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Militant organization From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The People's Liberation Army of Manipur (PLA-MP or PLAM), often shortened to the People's Liberation Army, is a militant group fighting for the creation of an independent and socialist Manipur, a state in northeastern India.
| People's Liberation Army of Manipur | |
|---|---|
| Yawoll lanme | |
Flag of the People's Liberation Army of Manipur | |
| Leaders | N. Bisheshwar Singh (POW) (1978-1981) Thoudam Kunjabehari † (1981-1982) Irengbam Chaoren #(1982-2023) Manoharmayum Ngouba (2023–present) |
| Dates of operation | 25 September 1978 – Present |
| Group(s) | Salai Taret 7 clans |
| Motives | Establish an independent state of Manipur |
| Headquarters | Manipur |
| Active regions | Northeast India |
| Ideology | Communism Mao Zedong Thought Separatism |
| Size | 3,800 (2008) 2,000 (2023)[1] |
| Allies | NSCN-K, Corcom, ULFA. |
| Opponents |  India (PLA is designated as a terrorist organisation by the Government of India[2]) |
| Battles and wars | Insurgency in Northeast India Naxalite-Maoist insurgency |
The group founded by N. Bisheshwar Singh on 25 September 1978.[citation needed] Since its founding, it has been waging guerrilla warfare as part of the Insurgency in Manipur against the Indian Armed Forces, and has targeted the Indian Army, Indian Paramilitary Forces and the State Police Force.[citation needed] However, during the late nineties, it declared a unilateral decision not to target the Manipur Police.[citation needed]
The death of some top leaders in combat (like President Thoudam Kunjabehari in 1982), and the arrest of others (like N. Bisheshwar, arrested in 1981) decreased its military activity in the eighties.[citation needed] In 1989, a political wing called the Revolutionary People's Front (RPF) was formed.[3] The RPF formed a government in exile in Bangladesh, led by Irengbam Chaoren, and began a restructuring of the organisation. The Organisation become very active. Its operation was divided into four sections: Sadar Valley West Hill areas of Manipur, Sadar Hill areas in the east Valley, Hill areas of Manipur and Imphal valley, each with a commander, and other ranks.[citation needed]
The PLA has an estimated strength of some 3 800 as of 2008.[citation needed]
PLA-MP is also a member of the Manipur Peoples Liberation Front, an umbrella organization of several Manipur secessionsts groups; namely, the UNLF and PREPAK. On 29 July 2020, three Indian soldiers in the Assam Rifles were killed and six injured in an ambush in Manipur's Chandel district near the Indo-Myanmar border.[citation needed]
In 2019, a confession by a PLAM member suggested that PLAM was in touch with Chinese People's Liberation Army. Sixteen platoons of PLAM returned to Manipur after receiving their training in China.[4]
Through the 2023 Manipur violence, the separatist PLAM as well as Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) witnessed a surge in recruitment of new and previously surrendered soldiers.[5]
On 25 February 2023, after the original chairman Irengbam Chaoren died of illness, Vice Chairman Manoharmayum Ngouba took over Irengbam's position as chairman.[6]
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