Manipur is yet to see normalcy over a year since ethnic violence began in May 2023
A top global body of the Thadou tribe has welcomed Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh's statement in the assembly that all communities are working hard to bring peace in the ethnic violence-hit state, except for a few agenda-driven leaders who are misleading the people of the state.
The Thadou Community International (TCI) in an open letter on August 8 addressed to Mr Singh had drawn his attention to the tribe's "inaccurate" reference by leaders and the media, and sought his cooperation to spread awareness that "the Thadou tribe is distinct and any confusion with other tribes surmount to being racist, abusive, disrespectful, traumatising and it puts the Thadoi tribe in poor light".
"We humbly request you to consider making a statement in the sixth session of the 12th Manipur legislative assembly, acknowledging our concerns and supporting our proposition," the TCI said in the letter.
Ground For Peace Talks
The TCI's statement is significant as peace talks in violence-hit Manipur cannot proceed without accepting the genuinity of identities - though contested - amid the simmering tension between the valley-dominant Meitei community and the nearly two dozen tribes dominant in some hill districts of Manipur.
While the Kukis - a term given by the British in colonial times - claim to represent the interests of these two dozen tribes, the TCI says Thadou is the single-largest tribe in Manipur per the 2011 Census, and only belongs to the "larger family group called the Zo/Mizo conglomerate", not Kuki.
During the discussion and voting on demands for grants on the last day of the 6th session of the 12th Manipur assembly on August 12, the Chief Minister had said "violence was perpetrated by some, not all, people."
"Not every Thadou, Paite, Hmar had a hand in the violence. You have seen, Hmar people spoke so well (in the peace meeting), we had tears, they too had tears, that all this happened due to misunderstandings," Mr Singh said, referring to the August 1 peace meeting between Meitei and the Hmar tribe representatives in Jiribam, where they agreed to work for normalcy nearly two months after ethnic violence that began over a year ago reached the district bordering Assam.
"We agreed that we all face the menace of drugs and illegal immigrants, who want to destroy the old settlers. Despite the huge pressure they get, they are talking to us now. Thadous have also come on board for talks. We are working to invite Thadou and Hmar leaders to Imphal (state capital). No one can say anything to the old settlers. We already have 1961 as the base year. It is only those who came after 1961 who are creating trouble," Mr Singh said in the assembly.
"We are not enemies. Our Hmar brothers and sisters, Thadou brothers and sisters have reciprocated well. My colleagues are also reaching out to other communities. I would like to tell the people of Manipur that we are trying very hard to bring peace to Manipur. We need the people's support.
"The Union government and the Manipur government have already started work on the core issues raised by the people. Anyone can come to me for documentary proof of the work being done. Please do not believe in lies spread by those who play politics, who play with emotions. Do not listen to those who are spiteful for losing power after ruling for 15-20 years.
"Our Naga brothers and sisters who are present here are also working very hard for peace for all communities," the Chief Minister said in the assembly.
"Any Kuki Tribe" Controversy
Manipur BJP spokesperson T Michael Lamjathang Haokip, who belongs to the Thadou tribe, told NDTV they have been requesting the state government to ask the Centre for removing the term "Any Kuki Tribes" from the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list.
The demand for this deletion has merits due to the potential of this particular tribe being misused by any group of people from any culture anywhere in the world at the cost of the indigenous or native people, the TCI said in a statement on August 14.
"Whereas Thadou is an indigenous tribe with its own distinct language, costumes, culture, traditions and rich heritage and history, 'Any Kuki tribe' was created in 2002, and fraudulently added to the Scheduled Tribes list of Manipur in 2003, so that their leaders could exploit this separatist movement for their own personal wealth creation and political control," the TCI alleged.
"There has been enough bloodshed. It is time all tribes and communities come together for talks. We need to identify the few troublemakers who have been misleading people," Mr Haokip said.
Over 220 have died and nearly 50,000 have been internally displaced in Manipur. The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the nearly two dozen tribes that share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar's Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.