The Imphal valley in strife-torn Manipur has been rocked this week by protests by students, clashes with security personnel, stone-pelting at the Raj Bhavan, and tearing down of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s posters. And a curfew and suspension of internet services are in place in several districts.

But days before these protests, student outfits had held several meetings to prepare a six-point agenda to present before Manipur Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya. This was spurred by three civilian deaths due to attacks by suspected Kuki militants on two Meitei-dominated valley districts on September 1 and 6.

Newslaundry spoke to a dozen students, their representatives and other sources to piece together the sequence of events, what transpired at the meetings with the governor, in the run-up to the rallies, and how a social activist who donated a drone to the Meitei militia group Arambai Tenggol joined students in the Raj Bhavan. 

Brainstorming at COCOMI office

After the attacks on the valley districts, representatives of five student bodies held “seven to eight” rounds of talks to thrash out a list of demands for Acharya, Sukham Bidyananda, media coordinator of the student front of Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a prominent collective of Meitei civil society groups, told Newslaundry.

These meetings were held at the COCOMI office in Imphal West and attended by student leaders from All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU), Democratic Student Alliance of Manipur (DSAM), Students’ Union of Kangleipak (SUK), Kangleipak Students' Association (KSA), and Apunba Ireipak-ki Maheiroi Singpang Lup (AIMS). These five bodies are part of the student front of Cocomi.

A student from Manipur University said the six-point agenda was prepared with consensus with COCOMI’s involvement. Attacking the central government over aerial attacks, COCOMI had earlier announced a “public emergency”, asking people to remain indoors.

Besides the unified command, the other five demands included the removal of DGP Rajiv Singh and the security adviser; decisive action by 50 non-Kuki-Zo MLAs or their resignation; withdrawal of “ineffective” central forces; a check on the “proxy war” against Meiteis; and a threat to escalate protests if demands are not addressed.

A day after the second rally on September 10, the Manipur police said that the rallies in the valley districts had been largely peaceful.

No prominent student leader

On September 9, students hit the street in Imphal, raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and central forces, including Assam Rifles which has been criticised by Meiteis for being “partisan” since last year. They marched to the Raj Bhavan. 

In the afternoon, a memorandum containing these demands was submitted to Acharya by a delegation of 10 students, who gave him a 24-hour ultimatum.

“When the rally reached the Raj Bhavan, a few students, including me, volunteered to be part of the delegation. That’s how the delegation was formed,” said Wangkheirakpam Gison Singh, a second-year BSc student at Dhanamanjuri College of Science. 

The same day, a few students had also met chief minister Biren Singh at his office (here, and here). 

When the rally reached the Raj Bhavan, a few students tried to storm the building, which led to “mild force” being used by the police, the Manipur police said in a statement on September 9. 

Another student of Dhanamanjuri college, who did not want to be named, said the protest was “genuine” as students were angry at the Modi government and central forces for not protecting Meiteis against Kuki “aggression”.

No prominent student leader was part of the delegation that met Acharya on September 9 or another that met the governor the following day after the 24-hour ultimatum was over. When asked how thousands of students were mobilised, sources pointed to social media.

Wangkheirakpam Gison Singh and two other students were part of both delegations.

Second day of rally, and a ‘third party’

After submitting the memorandum to Acharya, some students did not return home and instead waited at the Ima Market (women’s market), the commercial centre of Imphal, until the ultimatum was over at 2 pm on September 10. Manipur IGP (intelligence) K Kabib in a press conference, told local reporters that students were forcibly asked by “instigators” and “outsiders” to stay at the market, and called on parents to be vigilant.

When the 24-hour period got over, the students from the market and other areas marched towards the Raj Bhavan. 

Philem Rohan, a social activist who was part of the second delegation that met the governor, suspected a “third party’s” involvement in violence. “Suddenly, a group of people started throwing stones at the police. The third party is just playing games and wants to use students to achieve their means,” he said.

RAF and police fired tear gas shells and stun grenades to disperse the crowd, leaving more than 40 students injured.

Another student, who was part of the second delegation, said while they were deliberating as to who among students would meet the governor. “I had a word with the Imphal SP. Suddenly towards the end of the rally, there was commotion and I heard tear gas shells being fired at students,” he said.

