NEW DELHI, March 7: In a significant move towards fostering community harmony, representatives from Thadou Inpi Manipur, the apex body of the Thadou community, and the Meitei Alliance, a collective of Meitei organizations, met today to discuss intercommunity relations and promote peaceful co-existence in Manipur. The meeting, held in New Delhi, was a historic dialogue between the two communities, aimed at addressing pressing concerns and emphasizing mutual respect.

The Thadou Inpi Manipur delegation, led by president M. James Thadou, and the Meitei Alliance, represented by Sagolsem Biramani, engaged in productive discussions that focused on the preservation of Manipur as a multi-ethnic society rooted in unity and integrity.

A joint press statement following the meeting reiterated the importance of fostering understanding between the communities and highlighted the need for initiatives to prevent misinterpretation of identities. Key agreements includes:

1. Preservation and promotion of Manipur as a cohesive and harmonious multi-ethnic society with a sense of unity, integrity, peace, respect and safety among all members of the society.
2. Collaborative approach and community action to address specific genuine concerns of the communities of Manipur and the larger collective interest of Manipur.
3. Recognition of the original inhabitants of Manipur, including all its original communities, and updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
4. Delisting of vague or fake nomenclature such as “Any Kuki tribes” tribe from the Scheduled Tribes List of Manipur.
5. Acknowledgement of the bold leadership and aspiration of Thadou Inpi Manipur to preserve and promote Thadou identity as independent and distinct from Kuki.
6. Joint initiatives and collective efforts to overcome community identity misidentification and misinterpretation.

In a related delopment, the Thadou Community International (TCI) condemned death threats reportedly issued by the United Kuki National Army (UKNA) against leaders of Thadou Inpi Manipur ahead of their scheduled press conference on peaceful coexistence. TCI expressed deep concerns over the threats, calling for swift and stringent action against those responsible to ensure the safety of peace advocates.

TCI’s statement highlighted the severity of the situation, urging the authorities in Manipur, currently under President’s Rule, to take decisive action. The group emphasized that attempts to suppress peace efforts through intimidation must not be tolerated and called on all stakeholders to uphold the principles of dialogue and cooperation over fear and violence.