Imphal, June 18: Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM), the apex body of the Thadou tribe, on Tuesday submitted a formal memorandum to the following authorities:
1. Shri Amit Shah, Hon’ble Union Home Minister, Government of India
2. Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Hon’ble Governor of Manipur
3. Justice (Retd.) Gita Mittal, Chairperson of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee on Relief, Rehabilitation and Resettlement of Displaced Persons
4. Shri Prashant Kumar Singh, Chief Secretary, Government of Manipur
The memorandum highlights the urgent need to recognize a Third Category of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), specifically those displaced Thadou families who are living outside Manipur and outside government relief camps, and who remain unregistered and unreached by any form of state or central assistance since the outbreak of violence in Manipur on 3rd May, 2023.
These families, though genuine victims of displacement, are excluded from the two official IDP categories currently recognized by the Manipur government:
1. Category 1: Campers – those living in relief camps and registered with Deputy Commissioners.
2. Category 2: Non-Campers – those living outside camps but within Manipur and registered with Deputy Commissioners.
The Third Category, as defined in TIM’s submission, includes displaced persons who:
1. Fled amid life-threatening violence, suffering total loss of movable and immovable property, with only a few retaining plots of land.
2. Currently residing in cities such as Delhi, Guwahati, Shillong, Bengaluru, and others, facing immense hardship, psychological trauma, and lack of stability.
3. Have not been officially recognized or registered as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) by any government authority.
4. Have received no form of relief, compensation, or rehabilitation assistance from either the State or Central government to date.
TIM has called for the immediate issuance of Displacement Certificates, a formal verification exercise, and inclusion in all relief and rehabilitation frameworks, while also urging authorities to acknowledge the resilience of these families who have survived two years without support. These Thadou families were displaced not out of privilege, but out of fear and necessity. Their survival should be recognized, not punished. It is time the government formally acknowledges them as Internally Displaced Persons under a distinct and just category.
A preliminary list of such families was also enclosed with the memorandum.
