Imphal: At 12 noon, on the highway leading to the Tengnoupal district in Manipur hills, a group of women dressed in traditional Manipuri saris and headgear takes position, brandishing sticks and slingshots. They halt every passing vehicle and direct them to take alternative routes.
A furious crowd — primarily comprising women — breaks the divider between the road with hammers, extracting boulders to block the highway. Petrol is spilled on tires, ready to be set ablaze.
A call is made to summon all women from nearby villages. Within moments, it’s answered: Women armed with sticks leave their daily chores and cycle to the highway. The crowd swells rapidly, taking complete control.
Meet the ‘Meira Paibis’, or ‘torchbearers’, revered figures in the Meitei society who have taken on the role of vigilantes amid the Kuki-Meitei conflict, which has now stretched for nearly three months.
Generally, these women serve as the guardians of moral values among the Meiteis — working to prevent alcohol and drug abuse, and keep the peace in families.
Amid the ongoing “war”, however, they are not only keeping watch around their villages, but also interrupting the supply of rations and other essentials to Kuki areas.
Such is their notoriety, that a Manipur Police officer told ThePrint that they have been looking for alternative ways to transfer crucial documents between their headquarters at Imphal and the Kuki-dominated Hill districts because the Meira Paibis destroy them if they chance upon them during their highway raids.
“If Meira Paibis discover police files during vehicle checks with Churachandpur written on them, they would burn them which is why we are now resorting to different ways of transporting these files,” Churachandpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Karthik Malladi told ThePrint.
In June, according to security personnel, the women forced the release of insurgents involved in several cases of terror during an Army operation in Itham village.
The group of women described above was allegedly attempting to storm a nearby camp of 3rd India Reserve Battalion (IRB) at Wangbal, with the aim of looting firearms, on 4 July. The security forces tried to control the situation using teargas shells and rubber bullets, but the mob refused to retreat. A clash ensued, leading to chaos, with vehicles of the forces set on fire, access routes blocked, and reinforcements thwarted.
Security personnel say the Meira Paibis use their status as women as a shield, knowing that it is a deterrent against use of force.
Meanwhile, the Meiteis, who rever the Meira Paibis as ‘imas‘ or ‘mothers’, say they are just “protecting their land and people” — a cause for which “they will go to any extent”.
The women themselves dismiss the security forces’ allegations.
“Who are they to tell us how we have to protect our state?” a group of Meira Paibis said to ThePrint pretty much in unison. The Assam Rifles and the Army, they say, are biased towards the Kukis. “We don’t trust them one bit,” said one. “Why are they helping the Kukis with rations when they know how they burn our villages?” she added. “We won’t allow them to operate.”
A timeless role
In Imphal, the Meira Paibis hold a timeless role as the arbiters of disputes between families, guardians against drug and alcohol abuse among men, and enforcers of societal laws.
With roots that span generations, the Meira Paibis take upon themselves the responsibility of safeguarding their community from “all forms of abuse”, they say.
“We stand as a strong shield, ensuring that alcohol sales are kept at bay, so that our men do not come home drunk and misbehave,” said Tondonsana, a Meira Paibi from Kakching.
“We also keep in check the supply of drugs, safeguarding the youth from falling prey to it.”
According to Tondonsana, “whenever there is trouble, we come out of our homes to take charge”. “Right now, too, our state needs us and that is why we are guarding it.”
Although they lack political affiliations or hierarchy, these women are led by a senior member referred to as the secretary.
The Meira Paibis have been a part of many popular struggles — from supporting Irom Sharmila’s hunger strike against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from 2000 to 2016, to actively participating in protests demanding the Inner Line Permit system in 2015.
For those from outside Manipur, the Meira Paibis are most prominently remembered by their nude protest in Imphal against the alleged rape and killing of a 32-year-old woman by security personnel (the Assam Rifles denied rape and described the woman as an “insurgent killed while trying to flee”).
As the ongoing Kuki-Meitei clashes continue to fester, groups of Meira Paibis are forming rosters and duty charts to guard their areas and patrol the roads, not sparing even security forces’ vehicles from their checks.
“We all get together and sit to secure the area. Since now it is a war, we check all vehicles, including those in which the forces travel,” said Olympia Sharma, a Meira Paibi.
“We can identify between tribal and Meitei so we check the ones that are suspicious. If we find that something is being transported to the Kukis, like rations, books, food, we simply pull the driver out and burn the vehicle.”
