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Jiribam district

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Jiribam district
District of Manipur
Location in Manipur
Location in Manipur
Country India
StateManipur
Established2016
HeadquartersJiribam
Area
 • Total
212 km2 (82 sq mi)
 • Rank15
Population
 • Total
43,838
 • Density210/km2 (540/sq mi)
Language(s)
 • OfficialMeitei (officially called Manipuri)
 • SpokenBengali  • Hmar  • Other tribal languages
Time zoneUTC+05:30 (IST)
Major highwaysNH-37
Websitehttps://jiribam.nic.in/

Jiribam District (Meitei pronunciation: /jee-ree-baam/) is a district at the western periphery state of Manipur, India. It borders the Cachar district of Assam on the west, and serves as the western gateway for Manipur. Formerly a subdivision of the Imphal East district, it was made an independent district in December 2016.[1]

Geography and history

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Languages of Jiribam district (2011)[2]

  Bengali (50.79%)
  Manipuri (30.51%)
  Hmar (8.04%)
  Bishnupuriya (2.66%)
  Hindi (1.63%)
  Kabui (1.46%)
  Kuki (1.11%)
  Others (3.80%)

Jiribam district lies in the valley between the Bhuban range on the west (in Assam's Cachar district) and the Vangai range ("Vangaitang") in the east. The Barak River flows due north in the valley from Tipaimukh, turning west near Jirimukh, about 10 km south of Jiribam. Also at Jirimukh, the Jiri River that flows from north in the same valley drains into the Barak River.

The area of Jiribam district appears to have been part of the Cachar kingdom at the beginning of the 19th century. After annexing the kingdom in 1832, the British made an agreement with Raja Gambhir Singh of Manipur ceding all claims to the territory up to the western stretch of Barak River[a] and the Jiri River. Thus the eastern portion of the Jiribam valley came under the control of Manipur, while the rest remained under Cachar which became part of Assam.[3][4]

The Jiribam Valley was at that time forested and mostly uninhabited.[5] The Cachar portion of the valley had a ferry port at Jirighat, which was used by the travellers on the Silchar–Manipur road (called "Cachar Road" in Manipur).[6] The Manipur state government decided to open the valley for agricultural settlement in 1907,[5] and by 1911, 14,346 bighas of land is said to have been settled.[7] Rice and sugarcane were cultivated, and betel leaf (pan) in areas unsuitable for rice cultivation.[7]

By 1931, there were 46 villages in the Jiribam settlement, populated by Manipuri (Meitei) Hindus and Muslims, Bengali Hindus and Muslims, a few Kukis and Kabuis.[5] Jiribam also had 5 primary schools, the same number as in the Imphal Valley outside the city of Imphal.[8] Most of the settlers in Jiribam came from the Cachar district, very few from the Imphal Valley (Manipur valley).[5] This meant that the settlers had to be treated as 'British subjects' rather than 'Manipur state subjects' and revenue settlement orders and dispute resolutions had to be carried out by the British Political Agent.[9]

Independent India

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After the independence of India, Manipur elected a legislative assembly under its own constitution. Ten seats in the assembly were allocated to the hill areas, which included Jiribam.[10] Soon afterwards, Manipur merged into India and was governed under the Constitution of India as a union territory.[b] The territory of Manipur was divided into 8 subdivisions, one of which was based at Jiribam. The Jiribam subdivision covered the Vangai range, and stretched up to Tipaimukh in the south.[11] It was designated as a hill subdivision.[12]

In 1969, when Manipur was divided into five districts, the southern part of the Jiribam subdivision was separated into the Tipaimukh subdivision of the 'Manipur South' district (now in Pherzawl district), and the remaining Jiribam subdivision was included in the 'Manipur Central' district headquartered at Imphal.[13][14][15] This also meant that Jiribam became part of the valley area of Manipur, rather than hill area.[10] To avoid the anomaly, the eastern part of the subdivision consisting of the Vangai range was transferred to the Tipaimukh subdivision in stages.[16] With the reorganisation of 'Manipur Central', the subdivision got attached to the Imphal East district.

