Imphal: Among the nine “Meitei extremist organisations” banned by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) are some of the oldest and most powerful insurgent outfits in Manipur, cadres of which have reportedly returned to the state in midst of the ongoing ethnic conflict.
Though some of these outfits have seen splits in the past, their objective largely remains the same: a sovereign state of Manipur. According to the MHA, the “professed aim” of these outfits is the “establishment of an independent nation by secession of Manipur from India through armed struggle, and to incite indigenous people of Manipur for such secession.”
The MHA in a gazette notification dated 13 November 2023 extended the ban on the nine Meitei outfits, stating that they had been engaging in activities “prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India.”
The notification went further to add that if not immediately controlled, the outfits could ‘indulge in killings of civilians and targeting police and security personnel, procurement and induction of illegal arms and ammunition from across the international border, and extortion and collection huge funds from the public for their unlawful activities’.
The proscribed outfits under UAPA are: the Peoples’ Liberation Army generally known as PLA, and its political wing, the Revolutionary Peoples’ Front (RPF); the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and its armed wing, the Manipur People’s Army (MPA); the Peoples’ Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and its armed wing, the ‘Red Army’; the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) and its armed wing, also called the ‘Red Army’; the Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL); Co-ordination Committee (CorCom) and the Alliance for Socialist Unity Kangleipak (ASUK).
The MHA notification, a security analyst told ThePrint, can either be termed a “precautionary measure” given the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur or a “balancing act” to bring Meitei insurgents to the negotiating table — similar to the approach the central government took when dealing with armed Kuki groups.
“It could also be a balancing act on the part of the central government, as it is currently engaged in talks with the Kuki insurgent groups that have signed a Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with the government in 2008. The time period of five years could be significant for inking similar agreements with Meitei insurgent groups,” said the security analyst, who did not want to be named.
The extension of the ban comes in the wake of ethnic violence in Manipur, between the Meiteis and the Kukis, which has left hundreds dead and tens of thousands displaced. According to intelligence sources, the state is also witnessing an uptick in recruitment across all insurgent camps in the hills and the valley.
Also Read: Two of four Kukis snatched from Bolero in police presence found dead with bullet injuries, lesions
Imposed prohibition: PLA & RPF
The Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF) is the political wing of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which was formed in 1978 to “liberate” Manipur. It is also among the active separatist insurgent groups in the Northeast that continue to reject the government’s offer of peace talks.
The RPF, established a year after the PLA was formed, runs a government-in-exile in Bangladesh.
One of the most elusive guerrilla leaders in the Northeast, Irengbam Chaoren — president of the RPF at the time of his death in February this year — believed it was “not possible to achieve freedom through peace talks”. Though it has not been ascertained where Chaoren breathed his last, security analysts told ThePrint that he could have spent his final days in Mandalay, Myanmar. Some RPF leaders also operate from Myanmar, said analysts, adding that though it is a Meitei outfit, the PLA claims itself to be a ‘trans-tribal organisation’.
Members of the PLA/RPF have pledged to take up arms for the sovereignty of Manipur and claim to represent all communities, including Meiteis, Nagas and Kuki-Chins. The RPF/PLA is also one of the few insurgent groups in the state that have not splintered into factions.
With an estimated strength of nearly 2,000 cadres, the PLA/RPF is counted among the largest active insurgent groups in the Northeast.
Not long after the establishment of the RPF, the region witnessed a spurt of insurgency. In September of 1980, the Manipur government declared the entire valley a disturbed area, and imposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958.
The RPF, PREPAK and KCP were declared unlawful organisations on 26 October 1981.
In 1990, the PLA/RPF announced a ban on the sale of liquor in the state. Besides enforcing total prohibition and gunning down rape accused, their cadres also launched a vigorous drive against drug peddlers.
According to security analysts, the outfit maintains alliances with other insurgent groups active in West Southeast Asia (WESEA) including UNLF, PREPAK, National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang (NSCN-K), United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) and the Myanmar-based Kachin Independence Army (KIA). In underground parlance, WESEA includes Northeast India, Bhutan, North Bengal and Myanmar.
Data collected by ICM shows that 21 PLA cadres were arrested in connection with 14 incidents till 11 November this year.
Wants expulsion of ‘outsiders’: PREPAK
The People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) is a Manipur-based armed insurgent group formed on 9 October 1977 under the leadership of R.K. Tulachandra. Its demands include an independent homeland and the expulsion of ‘outsiders’ from the state.
The outfit became dormant after Tulachandra was killed in an encounter with security forces in 1986. Following his death, S. Wanglen became the outfit’s ‘commander-in-chief’.
The PREPAK has gone through many splits since. In May 2011, PREPAK’s ‘assistant secretary’ (publicity) and propaganda in-charge ‘Major’ N. Sunil declared at a press meet in a hill district that the outfit had been rechristened as PREPAK (Progressive).
While stating that this would not amount to any change in the PREPAK emblem or foundation day, Sunil also declared that PREPAK (Pro) will remain committed to the ‘struggle for independence’, adding that the rebranding was done as per the wishes of the public to present a united front of all Manipur-based revolutionaries.
