The Real Winners: Assam Rifles Turn Football Into a Tool for Lasting Peace

While sections of the people and certain media outlets relentlessly blame the Assam Rifles, never ceasing to paint them as a biased force in Manipur’s ethnic conflict, often accusing them of favoring one community over another, the very same force is quietly hosting events that actively unite people, particularly the Kuki and Meitei communities.

In a state still reeling from nearly three years of violence, where fresh tensions like recent Naga-Kuki clashes in Ukhrul leading to burned houses, curfews, and force requisitions keep flaring up, the AR’s Foothills Football Championship stands as a powerful counter-narrative to the negativity.

It shows a force committed not just to security, but to genuine reconciliation through positive engagement.In the shadow of Manipur’s unrelenting ethnic strife, where over 300 lives have been lost, 70,000 displaced since May 2023, highways remain tense, and inter-community travel carries real risks, the Assam Rifles demonstrated a different path forward.

Amid ongoing Meitei-Kuki divisions and new frictions pulling in Naga communities, the force organized the Foothills Football Championship from February 9 to 12 at New Keithelmanbi.

This wasn’t just a sports event; it was a deliberate act of bridge-building, proving that football can be a powerful instrument for healing when dialogue falters elsewhere.

Football has a unique power in Northeast India. The region lives and breathes the sport; it’s a passion that cuts across ethnic lines. When players from Meitei, Kuki, and Naga backgrounds share a pitch, chase the same ball, and celebrate (or console) together, it normalizes interaction in a way few other activities can.

The Assam Rifles understand this. By providing the venue, security, prizes, and encouragement, they’re not just maintaining law and order, they’re investing in social repair and long-term stability.

The 33 Battalion Assam Rifles, under the 9th Sector, ran the tournament under the uplifting theme “Harmony Through Football” as part of Operation Sadbhavana, their longstanding civic outreach program designed to foster goodwill through education, development, and community engagement.

Thirteen teams participated which consists of eight Naga, three Meitei, and two Kuki, creating a rare inclusive space in a state where communities often remain segregated by fear and geography.The knockout format delivered 13 gripping matches, building to an electric final between New Keithelmanbi Part II Team B (Meitei) and Haibung FC (Kuki).

The Meitei side claimed victory 5–2, but the scoreboard told only half the story. Players from rival communities competed with intensity yet fairness, tackling hard, celebrating goals, shaking hands after every whistle. They shared laughs in warm-ups, strategized side-by-side in fleeting mixed moments, and walked off the pitch with mutual respect.

Winners received trophies, medals, certificates, ₹20,000 cash, and new playing kits; runners-up got ₹10,000 plus similar honors. Non-finalists weren’t forgotten, participation certificates and cash prizes ensured everyone felt included and valued.

Individual brilliance shone through regardless of background. Athoiba Yumnam from the winning team earned Best Player honors with five goals, while teammate A Shyamananda took Best Goalkeeper for crucial saves. These awards celebrated pure talent, transcending ethnic lines in the most natural way.

What made this tournament truly remarkable was the safe haven it created. Far from the ethnic shouting matches, blame games on social media, protests over government actions, or the dangers still lurking on highways and inter-community routes, Meitei and Kuki youth played without fear.

They enjoyed the game purely, high-fiving good plays, sharing water during breaks, and bonding over a shared passion. Local residents flocked to the ground in large numbers, turning matches into vibrant community gatherings.

Cultural performances ran parallel to the action, showcasing Naga, Meitei, and Kuki traditions, music, dance, and stories that quietly reminded everyone of the region’s intertwined heritage.

This contrast couldn’t be starker. Just as the tournament unfolded, reports emerged of renewed unrest in Ukhrul, with houses burned and villagers fleeing amid Naga-Kuki clashes. Highways remain tense zones, travel between valleys and hills risky, and mixed couples still live in separation or uncertainty.

However on that football field, division dissolved for a few precious days. Young players who might otherwise never interact got to see each other as equals, teammates, rivals, friends in the making.

The Assam Rifles deserve immense credit for this initiative. They didn’t merely provide a venue and security; they engineered an environment where trust could begin to rebuild.

By prioritizing youth engagement, they targeted the generation that holds the key to the future, those who could perpetuate cycles of suspicion or break them. Football’s universal appeal in Northeast India amplified the impact: it’s a sport that unites fans across ethnicities, and when players from divided groups chase the same ball, it normalizes humanity in ways formal talks often struggle to achieve.

Critics might call it symbolic, a drop in the ocean amid a conflict that’s seen governments change hands and militant groups resurge. Recent developments, like the new chief minister’s outreach to affected areas and multi-community cabinet efforts, show top-down attempts continue.

But grassroots actions like this championship matter profoundly. They humanize the “other,” chip away at stereotypes, and create positive shared memories. In conflict zones, change rarely starts with grand declarations; it begins with ordinary people rediscovering common ground in everyday settings.This isn’t isolated.

The Assam Rifles have a track record of similar efforts, education programs mixing kids from different communities, peace meetings, and other sports events under Operation Sadbhavana.

By consistently investing beyond security duties into social repair, they’re contributing to long-term stability, even as biased narratives persist in some quarters.

The real winners here aren’t just the trophy holders or star players. They’re the youth who left the field a little less divided, the families who watched with hope, and the broader society that glimpsed what peace could feel like.

The Assam Rifles turned a simple football tournament into a tool for lasting peace, one goal, one handshake, one shared laugh at a time.

Think about the youth involved. These are the generation that could either carry forward grudges or build something better. By giving them positive experiences, competition without violence, camaraderie without fear, the force is helping shape a future where dialogue replaces division. Sustained efforts like this, combined with broader political solutions, could turn isolated moments of unity into lasting habits.

In Manipur’s fractured society, where tensions still simmer and flare, such initiatives remind us that reconciliation isn’t impossible. It just needs spaces like this, neutral, joyful, human.

Credit goes to the Assam Rifles for going beyond their traditional role. In a fractured state, they’ve proven that a football pitch can sometimes achieve more than endless negotiations. When security forces invest in community-building through sports, they contribute to real peace, not just the absence of fighting, but the presence of hope.

If initiatives like “Harmony Through Football” continue and expand, they might just help transform fleeting joy on the field into enduring reconciliation off it. In Manipur today, that’s worth celebrating.

Naorem Mohen

Naorem Mohen is the Editor of Signpost News. Explore his views and opinion on X: @laimacha.