TSA rejected claims equating Thadou with Kuki identity and asserted that Thadou is a distinct ethnic community with separate history and culture.
Imphal, May 23: Thadou Students’ Association (TSA) has issued a detailed statement rejecting what it described as growing attempts on social media and public platforms to equate Thadou identity with Kuki identity, asserting that “Thadou is not Kuki” and calling for recognition of Thadou as a distinct ethnic community with its own history, culture and institutions.
In a media release issued on Friday, TSA said recent campaigns through reels, videos and public discussions claiming “Thadou is Kuki and Kuki is Thadou” were creating confusion and misidentification instead of contributing to meaningful dialogue during the ongoing crisis in Manipur.
The statement, issued by TSA spokesperson Vicky Thadou, argued that Kuki is “not an ethnic name” but a “separatist political ideology.” According to the association, many people associated with the Kuki identity are Thadou-speaking individuals who share common villages, clans, attire and ancestry with Thadou people, but this does not make the two identities synonymous.
The organisation also claimed that members of other tribes, including Hmar, Vaiphei, Simte, Gangte and Zou communities, participate in Kuki organisations and ideological bodies such as Kuki Inpi and Kuki student organisations.
Referring to historical records, TSA stated that the Thadou people were originally recorded as “Khongjai” in the Meitei royal chronicle Cheitharol Kumbaba and not as “Kuki.” According to the statement, during the colonial period, particularly after 1891, British officials and translators allegedly rendered “Khongjai” as “Kuki” during English translations of the chronicle, which TSA described as a mistranslation that later contributed to confusion regarding Thadou identity.
The association claimed that the equation of “Khongjai = Kuki = Thadou” in later academic and colonial writings became the basis for what it described as the misidentification of Thadou people.
TSA further referred to the Scheduled Tribe classification process after Manipur’s merger with India in 1949. It stated that under the 1956 Scheduled Tribe list amendment and Presidential Order related to Manipur, 29 communities were separately identified, and Thadou was distinctly listed under Entry No. 27. The statement claimed that “Kuki” was not separately mentioned in the list.
The organisation also referred to historical disputes surrounding the naming of the Thadou Bible and the Thadou language. According to TSA, attempts had been made since the 1940s to rename the “Thadou Bible” as the “Kuki Bible,” while the Thadou language was later referred to as “Kuki language” and subsequently “Thadou-Kuki language” in educational contexts after Manipur attained statehood in 1972.
The statement also mentioned communal tensions between Thadou and Kuki groups in parts of Assam and Manipur during the 1990s, describing them as examples of resistance by sections of the Thadou community against what it termed “Kuki supremacist influence.”
TSA further alleged that the term “Khongsai” had been introduced among Thadou people by “anti-Thadou and Kuki supremacist groups” to create confusion with the historical terms “Khongjai” and “Thadou.” It also claimed that churches, politicians and militant organisations had, over several decades, contributed to pushing many Thadou people towards identifying with Kuki political ideology, including support for demands such as “Kuki County.”
The association stated that the Thadou Inpi, formerly known as the Thadou National Council and Thadou Tribe Council, along with TSA, had opposed since the 1980s the inclusion of “Kuki” or “Any Kuki tribes” in the Scheduled Tribe list of Manipur.
According to the statement, the organisations viewed the recognition of “Any Kuki tribes” as a threat linked to illegal immigration and demographic imbalance. TSA claimed that these concerns had not been adequately addressed by governments or other indigenous communities.
The statement further criticised the recognition of “Any Kuki tribes” as Scheduled Tribes in Manipur in 2003, describing it as a duplication of the already recognised Thadou tribe under another label. TSA alleged that the move legitimised Kuki identity in Manipur despite, according to the organisation, there being no separate language, customs or traditions distinct from those of Thadou people.
TSA maintained that Thadou remains a separate ethnic tribe with its own language, customs, culture and traditional institutions. It stated that no recognised Thadou organisation or leadership body had ever adopted any resolution to rename Thadou people as Kuki.
The organisation also objected to any attempt to rename institutions associated with the community, including the All India Radio Thadou Programme, asserting that Thadou identity and nomenclature should remain unchanged.
Calling the conflation of Thadou and Kuki identities “historically inaccurate,” TSA said such narratives harm communal harmony and deepen confusion among communities in the region.
The statement also alleged that “Kuki supremacist ideology” and extremism had become a broader issue affecting stability and coexistence in Manipur. TSA appealed to all indigenous communities of Manipur, including Meitei, Zomi, Naga, Hmar, Pangal, Mizo and Thadou groups, to unite against what it described as “Kuki supremacy.”
According to the organisation, lasting peace and coexistence in Manipur would not be possible unless the issue was addressed collectively by indigenous communities.
TSA concluded by reaffirming its commitment to protecting Thadou identity, language, culture and history. It appealed to individuals, organisations, media houses and social media influencers to respect the distinct identity of the Thadou community.
