The house of BJP spokesperson and Thadou community leader Michael Lamjathang Haokip was attacked by unknown miscreants in Churachandpur district following his participation in a TV discussion. The topic of the discussion was “Kuki Supremacy and Its Propaganda,” and Michael appeared as a panelist. The assailants reportedly fired around ten rounds of bullets at his house during the attack.
Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh condemned the attack, describing it as an act of cowardice. On X, the Chief Minister said, “The attack carried out on the family members of Micheal Lamjathang, a leader of the Thadou community, the oldest among the ethnic tribes of Manipur, as well as a BJP spokesperson by vandalizing his house was an act of cowardice.”
The Chief Minister further stated, “I consider this personal harm being put on one of our recognised tribes as a direct challenge on the unity and the integrity of the State.” He condemned the attacks on any particular community of the recognised tribes of Manipur, as well as the attack on the family of the BJP spokesperson, in the strongest terms. He assured that appropriate legal action would be taken against the culprits.
The Thadou Community International (TCI) also strongly condemned the attack on Michael Lamjathang Haokip’s house. In a statement, TCI mentioned that the attack occurred at around 10:30 pm local time on 25 August 2024, when about thirty armed miscreants, suspected to be supporters of the Kuki supremacy agenda, attacked his home in Peniel village, Churachandpur, Manipur. The attackers fired several rounds of firearms, entered the home, and set fire to some of the properties.
Following the incident, a video surfaced on social media showing a man displaying a gun and a bullet, threatening to kill Michael Lamjathang. The attack occurred just hours after Michael’s participation in a TV panel discussion on “Kuki Supremacy and its Agenda.” This is the second attack on his home, with the first occurring in May 2023, involving arson and gunshots by suspected armed Kuki militants. Michael also survived an assassination attempt in April 2023.
The TCI statement condemned the attack, describing it as barbaric and cowardly, and as an assault on the entire Thadou community. The statement emphasised that the attack was an attempt to create fear within the Thadou community and an assault on civilisation itself. “What Michael discussed, as part of the panel discussion last night, about the historical and ongoing persecution of Thadous by extremist Kuki supremacists was the tip of the iceberg,” the statement concluded.
