Erase Kuki from 'Thadou-Kuki' : TIM
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, February 02 2026: The Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM) has urged the Government to correct the "Thadou-Kuki" nomenclature used in educational curricula as Thadou alone.

TIM submitted a memorandum in this regard to the Governor, Chief Secretary and Commissioner-cum-Secretary, SCERT today.

The TIM recalled that the Gauhati High Court (Civil Rule No.320/1990 (Gauhati) and Civil Rule No.295/1987 (Imphal)), in the full bench landmark judgment of January 6, 1993 had directed the Government of Manipur to consti- tute an expert committee to examine the controversy.

The expert committee, comprising scholars from the Anthropological Survey of India, NEHU and Manipur University was constituted by the Government of Manipur on October 28, 1993 and the committee submitted its report on February 3, 1995 affirming that "Thadou" has been the established name of the language for over two centuries.

However, despite this finding, the expert committee and the State Government on February 7, 1996 adopted "Thadou-Kuki" (Thadou Dash Kuki) as a political compromise to appease certain groups and issued a formal order on March 15, 1996 thereby undermining the Thadou cultural identity, it said.

TIM stated that the hybrid term "Thadou-Kuki" is historically inaccurate, politically imposed, and violates the distinct ethnic, cultural and linguistic identity of the Thadou tribe, which is a recognized Scheduled Tribe of Manipur with its own recorded history and language.

Despite Kuki supremacist cultural genocide campaigns over the last 70 years, the Thadou community has consistently resisted the supremacy of "Kuki", which forcefully clubs Thadou as Kuki, leading to systematic ethnic misidentification, dilution of Thadou history, and long-term confusion among students, it said.

TIM has strongly opposed the continued use of "Thadou-Kuki" as an MIL language in SCERT materials, BSEM, COSEM, Manipur University (MU), and other academic institutions as it misleads future generations, undermines academic integrity, and results in the mislabelling and misidentification of the Thadou people.

TIM further highlighted that the damage caused by this misnaming has become more severe after the May 3, 2023 Manipur violence where Thadou people were victims of attacks, displacement, and false portrayal as part of conflicting groups due to generic labelling under "Kuki" .

TIM demanded that the Government of Manipur officially restore the name of the language as "Thadou" alone in all textbooks, curricula, and official records, in accordance with historical truth, expert findings, and constitutional protections under Articles 29 and 30 .

TIM stated that correcting this long-standing blunder is essential for ethnic clarity, cultural justice, academic honesty, correct naming of ethnic identity and lasting peace in Manipur.

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