Assam Thadou tribal leader killed by Kuki extremists

GUWAHATI

Kuki extremists allegedly killed an Assam-based Thadou community leader who took part in a peace meeting with Meitei organisations in Manipur’s capital, Imphal, almost a month ago.

The Thadous have been asserting their distinct ethnic identity, refusing to be clubbed as a Kuki tribe. The Thadous were affected by the Kuki-Meitei conflict that broke out in Manipur in May 2023.

The police in central Assam’s Karbi Anglong district said Nehkam Jomhao (59) was abducted from his residence at Chonghang Veng in the Manja area on Saturday at around 7.30 p.m., and killed later. No Kuki extremist group has claimed responsibility for the Thadou leader’s death. 

“We arrested six people, including members of the KRA (Kuki Revolutionary Army). They confessed to having killed the abducted person, whose body is yet to be recovered,” the district’s Superintendent of Police, Sanjib Saikia, told The Hindu on Sunday (August 31, 2025).

He said the police were investigating to ascertain the motive behind the murder.

Thadou organisations, however, said Jomhao was murdered for pursuing peace with the Meiteis, which was seen as a defiance of the diktats of several Kuki armed groups. The peace mission included a “historic” meeting between the Thadou Inpi Manipur, an apex social organisation of the Thadou tribe, and four Meitei groups, including the radical Arambai Tenggol, in Imphal on August 6.

‘Anti-peace groups responsible’

The Thadou Students’ Association-General Headquarters and Thadou Community International (TCI) said Jamhao was killed in cold blood.

“Nehkam Jomhao became a target because of his courageous participation in the Imphal peace meeting. His stand for dialogue and reconciliation displeased Kuki militants and anti-peace elements who opposed peace and understanding. This cowardly and barbaric act took away a visionary leader who believed in harmony and the dignity of all communities,” the student body said in a statement.

It stated that Jomhao was a guardian of the Thadou language, literature, and cultural identity whose untiring efforts in cultural preservation and peace-building left an indelible mark upon the Thadou tribe.

The TCI said the Thadou people have faced relentless suppression and persecution, particularly at the hands of militant groups aligned with Kuki organisations. “The assassination of Jomhao, a respected intellectual and peace advocate, is not an isolated act of violence but part of a long-standing pattern of targeted oppression, intimidation, and cultural genocide against the Thadou tribal Christian community,” it said.

“This tragedy has exposed the failure of governance and the dangerous appeasement of Kuki militant groups under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement in Assam and Manipur. These groups have repeatedly misused their position to wage war, suppress indigenous voices, and impose a reign of terror,” the TCI said.

The TCI demanded security for the Thadou community leaders and families in Assam and Manipur, and the abrogation of the SoO agreements, apart from justice for the slain community leader.

Earlier, the Thadou Inpi Manipur slammed the Kuki church and civil society organisations for boycotting and ostracising Thadou families in Meghalaya through a public notification on August 20. These affected Thadou families had relocated to Shillong following the violence in Manipur.