The Frightened Fool and Funny Figures

O Ibobi, the Chief Minister of Manipur seems to be worried about something more than pleading with New Delhi these days. In a newspaper report, he laments the presence of numerous groups of revolutionary businessmen. Meanwhile, it is so hilarious – just read the headlines – and this is a typical image of a tragicomedy called Manipur. There are thirty organisations and ten factions of a party (who are shamelessly bringing Marx & Co into disrepute!). The report is as follows. 

 30 UG groups, 10 KCP factions : CM

Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, July 20 2009: There are more than 30 militants groups in Manipur including 10 KCP factions, Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh informed the Assembly today in response to a question raised by MLA Morung Makunga during the question hour.

The Chief Minister said that United National Liberation Front (UNLF), People's Liberation Army (PLA), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), United People's Party of Kangleipak (UPPK), Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Kangleipak Communist PartyMilitary Council (KCP-MC) and People's United Liberation Front (PULF) are among the major UG groups while the hill-based groups include NSCN (IM), NSCN (K), Kuki National Organisation (KNO), an umbrella Organisation of 11 groups; United People's Front (UPF), another umbrella organisation of 8 groups, Naga National Council (NCC) and Manipur Naga Revolutionary Front (MNRF), the Chief Minister said.

He further informed the House that there are 10 KCP factions.

These are KCP (Noyon), KCP-MC Lanheiba Meitei, KCP-MC Lanjaba Meitei, KCP Lamphel, KCP City Meitei, KCP Kokkai, KCP Nando, KCP KK Nganba, KCP-MC Ningamba and KCP-MC Lallumba.

Over and above these, there are small outfits like the hill-based United Naga People's Council (UNPC), Komrem People's Army (KRPA), Kuki Revolutionary Front (KRF) and Sinlung People's Liberation Army (Sinlung Tiger Force) and the valley-based Kangleipak People's Liberation Army (KPLA-PULF Azad), he added.

To a supplementary question, the Chief Minister said Suspension of Operation (SoO) has been signed with Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United Peoples' Front (UPF).

The organisations under KNO are Kuki National Front (Military Council), Kuki National Front (Zogam), United Socialist Revolutionary Army (Old Kuki), United Komrem Revolutionary Army (UKRA), Zomi Reunification Front (ZRF), Zou Defence Volunteer (ZDV-KNO), Hmar National Army (HNA), Kuki Revolutionary Army (Unification), Kuki Liberation Army (KLA-KNO) and Kuki National Army (KNA) while the organisations under UPF include Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA), Kuki National Front (KNF), United Kuki Liberation Front (UKLF), Kuki Liberation Army (KLA-UPF), Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA), Kuki National Front (S), Hmar Peoples' Conference/ Democratic (HPC-D) and Zou Defence Volunteers (ZDV-UPF).

The fund required for payment of allowance to the armed cadres of the outfits which are signatories of SoO and for construction of their designated camps is to be arranged by the State Government first and the same would be afterward refunded by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the Chief Minister disclosed, while assuring to see that identity cards have been issued to all the cadres.