SUMMARY
The PULF (People's United Liberation Front) was an Islamist Pangal separatist rebel group that fought an intrastate armed conflict over territory against the Government of India. Northeast India, sometimes referred to as the “Seven Sisters” after the seven states that comprise the region, has since independence been a patchwork of ethnic, linguistic and religious groups. These relatively small and sparsely populated (by Indian standards) states have experienced a turbulent history, stoked by ethnic tensions and insurgencies. One particularly prominent part of the social and political milieu in the region has been the demographic stress and conflict brought by the immigration from the rest of India and Bangladesh. The “indigenous” population of India’s seven northeastern states has commonly been referred to as the “tribal populations”. Many of these tribes, but not all, has received special protected status in the Constitution of India; the protected tribes are referred to as the “Scheduled Tribes”. The immigrant population of Northeast India is commonly called the “non-tribal” population, and is comprised of, for example, Bengalis and other ethnic or religious groups found in India proper. Among the tribal populations, there has often been a perception of discrimination, particularly compared to the “immigrant” non-tribal communities, but also between different tribal groups.
The state of Manipur has a Muslim minority of only approximately 8 percent, with the state being dominated by Christians and Hindus, and ethnically by Manipuri tribal groups and the Meitei. The Muslim minority in Manipur, known as the Meitei Pangal, has not enjoyed any considerable political influence. The Pangal have also found themselves embroiled in Manipur’s secessionist struggle, which was fought along ethnic and tribal lines. The strengthening of tribal identities in Manipur, and the prevalent feelings of being overrun by Muslim settlers, stoked ethnic and religious tensions, which boiled over into ethnic riots in 1993 between the majority Meitei population and the Pangal minority; some 150 Pangals were killed in these riots. In reaction, the Pangal community created several militant Islamists groups and other self-defense organizations for protection, with PULF being one of them. The main objective of the PULF was to safeguard the Muslim population, and to create an independent state based on Islamic values. The group allegedly had ideological ties to other Islamist extremist groups, particularly the Pakistan- and Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jihad-ul-Islami (HuJI), and the Kashmir-based Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM).
The group was led by “commander in chief” Bashir Laskar (“Muthi”, or “Moti”) until he was killed by the Assam Rifles paramilitary force on 11 May 2006. After Laskar’s death, the PULF “secretary general” Kaji Ibrahim assumed leadership of the group. Other important leadership figures after 2006 included “home secretary” Mohammed Raffisuddin, “finance secretary” Mohammed Belan Khan, and “public secretary” Seikh Sahid Ahmed.
Prior to 2007, the PULF did not have more than 100 fighters. When the group merged with the Islamic National Front (INF, another Manipur-based armed group) in 2007, it was believed that it increased its strength to approximately 150. The main recruitment pools for the group were the Muslim populations in Manipur and some parts of Assam. PULF had accesses to weapons such as assault rifles and grenades, and made extensive use of various forms of explosives. The main area of operations of the group was in the hill districts, such as Chandel, in Manipur; the PULF’s stronghold was said to have been Lilong in the Thoubal district. Prior to 1999, it also operated in Assam’s Barpeta, Nagaon and Lakhimpur districts; some activities were conducted in Meghalaya and Nagaland as well. The PULF’s main sources of income were extortion of civilians or traders, and the smuggling of weapons and explosives.
As mentioned above, the PULF merged with the INF in 2007 and absorbed its entire organization. In the early years of its existence, the PULF also had close ties to the NSCN-IM, which trained its fighters and supplied the group with weapons. It remains unknown whether this relationship was maintained later in the group’s existence. Unconfirmed reports also stated that PULF had developed ties to ULFA.
Some reports, whose accuracy are questionable, state that the PULF was supported by the Directorate General Field Intelligence (DGFI) of Bangladesh and Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). This support, allegedly, came in the form of sophisticated weaponry. This has, however, not been confirmed by the group itself, the alleged donors or an independent source. It has also been claimed, from a source that could not be verified, that PULF has some form of links to Islamist insurgent groups such as HuJI and Lashkar-e-Taiba. It was also suggested that the Islamist groups in Manipur, including PULF, was helped by HuJI and HuM to obtain training in Bangladesh and Myanmar.
