An armed people’s militia is an aberration in a democracy. It demands extrajudicial fealty, something that should be incongruent with a State upholding the rule of law. The troubling phenomenon of massive public support for the Arambai Tenggol, a radical Meitei outfit in Manipur, needs to be viewed from this perspective. Life came to a standstill in the Imphal Valley after Asem Kanan Singh, a key leader of this Metei militia, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation for his alleged involvement in criminal activities. The arrest was met with public unrest: NH2, connecting Imphal with Dimapur in Nagaland, was blockaded and the storming of police stations attempted. Curfew and internet services had to be suspended in five valley districts. Alarmingly, 10 members of this outfit were released unconditionally on Sunday. Manipur has been under president’s rule since February. Recurrent violence could further delay the resurrection of a government — ‘popular’ or otherwise — in the state. That the political process and edifice remain beholden to fickle public sentiments is a matter of deep concern.

What is especially worrying is that the political vacuum that has been created — the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state and at the Centre has failed to resolve the crisis for over two years now — is now being sought to be filled by radical militias like the Arambai Tenggol. Such is the perverse hold of these groups that the Arambai Tenggol even had the audacity to summon elected Meitei legislators to a meeting at the Kangla Fort in January 2024. The Kukis have their own versions of armed militias too. In fact, Tengnoupal district recently witnessed mass protests after the leader of an insurgent group had been arrested. This public deification of militias is indicative of two things: depletion of collective trust in the State’s ability to protect citizens in an impartial manner; an erosion in the political and administrative structures that are crucial to a State’s functioning. But the law, no matter what the public sentiment, must take its own course. Armed militias must be defanged. The political rehabilitation of the besieged state must begin in earnest, along with efforts to close yawning ethnic chasms. These must be the immediate priorities of the Centre.