Open letter to Pu N. Biren Singh, Hon’ble Chief Minister and the people of Manipur
- 08th August 2024 : Thadou Community International -

*

Respected Sir and all,

Greetings from the Thadou Community in India and worldwide.

We begin by honouring the memory of all those who have fallen victim to the tragic violence in Manipur and extend our deepest empathy to the survivors and their families. Our fervent hope is for a future defined by peace, justice, non-violent resolutions, and respect for human rights.

Manipur is experiencing one of the darkest periods in its history due to the devastating violence that broke out on May 3, 2023, causing untold suffering, especially to the Thadous. While the situation has improved in recent months, much work remains for resettlement, healing, and ensuring long-lasting peace.

As you know, Manipur is a multiethnic society home to various communities, such as the Meitei, Meitei-Pangal, and the original 29 linguistic and cultural tribes of Manipur. The 29 tribes, listed in the Scheduled Tribes Lists Modification Order, 1956, are:
Aimol, Anal, Angami, Chiru, Chothe, Gangte, Hmar, Kabui (Rongmei), Kacha Naga, Khoirao, Koireng, Kom, Lamgang, Any Mizo (Lushai), Maram, Maring, Mao, Monsang, Moyon, Paite, Purum, Ralte, Sema, Simte, Suhte, Tangkhul, Thadou, Vaiphei, and Zou. Your commitment to Manipur’s multiethnic society is evident through the inclusion of these tribes as indigenous people under the ILP Rules, 2022 and the construction of tribal museums for each tribe and ethnic huts for each tribe at the Sangai Ethnic Park, Moirang.

The Thadous have a rich heritage and history, always known as Thadou, with no prefix or suffix. Thadous are recorded as Thadou in all censuses of Manipur since 1881, with a population of 215,913 in the 2011 census, and they have always been the single largest tribe in Manipur. We are deeply passionate about our identity and name, which holds profound meaning for our past, present, and future. We insist on being called correctly as Thadou, not by any other name, which undermines our unique identity and indigeneity.

We would like to state that the Thadou tribe is distinct and any confusion with other tribes surmount to being racist, abusive, disrespectful, traumatizing and it puts the Thadou tribe in poor light. It may be mentioned here that we are part and parcel of the larger family group called the Zo/Mizo conglomerate. Any name calling beside Zo/Mizo will not be tolerated and it will perceive as wilful and intentional insult to demean the Thadou tribe.

So, we humbly request everyone, including individuals, elected members, organizations, the media, and the government, to stop calling the Thadous by any other name but to refer to us only as Thadou. Similarly, other Zo/Mizo tribes should be called by their proper names individually, and Zo/Mizo collectively.

We hope this letter enlightens you and others, leading to the respectful use of our proper name, Thadou. We humbly request you to consider making a statement in the on-going Sixth Session of the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly, acknowledging our concerns and supporting our proposition.

Peace and kind regards,
The Thadou Community International