On the way to Churachandpur from Imphal in Manipur, near Bishnupur, on Wednesday, August 9, a large group of women were seen blocking the path of an Army jeep and two trucks. The women did not want the men, whom they thought belonged to the Assam Rifles regiment, to enter the Meitei villages. One officer tried to convince them they were from the Sikh regiment but the women did not budge.

Central forces stopped by Meira Paibis in Bishnupur/Bhuvan Malik 

“We don't trust anyone, let our police chief call us and confirm what they (army) are claiming and we will let them go. This is Manipur, let them speak Manipuri. We don't want to listen to their Hindi,” Sandhyarani, a woman who was part of the group that blocked the army vehicles, told TNM.

In Meitei strongholds, no passing vehicle, irrespective of whether it belongs to civilians or military, can evade the scrutiny of the Meira Paibis, the torchbearers of Manipur, once known for their iconic civil rights protests and for taking up social causes. The women dispersed only after a Manipur police jeep pulled up and an officer convinced them that the trucks they blocked belonged to a Sikh regiment on its way to Thinungei village nearby.

Manipur police intervening with Meira Paibis in Bishnupur/Bhuvan Malik 

Ever since the violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, the state has been divided into warring zones. While the Meiteis have the upper hand in six districts in the valley, 10 districts in the hills are occupied by the Kukis.

From every town nook to the inner mud roads in villages and highways that lead to other districts, the women of Meira Paibis have established their dominance on valley roads.  Clad in phanek (a traditional sarong worn by women and a symbol of Meitei identity) and kokshet (turban), nothing escapes their watchful eyes as they stop vehicles with impudence.

Meira Paibis over the decades had taken up several social causes, including resistance against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and patrolling the streets against alcoholism and drug abuse. But the group was recently called out by rights activists because of allegations that they openly justified violence against women and were participants in it. An 18-year-old rape survivor, according to an FIR, had alleged that women belonging to Meira Paibis had handed her over to to a group of Meitei men who abducted and gangraped her.

Manipur police had recently registered an FIR against Assam Rifles for allegedly blocking a search operation to trace Kuki militants accused of killing Meitei men. Meitei mistrust of Assam Rifles is widespread and Meira Paibis women have staged demonstrations demanding the removal of Assam Rifles from violence-hit areas, accusing the paramilitary force of brutality and siding with Kuki-Zos. The group, which has a long history of conflict with the Indian Army, has made it tough for the armed forces to effectively deal with the conflict, according to reports.

There is no single leader of the Meira Paibis, who can be found as small groups of local women residents in every locality, patrolling the streets during the day. When night falls, the women armed with long sticks would rest on a piece of cloth or a palm mat spread on the ground, chewing tobacco, and scrutinising everyone who passes by.

There are women playing vigilante roles on both sides of the ethnic divide. Like the Meira Paibis, the women’s wing of Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) too has taken up the role of vigilantes in territories where the Kukis have dominance. While travelling to Imphal from Churachandpur, the TNM team was stopped by a group of ITLF women who wouldn’t let any one inside the territory unless they provide the reference of a Kuki leader.

“We need to speak to somebody over the phone,” they told us, instructing others to properly check the vehicle driver’s identity. Our driver, who was a Pangal Meitei (Muslims belonging to the Meitei community who are welcome in both territories), had to show two documents to confirm his identity and get approval from the group.

The ITLF check-point came after TNM had crossed four such points of verification by different central forces — the BSF, Assam Rifles, Indian Army, and CRPF.  At the official checkposts on the way to Churachandpur, travellers have to enter their name and details. But the ITLF women groups are not widespread inside the Kuki villages like the Meira Paibis in the Meitei region.

CRPF checkpost on the way from Imphal to Churachandpur/Bhuvan Malik 

Men belonging to the ITLF run multiple checks on vehicles and people who pass through Kuki territories, and have constructed several temporary checkposts.

If it is the women vigilantes who secure public places in the border zones, the guardians are the village volunteers. Villages that share boundaries with the other community are termed ‘frontline’. The gun-toting village volunteers, who call themselves ‘frontline warriors’, have created security protocols. Three such lines of armed guards have been set up by the community volunteers. In the frontlines, exchange of fire between volunteers of the two ethnic groups is common.

Around 25 km from Imphal town lies Singda Dam, a tiny Meitei village located at the foot of a hill occupied by the Kuki community. Here Meitei village volunteers have set up around 11 bunkers. The makeshift bunkers have walls made of mud-filled sacks. The guards aim their guns on the other side through two holes in the wall.

“Two days ago one of our volunteers was shot dead right here. We take shifts to guard the village. The bunkers always have four to six men,” a volunteer who identified himself as Max told TNM. The volunteers are picked by the village chief and leaders. There are around 200 families in Singda. Ever since the conflict worsened, they all stay and cook together in a community hall nearby. Women volunteer as Meira Paibis and the men share bunker duties.

In Khangchup, a Meitei village close to Phayeng in Imphal east, only a few Meira Paibi women and village volunteers are left. “Many women and children left the village to relief camps or to houses of relatives. Some abandoned houses and temporary sheds have been converted into bunkers. We are trying to protect our houses and agricultural land,” said Kaoba, a volunteer from Khangchup.

All volunteers carry walkie-talkies. Information on outsiders entering a village, whether it be from the media or anyone else, is relayed immediately.

The Kuki villages too have similar bunkers and frontline guards, some of them minors. TNM came across two boys, a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old, each toting single-barrel guns and ‘volunteering’ at a Kuki village near Churachandpur. The duo stays in a shed next to their bunker with other volunteers.

A bunker in a Kuki village near Churachandpur/Bhuvan Malik 

“I started using the gun three months ago. We get training underground,” said the 14-year-old. The interaction ended abruptly as the elders diverted the conversation, which they did not want to continue.

A Kuki volunteer guarding a bunker in a village near Churachandpur/Bhuvan Malik   

While the guns displayed by the volunteers were single and double-barrel guns, which they claimed were licenced, many said they possess sophisticated weapons. “I have been to many bunkers at the time of firing. I haven't seen so many high-end guns together ever in my life,” said a journalist reporting on the violence in the state.

Kuki boys holding guns/Bhuvan Malik 

Kuki men with guns/Bhuvan Malik 

Manipur Dispatches: Our reporters Prajwal Bhat, Haritha John and Bhuvan Malik are in Manipur to provide you with exclusive, in-depth ground reports that delve into the heart of the matter, highlighting the real issues underlying the current conflict. If you believe that human rights violations in a distant land should be a topic of conversation in this part of India, support our intrepid truth-seeking mission. Contribute here.