Attack on Thadou leader is an act of terrorism, assault against Thadou community and humanity
- September 1st, 2024 : Thadou Community International (TCI) -

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Thadou Community International (TCI) is utterly shocked by the third and gruesome violent attack and burning down of Michael Lamjathang’s home at Peniel village in Churachandpur at around 12.20 pm on August 31, 2024 during the Kuki rally in the area. The attacks carried out by suspected armed Kuki militants, in what appears to be a coordinated show of their power and evil supremacist agenda, happened only 5 days after the last attack on August 25 by around 30-armed miscreants suspected to be Kuki supremacist militants. All these coordinated and targeted attacks should be treated as terrorism and dealt with accordingly.

Representing the silent voice of the Thadou people, we stand with Michael Lamjathang as we, as a community, continue to experience the onslaught of Kuki supremacists, whose repeated actions only further demonstrate the dark reality of the danger and evilness of Kuki supremacy and its agenda to the society. Clearly Thadou is always targeted whenever there is a Kuki rally. In the midst of this challenging time, we encourage all Thadous to remain calm but have one voice and stand united and strong against such challenges.

It is utterly shocking how the attacks have happened with no punitive action taken on the perpetrators of all previous violent attacks against Michael, the great defender of his people and Thadou rights. Are the local law enforcement officials complicit with the perpetrators of the crime or are they overruled by the criminals?

Is it the established government authorities or the criminals that is in charge of the local area administration? The involvement of ambitious and selfish politicians, Kuki militant groups and so-called civil society organisations operating in the local area cannot be ruled out. The government has to answer all these.

We consider the attack on Michal Lamjathang as an assault on the whole Thadou community and India’s democracy and civilisation. In view of the grave concerns caused by the attacks, which could turn into another communal or ethnic violence, government authorities must take real and swift actions on the ground without any further delay to bring the perpetrators to justice and to prevent further violence.

It is clear Michael is attacked for being a vocal and brave Thadou leader, while the attackers are motivated by hatred and intention to instil fear in the minds of the public, especially leaders and members of the Thadou community, to silence and subdue Thadou tribe in furthering Kuki supremacist agenda for selfish gains and political control. The Thadou experience of historical and ongoing persecution and violation of their human rights is too widespread and rampant to ignore any longer. If needed, TCI will not hesitate to issue a dossier on this matter.

We would like to emphasize that Thadou is not Kuki or part of the fake Kuki tribe, and hence should not be forced to be. Kuki was only an artificial make-up name of several constituent tribes, without which it is non-existent. At best, Kuki is the 2003-manufactured fake Kuki tribe called Any Kuki tribes (AKT) having a population of 28,342 per the 2011 Manipur census.

In light of the grave situation, and the suppression and oppressions faced by the Thadous, and in line with Thadou values, we urge all Thadous to come together and push back Kuki supremacist agenda through non-violent means in order to set ourselves free from the yoke of Kuki supremacy and control. Thadous to say we are just Thadou without prefix or suffix, not Kuki, is nothing compared to the decades-old concerted Kuki campaign against Thadou.

If there was nothing wrong in so-called Kukis rejecting and supressing Thadou, which they have aggressively been doing for decades, involving all kinds of force, intimidation, coercive control and violent tactics, then what is wrong in Thadous simply saying they are just Thadou, not Kuki? Thadous do not need a permission from Kuki to express our opinion on certain important issues or to claim and assert our distinctive Thadou identity. It is none of Kukis’ business.

For too long, the well-organised and powerful Kuki supremacist groups have successfully used Kuki card to suppress, manipulate and bait the Thadous for the advancement and fulfilment of Kuki supremacist agenda at the cost of Thadou. However, not all Thadous are timid and subservient to Kuki supremacy, but bravely fight for their rights lawfully and non-violently. The Kuki supremacists cannot tolerate this, resorting to violence.

We would like to advise Kuki brethren to stop their anti-Thadou Kuki supremacist agenda and leave us peace-loving Thadous alone as we want to live peacefully and freely with a sense of dignity and pride in our culture and identity and in harmony with others on the principle of mutual respect, justice and mutual understanding. We will not remain silent to the continued persecution, oppressions and attacks against Thadous but will continue to fight for justice and rights of the Thadou people.