Kangpokpi, Manipur/New Delhi: On Sunday (April 13) – marking two months since President’s Rule was imposed in Manipur – BJP Rajya Sabha MP Leishemba Sanajaoba attended the final match of a football knockout tournament organised by the Arambai Tenggol at the Lamboi Khongnangkhong ground in Imphal.The event saw the presence of Arambai Tenggol leader Korounganba Khuman, along with the group’s advisors, unit commanders and local elders.Addressing the audience, Sanajaoba warned, “The Arambai Tenggol should not be mistaken for a passive or inactive group. If any threat arises against Manipur and its people, the organisation will not hesitate to return to its former role.”The Arambai Tenggol is a Meitei militia that was reportedly created with Sanajaoba’s backing and is currently under the scanner of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). It is named in several FIRs registered by members of the Kuki-Zo community.Sanajaoba meant that while the Arambai Tenggol – originally formed to protect the Meitei community and its religion – had shifted its focus to culture and tradition, it was ready to resume this “former role” if “Manipur and its people” – read Meiteis – were threatened.Its leader Khuman, who was seated next to Sanajaoba at the event, is being investigated in connection with two violent incidents that took place on November 1, 2023, in Imphal.One involved an alleged attack on police personnel at the Palace Compound in Imphal East, and the other targeted the 1st Manipur Rifles Battalion, during which arms and ammunition were reportedly looted.Sanajaoba’s remarks came just a week after the Union government facilitated the first joint peace talks between Meitei and Kuki civil society leaders on April 5 in Delhi.The meeting, overseen by the Union home affairs ministry and led by its Northeast advisor A.K. Mishra, aimed to rebuild trust and chart a roadmap for reconciliation between the two communities.Representatives from the All Manipur United Clubs’ Organisation and the Federation of Civil Society Organisations attended represented the Meitei side, while the Kuki delegation included leaders from various tribal bodies.Amid continuing violence in Manipur, the Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU) has raised serious concerns over the alleged free movement of Arambai Tenggol members in the Imphal valley, calling for immediate steps to enforce law and order through the President’s Rule that is in force.Speaking to The Wire, COTU chairman Thanglen Kipgen contrasted the movement of armed Meitei groups like the Arambai Tenggol with the status of Kuki-Zo militant groups, who are under a suspension of operations (SoO) agreement with the Union government.“[The] Kuki-Zo [community] has SoO groups, but they are underground and under the SoO and not moving [freely] like the Arambai Tenggol,” he told The Wire.“The chief of the [Arambai Tenggol] has NIA cases but he is still meeting the governor and roaming freely in the valley,” he said, pointing to what he saw as a breakdown of law enforcement. “Also, the crisis between Meiteis and Kukis should be resolved,” he added.When asked about the frequent allegations in the predominantly Meitei valley regarding the role of Kuki-Zo militants in the adjoining hill areas, the COTU chief said the SoO agreement legally binds the signatory Kuki-Zo armed groups to remain in designated camps and prohibits their active movement or engagement in conflict.The SoO agreement, first signed in 2008, currently covers more than 20 Kuki insurgent groups. The framework restricts these groups from operating freely in public or engaging in violent activity, although there have been allegations that it has been violated.In contrast, the Arambai Tenggol – which was reportedly a “non-entity” until the ethnic conflict began in 2023 – is not bound by any such formal agreement and its members have been visible across the valley, often armed.Although the group has recently projected a shift to a cultural and traditional role, concerns over its militarisation persist. The Arambai Tenggol has reportedly surrendered only a few weapons – a fraction of the estimated 6,000 arms looted during the conflict.Despite the Manipur government’s February 29 deadline for surrendering illegal arms, a large cache remains unaccounted for. The Manipur police continue to recover arms and ammunition on a near-daily basis.In Manipur, the situation may appear calm on the surface, but the state remains deeply divided – Kukis still cannot enter the Imphal valley and Meiteis are unable to access the hill areas.Despite Union home minister Amit Shah’s directive for free movement across the state, people on both sides remain unwilling to cross the ‘buffer zones’, fearing for their lives.Before the ethnic violence erupted on May 3, 2023, Meiteis lived in Churachandpur and Kukis had homes in the Imphal valley. After the violence began, houses belonging to one community were systematically destroyed by the other.A few Kuki-owned houses and shops still remaining in Imphal have reportedly been taken over by the Arambai Tenggol in violation of a Supreme Court order.