Arambai Tenggol

"Arambai Tenggol" is a Meitei language name, which is translated as "dart wielding cavalry".

{{Cite news |last=Saikia |first=Arunabh |title=Armed gangs and a partisan state: How Manipur slipped into civil war |website=Scroll.in |date=2023-06-06 |url=https://scroll.in/article/1050361/armed-gangs-and-a-partisan-state-how-manipur-slipped-into-civil-war |quote=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.}}

Tenggol ({{langx|mni|{{Script|Mtei|ꯇꯦꯡꯒꯣꯜ}}|{{Script|Latn|/teŋ.gol/|}}}}) means a troop or a platoon in Meitei language.

{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=H. Surmangol |date=2006 |title=Learners' Manipuri-English dictionary (definition of "Tenggol") |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/sharma_query.py?qs=%EA%AF%87%EA%AF%A6%EA%AF%A1%EA%AF%92%EA%AF%A3%EA%AF%9C&matchtype=default |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=dsal.uchicago.edu |publisher=University of Chicago |page=82 |language=mni, en |quote=tenggol ꯇꯦꯡꯒꯣꯜ /teŋ.gol/ n. a troop, platoon, etc. ~ sā- /~ sa/ v. to encamp, as of during a war. Morph: ~ sā- [~ to make].}}

Arambai ({{langx|mni|{{Script|Mtei|ꯑꯔꯥꯝꯕꯥꯏ}}|{{Script|Latn|/ə.ram.bai/|}}}}) is a dart-like weapon,

{{Cite web |last=Sharma |first=H. Surmangol |date=2006 |title=Learners' Manipuri-English dictionary (definition of "Arambai") |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/sharma_query.py?qs=%EA%AF%91%EA%AF%94%EA%AF%A5%EA%AF%9D%EA%AF%95%EA%AF%A5%EA%AF%8F&matchtype=default |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=dsal.uchicago.edu |publisher=University of Chicago |page=11 |language=mni, en |quote=arāmbāi ꯑꯔꯥꯝꯕꯥꯏ /ə.ram.bai/ n. a dart-like weapon. }}

that was used by Manipuri kings.

Vijaita Singh, [https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ten-kuki-mlas-from-manipur-demand-separate-administration/article66843874.ece Ten Kuki MLAs from Manipur demand 'separate administration'], The Hindu, 12 May 2023.

Arambai Tenggol is said to have been active since 2020. Starting as a cultural outfit, it soon turned into a radical organisation. It became popular around 2022, with Meitei youth increasingly organising themselves under its banner.

Ranjan Solomon, [https://thewire.in/communalism/bjps-communal-politics-has-deepened-historical-conflicts-in-manipur BJP's Communal Politics Has Deepened Historical Conflicts in Manipur], The Wire, 7 June 2023.

The organisation enjoys political patronage at high levels in the state. As per the members of the group, Manipur's titular king and Rajya Sabha MP, Leishemba Sanajaoba, is 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 titular king as well as the then chief minister N. Biren Singh.{{Cite news |last=Saikia |first=Arunabh |title=Armed gangs and a partisan state: How Manipur slipped into civil war |newspaper=Scroll.in |date=2023-06-06 |url=https://scroll.in/article/1050361/armed-gangs-and-a-partisan-state-how-manipur-slipped-into-civil-war }}

According to one of its commanders, the organisation regards itself as the equivalent of the warriors that once served the Meitei kings.{{citation |first=Greeshma |last=Kuthar |title=Saviour Complex: Why the Biren Singh government gives a free hand to Arambai Tenggol |magazine=The Caravan |date=15 April 2014 |url=https://caravanmagazine.in/conflict/biren-singh-gives-a-free-hand-to-arambai-tenggol-militia-imphal-manipur}} It has regularly countered protests against the state government, including those against the chief minister's "war on drugs" campaign which was perceived as targeting the state's tribal communities.{{efn|The chief minister has told media that the trigger for the 2023–2025 Manipur violence was "his government's war on drugs, implementation of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, and identification of illegal immigrants".Bhabesh Sharma, [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/imphal/violence-was-planned-yrs-ago-to-press-for-separate-nation/articleshow/104599248.cms Manipur violence was planned years ago to press for separate nation: N Biren Singh], The Times of India, 21 October 2023.}}

The members of the organisation wear a uniform with black T-shirts bearing a red insignia of three horsemen charging into battle.

