Just weeks after unleashing mayhem on the streets of Imphal, AT offers its 70,000 youth members to help enforce law and order.
BY PC Bureau
In a classic display of hypocrisy worthy of a dark comedy, Arambai Tenggol (AT) — a group more renowned for storming police armouries, staging gunfights, and terrorising politicians and commoners alike — has now rebranded itself as a champion of law and order in Manipur. Just six weeks ago, it unleashed macabre street violence in Imphal over the arrest of top operative Kanan Singh, forcing a curfew and triggering an internet blackout. Today, in a stunning about-face, AT has pledged full support to the Manipur government’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
Yes, this is the same group whose commander-in-chief Korungabna Khuman faces NIA charges for waging war against the state — now volunteering to help protect it. Some might call it a civic transformation; others might see it as a case study in strategic image makeover.
According to media reports, Arambai Tenggol has pledged to place its 70,000-strong (self-declared) youth force at the disposal of the state government to help implement the July 23 directive to curb illegal immigration.
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“We are fully committed to supporting the Manipur government’s efforts to identify and deport illegal immigrants,” AST said in a statement.
From Burning Homes to Guarding Borders — A Rebranding Masterclass
For those unfamiliar with Arambai Tenggol’s track record, here’s a quick refresher. This isn’t your average youth club organising tree plantation drives and football matches. The group has been linked to violent attacks on security forces, large-scale looting of police armouries, murder, arson, and intimidation of civilians during the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur.
The group’s Commander-in-Chief, Korungabna Khuman, is facing investigations by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under multiple sections of the law. These include leading armed assaults on security forces, orchestrating large-scale looting of state armories, and directing ethnic violence against Kuki-Zo communities. Numerous videos reportedly show Khuman heavily armed, camping alongside hundreds of Arambai Tenggol cadres wielding AK-47s and other sophisticated weapons. Merely possessing such a vast arsenal should, by law, warrant his arrest. Yet, authorities have consistently appeared to turn a blind eye to his alleged involvement in attacks on security forces, weapon looting, and extortion.
READ: KOHUR Seeks Justice for Myanmar-Kuki Detainees in Manipur
But never mind all that! The group now says it wants to “contribute meaningfully to ensuring law and order.” The irony was apparently lost on them.
Arambai Tenggol insists that it can provide “local insights and manpower” to detect illegal migrants. Observers note they are indeed quite familiar with surveillance — especially when it involves vigilante patrols, curfews enforced with machetes, and Facebook Lives threatening political opponents.
While AT claims to have 70,000 members, social media experts suspect the figure may include every teenager with a bike and a black jacket in Imphal, or simply everyone who once liked their Facebook page. Either way, their definition of “volunteer force” appears to be loosely modeled on paramilitary cosplay with actual casualties.
What’s Next? A Peace Prize Nomination?
If all goes to plan, Arambai Tenggol may soon be deployed at the border checkpoints — provided they don’t first need to report to the nearest police station or respond to fresh NIA summons.
And who knows? If this civic-minded streak continues, we might soon see:
ISIS offering Course in Non-violence
The Sand Mafia launching river conservation campaigns
And hackers applying for jobs in cybersecurity at CERT-In
In Manipur, it seems, rebranding has no limits — and neither, apparently, does satire.
