The Thadous, the largest community under Manipur’s Kuki ethnic group, have asked the Central government to conclude the ‘Indo-Kuki’ talks alongside the ‘Indo-Naga’ peace process. They also opposed any move to take their land for a final settlement with the Nagas.
The Kukis and the Nagas share space in the hills of Manipur, each claiming the land to be historically theirs. There are apprehensions that the settlement with the Nagas, primarily the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM), could result in a unique administrative set-up for the Nagas at the cost of the land and rights of the Kukis.
Most of the members of the extremist NSCN(IM) are the Nagas of Manipur, primarily the Tangkhuls, the largest among them. The outfit allegedly masterminded a series of ethnic cleansing against the Kukis in the 1990s.
Thadou’s plea
A delegation of the Thadou people on Wednesday met the Centre’s interlocutor for the Kuki talks, A.B. Mathur, seeking a settlement acceptable to the Kuki communities as well. The delegation was led by Lammingthang Kipgen, president of Thadou Inpi, General Headquarters (Manipur), and four others, including Thanglensei Kipgen, a district president of the organisation, and Michael Lamjathang Haokip, secretary-general of the Thadou Students’ Association.
