Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM), the apex body of the Thadou community and the largest indigenous tribe of Manipur, on Tuesday issued a strong statement rejecting and condemning Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh's meeting with the "Kuki-Zo Council" (KZC) held in Guwahati, Assam, on March 21, 2026.
TIM described the meeting not as a peace initiative, but as a "calculated act of political deception" and selective appeasement of certain Kuki groups — one that it said amounted to a betrayal of the people of Manipur.
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TIM drew attention to a significant inconsistency in the state government's position.
On December 18, 2024, the Government of Manipur had officially stated that no organisation called the Kuki-Zo Council existed and that its origin and authenticity were "highly questionable."
By engaging with the same body in closed-door talks held outside the state, TIM alleged that the Chief Minister had effectively legitimised an entity his own government had previously disowned — an act it described as a collapse in credibility, consistency, and integrity in governance.
The organisation contended that the Kuki-Zo Council lacked democratic mandate, customary legitimacy, and genuine acceptance among the communities it claimed to represent.
TIM stated that the Thadou community had historically rejected the imposed "Kuki" identity, and said that other groups — including Zomi, Hmar, and Mizo communities — had similarly rejected the "Kuki-Zo" label.
It described the KZC as a "loose front of self-appointed actors" with alleged militant links, attempting to manufacture legitimacy through political engagement.
TIM also raised concerns about the manner in which the Guwahati meeting was conducted — outside Manipur, without any publicly disclosed agenda, participants list, or outcome record.
It noted that the Chief Minister had himself acknowledged the term "Kuki-Zo" as confusing, yet proceeded with the engagement without any clear framework or accountability mechanism.
The organisation described the move as "a surrender presented as diplomacy", adding that past engagements involving the same entity had failed to yield results.
TIM placed on record that grassroots peace efforts between the Thadou and Meitei communities had been consistently ignored by both state and central governments.
It alleged that Thadou internally displaced persons (IDPs), particularly those outside Manipur, continued to face neglect, while benefits were being distributed selectively to other groups.
The Guwahati meeting, it said, was exclusionary and lacked legal or democratic legitimacy.
The organisation put forward a set of formal demands, including:
Immediate disclosure of the meeting's agenda, participants, and outcomes
A public explanation for the government's policy reversal since December 2024
Formal acknowledgment that the KZC lacks legitimate representational standing
Equitable and transparent rehabilitation for all IDPs, including Thadou IDPs
Recognition and institutional support for grassroots peace initiatives
A transparent, inclusive peace process conducted within Manipur
TIM concluded by asserting that lasting peace cannot be achieved through what it called engagement with "fabricated entities" or the exclusion of key stakeholders.
It warned that by legitimising the KZC, the Chief Minister had undermined rather than advanced the cause of peace in Manipur.
"The people are observing the developments," TIM said, "and history will hold those responsible accountable."