IT News
Guwahati, Nov 2:
The Thadou Convention 2024, organized by the Thadou Community International and the Thadou Students’ Association, opened on October 31, 2024, in Guwahati, Assam, with Thadou leaders and delegates from across India and abroad gathering to address issues concerning the Thadou community’s identity and heritage. During the first day of the convention, attendees formally rejected any association with the Kuki identity, emphasizing Thadou’s distinct ethnic status and its separation from the label “Kuki,” which they attributed to colonial-era misidentification. The convention concludes today.
The convention’s declaration outlined that the Thadou people possess their own unique language, culture, traditions, and history, independent of the Kuki identity, and objected to the classification of Thadou as Kuki, especially in light of the 2003 inclusion of “Any Kuki Tribes” (AKT) in India’s Scheduled Tribes list. The Thadou leadership argued that the AKT listing misrepresents their community and called for its removal to protect Thadou’s identity.
Reaffirming Thadou’s recognition as one of the 29 indigenous tribes in Manipur under the 1956 Presidential Order, leaders cited census data showing a population of over 200,000 Thadou people in Manipur, contrasting this with the significantly smaller AKT figure. The convention condemned organizations using the Thadou name in connection with Kuki, calling them illegitimate and accusing them of cultural misappropriation. They denounced the misrepresentation of Thadou language, attire, literature, and history by groups affiliated with Kuki, stressing that Kuki is not the name of a tribe or language and holds no unique cultural identity.
The convention also condemned what they described as a history of Kuki supremacy and human rights violations against the Thadou people dating back to the 1970s. Leaders called on the media, government agencies, and civil society to respect the Thadou’s independent identity without attaching the Kuki label, urging rectifications in public records and discourse.
In a historic step, the convention resolved to establish the Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM), a unified body for the Thadou tribe in Manipur under the Thadou Inpi Constitution, to restore dignity and respect to the community.
Additionally, the convention announced the formation of new organizations, including the Thadou Inpi Mizoram (TIMz), Thadou Chiefs’ Council (TCC), Thadou Human Rights Advocacy (THRA), Thadou Academic Forum (TAF), and Thadou Senior Citizens Forum (TSCF), aimed at promoting the rights and interests of the Thadou people.
Leaders further resolved to seek Scheduled Tribe recognition for the Thadou community in the states of Assam, Mizoram, and Nagaland. The convention will continue with discussions on other topics relevant to the Thadou community on its second and final day.
