New Delhi: As Manipur continues to boil, the recruitment of youngsters as “fighters” and “volunteers” into now active underground insurgent groups and newly formed radical outfits — all armed with sophisticated weapons — have spiked, amplifying the cycle of violence, ThePrint has learnt.
According to sources in the intelligence, most youngsters who were students or were working at offices, doing small businesses, have picked up arms to either become “village defence volunteers” or have joined the insurgents after receiving arms training to “protect their community”.
This, one of the sources said, has happened both in the hills with a Kuki majority as well as the valley areas where Meiteis reside, which, in turn, is a big challenge for the security forces.
According to data available with the security forces, the strength of Arambai Tenggol, a radical Meitei group that had only 7,000 people till March 2023, saw a rise of almost 614 percent with its strength now up to 50,000 people spread across 59 units.
Arambai Tenggol faces many allegations of violence, looting and arson attacks of churches amid the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur. Now being lauded by a section of the people for ‘resisting’ the forces, it had ‘summoned’ MLAs for a meeting at the Kangla Fort last week and allegedly compelled them to sign a draft proposal and take an oath to “protect the integrity of the state”.
Moreover, recruitment across valley based insurgent groups (VBIGs) including the People’s Liberation Army (armed wing of the Revolutionary People’s Front), factions of the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), the Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) and factions of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) — now allegedly involved in extortion in the Imphal valley — has also increased, the source said.
According to information with the security establishment, UNLF’s two camps of Ingourok and Kakching Khunou, which had 600 members, now have 800-plus active members, while PLA that had a strength of 700 till March 2023, now has over 900 members. Similarly, the KYKL and KCP numbers are up from 245 and 155 to over 320 and over 200, respectively.
On the hillside, the strength of Kuki National Front is 60, Kuki National Organisation 180, Kuki National Army 150, Zomi Revolutionary Army over 300 and Kuki Revolutionary Army over 70, the data shows.
For the Kuki groups, the numbers have remained constant as these fall under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement and their camps are checked every month to ensure that they are inside, the source said.
But, this does not mean that they are not going out of the camps in violation of the rules. There are intelligence inputs of these cadres indulging in extortion activities along highways and also training village defence volunteers that they have informally inducted, the source added.
“This is becoming a big challenge for the security forces and the police as all these groups are armed. Moreover they have full public support which makes things worse.”
Also Read: What happened at Kangla Fort meeting between Arambai Tenggol & MLAs-MPs it had ‘summoned’
‘Volunteers & infiltrators’
The source pointed out that the number of youngsters being attached to these outfits as “volunteers” is much higher than the ones who are being “formally inducted, recruited”.
“Recruitment is being done in the name of joining volunteers, who are used to carry out attacks in the name of saving their own community. These are also being supported by local politicians in their areas. While in the valley, many youngsters are joining Arambai Tenggol as volunteers and are resorting to use of weapons, many have joined their groups as defence volunteers in Kuki areas,” the source said. “The formal recruitment in cadres has seen a one-third increase.”
In addition, the source said, there are also intelligence inputs of cadres having infiltrated from Myanmar with sophisticated weapons.
On 18 January, Manipur Security Adviser Kuldiep Singh had said that some militants from Myanmar may have been involved in the attack on police commandos in Manipur’s border town Moreh.
Singh said there is a possibility of the involvement of Myanmar-based militants, but there is “no evidence” yet. The security adviser had further said that there are intelligence inputs that the People’s Defence Force may join, and may attack the state forces at Moreh.
“The number of youngsters walking around with arms in the state is at an all-time high. It is more than it was when the insurgency was at its peak,” the source said.
Since the violence broke out on 3 May last year, more than 200 people have lost lives and over 50,000 displaced. Eight months on, the businesses are shut, extortion is on the rise, incidents of loot, and arson are rampant, and the state machinery has seemingly collapsed.
“In such a scenario the youngsters have nothing else to do. The emotions are running high and that is what these groups are tapping,” the source said.
‘Extortion, families being forced to send volunteers’
One of the fallouts of the rise in violence is the resurgence of extortion by armed men which was once rampant across Imphal valley.
According to the sources, several VBIGs and their volunteers are extorting money from valley residents on the pretext of “protecting the community from Kuki militants”.
A second intelligence source said these groups are asking for money to “fund the fight against the enemy community”. Those unable to give money are asked to send young men to join the fight as volunteers, the source said.
“They scare people by saying that Kuki militants have come from Myanmar and how the people in the valley are in danger. They say they must shell out money (in form of donations) to get more arms or send their people to the frontline,” the source explained.
“What is dangerous is that people have started believing that these insurgents will save them from the militants.”
Also Read: Extortion cases rise again in Imphal; businessmen, govt employees, farmers queue up for arms licence