UKHRUL: The Thadou Students’ Association (TSA) has appealed to all indigenous communities of Manipur to unite against “Kuki supremacy” stating that none of the indigenous Manipuri communities are safe and secure anymore under Kuki supremacism and extremism.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the TSA stated that the Kuki separatist ideology being promoted within certain sections of the Thadou community by anti-Thadou and Kuki supremacist elements has now gone beyond being merely an internal Thadou and Kuki issue.
“It is seriously disrupting stability, integrity, and peaceful coexistence in Manipur. Also, irrespective of being Meitei, Zomi, Naga, Hmar, Pangal, Mizo or Thadou, none of the indigenous Manipuri communities are safe and secure anymore under Kuki supremacism and extremism. Unless the threat posed by Kuki supremacy is addressed collectively and in unity by all indigenous Manipuri communities, lasting peace, mutual respect, and harmonious coexistence in Manipur will not be possible,” TSA stated.
Also Read | Thadou Students’ Association Appeals for Calm and Peace as Violence Escalates in Manipur
TSA highlighted the growing campaign through social media reels, videos, and public discourse claiming that “Thadou is Kuki and Kuki is Thadou.”
“Certain individuals and representatives of some organizations, with limited or incomplete understanding of history, have also made statements equating Thadou with Kuki. Such narratives only create further confusion and misidentification instead of focusing on meaningful solutions to the ongoing crisis,” the statement read.
It stated that Kuki is not an ethnic name but a separatist political ideology.
It added that Thadous are recorded as “Khongjai” in the original Meitei Mayek script of Cheitharol Kumbaba, the royal chronicle of the Kings of Manipur – not as “Kuki.”
TSA further stated that during the colonial period, when Cheitharol Kumbaba was translated and interpreted, notably after 1891, when Major Maxwell reportedly instructed an English translation through a Bengali clerk, the term “Khongjai” was rendered as “Kuki” instead of “Thadou.” “The mistranslation and subsequent legitimization of the equation “Khongjai = Kuki = Thadou” in relation to the Cheitharol Kumbaba by various scholars and academic works became the root cause of the later misidentification and confusion of the Thadou people as “Kuki, it claimed.
It further maintained that the term “Khongsai” was also one of the major causes of the Thadou–Kuki confusion, claiming that the term was introduced among the Thadou people by certain anti-Thadou and Kuki supremacist groups to create confusion with the historical term “Khongjai” or “Thadou” and to dominate Thadou society in the name of Kuki organizations, initiated by “Khongsai” subscribers initially and now followed by many Thadous now.
Also Read | Thadou Students’ Assn Demands NIA Probe into Killing of Three Thadou Church Leaders
Asserting that calling Thadou as Kuki, or Kuki as Thadou, does not make sense; at this point in time, it is more important to understand and respect the distinct Thadou identity and position as separate from Kuki.
“The Thadou Inpi (formerly the Thadou National Council and Thadou Tribe Council) and the TSA have opposed since the 1980s the recognition of “Kuki” or “Any Kuki tribes,” in the ST list of Manipur, viewing it as a threat to national security due to illegal immigration from neighboring countries under the idea of a universal Kuki identity… The Thadou perspective on opposing and deleting “Any Kuki tribes” remains important for NRC updates, the Census, and related issues,” TSA stated.
It claimed the recognition of “Any Kuki tribes” as Scheduled Tribes in Manipur in 2003 as the most unfortunate development effectively duplicating the already recognized “Thadou tribe” or “Khongjai” people under the label “Kuki/Any Kuki tribes” and legitimized “Kuki” as a community in Manipur.
Also Read | Thadou Inpi Manipur Demands End to SoO with Kuki Militant Groups
” Unfortunately, a large section of the Thadou tribe has still not been able to free itself from what is described as Kuki supremacist radicalization due to strong influence and suppression by Kuki extremism and militancy,’ it stated, adding that the recognition of “Any Kuki tribes” in Manipur remains one of the principal causes of the present problem
Reiterating that Thadou is not Kuki, TSA stated the Thadou community and its recognized leaders have never passed any resolution or declaration to rename the Thadou people as Kuki and therefore, the Thadou tribe cannot be renamed as the Kuki tribe. “Thadou identity, institutions, and nomenclature must be respected as they are — simply as Thadou,” it stated.