When the violence subsided around 6pm, 10 students “volunteered” to meet Acharya. They were joined by Rohan, the only non-student member. When asked why he was included in the delegation, he claimed that the governor’s office had spotted him giving media bytes during the rally. “Then there was this request from the governor’s office that Rohan Philem could bridge the language barrier between students and the governor… Otherwise, I had no plan to join the delegation… In fact, it was the one who initiated the meeting with the governor,” he said.

Rohan has used cycling campaigns to raise awareness on issues like pollution and to pay tribute to the security personnel killed in the Pulwama attack. In January this year, he donated a drone for Arambai Tenggol, an armed Meitei militia group accused of abducting police officers, summoning 37 MLAs and beating three of them, theft and extortion, and silencing critical voices. Before his meeting with Acharya, photos of him holding a drone suitcase with Tenggol chief Khuman were circulated on social media.

On donating the drone, Rohan said: “I have never hidden the truth from the public. I myself put it out on social media. It was a simple drone to be used for surveillance. The trigger was four-five casualties, including those of Meitei christians, by Kuki militants in Bishnupur district. I gave the drone to Khuman as a safety measure.” He called Khuman a friend whom he had known for years. 

Rohan, according to sources, is the man who “pops up” at every important event in and out of Manipur, and is regularly seen with top state politicians. “I am a humanitarian. It’s my job to meet politicians from the Congress, BJP or MPP (Manipur People’s Party). I have met the chief minister, ministers and governors. This does not mean that I am working for any party,” he said. 

The 34-year-old, a Meitei Christian, has also led campaigns to showcase how Kukis had allegedly vandalised Meitei Christian churches and houses during violence. He had returned to Manipur on July 1 last year, leaving a cycle trip midway. “My electric bike is still at Parul University in Vadodara,” he said. A resident of Moirang in Bishnupur district, Rohan claimed a rocket-like object dropped just 150 metres away from his house on September 6, when he was not home.

Biren’s trial by fire

Acharya told the students that the demands in the memorandum could not be fulfilled in one day as the central government had to be consulted, claimed students. “He told us that the demands were complex and can’t be acted upon in one day,” said Ratna, a second-year physics honours student with Dhanamanjuri College of Science who was among three girl students who met the governor.

Nearly all students ruled out politics behind the student rallies, and fully backed the idea of Biren Singh taking over the unified command, which includes top officials from central forces and state police. Since May last year when the violence began, security advisor Kuldiep Singh, sent by the Narendra Modi-led government, has headed the command. Two days before the students’ rally, CM Singh met Acharya and put forward the same demand.

A former office-bearer of the Manipur University Students’ Union said that politics “can’t be ruled out completely, but this does not mean that students’ concerns were not genuine”.

On the unified command demands, students stressed that Singh was helpless without the control of security forces. 

“It’s been 16 months since violence began, and the unified command headed by Kuldiep Singh has not been able to solve it. So we want that the control is given back to the chief minister,” said MUSU president Nongthombam Suraj.

When asked if Singh was “misusing” students for his political gains, the MUSU president said students joined the “peaceful” rallies because they among others wanted a “peaceful environment” for their studies. 

Gison of Dhanamanjuri College said: “Students came out on their own for peace and not to protect Biren Singh.”

Another said: “We believe that he (Biren) started the war and he should end it.”

Goalposts shifted

Since aerial attacks in the valley, the goalposts have shifted. Earlier, rallies led by Meiteis would constantly feature slogans on “narco-terrorism” by the Kukis, and alleged inaction by Assam Rifles. 

But recent protests by Meitei civil society and students have seen the central government and all central forces being the prime targets. This has come in the backdrop of a leaked audio clip allegedly featuring CM Singh’s voice, according to an investigation by The Wire. In one of the audio clips, he is reportedly heard saying how he had defied Home Minister Amit Shah “against use of bombs”. The Manipur government called the audio clip “doctored”.

So far, more than 260 have died in violence and more than 60,000 displaced with Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities living in their respective safe zones of the valley and hills.