Jon Suante, [https://www.indiatodayne.in/opinion/story/unpacking-the-ethnic-violence-in-manipur-the-impact-of-social-media-and-newly-formed-civil-societies-571272-2023-06-06 Unpacking the ethnic violence in Manipur: The impact of social media and newly formed civil societies], India Today NE, 6 June 2023. They are organised into "units", resembling an organised militia. The organisation quadrupled in size in the course of 2023–2025 Manipur violence, going up from 12 units in June 2023, to 60 units in April 2024.{{efn|In January 2024, a meeting at the Kangla Fort for the state's legislators was handled by the "58 unit".Arunabh Saikia, [https://scroll.in/article/1062725/in-imphal-the-states-surrender-to-an-armed-meitei-militia-with-taliban-like-grip In Imphal, the state's surrender to an armed Meitei militia with 'Taliban-like' grip], Scroll.in, 26 January 2024.}} Otherwise frustrated youth were attracted to the organisation through videos depicting proud displays of weapons with background music and provocative insults targeting the Kuki people. The organisation is now said to have 60,000 members.

An All India Congress Committee politician in charge of the state mentioned at the beginning of the violence that the members of Arambai Tenggol were seen moving around in groups of hundreds on motor-bikes with guns. He said that the organisation was modelled after RSS and Bajrang Dal in the rest of India.{{Cite news |last=Lahiri |first=Ishadrita |title='Organisations on lines of RSS, Bajrang Dal have been formed in Manipur,' says Congress |newspaper=ThePrint |date=2023-05-11 |url=https://theprint.in/politics/organisations-on-lines-of-rss-bajrang-dal-have-been-formed-in-manipur-says-congress/1568047/}} The 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.{{citation |title=Manufacturing ethnic segregation and conflict: A report on the violence in Manipur |publisher=All India Lawyers Association for Justice |date=August 2023 |page=73}}{{efn|The route to the Mizoram border passes through the Churachandpur district, home to many Kuki-Zo communities.}}

File:Flag of Kangleipak.svg

Arambai Tenggol flies the "Salai Taret" flag, representing the traditional seven clans that are believed to have merged making up the present-day Meitei community.Makepeace Sitlhou, Greeshma Kuthar, [https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/meitei-christians-in-indias-manipur-face-broad-attacks/ While the conflict has been ethnic in nature, there has been an underlying communal element to the violence], New Lines Magazine, 27 December 2023. Journalists noticed a prominent growth in the display of the flag in Imphal Valley. Javed Parvesh, [https://www.theweek.in/theweek/current/2023/07/08/ground-report-on-manipur-riots-violent-ethnic-clashes.html Ground report from Manipur: How ethnic strife has become brutal war], The Weeek, 16 July 2023. 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.

Promotion of Sanamahism, the traditional faith of the Meitei community, has been a key activity of the group. The growth of Christianity is portrayed as a threat and the group aims to "bring people back" to Sanamahism. Meitei pastors have alleged forced conversion of Meitei Christians to Sanamahism. In April 2023, Arambai Tenggol activists stormed the house of a pastor for having allegedly made a blasphemous remark about Sanamahism.

[https://nagalandpost.com/index.php/youths-storm-house-of-pastor-in-manipur/ Youths storm house of pastor in Manipur], Nagaland Post, 3 April 2023.[https://thefrontiermanipur.com/manipur-from-demand-for-nrc-blasphemy-arms-looting-to-miss-india-pageant/ Manipur: From Demand For NRC, Blasphemy, Arms Looting To Miss India Pageant], The Frontier Manipur, 22 April 2023. 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.

Prior to the eruption of 2023–2025 Manipur violence, Arambai Tenggol was seen organising blockades on the roads leading to hill districts, and then seen leading the mobs in Imphal once the violence started. Its activists reportedly entered police stations and police training centres, looting their armouries, setting fire to churches, and then looting villages and causing widespread havoc.{{Cite news |title=Probe involvement of 2 radical Meitei groups in Manipur pogrom: tribal student bodies |work=The Hindu |date=2023-05-19 |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/probe-involvement-of-2-radical-meitei-groups-in-manipur-pogrom-tribal-student-bodies/article66868875.ece}}According to the Kuki civil-society organisation Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), Arambai Tenggol leaders openly brandished sophisticated weapons, 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.[https://nenow.in/north-east-news/manipur/manipur-government-eliminate-tribal-population-separate-administration-itlf.html Manipur government trying to eliminate tribal population, we want separate administration: ITLF], NE Now, 7 November 2023.

