Arambai Tenggol (Meitei for "dart wielding cavalry")[4] is a Meitei activist organisation in the Indian state of Manipur, often described as a radical organisation,[5][6] or as a radicalised armed militia.[7] It is also a revivalist organisation that aims to reestablish the pre-Hindu, native Sanamahi religion among the Meiteis.[8] It enjoys the patronage of Manipur's titular king and parliamentarian Leishemba Sanajaoba as well as the chief minister N. Biren Singh.[9] During the 2023–2024 Manipur violence, members of the Kuki-Zo community blamed it for having carried out deadly attacks against them.[10][11] In January 2024, the organisation demonstrated its influence by summoning all the elected Meitei legislators of the state for a meeting to deliberate on the defence of Meiteis in the prevailing conflict.[12][13]
Etymology
"Arambai Tenggol" is a Meitei language name, which is translated as "dart wielding cavalry".[4] Tenggol (Meitei: ꯇꯦꯡꯒꯣꯜ, romanized: /teŋ.gol/) means a troop or a platoon in Meitei language.[14] Arambai (Meitei: ꯑꯔꯥꯝꯕꯥꯏ, romanized: /ə.ram.bai/) is a dart-like weapon,[15] that was used by Manipuri kings.[16]
Organisation
Arambai Tenggol is said to have been active since 2020. Starting as a cultural outfit, it soon turned into a radical organisation.[1] It became popular around 2022,[16] with Meitei youth increasingly organising themselves under its banner.[17]
The organisation enjoys political patronage at high levels in the state. Members of the group said that the titular king and Rajya Sabha MP, Leishemba Sanajaoba, was their founder and leader. The oath-taking ceremony of the group in September 2022 was held at Sanajaoba's house. The organisation posted pictures of meetings with the chief minister N. Biren Singh as well as the titular king.[18] It has regularly countered protests against the state government, including the chief minister's "war on drugs" campaign, which targeted the tribal communities.[16][a]
The members of the organisation wear a uniform with black T-shirts bearing a red insignia of three horsemen charging into battle.[20][21] They are organised into "units", resembling an organised militia. In June 2023, the organisation was said to comprise 12 units.[18] But it has quadrupled in size by early 2024, currently consisting of an estimated 50,000 members.[b]
The Indian National Congress in-charge for the state mentioned in May 2023 that the members of the Arambai Tenggol were seen wearing black clothes and moving around in groups of hundreds on motor-bikes with guns. He believed that the organisation was modelled after RSS and Bajrang Dal in the rest of India.[23]Kuki Students Organisation said that Arambai Tenggol members used to arrive in hundreds under the guise of conducting health and wellness campaigns, but only to intimidate the tribals. Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum spokesperson said that they took out multiple rallies to the Mizoram border with the intention of intimidating the tribals on the route.[24][c]
Revivalist activities
Salai Taret flag
Arambai Tenggol flies the "Salai Taret" flag, which represents the traditional seven clans that merged to make the present day Meitei community.[18][20]
A reporter noticed the prominent growth of the Salai Taret flag in recent years.[25]
The activists of Arambai Tenggol are often seen marching down highways or market areas, chanting slogans on restoring the glory of the old Manipur kingdom.[20]
Promotion Sanamahism, the traditional faith of the Meitei community, is a key activity of the group. The growth of Christianity is seen as a threat and the group aims to "bring people back" to Sanamahism.[18][20] Meitei pastors have alleged that they and several Meitei Christians were forced to convert to Sanamahism.[20] In April 2023, Arambai Tenggol activists stormed the house of a pastor who was alleged to have made a blasphemous remark about Sanamahism.[26][27]
In December 2023, a pastor in Imphal West found the Christmas decorations in front of his house vandalised, and the next day, an alleged activist of Arambai Tenggol came to disperse the village committee meeting, opened fire, and attacked the pastor, leaving him hospitalised.[20]
2023–2024 Manipur violence
In Manipur, violence erupted on May 3 between the Meiteis from the valley and the Kukis of the Hill tribes,[28] raising concerns about a potential 'ethnic cleansing' along the Kuki-Meitei faultline.[29] Its activists reportedly entered police stations and police training centres, looted the armouries, set fire to churches, looted villages, and caused widespread havoc.[23][30]
