By Savikalpa Thapa
Members of the radical Meitei group Arambai Tenggol surrendered their arms to the Manipur government on Thursday, days after Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla urged all communities to return looted and illegally held weapons.
The surrender took place at the 1st Manipur Rifles (MR) complex in Imphal West. Around 246 weapons were handed over by Arambai Tenggol, it’s the largest such surrender of illicit arms in the conflict-ridden state.
The armed group had earlier stated that they would surrender weapons only if their conditions were met. While the specific terms remain undisclosed, Arambai Tenggol had submitted a memorandum to the Governor demanding the fencing of the Myanmar border, implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) with 1951 as the cut-off year, and deportation of what they referred to as ‘Illegal immigrants’. They also sought the revocation of the suspension of operations against Kuki insurgent groups and Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the majority Meitei community.
According to Manipur Police, a total of 307 weapons were surrendered on Thursday alone, including those handed over at other locations across the state. Security forces have so far recovered about 2,500 of the looted arms.
Governor Bhalla, who took office following the imposition of President’s Rule and the resignation of former Chief Minister N Biren Singh, had set a seven-day deadline for the voluntary surrender of weapons. He assured that no action would be taken against people who surrendered while those people who didn’t would have to face severe consequences.
Since May 2023, Manipur witnessed clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities killing at least 260 lives and displacing around 60,000 people. During the unrest, mobs looted around 6,000 weapons from state armories, police stations, and outposts.
Despite the large-scale voluntary surrender, Kuki groups such as the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) and the Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) dismissed the move as an attempt to “garner sympathy and legitimacy.”