Erase AKT from ST list : Thadou Inpi
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, April 24 2025: The Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM) has asserted that problems like illegal immigration and border security concerns will persist until the classification of 'Any Kuki Tribes (AKT)' in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list is addressed.

TIM, in a statement, said that deletion of AKT from the ST list is important for the protection of indigenous communities of Manipur.

Demanding that deletion of AKT from the ST list must be completed before updating National Register of Citizens (NRC) to bring lasting peace and stability in the State, TIM reasoned that NRC or any other similar exercise will not solve the problem as long as AKT enjoy ST status.

AKT was fraudulently and unnecessarily added to the ST list in 2003 for control and political reasons, paving the way for (mass) influx and legalisation of illegal immigrants, TIM claimed and added that existence of AKT is a direct support of illegal immigration at the cost of National and State interests.

There is no Kuki other than the controversial AKT listed in 2003 (in the ST list of Manipur), it claimed and alleged that the first and only time Kuki has an official population record is the 2011 Census with a population of 28,342 .

Civil society organizations like Kuki Inpi and Kuki Students' Organisation, along with over 40 Kuki militant groups, particularly the KNO, are actively promoting the agenda to make Kuki (Any Kuki Tribe) the largest population group in Manipur, it claimed.

TIM, meanwhile, alleged that Kuki has no historical record and is not a recognised ethnic group in Myanmar too.

"The Chin group of native ethnic people of Myanmar consists of 53 sub groups including Thadou and others, but Kuki is not one of them," it claimed.

TIM went on to claim that Kuki is listed as 'other' in the Census code of Myanmar.

"Kuki is not an ethnicity nor the name of an ethnic or cultural group but a politically motivated vested interest group with extremist ideology, designed and created for supremacy and control, particularly over the local indigenous communities," it said.

TIM also said that Thadou is a distinct and independent group, separate from Kuki while referencing a resolution from the Thadou Convention 2024, which declared that any organization misrepresenting Thadou as Kuki or part of Kuki is illegitimate and doesn't speak for the Thadou people or their interests.

Stating that Thadou people live in fear of Kuki terrorists and supremacist groups, who allegedly persecute and silence them through violence, it asserted that the Thadou tribe is a long-standing victim of Kuki terrorism and supremacy.

Further stating that they believe in peaceful coexistence, it said that the wrongful and unacceptable imposition of Kuki on Thadou and other indigenous communities of Manipur has to stop once and for all for the sake of fairness, justice and peace.

TIM called on all indigenous communities to collaborate in protecting their rights and interests while preserving the unique identity and cultural heritage of each community.

It said that the Thadou community faces numerous challenges and threats from anti-peace groups, including armed militants, self-serving politicians, and individuals pursuing narrow political and personal interests.

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