UKHRUL: Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM), the apex body of the Thadou community unequivocally has rejected and condemned Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand’s meeting with the Kuki-Zo Council (KZC) in Guwahati, Assam, on March 21.
TIM, in a statement, alleged that the meeting was a calculated act of political deception, selective Kuki appeasement, and a blatant betrayal of the people of Manipur.
“By engaging a body the state government previously declared non-existent, the Chief Minister has exposed the collapse of credibility, consistency, and integrity in governance while surrendering to an illegitimate, non-indigenous militant group that seeks to permanently destroy and annihilate the social fabric, integrity and indigenous identity of the people of Manipur,” TIM stated.
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It stated that on December 18, 2024, the Government of Manipur had officially declared that “there is no organisation called Kuki-Zo Council… its origin and authenticity are highly questionable.”
Alleging the chief minister of legitimising the “phantom entity” through closed-door talks outside the state, TIM termed the initiative a political opportunism.
“This is not governance—it is political opportunism of the worst kind. Such a brazen reversal demands not explanation, but accountability,” it stated.
It further stated that the so-called Kuki-Zo Council has no democratic mandate, no customary legitimacy, and no acceptance among the very communities it claims to represent.
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“The Thadou community has historically and categorically rejected the imposed “Kuki” identity and has already built grassroots pathways for peaceful coexistence with the Meitei community. Zomi (a nomenclature for several non-Kuki tribes of Manipur, Hmar, Mizo (Lushai and Ralte), and several others have repeatedly rejected and disowned the “Kuki-Zo” label. KZC is nothing more than a loose front of self-appointed actors and militant-linked interests attempting to manufacture legitimacy where none exists. It is a hollow construct—and the Chief Minister knows it,” the statement further read.
“The contradictions are glaring and indefensible: The Chief Minister admits the term “Kuki-Zo” is “confusing,” yet extended recognition and engagement without clarity, framework, or accountability. A secretive meeting was held outside Manipur on an internal issue, with no agenda disclosed and no public record. An entity once dismissed as fictitious is now treated as a stakeholder. This is not policy. This is surrender dressed up as diplomacy. Past engagements involving this same entity—whether linked to highway reopening claims or arrangements involving militant groups—have yielded nothing but failure, exposing the government’s repeated reliance on ineffective and questionable intermediaries,” it added.
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Stating that the genuine grassroots peace efforts between Thadou and Meitei communities have been deliberately ignored by both the state and central governments, it stated that Thadou IDPs, especially those outside Manipur, continue to suffer in silence while selective and opaque benefits are extended elsewhere.
Terming the Guwahati meeting as exclusionary, opaque, and devoid of legal or democratic legitimacy, Thadou Inpi Manipur placed the following demands:
1. Full and immediate disclosure of the Guwahati meeting’s agenda, participants, and outcomes.
2. A public justification for the government’s complete policy reversal since December 2024.
3. Formal acknowledgment that KZC has no legitimate representational standing amongst the indigenous Manipuri communities.
4. Immediate, equitable, and transparent rehabilitation for all IDPs, including every Thadou IDP, backed by publicly accessible data.
5. Recognition and institutional support for existing grassroots peace initiatives.
6. A transparent, inclusive peace process conducted within Manipur—not behind closed doors outside the state.
Thadou Inpi Manipur further added, “Peace cannot be forged through falsehood. It cannot be negotiated with fabricated entities. And it cannot be imposed by excluding the largest indigenous stakeholders of the hills. By legitimising the illegitimate, the Chief Minister has not advanced peace—he has undermined it.”
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It also warned that it will not remain silent as political expediency is used to erase identity, sideline genuine voices, and distort the truth.
“We will continue to stand firm for justice, dignity, and the indivisible integrity of Manipur. The people are watching. History will not forget,” it added.