Hundreds of Meira Paibis from Kwakeithel to Ghari Makha Leikai in Imphal West staged a sit-in at the Kwakeithel Community Hall, near the All Manipur United Clubs’ Organisation office, on Thursday, calling for an immediate halt to the “selective” detention of Arambai Tengol members.
The demonstration, organised jointly by Kwakeithel Apunba Meira Paibi, Naran Konjil Meira Paibi and other local units, urged the authorities to arrest all protesters at once if the crackdown was to continue, rather than detaining volunteers one by one. Placards declared solidarity with the detained youths and demanded their unconditional release. Similar protest were staged at Singjamei Parking, Singjamei Waikhom Leikai, Chingamakhong Khurai Puthiba Nandeibam Leikai, Lairikyengbam LeikaiKhunou Koirengei and other places.
Protesters argued that Arambai Tengol volunteers had taken up arms only to protect Manipur’s territorial integrity during last year’s ethnic violence, but surrendered their weapons after Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla appealed to them in the final week of February. They accused the government of reigniting tensions by arresting the group’s alleged fighting commander, Ashem Kanan, on 7 June under Central Bureau of Investigation supervision.
Keshtrimayum Saroja, president of the Ghari Makha Leikai Meira Paibi, told reporters that women from multiple neighbourhoods had united because “one issue is being suppressed by igniting another.” She warned that, should the arrests continue, the mothers themselves would undertake a “mass court-arrest” to force a resolution.
Arambai Tengol initially responded to Kanan’s detention with a ten-day shutdown, but curtailed it on 10 June to ease public hardship, promising instead to pursue other democratic forms of protest until the detainees are freed.
The sit-in concluded peacefully, yet organisers said they would intensify their agitation if the government did not stop what they see as an unjustified campaign against young volunteers who had already laid down their arms in good faith.