Opinion by Editorial
With militias surrendering weapons, Centre has a chance to create conditions for peace in Manipur. It shouldn’t let the opportunity slip
Last week, Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla did the right thing in issuing an appeal to people of all communities to surrender looted and illegally held weapons. On Thursday, the deadline set by the Governor, the Meitei radical group Arambai Tenggol surrendered 246 weapons in Imphal West.
Mar 1, 2025 07:30 IST First published on: Mar 1, 2025 at 07:30 IST
In Manipur, now under President’s rule, part of the reason for the ethnic conflict persisting for 21 months is the flow of small arms. Thousands of firearms, including assault rifles, carbines, and ammunition have been looted, reportedly even from police stations and armouries, enabling village volunteer organisations and Meitei and Kuki militia groups to engage in armed confrontations. The situation is compounded by the fact that Manipur shares a porous border with Myanmar, a known arms smuggling hub. Security forces have struggled to curb gun violence and disarm militias, despite the recovery of small quantities of arms in combing operations. Last week, Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla did the right thing in issuing an appeal to people of all communities to surrender looted and illegally held weapons. On Thursday, the deadline set by the Governor, the Meitei radical group Arambai Tenggol surrendered 246 weapons in Imphal West. Apart from them, more than 100 weapons were surrendered this week in different parts of the state.
Last week’s initiative was not the first time a call to surrender looted weapons was issued in the strife-torn state. In June 2023, a few weeks into the ethnic conflict, a drop box for returning weapons was set up outside the home of a BJP legislator from Imphal East with a poster carrying a message in English and Meitei language: “Please drop your snatched weapons here”. According to the last update in September 2024 by the Security Advisor to the Manipur government Kuldiep Singh, 1,200 of the approximately 6,000 looted weapons had been recovered by security forces. While thousands of weapons continue to remain in circulation, it is assuring that the last major shootout in Manipur occurred in the early hours of January 1 in the Kadangband area of Imphal West district, hours after former Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s New Year’s eve apology.
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The easy availability of arms made it difficult to restrict the conflict to a few localities in Manipur. The sense of insecurity arising from the Biren Singh government’s continued administrative failures created fertile grounds for radical groups in nearly all parts of the state to take matters in their own hands. Until all looted weapons are recovered and militias are disarmed, a permanent peace — not merely the absence of war — would remain elusive. The cross-border arms flow will also have to be stopped. Failure to do so would diminish the advantage gained by the state with the surrender and recovery of looted weapons. With radical groups starting to agree to surrender looted weapons, the Centre has a chance to finally break the cycle of violence. It must not let this opportunity slip.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
