, but a Suspension of Operation (SoO) camp where cadres of Kuki insurgents reside in Manipur’s Chellep.
The SoO pact was signed on 22 August, 2008, by Kuki militant groups with the central and state governments in light of the Kuki-Naga clashes in the 1990s.
According to this agreement, members of these insurgent groups were required to suspend their operation and stay within designated camps with their weapons securely stored in safe zones in a double-locking system.
The agreement stated that the inmates of these camps and the security forces would refrain from firing and launching operations against each other.
At the Chellep camp, a whistle for physical training wakes up cadres at 4 am. Once up, they have a routine to follow, with duties ranging from camp upkeep to kitchen work.
After completing essential work, they head to the games room for some recreation, where they play volleyball, carrom, chess, and attend group mass on Sundays.
The camp comprises seven barracks, where 19 weapons, including AKs, M16s, M15s, GMGs, and G3s, are accessible outside. Another 35 weapons, including carbines, two-inch mortars, and lethor, are securely locked. During elections, a voting machine is set up inside the camp, ensuring everyone’s participation.
Additionally, there’s a television set and smartphones that help them stay informed about events beyond the camp’s confines.
Although state police overseeing these SoO camps claim that they carry out routine checks to ensure a minimum 80 percent attendance and secure arms storage. There are, however, allegations of inmates violating camp rules.
Now, with the ongoing conflict in the state between the tribal Kukis and the dominant Meitei community — which has reportedly resulted in over 200 fatalities and displaced more than 50,000 people — the Biren Singh-led state government has accused the inmates of such camps of “contributing to the escalation of violence”, a claim they deny.
Through this series of photographs, ThePrint’s national photo editor Praveen Jain offers a glimpse into what a day at the SoO camp in Manipur’s Chellep looks like.