On 28 May, militants of surrendered insurgent groups{{efn|The only valley-based (Meitei) insurgent group that surrendered is the Pambei faction of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF). It reportedly entered into a peace pact in December 2022,Vijaita Singh, [https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/uapa-tribunal-upholds-mha-ban-against-seven-meitei-extremist-organisations/article68215096.ece UAPA tribunal upholds MHA ban against seven Meitei extremist organisations], The Hindu, 25 May 2024. but its surrender did not occur till November 2023.}} were seen operating under the Arambai Tenggol banner, engaging in a fierce gunfight with 37 Assam Rifles at Serou, in the Sugnu area.{{Cite news |title=Gunfight erupts between Arambai Tenggol militants and 37 Assam Rifles in Manipur |newspaper=India Today NE |date=2023-05-30 |url=https://www.indiatodayne.in/manipur/story/gunfight-erupts-between-arambai-tenggol-militants-and-37-assam-rifles-in-manipur-567375-2023-05-30 }}

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.PTI, [https://www.telegraphindia.com/north-east/manipur-death-toll-in-pallel-violence-rises-to-three-with-one-more-succumbing-to-injuries/cid/1964884 Manipur: Death Toll in Pallel violence rises to three with one more succumbing to injuries], The Telegraph (India), 9 September 2023. The men were given safe passage by the state police, indicating a nexus between the organisation and the state forces. Greeshma Kuthar, [https://caravanmagazine.in/conflict/manipur-pallel-violence-police The Manipur Police gives safe passage to gunmen shooting at Kuki village near Pallel], The Caravan, 12 September 2023.

Arambai Tenggol was blamed for the killing of a 55 year-old Naga woman on 16 June, blowing her head into bits through continuous fire of gun shots. The militants remarked, "No more head. This way of killing is nice".{{Cite news |title=Manipur brutality on Naga woman: 'No more head. This way of killing is nice' |newspaper=The Telegraph (Kolkata) |date=2023-08-07 |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/north-east/manipur-brutality-on-naga-woman-by-mob-no-more-head-this-way-of-killing-is-nice/cid/1957185 }}

{{Cite news |title=Manipur Naga body announces shutdown after woman's killing |newspaper=The Hindu |date=2023-06-16 |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/manipur-naga-body-announces-shutdown-after-womans-killing/article67087820.ece }} It is said that the woman was first apprehended by Meira Paibis and then handed over to Arambai Tenggol for execution.Sukrita Baruah, Jimmy Leivon, [https://indianexpress.com/article/india/disturbing-naga-womans-killing-puts-tense-manipur-on-the-edge-8847286/ 'Disturbing': Naga woman's killing puts tense Manipur on the edge], The Indian Express, 19 July 2023.

Armed men in police commando uniforms were again involved in operations in the border town of Moreh in January 2024. They are reported to have set fire to eight Kuki houses, two churches and three schools. ThePrint has examined CCTV footage to confirm the residents' testimony.Sourav Roy Barman, [https://theprint.in/india/burnt-houses-schools-manipur-commandos-led-arson-spree-in-moreh-myanmar-fire-dept-came-to-rescue/1933137/ Burnt houses, schools — Manipur commandos 'led arson spree' in Moreh, Myanmar fire dept 'came to rescue'], The Print, 21 January 2024.

Soon 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 Meitei community.Yaqut Ali, [https://thewire.in/security/with-7-killed-in-48-hours-opposition-again-calls-on-modi-to-address-the-violence-in-manipur With 7 Killed in 48 Hours, Opposition Again Calls on Modi to Address the Violence in Manipur], The Wire, 19 January 2024. 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 failing to attend the meeting would be labelled an "enemy of Meitei".

[https://indianexpress.com/article/india/manipur-security-tightened-as-radical-group-summons-meitei-mlas-9124725/ Manipur: Security tightened as radical group 'summons' Meitei MLAs], The Indian Express, 24 January 2024.

