Realising the futility of pursuing the path of violence, 57 insurgents owing allegiance to three separate underground outfits, recently surrendered along with their arms in the presence of Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh.
The event took place in the banquet hall of the 1st Manipur Rifles complex in Imphal.
The surrendered cadres included the Chairman of the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), Nabachandra Singh and its Finance Secretary, Chinglen.
Thirty-five of the 57 surrendered cadres were from the Kangleipak Community Party (K K Nganba) faction and 20 were from Kangleipak Community Party (Nongdrenkhomba) faction. They handed over a huge cache of arms and ammunition.
Nongdrenkhomba, a KCP leader, said, "We have served our motherland with arms, but in my opinion, we can also love or serve our people and work for betterment of our society without arms."
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between the Manipur Government and the KCP-(KK Nganba) Group.
The government and security forces have assured the surrendered militants that they will be provided assistance in their rehabilitation process.
Chief Minister Singh said, "Violence will bring no solution to any kind of problem. Let's sit together and talk about the problem. There is lots of issues or problems in our society and the state, but it can be sorted out through talks."
Manipur's Principal Secretary (Home) Suresh Babu said, "I am very happy. These groups, who are away from the normal lives, have come back to normalcy. In the past two and half years we have been witnessing lots of group joining normal life and government of Manipur and central government have been extending full cooperation and support to all these people."
In prolonged insurgency, Manipur has lost a lot. Besides the loss of human life, the economy of the state has largely been affected.
The misled youth are slowly realizing their mistake and are returning back to the mainstream. It will help the return of peace and prosperity in the state.
