Following up on his announcement to deploy five Meitei volunteer battalions in sensitive valley districts of Manipur, political activist Sapamcha Kangleipal launched the 2nd and 3rd Battalion at Tharoijam, Imphal West and Sikhong Nongpok Sekmai on Monday.
The objective of the battalions is to protect the lives and properties of Meitei villages on the fringes of the valley.
Speaking on the occasion, Kangleipal lamented the wavering stance of the state government and stated that the government had no power to reclaim the abandoned Meitei villages.
“We do not believe they will be able to take back Meitei land and as such, the battalion will be deployed to make up for their failure,” he said.
He expressed discontentment over the failure of the government to stop the violence even after nine months.
Over the months the violence has only gotten worse with no end in sight and state authorities have been completely helpless, he added.
He maintained that it would be impossible for the state government to protect the state’s integrity when there are so many loopholes within the security tactics.
He lambasted the state authorities for neglecting the plights of the people and the village volunteers who are doing the authorities’ job.
As such, he demanded the state government to hand over arms to the volunteers as they had failed to act on their responsibility.
He stated that all five battalions would be launched by January 28 and their battalion officials would be announced on January 30.
He alleged that the present security arrangements were designed to suppress the Meiteis and noted that the battalions were not an organisation or civil bodies.
“These are people who individually volunteered to protect their motherland. There is no need for organizations or groups to play out that role,” he said.
