IMPHAL: Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM), the apex body representing the Thadou community, said it once again submitted a formal memorandum to key authorities, including the Governor of Manipur, Justice Gita Mittal (Retd.), Chairperson of the Supreme Court Appointed Committee on Manipur Violence, 2023, the Union Home Secretary, and the Chief Secretary of Manipur, TIM said in a statement on Friday.
The memorandum sought urgent recognition of Thadou internally displaced persons (IDPs) residing outside Manipur as a distinct third category eligible for relief, rehabilitation, and resettlement support amid the ongoing violence in the state.
This submission comes in response to the press release issued by the Chief Secretary of Manipur on December 30, 2025, regarding the government’s initiatives for IDPs. While appreciating the state and the central governments’ sustained efforts, including the Resettlement and Rehabilitation Package announced in the Manipur Budget 2025–26, phased resettlement planning, security-led confidence-building measures, and robust monitoring mechanisms, Thadou Inpi Manipur expressed deep discontentment over the consistent oversight of Thadou IDPs “who have been forced to seek shelter beyond Manipur’s borders”.
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The memorandum highlighted that nearly two years and eight months of violence have forced many Thadou families to flee Manipur, not voluntarily but to protect their lives and livelihoods. “These IDPs, now living outside the state, are wrongly assumed to be self-sufficient simply because they are not in government-designated relief camps. This misconception ignores the severe social, psychological, educational, and economic hardships they face, including loss of homes and land, disrupted education for their children, and exclusion from official relief mechanisms”, TIM added.
The memorandum then underscored the need to recognise Thadou IDPs residing outside Manipur as a distinct category, in addition to the existing classifications of IDPs living in relief camps within the state and those residing outside camps or already resettled, or in the process of resettlement, within Manipur.
It highlighted that the self-reliance demonstrated by these displaced families, often through borrowing, informal labor, or community support, should not be misconstrued as economic stability. “Instead, it underscores the immense costs borne by these individuals, who remain invisible in official data and planning processes”, TIM also stated.
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Thadou Inpi Manipur also sought formal recognition of Thadou IDPs residing outside Manipur as a distinct third category, their inclusion in state and central policy processes, systematic assessment of their losses and present conditions, and equal access to relief, rehabilitation, resettlement, housing, livelihood, and education support without location-based discrimination. TIM also requested guidance from the Justice Gita Mittal Committee to ensure equity, inclusion, and humanitarian sensitivity in addressing this group.
The memorandum reaffirmed commitment to the government’s assurances of dignified, inclusive, secure, and sustainable resettlement for all affected by the conflict. “Recognizing this overlooked group will uphold justice and equity and prevent the inadvertent exclusion of some of the most silently affected victims”, TIM further said. Thadou Inpi Manipur then urged all stakeholders to give sympathetic consideration to the memorandum and to address this gap in relief efforts without delay.
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