Arambai Tenggol, village volunteers not banned organisations: Manipur CM
Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh clarified that the Arambai Tenggol and village volunteer groups are not banned organizations. He stated that the government is investigating individual criminal activities related to the ongoing ethnic conflict rather than targeting the groups themselves.
Why it matters
This policy stance impacts the legal and security landscape of the long-standing ethnic conflict in Manipur, affecting how the state handles armed civilian groups.
Manipur Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh told the State Assembly on Monday (September 7, 2026) that neither the “village volunteers” of the hills and the Imphal Valley, nor the Arambai Tenggol were banned organisations.
“Village volunteers” are armed civilian groups born out of the ethnic conflict that broke out between the Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities on May 3, 2023. The Imphal Valley-based Arambai Tenggol claims to be a sociocultural revivalist group, but security analysts have characterised it as a radicalised armed militia.
The Chief Minister said the State Government has been studying different cases of unlawful and criminal activities involving individuals during the conflict that left more than 300 people dead and displaced over 62,000 others.
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