Guwahati:
The distinct indigenous Thadou tribe in Assam throughout its first state-level Hun-Thadou cultural competition celebrations welcomed state Cupboard Minister Urkhao Gwra Brahma because the particular visitor, days after the Thadou tribe fended off threats by Kuki militants towards holding the competition.
“The competition celebrated the cultural identification, heritage, and collective aspirations of the Thadou neighborhood in Assam and the broader northeast area,” the competition organisers mentioned in an announcement.
“The Assam State Hun-Thadou Cultural Competition 2025 proved to be a landmark celebration of indigenous resilience, cultural pleasure, and peaceable coexistence, reaffirming the Thadou neighborhood’s position in constructing a extra inclusive and harmonious future,” the organisers mentioned.
Aside from the Thadou cultural exhibits, various communities of Assam participated within the occasion with their vibrant cultural exhibits, together with Bihu/Assamese, Bodo, Dimasa, and Gorkha/Nepali, making the most important competition of Thadou tribe really a logo of unity in variety, they mentioned.
A memento booklet – Sinkhup: Assam 1.0 – was launched by Manipur MLA Konthoujam Govindas, and devoted by Reverend Hangsing.
The morning additionally featured cultural performances, together with a Thadou dance by the Thadou College students Affiliation (TSA) Guwahati, and an Assamese Bihu dance by the Borhamathuri Bihu Group.
The midday session, moderated by Dr M Paosei Haokip centered on discussions surrounding indigenous identification and improvement. Dr Haokip is president of the Thadou Human Rights Advocacy.
Michael Lamjathang Haokip, chief of the TSA-GHQ, delivered a keynote on the distinctiveness of the Thadou tribe in Assam with respect to Manipur and different elements of the northeast. The state-level was organised with the goal to advertise the distinctiveness of the Thadou tribe, promote conventional cultural heritage and in addition promote peaceable coexistence with all communities of the state, he mentioned.
The leaders mentioned the Thadou tribe in Assam may help promote peaceable coexistence between totally different communities in Manipur by reaching out to Thadou within the neighbouring state. The Thadou individuals are additionally hopeful that the MLAs of Manipur being the representatives of the individuals have an enormous affect and can earnestly work for restoration of peace.
“Additionally it is pertinent to notice that the message of peaceable coexistence must be pushed by means of all doable channels. We imagine that the individuals of Assam and the Thadou neighborhood having shut knit brethren in Manipur, may help unfold the message of peace,” Konthoujam Govindas mentioned.
A Gorkha cultural dance by Dispur Faculty Gorkha Unit and a musical efficiency by Thangminsem added color to the session, the organisers mentioned.
Chongboi Haokip, convenor of the Thadou Group Worldwide (TCI) and member of Britain’s Chartered Institute of Horticulture, offered methods for channeling the competition towards sustainable improvement practices, whereas social employee Jalun Haokip from Australia gave an emotional reflection on peace, justice, and non-violence in response to the unrest in Manipur.
The Thadou tribe additionally offered a six-point memorandum to the chief visitor Mr Brahma, requesting steps to be taken for the safety of Thadou tribe, identification, and tradition in Assam.
Mr Brahma is the state minister of handloom, textile and sericulture, soil conservation, and welfare of Bodoland division.
The memorandum signed by leaders of the Thadou Inpi Dima Hasao, and Thadou Inpi Karbi Anglong sought recognition of Thadou customary legislation within the autonomous hill districts of Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong.
It additionally requested for inclusion of the Thadou language within the Shiksha Setu instructional web site beneath the Assam Schooling Division. Different key requests embrace sufficient political illustration within the Harangajao (Durbin) constituency beneath the NC Hills Autonomous Council, and a proper recognition of the Thadou tribe as a definite and impartial hill tribe within the autonomous district of Assam.
The closing session was marked by dynamic cultural change and symbolic performances, together with a conventional Dimasa dance, a musical quantity by Meitei artist Sori, and a cultural showcase by the Bodo Literary Society, the organisers mentioned.
A joint efficiency by MLA L Susindro Yaima Meitei and Sori Senjam was one of many highlights, symbolising unity by means of artwork.
The night ended with a benediction by Thadou Christian Fellowship Guwahati (TCFG) secretary Lunminsang Sitlhou, and the standard Lamkol dance by the Thadou tribe, bringing the occasion to a dignified and joyful shut, the organisers mentioned.
“A particular point out was fabricated from Michael Lamjathang Haokip’s unwavering management, which continues to encourage admiration from all quarters. The vote concluded with hope that the competition enriched everybody’s understanding of the Thadou neighborhood and that the spirit of unity and peace would carry ahead to Hun 2026,” the organisers mentioned within the assertion.
On March 28, with lower than per week from the occasion, Thadou civil society teams and leaders complained to the Ministry of Residence Affairs (MHA) and the Assam Police over alleged threats by Kuki militants towards celebrating the Hun-Thadou cultural competition.
The Thadou teams requested the MHA and the Assam Police to offer “the strongest doable response” to “terror techniques by Kuki militant teams, threats towards [festival] organisers, and militants’ plan to punish competition delegates.”
“The self-proclaimed Kuki Inpi Assam (KIA) has issued a draconian order demanding the cancellation of the Hun Thadou cultural competition… Their assertion that solely the Assam government-recognised Kuki Chavang Kut will be celebrated is absurd and baseless,” the TSA-GHQ had mentioned in a memorandum to the MHA.
In a criticism to the Assam Police in search of a primary data report (FIR) to be filed towards Kuki militants, Michael Lamjathang Haokip alleged the militants have “brazenly threatened the individuals of Assam, together with Thadou delegates from Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong, who’ve confirmed their participation within the Hun 2025 celebrations.”
Within the criticism, he named United Kukigam Defence Military (UKDA) chief Janglen Kipgen, Kuki Revolutionary Military (KRA-Assam) chief Lalsei Gangte, and Kuki Liberation Military (KLA-Assam) chief Haolam Lunkim because the militants who threatened violence if the Hun 2025 celebration scheduled on April 4 in Guwahati was not cancelled.