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Thangjing Hill

Coordinates: 24°28′06″N 93°39′45″E / 24.4682°N 93.6624°E / 24.4682; 93.6624
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Ebudhou Thangjing Temple.
Thangjing Hill
Thangjing Hill is located in Manipur
Thangjing Hill
Thangjing Hill
Thangjing Hill is located in India
Thangjing Hill
Thangjing Hill
Thangjing Hill (India)
Highest point
Elevation6,918 ft (2,109 m)[1]
Coordinates24°28′06″N 93°39′45″E / 24.4682°N 93.6624°E / 24.4682; 93.6624
Geography
LocationChurachandpur district, Manipur
CountryIndia

Thangjing Hill (also called Thangching Hill and Thangting Hill),[2][a] is a mountain peak in the Indian state of Manipur. It is in the Churachandpur district, to the west of Moirang.[5] The north–south-running mountain range on which it sits is also called Thangjing range or Thangjing Hills. The range forms part of the western border of the Imphal Valley.

The Thangjing Hill is believed by Manipuris to be the abode of Thangching, the ancestral deity of Moirang.[6][7] In the Meitei cosmology, the "body" of Manipur is represented with various natural features of the land, including the Thangjing hill as its right leg.[8]

The Meiteis of the Moirang region carry out an annual pilgrimage to the top of the hill.[5]

Geography

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The Thangjing Hill is at an elevation of about 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) above the mean sea level. It is part of the western hill range that bounds the Imphal Valley. The entire hill is in the Churachandpur district, which is a hill district dominated by the Kuki-Zo people. The peak of the hill and the western slopes are in the Henglep Subdivision (or "Henglep block"), while some part of the eastern slopes are in the Kangvai subdivision.

Streams rising in the western slopes of the hill flow into the Leimatak River, which flows north to join the Irang River. To the south rises the Tuila River, which joins the Tuivai River, a major river of the Churachandpur district. (Tuila was once considered the "Manipur source" of the Tuivai River, but now the main source is taken to lie in the Chin State of Myanmar, and Tuila regarded as its tributary.) To the east of the Thangjing Hill rise the Torbung and Kangvai streams, which water the villages named after them. To the southeast of the range rises the Lanva River, which flows south till Songpi, whose ridge deflects the stream to the east, eventually draining into the Khuga River near the Churachandpur town.

Mythology

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Main article: Meitei mythology

In Meitei mythology, the hill is mainly associated with the deity Eputhou Thangjing who is considered the guardian of the mountain and the protector of the south of the Kanglei world.[9] The hill is also mentioned in the love story of Khamba Thoibi.[10]

History

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1944 Survey of India map of Thangjing Hill and environs

As per account of Pung Kanba Lon,[who?] Khuyon Khunda Hanba, the head of the Khuyons, a Meitei subclan of Moirang, initially[clarification needed] occupied the Thangjing Hills.[clarification needed] They were the first group to migrate and establish settlement in Moirang.[when?][11][full citation needed][12]

According to the Moirang kings' chronicle Ningthourol Lampuba, the Koireng people, an "Old Kuki" tribe, used to be settled around the Thangjing Hill. The Moirangs under king Thingre Nachaoba raided them and defeated them. Historians believe that the Koirengs migrated away from the region due to the repeated incursions by the Moirang people. The Thangjing Hill was also deified by the Koireng people and the deity has since been adopted by the Moirangs, and eventually by the Meitei people in general.[13] The Chiru people, another Old Kuki tribe, have historical memory of having lived on the Thangjing Hill. The villagers later migrated to a new location in the present day Kangpokpi district for better availability of agricultural land and named the new village "Thangjing Chiru".[14]

One of the Kabui Naga tribes, named Sungbu, also have a tradition of having originated from the Thangjing Hill.[4] The Moirang people have a tradition of having been saved from a man-eater by the Kabui chief from Thangjing Hill during the rule of Thangtek Soinaiba.[when?][15]

By the time British Raj arrived in Manipur (c. 1830), the Sungbus had moved to the region around the Cachar–Bishnupur Road on sites that were previously occupied by Kuki people (called "Khongjais" by Manipuris).[16] According to Boileau Pemberton, Kukis were in occupation of all the southern hills from Tipaimukh to Thangjing Hills.[17][18] William McCulloch, British resident between 1844 and 1867, found that Kukis were living all around the Manipur valley,[19] confirmed by later commentators.[20] These descriptions suggest that the Thangjing Hill itself was under the occupation of the Kukis.[21][22] A village called Ukha (also called "Loikhai" or "Luaikhai")[23] on the western slopes of the Thangjing Hill is mentioned in the Gazetteer of Manipur. It is described as being at an elevation of 3,500 ft (1,100 m), with a population of 150 people belonging to the "Changput subdivision of the Kongjai Kuki tribe".[24] Its current population per 2011 census is 418,[25] and the elevation on modern maps is 1,500 metres.