Union Home Ministry sent a team of negotiators from Delhi to hold discussions with Arambai Tenggol. Discussions were held over two days in the house of the titular king Leishemba Sanajaoba under the "royal flag".PTI, [https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/security-tightened-in-imphal-as-manipur-ministers-asked-to-meet-village-volunteers-4918453 Security Tightened In Imphal As Manipur Ministers To Meet This Key Group], NDTV News, 23 January 2024.[https://www.ifp.co.in/manipur/mha-team-meets-arambai-tenggol-chief MHA team meets Arambai Tenggol chief], Imphal Free Press, 24 January 2024. 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.

Phurailatpam Keny Devi, [https://www.indiatodayne.in/manipur/story/manipur-3-member-special-mha-team-meets-meitei-organisation-demand-for-nrc-put-up-792333-2024-01-23 Manipur: 3-member special MHA team meets Meitei organisation, demand for NRC put up], India Today NE, 23 January 2024.

On 24 January, the meeting was attended by 37 Meitei state legislators (MLAs) belonging to various political parties: Bharatiya Janata Party (25), Indian National Congress (5), National People's Party (4), Janata Dal–United (2) and an independent. It was also attended by two Meitei parliamentarians (MPs): the Rajya Sabha MP, Leishemba Sanajaoba, and the Lok Sabha MP and Minister of State for External Affairs, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh. After taking an oath to preserve the integrity of Manipur, the attendees signed a six-point demand and vowed to communicate it to the central government.[https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/manipur-arambai-tenggol-radical-meitei-group-9126080/ Manipur ministers and MLAs meet Arambai Tenggol members: Who are the radical Meitei group?], The Indian Express, 24 January 2024.[https://ukhrultimes.com/on-arambai-tenggols-watch-37-legislators-2-mps-take-oath-in-a-historic-day-at-kangla/ On Arambai Tenggol's watch, 37 legislators, 2 MPs take Oath in a 'Historic Day' at Kangla Fort], Ukhrul Times, 24 January 2024.There were reports that the legislators that did not agree to the programme were beaten up, and others were intimidated with threats.Ananya Bharadwaj, [https://theprint.in/india/mlas-summoned-by-arambai-tenggol-were-beaten-up-when-they-didnt-agree-to-demands-legislator-says/1938631/ What happened at Kangla Fort meeting between Arambai Tenggol & MLAs-MPs it had 'summoned'], The Print, 25 January 2024. Two legislators belonging to the BJP and one belonging to Indian National Congress, its state president K. Meghachandra, were reportedly assaulted.[https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/manipur-congress-chief-assaulted-in-meeting-with-arambai-tenggol-at-kangla-in-imphal-jairam-ramesh/article67777775.ece Manipur Congress chief assaulted in meeting with Arambai Tenggol at Kangla in Imphal: Jairam Ramesh], The Hindu, 25 January 2024.

Kuki-Zo civil society organisations across the state condemned the exercise, calling it a submission of government authority to an "armed militant group."[https://nenow.in/north-east-news/manipur/manipur-govt-submitted-authority-militant-group-presidents-rule-itlf.html Manipur govt submitted authority to militant group, President's Rule must: ITLF], Northeast Now (NENow), 25 January 2025.A number of journalists and commentators also echoed the sentiment.Arunabh Saikia, [https://scroll.in/article/1062725/in-imphal-the-states-surrender-to-an-armed-meitei-militia-with-taliban-like-grip In Imphal, the state's surrender to an armed Meitei militia with 'Taliban-like' grip], Scroll.in, 26 January 2024. "Journalists and police officials outside the gate could barely hide their amusement at what was transpiring: an abject surrender of the state to a group whose members have been accused of murder, rape, arson and more."John Simte, Angshuman Choudhury,[https://thewire.in/government/manipur-arambai-tenggol-imphal Arambai's Political Sway Is Not Only in Imphal but Far Beyond It. Yet the State Turns a Blind Eye], The Wire, 11 February 2024. "In short, the whole ceremony, conducted under duress, was nothing short of an insurrection – a direct challenge to the state's constitutional authority to enforce law and order.... If summoning elected constitutional functionaries and forcing them to abandon their sworn oath of office to uphold the Indian constitution, while coercing them to take an ethno-political pledge, isn't an affront to India's national security and political integrity, then what is?"

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

Category:Ethnic organisations based in India

Category:Organisations based in Imphal

Category:Meitei organisations

Category:Far-right politics in India