The Thadou Inpi Manipur has asked members of their community not to support a “referendum” being considered by a Kuki body to decide whether they want a separate administration carved out from Manipur, or continue living with other communities in an undivided Manipur.
The Thadou Inpi Manipur, which says it is the top decision-making body of the indigenous distinct Thadou tribe, in a statement requested community members “to stay away from the [referendum] exercise in order to avoid getting into unnecessary problems.”
“The Constitution of India does not permit any organisation or group to conduct a referendum within the sovereign territory of India unless expressly authorised by an Act of parliament. Such kind of unauthorised exercise is illegal, unconstitutional, and without any legal standing, be it for a separate administration within the Indian Union or separation from India,” the Thadou Inpi Manipur said.
“Regardless of the fact that this ‘referendum’ exercise is unconstitutional, illegitimate or illegal, there is a possibility of members of the community and public to participate in the exercise, either by choice or coercion, if held due to ignorance and disinformation or misinformation,” the Thadou Inpi Manipur said.
The Thadou Inpi Manipur and their leaders say Thadou is a distinct tribe – “not Kuki, or underneath Kuki, or part of Kuki, but a separate, independent entity from Kuki.”
It has been demanding the removal of ‘Any Kuki Tribes’ from Manipur’s Scheduled Tribes (ST) list. The Thadou Inpi Manipur also alleged “Kuki supremacists” have been threatening smaller distinct tribes to align with them.
“Given the distinct historical, social, and cultural identity of the Thadou community as law-abiding, peace-loving citizens of India, we cannot and will not align ourselves with such anti-national political movement or activity that does not reflect our principles and aspirations. Accordingly, no Thadou individuals should participate in this Kuki ‘referendum’ exercise or share personal information for this campaign,” the Thadou Inpi Manipur said in the statement on Monday.
Earlier this month, the Thadou Inpi Manipur and the Meitei Alliance, a civil society group of the Meitei community, held talks and issued a joint statement that said the meeting reaffirmed the exigency of taking up initiatives towards promoting the peaceful and harmonious relationship and understanding among diverse communities that shape the cultural fabric of Manipur.
They sought the preservation and promotion of Manipur as a cohesive and harmonious multi-ethnic society with a sense of unity, integrity, peace, respect and safety among all members of the society.
The joint statement asked for delisting of “vague or fake nomenclature such as ‘Any Kuki tribes'” from the ST list, and demanded recognition of the original inhabitants of Manipur, including all its original communities, and updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The valley-dominant Meitei community and over a dozen distinct tribes collectively known as Kuki, who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation. Over 250 have died in the violence and nearly 50,000 have been internally displaced.
