Death Of Two Air India Crew Members Of Manipur Has Imparted A Sense Of Solidarity

By Rabindra Nath Sinha

KOLKATA: It goes without saying that the messages of the two Manipur organizations condoling the death of two crew members from the state in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, Thursday afternoon, is of immense sentimental value. But, in Manipur’s context, the message also reconfirms understanding and harmonious relations between the Meitei community and the tribal Thadou community. It is a coincidence that of the two crew members, one, Kongbrailatpam Nganthoi Sharma, 20, was a Meithei and the other, Lamnunthem Singson, 26, was a Thadou.

Sharma was a resident of Thoubal. Singson was a resident of Old Lambulane, Imphal. The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity recorded its profound sorrow at the untimely demise of two precious young daughters “of our soil”. The loss is not only personal to their families but also “a collective heartbreak for the entire people of Manipur”, COCOMI observed.

The condolence message issued by secretary-general of the Thadou Students’ Association (TSA) T Haokip, expressed deep sorrow over the tragic crash which claimed the lives of many, including two young crew [members] from Manipur – Lamnunthem Singson “of the Thadou community” and Kongbrailatpam Nganthol Sharma “of the Meitei community. The TSA statement thus made a specific mention of the communities to which the two crew members from Manipur belonged. [The death of the two crew members from the state was also condoled, among others, by Governor Ajay Bhalla and two former chief ministers N Biren Singh and Okram Ibobi Singh].

In strife-scarred Manipur where the two warring sides – the Meiteis and the tribal Kuki-Zos – have been dominating the narrative ever since ethnic violence broke out on May 3, 2023 on the issue of ST status for the majoritarian Meiteis, the Thadous have stood out as a tribal community which always favours safeguarding the interest of the indigenous people of Manipur and maintenance of peace under all circumstances. This stance of the Thadous naturally lends itself to the interpretation that there is affinity between the Thadou community and the Meitei community and both are keen on protecting the territorial integrity of Manipur, which has a signigificant length of border with Myanmar.

The two communities are also for conducting the National Register of Citizens exercise to detect and deport illegal immigrants. Both the communities demand removal of the description ‘Any Kuki Tribes’ (AKT) from the ST list. Representatives of the Thadou and Meitei civil society groups had met in New Delhi on March 7 and on that occasion the Thadou representatives’ position that they constituted a distinct community and that they do not come under the category of ‘Kuki’ or AKT “was collectively acknowledged and appreciated”.

Thus, what is evident is that although a tribal community yet the Thadous are dead against being clubbed with the Kukis in any manner, under any circumstances. The community’s apex organization Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM) always makes it a point to record the Thadou Convention Declaration, 2024. The relevant statement reads: Thadou is a distinct ethnic group of people. Thadou is not Kuki, or underneath Kuki or part of Kuki, but a separate, independent entity from Kuki. Any organization, individual or elected representative that incorporates Thadou but espouses Kuki and misportrays Thadou as Kuki is illegitimate.

A statement issued by TIM on May 1, which was signed by joint general secretary Manggou Thadou, called upon the people to observe May 3 as Peace Day, not as “ethnic provocation day”. May 3 marked the commencement of the third year since the outbreak of ethnic violence on May 3, 2023. It was clarified that the appeal for observing May 3 as peace day draws inspiration from Japan’s commemoration of the Hiroshima bombing to call for international peace and denounce war and violence. The statement pointed out that despite being the most serious victims of the two year-old violence the community has shown remarkable resilience in advocating for peace through mutual understanding and respect among all indigenous communities who call Manipur their home. While some vested interests may benefit from the ongoing violence, it has only caused devastation and acute socio-economic distress to an already impoverished Manipur.

The Thadou community has been forced by circumstances to endure violence in the past as well – during the prolonged Kuki-Naga as well as Kuki-Zomi violent conflicts in the 1990s. They have not yet recovered from the adverse impact of the previous violence; the 2023 outbreak, therefore, has hurt the community’s feelings. People of Manipur must learn to resolve conflicts through non-violent means; “otherwise our future is bleak, doomed”.

TIM is of the firm view that the people of Manipur, “specially the indigenous people”, must refrain from making provocative statements and spreading hate messages. It has pointed out that Thadou is one of the indigenous communities of Manipur having been recorded as only Thadou without any prefix or suffix in the official ST gazette, orders and censuses since the first one in 1881 and the last one in 2011.According to the 2011 census, the Thadou population was 2.16 lakh. (IPA Service)