New Delhi: Former chairman of banned United National Liberation Front (UNLF) Rajkumar Meghen, who was convicted for “waging war against the nation” and was released in 2019 after completing his sentence, is now in Delhi to meet academics, lawyers and Naga and Meitei civil society members in a bid to forge a “coalition that could initiate a peace process in Manipur”.
Speaking to ThePrint, Meghen said: “My effort is to foster a shared realisation that armed violence will help no one and will only leave future generations in limbo.”
He described the outreach as an appeal to people’s conscience rather than a political exercise. “At a human level, I want to tell them that the ongoing crisis is not going to help anyone,” he said.
Meghen has largely stayed away from public life since his release; this marks his first public reappearance. However, since his release, he has remained engaged in civil society discussions concerning Manipur.
Meghen arrived in Delhi on 3 July—his first visit to the capital since 2006—and met Naga and Meitei academicians, thought leaders, Meitei Pangal students and Meitei CSOs and student groups.
With several more meetings scheduled over the next two days, Meghen said he is open to meeting all communities and was willing to meet representatives of Kuki civil society groups if they were open to holding talks.
Calling it “his initiative”, undertaken in his “personal capacity”, Meghen told ThePrint, he wanted to do something for Manipur that could help initiate a peace process at a time when “everything seems to have failed”. He said that when institutions fail, those who command respect in society must step forward.
“I want to hear from all the groups on what they are thinking, what they plan for the betterment of Manipur and I want to tell them what we can do together to achieve that goal,” he said.
“Interdependent co-existence is what Manipur needs today. This is a small baby step towards creating a coalition of all communities with common objectives on board,” he added.
Who is Rajkumar Meghen?
Meghen joined the UNLF in the 1970s. In 1990, the insurgent group 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).
He subsequently operated from Myanmar, Bangladesh and several European countries, from where he played a key role in running the insurgent outfit. In 1998, he became UNLF’s chairman.
Meghen maintained that Manipur’s 1949 merger with India was illegitimate and argued that the people of the state should have the right to determine their own political future. On this basis, he said, he had taken up the armed struggle for Manipur’s sovereignty.
He was arrested in Bangladesh in 2010 and handed over to Indian authorities. The NIA subsequently charged him under the UAPA with waging war against the state, conspiracy, terrorism-related offences and raising funds through extortion. He was convicted in 2016 and spent nearly nine and a half years in Guwahati Central Jail before being released in November 2019 after receiving remission for good conduct and prison reform work.
The UNLF, formed under the leadership of Arambam Samarendra, is the oldest known Meitei insurgent group in Manipur. It was formed in 1964 to establish an “independent, sovereign Manipur”.
The MHA in a gazette notification dated 13 November 2023 extended the ban on the nine Meitei outfits, including UNLF, stating that they had been engaging in activities “prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India.” The notification added that if not immediately controlled, the outfits could “indulge in killing 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”.
Then in November 2023, the Centre signed a peace agreement with the UNLF(P), a faction led by Kh Pambei, that had split from UNLF in 2021. The other faction is now headed by Koirang, and continues to remain active.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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