TIM asserts Thadou identity
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 16 2026: Asserting that the Thadou tribe has been "ignored", the Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM), in a statement today, has denounced the use of blanket terms "Kuki" or "Kuki-Zo" by Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand "to identify all 12 non-Naga tribes of the State" .

The Thadou Inpi Manipur reaffirmed that the Thadou is a distinct ethnic group of people, and is not Kuki, or underneath Kuki, or part of Kuki.

"The Chief Minister uses "Kuki" or "Kuki-Zo" as a blanket term to identify all 12 non-Naga (Zo) tribes of the State, yet engages Zomi and Hmar people and organisations separately from Kuki organisations like the Kuki Zo Council (KZC) and Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM).

However, the State Government has ignored the Thadou, the largest tribe in the State of Manipur represented by TIM, the apex body of the Thadou tribe," it said.

TIM asserted that the KZC and KIM do not represent any tribal community; rather, they represent those who espouse the "Kuki-supremacist and violent movement and serve as mouthpieces for Kuki militant groups" .

While Zomi is represented by the Zomi Council, Hmar by the Hmar Inpui, Mizo by the Mizo Peoples Convention, the Thadou community is represented by Thadou Inpi Manipur, it added.

"Moreover, the State Government's separate engagement with the Zomi Council and Hmar Inpui, apart from KIM and KZC, runs against the blanket use of the term "Kuki" or "Kuki-Zo." This inconsistency shows that the State Government has no clarity on the definition of the term "Kuki", and evidently proves that the State Government is totally confused and influenced by Kuki supremacists, thereby conveniently treating the Thadou as Kuki and as part of the Kuki political ideology of balkanising Manipur.

This is totally unacceptable and contrary to TIM's established position on Manipur's territorial integrity," it asserted.

Even as the Government has reached out to Kuki, Zomi, Hmar and other leaders and organisations, it has been reliably learnt that many Thadou individuals, as well as Kuki, Zomi, Hmar and Mizo individuals have started visiting Imphal for transit, hospital treatment and other purposes without TIM's knowledge, coordination or authorisation, it said.

"Such movements, particularly when facilitated by the State Government or political parties, raise serious concerns regarding the vulnerability of the situation.

Accordingly, TIM and other Manipur CSOs have no organisational association with such visits and bear no responsibility for the personal conduct or movements of these individuals," it said.

The Thadou apex body further clarified that "there are various Thadou individuals advocating a Union Territory or Separate Administration in the name of Kuki or Kuki-Zo" but they do not represent the Thadou community or TIM." These individuals are "misguided and brainwashed by Kuki supremacy and radicalism," it said.

To identify and affirm the distinct Thadou identity, separate from the "Kuki separatist ideology," TIM has issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), which includes mandatory registration through the online portal www.thadou.com, it informed.

"TIM remains committed to genuine dialogue and peace, and insists that the Thadou community be represented only through TIM, not through proxies or self-appointed Kuki supremacy," it said.

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