Imphal, February 2: The Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM) has urged the Government of Manipur to correct the “Thadou-Kuki” nomenclature used in educational curricula and restore the language name as “Thadou” alone, citing historical, academic and constitutional grounds.
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TIM submitted a memorandum on the issue to the Governor of Manipur, the Chief Secretary and the Commissioner-cum-Secretary, State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), on Monday.
Recalling a landmark full bench judgment of the Gauhati High Court dated January 6, 1993 (Civil Rule No. 320/1990 and Civil Rule No. 295/1987), TIM said the court had directed the Manipur government to constitute an expert committee to examine the controversy surrounding the language nomenclature.
According to TIM, the expert committee - comprising scholars from the Anthropological Survey of India, North-Eastern Hill University, and Manipur University - was constituted on October 28, 1993 and submitted its report on February 3, 1995. The committee reportedly affirmed that “Thadou” has been the established name of the language for over two centuries.
However, TIM alleged that despite the expert findings, the State government in February 1996 adopted the term “Thadou-Kuki” as a political compromise to appease certain groups and issued a formal order on March 15, 1996. This move, TIM said, undermined the distinct cultural and linguistic identity of the Thadou tribe, a recognised Scheduled Tribe of Manipur.
The organisation asserted that the hybrid term “Thadou-Kuki” is historically inaccurate and politically imposed, violating the ethnic, cultural and linguistic identity of the Thadou people. It further alleged that decades of forced ethnic clubbing under the broader “Kuki” label have led to misidentification, dilution of Thadou history and confusion among students.
TIM strongly opposed the continued use of “Thadou-Kuki” as a modern Indian language (MIL) in academic materials of SCERT, Board of Secondary Education Manipur, Council of Higher Secondary Education Manipur, Manipur University and other institutions, saying it undermines academic integrity and mislabels the Thadou community.
The memorandum also highlighted that the impact of the misnaming became more severe after the May 3, 2023 Manipur violence, when Thadou people were victims of attacks, displacement and what TIM described as false portrayals due to generic labelling under “Kuki”.
TIM demanded that the Government of Manipur officially restore the language name as “Thadou” in all textbooks, curricula and official records, in line with historical evidence, expert findings and constitutional protections under Articles 29 and 30. The organisation said correcting the issue is essential for ethnic clarity, cultural justice, academic honesty and lasting peace in Manipur.
