ARAMBAI TENGGOL (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Internal Security)

Context: Recently, a Union Minister, an MP, and nearly all Meitei MLAs of Manipur assembled at Imphal's Kangla Fort in response to a 'summons' issued by Arambai Tenggol, a Meitei radical group.

Arambai Tenggol

• About: It 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.
• Evolution: Inaugurated in 2020 as a cultural entity
• Alongside Meitei Leepun, it became one of the two hardline Meitei groups suspected of involvement in numerous Meitei-Kuki clashes that erupted in May 2023.
• Targeting the Naga Community: Tenggol faced accusations of specifically targeting members of the Naga community during its activities.
• Engagement with Security Forces: Suspected to be engaged in a gunfight with a unit of Assam Rifles just before the visit of Home Minister Amit Shah to Manipur in June 2023.
• Political Representatives' Summit: The demands included delisting Kukis from the Scheduled Tribes list, deportation of refugees to camps in Mizoram, border fencing, replacement of Assam Rifles with another paramilitary force, and revocation of the Suspension of Operations (SOO) agreement between the Centre and Kuki militant groups.