A movement for a separate revenue district for Jiribam took shape in 2006 and a Jiribam District Demand Committee (JDDC) was formed. During 2011, the committee conducted several strikes and economic blockades along NH-37, which passes through Jiribam.[17][18] In November 2011, the state government agreed to the demands of JDDC and signed a memorandum of understanding. The government also agreed to upgrade the Borobekra Circle in the southern part of the region into a subdivision.[19][20]

In 2016, Jiribam subdivision became an independent Jiribam district.[21]

Demographics

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Religions in Jiribam district (2011)[22]
Religion Percent
Hinduism
 
 48.64%
Islam
 
 34.07%
Christianity
 
 13.34%
Other (Sanamahi or Heraka)
 
 3.77%
Other or not stated
 
 0.18%

At the time of the 2011 census, the district had a population of 42,838. Jiribam had a sex ratio of 945 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 63.11%. 16.75% of the population lived in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 16.94% and 12.52% of the population respectively.[23]

At the time of the 2011 census, 50.79% of the population spoke Bengali, 30.51% Manipuri, 8.04% Hmar, 2.66% Bishnupuriya, 1.63% Hindi, 1.46% Kabui and 1.11% Kuki as their first language.[2]

Administrative divisions

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Prior to 2017, when Jiribam was a subdivision in the Imphal East district, it was divided into two circles: Jiri Circle in the north, headquartered at Jiribam, and Barak Circle in the south, headquartered at Borobekra. After Jiribam became a district, the two circles have been upgraded to subdivisons: Jiribam Subdivision and Borobekra Subdivision.

The local administration in the Jiribam Subdivision is divided into the Jiribam municipality and three gram panchayats (village councils) based at Hilghat, Dibong and Sonapur. The local administration in the Borobekra Subdivision has three gram panchayats: Latingkhal, Borobekra and Jakuradhor.[24]

Jiribam district as a whole forms one legislative assembly constituency.[25]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The Barak River flows south till Tipaimukh and then makes an almost 180°-bend to flow north till Jirimukh. The region between these two stretches might have been contested between Manipur and Kachar prior to 1833.
  2. ^ In 1950, it was termed a Part 'C' state, later changed to 'union territory' in 1956.

References

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  1. ^ "Creation of new districts could be game-changer in Manipur polls | opinion". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Table C-16 Population by mother tongue: Manipur". Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  3. ^ Sanjeev, Thingnam (2015), "Recasting Space: Politics of frontier-making", in Arambam Noni; Kangujam Sanatomba (eds.), Colonialism and Resistance: Society and State in Manipur, Routledge, p. 243, ISBN 978-1-317-27066-9
  4. ^ Goshwami, Hareshwar (2019). History of the People of Manipur (Revised ed.). YAOL. pp. 24–25, 251. ISBN 978-1-9993057-0-3 – via archive.org.
  5. ^ a b c d Administration Report for 1931-32 (1932), p. 55.
  6. ^ Gazetteer of Bengal and North-East India (1979), p. 189; Imperial Gazetteer of India, Vol. XIV, pp. 177–178
  7. ^ a b Higgins, J. C. (1912), Administration Report of The Manipur State For The Year 1911-12, Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co, p. 4 – via archive.org
  8. ^ Administration Report for 1931-32 (1932), p. 41.
  9. ^ Administration Report for 1931-32 (1932), pp. 57–58.
  10. ^ a b Shakum, Rev. Banjamin (18 July 2017), "Hill People of Jiribam-Quo Vadimus (Where are we Going)?", Fox Journal, archived from the original on 10 April 2018
  11. ^ Manipur Administrative Atlas (2005), pp. 12–15, Map 7.
  12. ^ Manipur Gazette, No. 10-E-3, 25 May 1951. "The Hill areas of the State of Manipur shall consist of the following: 1. The whole of the Ukhrul, Churachandpur, Tamenglong, and Jiribam Sub-Divisions and the areas formerly comprised in the now-defunct Mao and Tengnoupal Subdivisions which have since been amalgamated with the Sadar and Thoubal Sub-Divisions respectively...."
  13. ^
  14. ^ Census of India, 1971 (1972), p. 1.
  15. ^ Manipur Administrative Atlas (2005), pp. 16–17, Map 8.
  16. ^ Manipur Administrative Atlas (2005), pp. 18–19, Map 9.
  17. ^ New district demand, Imphal Free Press, 3 June 2011. ProQuest 895491938
  18. ^ Manipur braces for NH stir again, The Times of India, 5 June 2011. ProQuest 870312015
  19. ^ State government signs MoU assuring of separate Jiribam district, Imphal Free Press, 9 November 2011. ProQuest 902780790
  20. ^ Manipur govt signs MoU with JDDC, The Assam Tribune, 10 Nov 2011. ProQuest 902849896
  21. ^ Khelen Thokchom, More districts in Manipur, The Telegraph (Kolkata), 9 December 2016. ProQuest 2290178396
  22. ^ "Table C-01 Population by religious community: Manipur". Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  23. ^ "District Census Hand Book - Imphal East" (PDF). Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
  24. ^ Local Administrative Unit, Jiribam District Administration, retrieved 10 November 2024.
  25. ^ "Jiribham assembly seat".

Bibliography

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