IN THE aftermath of the ethnic clashes between the Kuki-Zomi tribes and Manipur’s dominant Meitei community over the past month, the Meitei Leepun has gained prominence, with Kuki leaders, Opposition members and even security agencies calling out the organisation for possible involvement in the violence. While Meitei Leepun chief Pramot Singh claims the group came into existence in 2015, it gained prominence only towards the end of N Biren Singh’s first term as Chief Minister (he returned to power last year). Its critics also accuse the Meitei Leepun of operating like a vigilante group, threatening anyone opposed to its philosophy. “I have myself been threatened by boys of the Meitei Leepun for expressing views contrary to theirs. A group of them arrived at my home and told me to keep quiet. They said they weren’t interested in any conversation,’’ an Imphal-based intellectual said on condition of anonymity. Many also suggest that while the Leepun claims no connection with the Arambai Tenggol, whose black shirt cadres are alleged to be involved in the riots, including the firing on Friday that killed three people, the line between the two isn't very hard. Even before the clashes, the Leepun had come head-to-head with the tribal community. Last August, the All Tribal Students' Union of Manipur imposed economic blockades on two national highways, demanding the tabling of the Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council (Amendment) Bill, 2021, in the Assembly. The Frontier Manipur reported that the Leepun put a “communal twist’’ on the matter by alleging that the tribal body was targeting Meiteis. BJP Kuki MLA Paolienlal Haokip, who has been a vociferous critic of the Meitei Leepun as well as CM Biren Singh, said: "The Meitei Leepun calls itself a cultural organisation, but they have threatened to wipe out the Kuki community. They are the brainchild of Biren Singh and Rajya Sabha MP Leishemba Sanajaoba, who are trying to build a model of the RSS in Manipur to propagate radical Meitei nationalism. Most Meitei society does not subscribe to this view.” Haokip added that the high levels of corruption and unemployment in Manipur - “not just under the present government, but due to previous governments as well” - mean the Leepun finds a ready audience for what it is propagating. Despite repeated attempts, Sanajaoba and BJP leaders based in the Meitei-dominated Imphal valley remained unavailable for comment. In an interview with The Indian Express, Meitei Leepun founder and chief Pramot Singh speaks about the outfit, its goals and the accusations against it. Excerpts: Q) What is the purpose of the Meitei Leepun? The Meitei Leepun was founded in 2015. There were just 15 of us like-minded people who came together at the time. I was the main architect. There are 14,000 members in Meitei Leepun currently – and these include senior citizens, women and children, professionals, businessmen, writers and activists. The Meitei Leepun is a cultural organisation, and the idea behind it was to preserve and revive Meitei culture, which is being lost, and to strategise on how to strengthen the Meitei community. Among these 14,000, there are 1,000 trained cadres. They are trained to handle crises, to be first responders. So, if there is a fire in a forest, or flooding, the cadres help the Meitei community. They are trained in evacuation. There are seven people in the governing body or Thoubei. We have various departments, headed by a Thoubu (master of ceremonies). I am one of the Thoubus, and I am in-charge of the hill districts (where the tribals including Kukis are concentrated). We have been going to these hill districts, visiting villages and interacting with people, since 2015. We have interacted with tribals as well as members of other communities, such as Marwaris and Gorkhas who live there, to see how everyone can co-exist. There are so many inter-community issues. we wanted to see how these could be resolved. We also want to unite all the Meiteis – in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. But we will always follow the law of the land that we live in. Q) There are accusations that the Meitei Leepun has played a role in the violence. What has been your role? As I have said, the Meitei Leepun cadres get involved whenever there is a crisis. And this was a crisis. On May 3, it was the Kukis who first attacked by burning down Meitei villages. This started late afternoon. By 7 pm, the Meiteis started reacting. We have been defending Meitei villages. What would happen when Kuki militants burn our houses and kill Meiteis? Of course, we will fight back. The Kuki militants have sophisticated weapons. Our cadres have been fighting with our licensed guns, swords, rocks, rods - whatever is at hand. We have also imposed a counter-blockade. For decades, the tribals have imposed highway blockades whenever they wanted to demand something from the government, leading to hardship and suffering for the Meitei people as essential commodities would stop coming to the Imphal valley. How long were we supposed to take this? But even in our counter-blockade (which doesn’t allow Kukis to come to the valley), we have not used violence. We simply turn back vehicles. Q) There are allegations that your cadres have been trained by Meitei insurgent groups… This is not true. The insurgent groups are secessionists, they want to separate from India. We believe in India and want to be a part of the country. How can we operate together? Q) Are you training your cadres in arms? I am not trained myself. Many of our cadres are ex-servicemen. Many have licensed guns. More recently, Meitei society has come together and is supporting us. Some have opened their pharmacies for us and are giving us medicines. Many others have given us their licensed arms. The riots have brought together Meiteis, cutting across differences, for the first time. Q) Your group specifically targets the Kukis. When the Kukis took out the rally against the ST demand (of Meiteis), it was led by an 'Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum'. They (the Kukis) are not indigenous. They are outsiders. They were brought to Manipur by the British. They were given land to settle by the Meiteis and the Nagas, so they should be thankful to us. There is a huge influx of illegal immigrants from Myanmar who are cutting our forests and setting up villages. This influx has been going on for the past 40 years. In earlier years, the Kukis from the Chittagong Hills in Bangladesh were coming in. Now, they are from Myanmar. Since the 1996 ceasefire with the NSCN (I-M), and after the establishment of SoO (Suspension of Operations agreement with the Kukis), this problem has intensified. There is utter lawlessness in the hills, where the state administration cannot reach and only tribal law pervades. The SoO cadres don’t stay in the camps (set for them). They often come out and Meiteis are beaten or even killed. Sanatan Dharma is the best form of Hinduism. Vaishnavism is the purest form of Sanatan Dharma. And it survives only in five locations in India – Dwarka, Mathura, Puri, Navadweep and Manipur. Manipur is the last outpost of Hinduism in India. If illegal immigrants dominate us, we will become extinct. Q) What's the Meitei Leepun stand on Meitei Christians? One of our Thoubus is a Meitei Christian. The Meitei Leepun is for all Meiteis. There are those who practise our ancient Sanamahi faith, there are Vaishnavites like me and there are Christians and even Buddhists. Sanamahi is not a religion, but an identity. Even Hindu Meiteis have Sanamahi idols in their homes. Q) What happens to the Meitei Leepun now? The government must implement NRC in the state. They must continue combing operations – for both communities. They must curb Kuki militants.
