Undo 2003 NDA blunder with Kuki tribe classification, BJP told

GUWAHATI

The Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM), the apex body of Manipur’s Thadou community, has urged the Bharatiya Janata Party to undo what it described as the damage caused by the National Democratic Alliance in 2003 through the introduction of the “Any Kuki Tribes” (AKT) category in the State’s list of Scheduled Tribes.

The TIM said the present NDA government must rectify the blunder by the first BJP-led NDA government more than two decades ago, “to ensure fairness, national security, and the integrity of Manipur.” The organisation had earlier said foreigners, specifically those who cross over from Myanmar, have been using the “redundant” AKT category to be considered Scheduled Tribes in India.

“A legislative action is needed in Parliament to delete the AKT category, introduced by the NDA government in 2003, from the Scheduled Tribe’s list of Manipur,” TIM’s joint general secretary, Manggou Thadou, said on Friday after members of the organisation submitted a memorandum to senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders B.L. Santhosh and Sambit Patra in Imphal on Friday (November 14, 2025).

The TIM team also sought the inclusion of Thadou representatives as legitimate stakeholders in any future dialogue, peace talks, or government-led negotiation platforms to ensure long-term peace and restore political stability in Manipur. It stated that Manipur deserved a democratically elected government after a prolonged period of President’s Rule, in effect since February 13.

The TIM further asserted the distinct ethnic identity of the Thadou community. “Thadou is not Kuki, or underneath Kuki, or part of Kuki, but independent of Kuki,” it said.

Manipur has yet to recover from the ethnic conflict between the Kuki-Zo and the Meitei communities, which has claimed more than 250 lives and displaced more than 62,000 people since May 3, 2023.