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Rosters, duty charts, sources in police
When ThePrint met Sharma, she was preparing to take charge for a night shift. Sitting with her fellow Meira Paibis — who had been guarding the area around Kombga village in Imphal for 60 days, checking all “suspicious vehicles” — she was discussing strategy.
These women work according to rosters that outline their duty timings, which stretch between 6-7 hours daily. When on duty, they patrol the streets with lathis and mashals (torches). The presence of police or the armed forces means nothing, they say, adding that they like “to take charge themselves”.
The first batch of women comes in around 12 noon, after finishing their household chores, and is on duty till 6 pm. This batch then goes home to prepare dinner and take rest, and the next one steps in.
Operating in “war time”, their drill involves stopping vehicles and verifying the driver’s credentials — Aadhaar, driving licence, and registration certificate. They thoroughly search the boot of each car to ensure no rations or “weapons” reach the Kukis.
Such is the fear around these raids that only Muslim drivers — not involved in the conflict — operate in the valley. Kuki car owners, it is learnt, resort to creating fake registration certificates.
“We even check the trucks and vehicles of the Assam Rifles because we do not trust them. We know that they are biased towards the Kukis and they transport their men and weapons for them from the valley to the hills. But we will not let that happen,” said Sharma.
Checking the Aadhaar cards, said another Meira Paibi, helps them identify legal and illegal residents of India, “including Kuki militants infiltrating Manipur from Myanmar”.
“There are several Kuki militants who have infiltrated our state of Manipur and it is only through their Aadhaar cards that we can identify them,” she added.
For Kalyani, who is in her 60s, guarding her village isn’t new. In Manipur, women dominate and lead in times of crisis, she said.
“In Manipur, ladies run the show. Women dominate and are at the forefront of any crisis. I have sat here in the past as well whenever trouble came knocking on the door,” she added. “I will sit here till 6 am now, till the next batch takes over.”
The Meira Paibis maintain a strong network, staying connected with other groups and local police sources. They swiftly respond to information about armed forces’ movements, planning blockades to unite quickly, they say.
“We are all in touch with each other and help the other groups whenever they are in need. If they need more strength, we take our groups and reach there,” Sharma said.
For young Kavita Thokchom, sitting outside her village comes from a “sense of belonging”. Despite the burden of household chores, the women “shoulder this responsibility as they understand that their presence ensures the village’s safety and peace during these troubled times”, she said.
“We are the mothers of Manipur and it is our duty to protect our own people,” she added. “The forces are not defending us. Which is why one woman from each household is sitting here, with a lathi. No one dares try to mess with us.”
She acknowledged that it “gets difficult to manage this duty with the household chores”, but added that “this is our responsibility”.
“If we don’t sit here, how will the rest of the village sleep in peace?” she said.
Vigilantes obstructing forces, police
Sources in the security forces said the Meira Paibis play a controversial role in the ongoing conflict — leading mobs, impeding security operations, and obstructing the detention of individuals and transportation of essential supplies to the hills.
Although cases have been registered against these women by the police, all have been filed against “unknown accused”, with no arrests made to date.
“Each time there is movement of security forces in the valley for any raid to recover the weapons that were looted by the local residents on 4 June from the police armouries in Imphal, these groups come together and congregate to block roads, compelling the personnel to retreat,” said one of the personnel.
The obstruction of rations meant for the Kukis in the hills is leading to severe shortages of food and essentials, the sources added.
Earlier this week, Meira Paibis allegedly halted an Army convoy carrying soldiers’ wives, whom they suspected to be Kuki women. Teargas shells were used to disperse the crowd after alleged heckling, but they reassembled at multiple locations, further complicating the situation, said sources.
“They exploit their status as women, knowing that no force can be used against them. It makes things extremely challenging for authorities to carry out their duties effectively,” the source said.
“Whenever any of their members sustain injuries, they initiate sit-in protests, blocking major arterial roads,” the source added. “While they are often the initiators, any retaliation by the forces becomes a contentious issue.”
On 9 July, the Meira Paibis in Kakching allegedly looted a truck carrying rations meant for the Assam Rifles, assuming it was intended for the Kukis. Despite an FIR being lodged, no arrests were made in connection with the incident.
“The truck was transporting food items from Imphal to Moreh and was meant for the troops. The food packets clearly said ‘Assam Rifles food supply’. But it was illegally halted at the blockade set up by the Meira Paibis and the driver was forced to unload the rations on the road,” the source said.
“Despite repeated requests and negotiations, they only let six out of 134 boxes to be taken and the rest were distributed in Meitei relief camps in Kakching,” the source added.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)