Hun-Thadou Fest held in a low key manner

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Apr 7 : The 8th State-level Hun-Thadou Cultural Festival was held today in a low key manner at Hotel Imphal, North AOC.
Addressing the function held under the theme "Upholding Our Identity, Shaping Our Destiny" as chief guest, Hill Areas Committee (HAC) Chairman MLA Dinganglung Gangmei stated that poppy plantations continue in the hill districts despite the Government's efforts to curb them.
Emphasising that a collective effort is required to make Manipur a drug-free State, he appealed to the people of Manipur to protect the State from inimical forces seeking to destabilize it.
Former rebel leader RK Meghen also attended the programme.
He stated that the Thadou people have coexisted with other communities in Manipur since ancient times.
The Thadous lived under the Kuki identity for sometime, but today they have now emerged to protect their distinct identity, he said and emphasised that every community must safeguard its own identity.
Saying that the Thadou people have the right to live as Thadous, he  appealed to everyone to advocate for communal harmony.
Meghen said the tragic bomb attack at Tronglaobi might have been carried out by Kuki militants, possibly in opposition to the holding of the Hun Festival in Imphal or the recent visit of the Chief Minister to Jiribam.
Saying that attacking sleeping people is a serious crime, he urged the Government of India not to remain silent on the matter.
Engaging in battle on a battlefield is one thing, but firing bombs into residential areas and killing innocent people is inhumane, he said, urging the Centre not to take this case lightly.
The event was also attended by Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM) president M James Thadou, Meetei Leepun president Pramod, Senior Advocate Khaidem Mani, Social Activist Dhanabir Laishram, former Chief Secretary O Nabakishore and TIM general secretary Michael Lamjathang.
Meanwhile, a press release issued by Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM) said that the event was held in a restricted form following the brutal killing of a five-year-old boy and an infant by suspected Kuki terrorists at Tronglaobi, Bishnupur district, in the early hours today.
In response to this heinous act of terrorism, TIM said, all live streaming, concert, and entertainment programmes were cancelled.
"What should have been a celebration of identity was reduced to a day of mourning, anger, and justified outrage," it said.
Dignitaries from across Manipur including leaders of civil society organisations and elected representatives as well as a delegation from Mizoram, including the leadership of the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP), joined leaders and members of the Thadou community at the event, it said.
Their addresses reaffirmed not only the cultural importance of the Hun-Thadou Festival but also the historic role of the Thadou people as defenders of peace and the territorial integrity of Manipur, principles now under direct and intensifying assault, TIM added. While the entertainment components were withdrawn, the core programme including the release of the Hun-Thadou Cultural Festival souvenir and the book “Manipur in Peril: The Danger of Kuki Supremacism and Radicalism,” with the subtitle “The Thadou Struggle: Defending Peace and Indigenous Identity Against Persecution” proceeded as scheduled.
Jointly produced by the Thadou Students’ Association, Thadou Inpi Manipur, and Thadou Community International, the book lays bare the ideological foundations and operational networks driving the ongoing Kuki violence, it further said.
TIM said that Thadou civil bodies have issued clear, consistent, and urgent warnings about rising Kuki radicalisation, organised violence, and the expanding reach of Kuki extremist networks for years. Saying that these warnings were deliberately sidelined, TIM maintained that authorities have chosen to engage, accommodate, and in effect legitimise actors linked to Kuki violence instead of dismantling these threats.