Among those in attendance at the controversial meeting of state legislators called by radical Meitei group Arambai Tenggol on Wednesday was Leishemba Sanajaoba, Manipur’s lone Rajya Sabha MP and the state’s titular Meitei king.

Arambai Tenggol, whose name is a reference to ancient Meitei warriors, has shot into prominence since the conflict in Manipur began in May last year, and is alleged to be among those at the forefront of violence against the Kuki-Zomi community. The recent show of strength with Wednesday’s meeting showcases the ostensible public support that the organisation currently has among Meities.

Sanajaoba has been previously too linked to Arambai Tenggol. In a photo uploaded on his social media accounts in September last year, he could be seen with members of the group wearing their trademark black T-shirt with a picture of Meitei cavalry at the back, at his residence. He described the meeting as an “oath taking ceremony”.

Arambai Tenggol has been named in numerous FIRs filed by members of the Kuki-Zomi community. Sanajaoba has also been mentioned in at least one FIR. The complaint, by a Kuki-Zomi resident, pertains to looting in a village in the Kangpokpi district.

The accused in the FIR are named as “unknown miscreants belonging to the Meitei Youth Organisation suspected to be members of Arambai Tenggol who are loyal to MP Shri Leishemba Sanajaoba”.

Because of these links, the Kuki-Zomi groups have also been demanding that their role in the ongoing conflict be scrutinised.

Emotive, symbolic value of Meitei rulers

Sanajaoba, who uses the prefix ‘Maharaja’ before his name, is the grandson of Maharaja Bodhchandra, Manipur’s last ruler. Bodhchandra had signed an agreement with the Indian Union in 1949 to merge the princely state of Manipur with India, while he was under house arrest in Shillong.

Political scientist Sanjib Baruah describes in his book In The Name of the Nation: India and its Northeast that the merger was carried out “with a combination of cajolement, promises that were not kept, and plain trickery”.

The merger still continues to be contested among many sections of the Meitei society, and it is a question that has been central to the secessionist strains in the state over the decades.

This memory and a certain revivalist sentiment are in large part the reason for the emotive power that the line of Meitei kings still continue to hold in Manipur.

In 2019, two separatist leaders Yambem Biren and Narengbam Samarjit had even announced a “government-in-exile” in the United Kingdom in Sanajaoba’s name, which he had distanced himself from.

After remaining largely non-political, Sanajaoba shared the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then BJP president Amit Shah in rallies ahead of the 2017 Manipur state elections. This was the first time that a member of Manipur’s royal family was seen to be endorsing a political party.

A year later, when it became clear that he was going to contest for Manipur’s Rajya Sabha seat as the BJP’s nominee, several cultural and civil society organisations had demanded that he “abdicate” the throne before entering the formal Indian political arena.

One such group of civil society organisations, the United Committee Manipur, had then declared that if he entered politics, “he will no longer be a symbol for the people of Manipur”. Its president Sunil Karam was quoted as saying: “The BJP gave its ticket for the Rajya Sabha election to Sanajaoba as he is the king of Manipur and it is an attempt by Delhi to make it clear that the king has joined Indian politics and he no longer has any problems with the issue surrounding the merger of Manipur into India in 1949.”

Another group of CSOs, the Coalition for Indigenous Rights Campaign (CIRCA), had declared that Sanajaoba’s MP status was an indication that Manipur was going to “lose its cultural sovereignty”, after losing its political sovereignty with the merger.

But during his nomination, Sanajaoba had argued that he had no meaningful power in his customary position, something he had also spoken about in his first speech with PM Modi in 2017 in the run-up to the Assembly elections. “The title of the customary head entrusted to the King of Manipur in the merger agreement signed before Manipur merged with India has become meaningless now. This is the main reason for the gradual loss of identity of the people of Manipur. Please make the office of the customary head truly meaningful and functional as defined in the merger agreement,’’ he had said.