DMCC complains against commercialising Thabal Chongba
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, April 03 2025: Delhi Meetei Coordinating Committee (DMCC) has lodged a complaint to the Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police HQ, against a private firm, Project X, for what it calls a blatant violation and commercial exploitation of the sacred Meetei cultural event, Thabal Chongba.

DMCC has urged immediate legal action, expressing deep outrage over the unauthorised organisation of the event on Saturday at Surat Garden, near Kishangarh, Vasant Kunj, South Delhi.

In its complaint, DMCC contended that Thabal Chongba is not a commercial event but a sacred cultural tradition observed only during the Yaoshang Festival in March and on Sajibu Cheiraoba, the Meetei New Year.

Condemning the arbitrary organisation of the event on April 5 as a blatant distortion and an unforgivable insult to the Meetei culture, the committee asserted that the Meetei community has never permitted any private or commercial firm to take over this traditional event, which has always been organised by Meetei student and women's groups.

"No private entity can claim authority over it," DMCC declared, accusing Project X of deliberately misusing and misrepresenting the cultural event for profit while disregarding the sentiments of the Meetei people.

The act is a serious provocation that has sparked deep outrage and condemnation among the Meeteis in Delhi and beyond, the committee said, describing the move as a brazen act of cultural appropriation that is both offensive and unacceptable.

Holding Project X responsible, DMCC demanded immediate cancellation of the unauthorised Thabal Chongba event on April 5 and arrest of the organisers responsible for what it describes as cultural exploitation and misrepresentation.

Additionally, DMCC demanded assurances from the authorities that such violations will not occur in the future, while urging the Delhi Police to take swift and decisive action to protect the cultural and religious dignity of the Meetei community.

The committee also warned that failure to act would be seen as negligence and that it would be compelled to escalate protest through legal and public avenues.

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