Manipur's Thadou Tribe Body Asks Panel To Recognise 3rd Category Of Displaced People

A top body of the Thadou tribe in Manipur has requested the Justice Gita Mittal (retired) Committee, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla to recognise a third category of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the state where Meitei-Kuki ethnic clashes broke out in May 2023.

Currently, the state government recognises two categories of IDPs - those living in relief camps and registered with deputy commissioners (DCs), and those living outside relief camps but within Manipur and registered with DCs.

In separate memorandums, the Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM) said displaced families of the Thadou tribe who are living outside Manipur and outside government relief camps, and who remain unregistered and unreached by any form of state or central assistance since the outbreak of violence over two years ago should be recognised as a third category of IDPs.

The Thadou Inpi Manipur has highlighted the community as a distinct tribe with their own ethnic identity, having its own language, culture, traditions, and history, and not a part of the umbrella term 'Kuki'.

"Thadou is not Kuki, or underneath Kuki, or part of Kuki, but a separate, independent entity from Kuki... Thadou is one of the original 29 native/indigenous tribes of Manipur, India, that were all simultaneously and duly recognised as independent Scheduled Tribes of Manipur under the 1956 Presidential Order, Government of India," the Thadou Convention held in Assam's Guwahati in November 2024 had declared.

In the memorandum submitted to the Justice Mittal Committee on relief, rehabilitation and resettlement of displaced persons in Manipur, the Thadou Inpi Manipur said many members of the Thadou tribe who can be categorised as IDPs include those who fled amid life-threatening violence, suffering total loss of movable and immovable property, with only a few retaining plots of land.

They can also include those currently living in cities such as Delhi, Guwahati, Shillong, Bengaluru, and others, facing immense hardship, psychological trauma, and lack of stability; those who have not been officially recognised or registered as IDPs by any government authority, and those who have not received any form of relief, compensation or rehabilitation assistance from either the state or central government to date, the Thadou Inpi Manipur said in a statement.

"TIM [Thadou Inpi Manipur] has called for the immediate issuance of displacement certificates, a formal verification exercise, and inclusion in all relief and rehabilitation frameworks, while also urging authorities to acknowledge the resilience of these families who have survived two years without support," TIM joint general secretary Manggou Thadou said in the statement.

"These Thadou families were displaced not out of privilege, but out of fear and necessity. Their survival should be recognised, not punished. It is time the government formally acknowledges them as Internally Displaced Persons under a distinct and just category," Manggou Thadou said.

The memorandums were signed by TIM general secretary Michael Lamjathang Haokip, who says his house in Manipur's Churachandpur was attacked twice by an armed mob for asserting Thadou as a distinct tribe. The Thadou Inpi Manipur has also been demanding the government to remove 'Any Kuki Tribes' from the list of Scheduled Tribes in Manipur.

Apart from the Justice Mittal Committee, the Thadou body also submitted the memorandums to the Union home minister, the Manipur governor, and the chief secretary. The Supreme Court in March extended the tenure of the committee till July 31.

A preliminary list of displaced families of the Thadou tribe was enclosed with the memorandums.