Veracious Voice Find No Acceptance Within Meitei community

The Meitei community exhibits a lack of acceptance for individuals who speak the truth, particularly those with a veracious voice.

Expressing discontent with statements that go against their preferences or opinions is a common Meitei tendency. The inclination to dislike or disagree with statements that contradict their beliefs or likings reflects the subjectivity of their society perspectives.

The Meiteis have been known for their reprisal against individuals who speak against the wishes or opinions of their Civil Society Organizations.

Recently, one such individual who faced the wrath of Meitei public CSOs is the state Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh who made a statement saying that there is no evidence of Myanmar-based militants involvement in recent Moreh violence.

The statement of the Security Advisor contradicts the the accusation levelled by the Chief Minister N. Biren on January 2, claiming that “foreign mercenaries” from Myanmar side are suspected to be involved in the recent attack on security forces in which 7 personnel were injured. This was strongly resented by the Meitei populace and their CSOs. The Security Advisor must be speaking based on evidence and facts. However, the Meiteis want him to speak based on imaginary lines according to their own set of make-beliefs. The Security advisor must be very aware of the ground reality through its various intelligence agencies and he is not likely to succumb to the pressure of Meitei CSOs. The COCOMI immediately demanded removal of Kuldiep Singh from his position.

In the past too, even Meitei personalities like Babloo Loitongbam and Thounaojam Brinda have been reprimanded by their own people for speaking the truth about the violence in Manipur.

On 5 October 2023, Babloo Loitongbam’s residence in Imphal West, Manipur was vandalized by a mob who damaged property and belongings. A few hours before his house was vandalized, members of the Meitei Leepun group called for a boycott of human rights defender Babloo Loitongbam from public platforms, and claimed that the allegations he made against them were false and baseless.

“He is claiming here that no church is standing in Imphal valley, all burned,” the official said. “This claim made the public angry.” Loitongbam had made the statement in an interview he gave to NewsClick in May. He had also spoken about the state of violence in Manipur, especially on the role of radical organisations. The internationally acclaimed activist has been critical of the Meitei Leepun and the Arambai Tenggol, a radical Meitei organisation accused of fanning violence against Kukis. In the interview, the activist alleged that the Meitei Leepun and the Arambai Tenggol have “injected” militancy into the minds of people.

A voice clip of former Cop Thounaojam Brinda where she spoke about Arambai Tenggol’s involvement and role in the ongoing Manipur violence and her remarks against the Chief Minister of Manipur has gone viral on social media in the month of October 2023.

Reacting strongly to the audio record, cadres of Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun along with Meira Paibis stormed Th. Brinda’s residence on October 4. Intense altercation ensued between the former police personnel and the mob. Brinda, who was left with no other choice, was later forced to clarify her words in the voice clip as wrong and misinformed. While giving her clarification, Brinda said that her statement in the audio record would be proven wrong after the findings of investigating agencies come out.