The United Naga Council (UNC) blamed Arambai Tenggol for the killing of a 55 year-old Naga woman on 16 June in a gruesome manner.[32] The woman is believed to have been apprehended by the Meira Paibi and handed over to the Arambai Tenggol for execution.[33] A video emerged showing militants continuously firing at the victim's head until it fragmented. The militants remarked, "No more head. This way of killing is nice".[34]
Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum, a Kuki civil-society organisation, remarked that Arambai Tenggol leaders openly brandished sophisticated weapons, which were looted from state armouries, and pressed their cadres to attack Kuki-Zo tribals. It complained that no action was being taken against them by the security forces.[35]
Arambai Tenggol cadres also wore stolen uniforms of Manipur police commandos. Journalists noticed them in this attire during an attack on the town of Pallel in September 2023.[36]
These men were also given safe passage by the state police, indicating a nexus between the organisation and the state forces.[37]
Armed men commando uniforms were again involved in operations in the border town of Moreh in January 2024. They are said to have set fire to eight houses belonging to Kukis, two churches and three schools. The Print has examined CCTV footage to confirm the residents' testimony.[38]
After the Moreh incidents, Kuki militants staged a series of attacks in the foothill regions of the Imphal Valley, causing the death of seven people in 48 hours, raising a significant alarm in the state.[39] Arambai Tenggol grew concerned about the "safeguarding the Meitei community", and summoned all the elected Meitei legislators in the state, including ministers, to a meeting at the Kangla Fort on 24 January. It warned that anybody that failed to attend would be labelled "enemy of Meitei".[12][13][40]
Union Home Minsitry sent a team of negotiators from Delhi to hold discussions with dissenting groups, Arambai Tenggol being the first among them. Discussions were held over two days in the house of the titular king Leishemba Sanajaoba under a "royal flag". The group's demands included the construction of a National Register of Citizens for Manipur (in order to identify alleged illegal immigrants) and the abrogation of Suspension of Operations agreements with Kuki militant groups.[41]
On 24 January, the meeting summoned by Arambai Tenggol was attended by 37 state legislators (MLAs) and two parliamentarians (MPs). After taking an oath to perserve the integrity of Manipur, the attendees signed a six-point demand and vowed to communicate it to the central government.[1][42]
There were reports that the legislators that did not agree to the programme were beaten up, and others were intimidated through other threats.[42][43] The Indian National Congress state president K. Meghachandra was also reportedly assaulted.[44]
The Kuki-Zo civil society organisations across the state condemned the exercise, calling it a submission of government authority to an "armed militant group."[44][45][22]
Notes
^The chief minister has told media that the trigger for the 2023–2024 Manipur violence was "his government's war on drugs, implementation of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, and identification of illegal immigrants".[19]
^In January 2024, a meeting at the Kangla Fort for the state's legislators was handled by the "58 unit".[22]
^ ab
Saikia, Arunabh (6 June 2023). "Armed gangs and a partisan state: How Manipur slipped into civil war". Scroll.in. Arambai Tenggol means "dart-wielding cavalry" – a reference to traditional Meitei warriors. Embossed on the back of the outfit's uniform of black T-shirts are three pony-riding warriors.
^
Arunabh Saikia, The return of Meitei insurgents marks a new turn in Manipur conflict, Scroll.in, 2 September 2023. "In the first month of hostilities, according to officials, Kuki insurgent groups played a pivotal role in organising fighting in the hills, but the Meiteis were largely reliant on radicalised armed militias such as the Arambai Tenggol and the state police constabulary, in addition to youth volunteers."
^
Greeshma Kuthar (31 July 2023), "Fire and Blood: How the BJP is enabling ethnic cleansing in Manipur", The Caravan, Mobs led by Arambai Tenggol—a Meitei militia that enjoyed the patronage of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including the chief minister, Biren Singh, and Manipur's titular king and Rajya Sabha MP, Leishemba Sanajaoba—were scouring the city, looking for Kukis in passing cars, in houses and in hostels.
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