The People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) is an armed insurgent group in

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

demanding a separate and independent homeland. PREPAK was formed under the leadership of R. K. Tulachandra in 1977.

History

PREPAK was formed, in a meeting held on Cheirouching,

Imphal Imphal (; , ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (officially known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the former Kingdom of Manipur, surrounded by a ...

, on 9 October 1977. The meeting was attended by R.K. Tulachandra, S. Wanglen, Achamba, Tajila, Meiraba, Meipaksana, Y. Ibohanbi and Paliba, (who were the founding members of PREPAK). After its formation, it launched a series of attacks and ambushes against Manipur Police and Manipur Rifles personnel during the late seventies and early eighties. In 1980, a small group split off from PREPAK and formed the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) led by its late leader Y. Ibahanbi. The founding leader, RK Tulachandra, was killed in an encounter in Kabowakching on 12 November 1985. After his death, S. Wanglen became the Commander-in-Chief of the group. In the late eighties, the group suffered its first factionalism as it split into many small groups. Some of these groups joined other insurgent groups of the state like the PLA and

United National Liberation Front The United National Liberation Front (UNLF), also known as the United National Liberation Front of Manipur, is a separatist Meitei insurgent group active in the state of Manipur in Northeast India which aims at establishing a sovereign and so ...

(UNLF). The late leader of the group, Urikhingbam Sarat alias Meiraba, with the help of the UNLF and PLA, played a crucial role in reuniting the group. After unification, PREPAK, along with PLA/RPF and UNLF, launched a social reformation campaign in the state of Manipur. The campaign was aimed at eradicating crimes against women, drug and alcohol addictions etc. The group's General Secretary L. Masunga was killed on 19 May 1993. After the death of L. Masunga, Subash alias Paliba was elected as the General Secretary, Achamba as Chairman, Naba as Vice-Chairman, Tajila as Commander-in-chief, Chinglemba Mangang as the Defence Secretary. However, Achamba was removed from Chairmanship soon after. In the early 2000s, the group again split into two factions - one headed by its General Secretary, the other by the Vice-Chairman. Efforts were made by the UNLF, PLA/RPF, KYKL, and KCP to reunite the two factions. Many cadres of both factions lost their lives in factional clashes. In, 2006/2007, both the factions of PREPAK were re-united. However, another faction led by Defence Secretary Chinglemba Mangang of the General Secretary faction split off to form the United People's Party of Kangleipak (UPPK).

Area of operation

As the cadres are drawn from the

Meitei people The Meitei people, also known as Meetei people,P.20: "historically, academically and conventionally Manipuri prominently refers to the Meetei people."P.24: "For the Meeteis, Manipuris comprise Meeteis, Lois, Kukis, Nagas and Pangal." are a Ti ...

and the Pangal people, the group operates mainly in the

Imphal valley Imphal Valley ( /ˈɪmpɑːl/; ) or Manipur Valley () is located in the Indian state of Manipur and is an irregular almost oval shaped canyon that was formed as a result of the multiple small rivers that originate from neighbouring hill regions ...

of India and the neighbouring Kabaw Valley in the conflict zone of Myanmar. It is believed that the group has camps in

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

for training in understanding with the NSCN-K.

References

Ethnic armed organisations in Myanmar Banned communist parties Politics of Manipur Insurgency in Northeast India 1977 establishments in Manipur Organisations designated as terrorist by India Organizations based in Asia designated as terrorist Political parties established in 1977 Communist parties in India Naxalite groups {{india-org-stub