TIM junks KIM charges, sticks to stance on peace
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, August 11 2025: Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM) has strongly rejected what it called false, misleading and provocative allegations by the Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) over TIM's August 6 participation in the 'Road to Peace in Manipur' initiative in Imphal.

In a detailed rebuttal, TIM accused KIM of attempting to distort history, undermine the distinct Thadou indigenous identity and incite communal tensions, while reaffirming its commitment to an inclusive, indigenous-led peace process.

TIM asserted that the global Thadou community functions under the Thadou Inpi Constitution (TIC), framed and adopted on October 29, 2016, following the Thadou Conclave Delhi 2016 Declaration which renamed the Thadou Tribe Council to Thadou Inpi.

The TIC's purpose is to protect the Thadou people's distinct identity and rights, not to promote any Kuki ideology.

It recalled that the Conclave's Declaration No 7 formally disowned KIM and its affiliates, stating clearly that "Thadou is not Kuki".

According to TIM, the tenure of the Thadou Inpi-GHQ for 2019-2023 ended amid the breakdown of law and order following outbreak of the Manipur crisis.

It alleged that Kuki supremacists and militants issued death threats to Thadou leaders and dismantled Thadou organisations, paving the way for the creation of two illegitimate bodies - the Thadou Tribe Council (TTC-GHQ) in October 2023 and a new Thadou Inpi-GHQ in April 2024 - both allegedly aligned with Kuki militant groups and advocating "Separate Administration" or "Union Territory" outside Manipur.

TIM accused Kuki ideologists of creating fake Thadou entities to spread false propaganda and incite violence.

In response, TIM said, Thadou diaspora representatives from nine countries formed the Thadou Community International (TCI) on August 3, 2024, to protect the Thadou identity and rights and address human rights violations.

Together with the Thadou Students' Association, the TCI organised the Thadou Convention in Guwahati in 2024, forming Thadou apex bodies in several states, with TIM recognised as the sole legitimate apex body in Manipur.

TIM asserted that it has never been part of the Kuki identity, a stance dating back decades.

It noted that while its institutional lineage traces to the Thadou National Council formed in 1984, later renamed Thadou Tribe Council in 1992 and Thadou Inpi in 2015, KIM was formed only in 1993 after the Kuki-Naga conflict.

Recent KIM resolutions, such as the "Inpi Proclamation No 2" and "Shillong Summit Resolution", do not apply to Thadous, who number about 216,000 in Manipur, compared to KIM's "Any Kuki Tribes" population of about 28,000, it said.

Calling KIM's branding of TIM as an "enemy of the Kuki people" unconstitutional, baseless and dangerously provocative, TIM alleged that Kuki leaders, including pastors, have been using churches and social media to promote violence, vengeance and supremacist rhetoric.

It cited the claim by KNO president PS Haokip of "Kuki quotas in heaven" as an example of extremist ideology, accusing certain religious leaders of inciting hostility against Thadous and other indigenous groups.

TIM warned that if the Government of India continues to "appease Kuki supremacists" and allows persecution of Thadou community, the government should provide arms to Thadous for self-defence.

It stressed that as a peace-loving people without armed militant groups, Thadous have endured repeated attacks from more than 40 Kuki militant outfits, but "enough is enough" .

The organisation called on all indigenous communities and stakeholders to reject KIM's rhetoric and support the August 6 TIM-Manipur CSOs Covenant of Understanding, describing it as a historic step toward indigenous unity.

"The Thadou leadership has consistently stood for peace despite severe persecution and threats," TIM noted and urged authorities to stop legitimising non-indigenous Kuki CSOs and armed groups under the Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement.

Reaffirming its commitment to peace based on mutual respect among all indigenous peoples, TIM warned that without addressing Kuki radicalism and terrorism, lasting peace in Manipur will remain out of reach.

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