Imphal: Three senior Thadou church leaders were brutally killed in Manipur on May 13 in an attack that has sent shockwaves across the state and beyond.
Rev. Vumthang Sitlhou, President of the Thadou Baptist Association (TBA) India; Rev. Kaigoulal Lhouvum, Finance Secretary of TBA India; and Pastor Paogoulen Sitlhou were attacked while returning from Churachandpur to Kangpokpi. The ambush took place in the area between Veitum and Jangnomphai villages — a stretch that multiple organisations have flagged as a known operational zone of Kuki SoO militants.
Five others accompanying the church leaders survived the attack but sustained injuries. Among the injured are Rev. S.M. Haopu, Executive Secretary of TBA India, and Rev. Kaikhothang Singsit, Pastor of Centre Church TBA, Kangpokpi. Both are currently receiving medical treatment in Imphal.
Thadou people are victims, not parties to this conflict
The Thadou Community International (TCI) in a strongly worded statement condemned the killings as “brutal, heinous, and inhumane” and raised the alarm over what it described as the continued and dangerous misidentification of Thadou people amid Manipur’s ongoing ethnic violence.
TCI pointed out that the Thadou people are not a party to the conflicts tearing Manipur apart — yet they have repeatedly borne the brunt of successive waves of ethnic violence. From the Kuki–Naga violence of 1993–97, to the Kuki–Zomi clashes of 1997–98, to the Kuki–Meitei violence that erupted in May 2023, and now the renewed Kuki–Naga conflict — the Thadou community has been caught in the crossfire again and again.
The organisation also took serious exception to remarks made by Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand regarding the Tiger–German Roads connecting Churachandpur and Kangpokpi — the route on which the attack took place. The CM had reportedly suggested that people should avoid the road because it is more expensive and time-consuming. TCI called this statement “deeply irresponsible, misleading, and dangerous,” and demanded that the government either provide full security along the route or close it entirely.
TCI also renewed its long-standing demand that the state government, central authorities, and sections of the media stop conflating the Thadou identity with the Kuki label — which TCI maintains is a political construct, not an ethnic identity. The organisation warned that this persistent misrepresentation directly contributes to the dangerous misidentification of Thadou people and undermines any prospect of lasting peace.
Meitei Alliance condemned attack on Naga village
The Meitei Alliance also issued a sharp condemnation, calling the attack an assault not just on three individuals but on the very values of peace and coexistence in Manipur.
The Alliance recalled that it was the Thadou community itself that had warned the Government of Manipur as far back as 1987 about the rise of Kuki nationalist militancy — a warning that went unheeded. It also noted that another Thadou leader, Mr. Nehkam Jomhao, Chairman of the Thadou Literature Society, Assam, was murdered by Kuki militants on August 30, 2025, for attending a peace programme in Imphal.
The Alliance demanded a thorough and impartial investigation into Tuesday’s attack and called for the perpetrators to be prosecuted under the full force of law. It went a step further — demanding that the group or groups responsible be declared outlawed terrorist organisations.
“The repeated inability of both the State and Central Governments to protect innocent lives and maintain law and order in Manipur must be taken very seriously,” the Meitei Alliance said.
The wider question
Both organisations are asking the same fundamental question — how many more lives must be lost before the government acts decisively?
The Meitei Alliance also condemned the planned attack by Myanmar based Kuki militants on Tangkhul Naga village Choro, Wanglee and Namlee, in Kamjong on May 7. The alliance termed it as a terror act against innocent civilians and demanded farm action by the security forces.
Condemnation statements and ex gratia payments, both TCI and the Meitei Alliance made clear, are no longer enough. The culture of impunity that has taken root in Manipur over two years of unrelenting violence must be broken — and broken now.