At present, PREPAK (Pro) is led by its ‘chairman’ Longjam Paliba M.
In 2001, the outfit had rejected then chief minister Radhabinod Koijam’s offer of a ceasefire and has since ruled out any talks with the Government of India unless the ‘independence’ of Manipur is included in the agenda.
Camps in Myanmar: UNLF
The oldest known Meitei insurgent group in Manipur, the UNLF was formed under the leadership of Arambam Samarendra on 24 November to establish an ‘independent, sovereign Manipur’. It is among the biggest separatist outfits active in the Northeast with several camps in Myanmar’s Sagaing Region as well as in parts of Bangladesh.
Its leader Arambam Samarendra was killed by unidentified militants in Imphal on 10 June 2001.
In the seventies and eighties, the UNLF concentrated mainly on mobilisation and recruitment. And in 1990, it launched an armed struggle for the ‘liberation’ of Manipur from India. That same year, it formed an armed wing called Manipur People’s Army (MPA).
The UNLF witnessed a formal split in the mid-1990s when N. Oken — trusted lieutenant of the outfit’s then ‘general secretary’ Raj Kumar Meghen — broke away and formed the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL). The PREPAK later brokered peace between the two.
Meghen alias Sanayaima, a scion of the Manipuri royal family, later took over as ‘chairman’ of the UNLF.
After Meghen was apprehended in Bangladesh in 2010 and handed over to India, Khundongbam Pambei assumed the role of ‘chairman’.
In 2021, the outfit split into two: one faction answerable to the outfit’s central committee and the other led by Pambei.
Insurgency-related deaths at 10-year high
ThePrint had reported earlier on how the conflict in Manipur has triggered a spate of organised clashes between armed insurgent groups, divided along ethnic lines.
According to data from the Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management (ICM), published on the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), deaths attributable to insurgency are at a 10-year high in the state.
As of 11 November 2023, the portal attributed 139 fatalities to insurgency-related incidents in Manipur. These included 68 civilians, 54 insurgents, 16 security forces personnel, and one unspecified casualty.
Recognised insurgent groups have not claimed responsibility for most of these attacks reported in the state since the beginning of this year.
Over 80 percent of insurgency-related deaths in Manipur were reported before 2010, with zero fatalities in the past five years across seven districts, including Imphal East, Imphal West, Senapati, and Ukhrul.
However, at least 180 have been killed and more than 1,100 injured across the state since ethnic violence erupted on 3 May between the Meiteis, predominantly based in the valley, and the Kuki tribes in the hill districts.
This volatile scenario has reignited concerns regarding insurgency in Manipur, prompting appeals for peace accords, particularly with valley-based insurgent groups (VBIGs).
According to reports in sections of the media, Meitei insurgents from proscribed outfits under the Coordination Committee (CorCom), a conglomerate of VBIGs, have returned to the state.
The CorCom includes the PREPAK and its Progressive faction (PREPAK Pro), the RPF and the UNLF. Other groups including the KCP and KYKL, which were earlier part of CorCom, are also believed to be resuming activity.
On 14.11.2023, Security Forces arrested 01 (one) active member of KYKL from Imphal-West District and recovered 01(one) 9mm pistol and 02(two) magazines loaded with 16(sixteen) live rounds, 01(one) car, a sum of Rs. 92,000/- (Ninety-two thousand rupees only) and 04 (four) mobile… pic.twitter.com/TL5vfxKhsc
— Manipur Police (@manipur_police) November 14, 2023
Like most other insurgent groups in the Northeast, these outfits extort locals and businessmen for funds, sources in the security establishment told ThePrint.
The violence in Manipur has also reportedly led to a spike in demands of extortion by insurgent groups and their over-ground operatives in both valley and hill areas.
As stated in the MHA notification, the central government believes that “if there is no immediate curb and control of these organisations, they will take the opportunity to mobilise their cadres for escalating their secessionist, subversive terrorist and violent activities”.
“With displaced people from both communities facing all kinds of hardships, insurgent outfits in Manipur have found fertile ground for recruitment of cadres and are trying to re-establish their positions in society,” said the security analyst quoted earlier.
Before this, the central government had in a gazette notification dated 15 May 2019 declared the same Meitei insurgent groups — including their various fronts, wings and factions — as “unlawful associations”.
Though the 2019 notification did not specify the period of the fresh ban, it referred to a declaration made in a gazette notification dated 13 November 2018, confirming the pronouncement under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The gazette notification, said a Meitei writer who did not want to be named, was preceded by speculation about the Manipur government initiating peace talks with a Meitei insurgent group.
“They (central government) have been doing this for the last many years. The only difference, this time around, is the language and announcement of the notification to extend the ban for five years. Maybe, in this period, the government will think of either wiping out these groups or bringing some of them to the negotiating table. We have been hearing of the Manipur government initiating talks with an insurgent faction. Some of them might also be planning to return to the mainstream,” the writer told ThePrint.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: Chin guerrillas fight Myanmar’s junta for control over border town near India