After the Lushai Expedition of 1871–1872, Manipur received additional Kuki-Zo refugees from the Lushai Hills region, who were settled in the Thangjing Hills range and in the valley southwest of Moirang. Land and protection were provided by Raja Chandrakirti Singh, as well as food for subsistence till they could grow their own crops.[26] The Gazetteer of Manipur lists over 20 Kuki villages in the valley of the Tuila River, which flows south from the Thangjing Hills range.[27]

After the British took over Manipur as a princely state in 1891, they decided to administer the hill regions directly, outside the control of the Manipur State Darbar. Thangjing Hill came under the Southwest Subdivision, initially administered from Moirang.[28][29]

During the Kuki Rebellion of 1917–1919, the Thangjing Hills and the Ukha village played key roles.[30] In early 1917, the local chiefs met at Ukha and Henglep to discuss the emerging conflict with the British authorities.[31][32] After Mombi was burned by the British, an all-Kuki War Council was called by the chief of Chassad, and the chiefs received a signal to resist and fight. War preparations were begun in October after another gathering of chiefs.[33] The British attack came in December, led by the Political Agent J. C. Higgins.[34] The Ukha Kukis staged an able defence of the Thangjing Hill, with sniper attacks and home-made leather cannons, causing several casualties on the British troops, but no Kuki was captured. Ukha was reportedly burnt down, and the Kukis escaped into the forests.[35][32] The failure of the operation and a similar one at Mombi stunned the British officers.[36] Another attack with a larger force was launched in February 1918, with similar results.[37] Eventually the rebellion was suppressed only by wholesale destruction of villages, including their livestock and foodgrains, driving the people into the woods to starve, along with women and children.[38]

After the Rebellion, the British reorganised their hill administration by establishing a new headquarters for the South-West Subdivision at Songpi (then called "Churachandpur"). The Churachandpur Subdivision eventually became the Churachandpur district in independent India in 1971.[39]

Post-independence history

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In 1966, the Government of Manipur included the entire Thangjing Hills range in Churachandpur-Khoupum Protected Forest under Section 29 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927.[40] As per the law, the pre-existing settlements in the designated area are meant to be excluded from the protected forest. An (Assistant) Settlement Officer reportedly issued a settlement order for the Ukha-Loikhai village, excluding it from the protected forest areas.[41]

Indian Airlines Flight 257 on 16 August 1991 crashed into Thangjing Hills range, killing all 69 people on board.[42]

Occasional disputes have arisen over the Thangjing Hill, with the Kuki-Zos claiming to be the inhabitants of the region and the Meiteis claiming it to be their holy site. In 2010, a clash occurred between Meitei pilgrims on their annual pilgrimage and the local residents, with two Kuki youth being killed and four injured.[5]

During 2014–2015, the Government of Manipur created a Thangting Subdivision in the Churachandpur district, using the Kuki spelling "Thangting" for the Thangjing Hill. The new subdivision was to include 66 villages, which were previously under the Churachandpur subdivision and the Henglep subdivision.[43] The move was seen by the Meiteis as an attempt to rename their sacred hill, and led to protests and shutdowns.[44][45] Eventually, the government renamed the subdivision as the Kangvai subdivision.[46]

In May 2022, Meitei activists under the banner of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM, the youth wing of the ruling party) organised a tree plantation drive in Thangjing hills, which was opposed by the local villagers.[47][48] The Kuki Students Organisation (KSO) of the Henglep block raised the issue and barred the entry of "outsiders" into the hills without the permission of the village chief of the area.[49][50] The chief of the Ukha Loikhai village was mentioned as the "rightful owner" of the Thangjing Hill, whose permission was necessary for any such efforts.[51][41]

The Meitei community got organised under the banner of Committee on Protection and Preservation of Historical Rights of Koubru and Thangjing Hill Range (CPPKT) and announced counter-restrictions on the hill people from entering the valley areas. A confrontation was averted by the involvement of the Director General of Police, P. Doungel, who arranged a negotiated settlement.[52] But the dispute also brought into focus the issue of ownership of the Thangjing Hill, and CPPKT asked the government for clarification.[53]

Soon afterwards, the Government of Manipur said it formed a committee to look into the settlement orders and, in November 2022, cancelled all the orders issued for the Churachandpur-Khoupum Protected Forest on the ground that they were issued by Assistant Settlement Officers rather than a full-ranked Forest Settlement Officer.[54][55][56] The Manipur cabinet also proposed to include four hectares on the Thangjing Hill under Manipur Ancient and Historical Monuments Act in order to protect it from encroachments.[45]

Thangjing Hill came to be contested again during the 2023–2024 Manipur violence. Within a few weeks of the onset of violence in May, the Meiteis and Kukis were separated into their own areas. In September, the Kuki community installed a Christian cross on top of the Thangjing Hill, which the Meitei community regarded as desecration of their holy site.[57][2] It appears that the cross was later removed, presumably by Meitei activists. It was re-erected again in December–January, leading to loud protests from the Meitei community again. The Kukis have denied that the hill is exclusively a sacred site of the Meiteis.[58][45] Responding to a claim by a Kuki-Zo body that the hill was included in village lands, the Government of Manipur issued a statement calling the claim "fabricated and concocted", citing its erstwhile cancellation of settlement orders in Churachandpur-Khoupum Protected Forest. However, it also said that a fresh inquiry has been initiated. According to The Hindu, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has also initiated an inquiry.[59]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Older spellings: "Tangching"[3] and "Thungching".[4]

References

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  1. ^ Survey of India mapsheet 83-H, 1944.
  2. ^ a b Debanish Achom, Row Over Cross And Flag Atop Manipur's "Sacred" Hill, Police Case Filed, NDTV News, 6 October 2023.
  3. ^ Dun, Gazetteer of Manipur (1886), p. 4.
  4. ^ a b McCulloch, Valley of Munnipore and the Hill Tribes (1859), p. 42
  5. ^ a b c Khelen Khokchom (19 April 2010). "Youths killed in clash over worship". The Telegraph (Kolkata).
  6. ^ Bhagat Oinam; Dhiren A. Sadokpam, eds. (2018), Northeast India: A Reader, Routledge India, p. 4, ISBN 978-0-429-95320-0, ISBN 978-0-429-48987-7 – via archive.org, Along with the generation of 'origin myth', communities have also been engaged in 'sanctification' of these spatial demarcations and converting them as representations of revered deities. For instance, the Meiteis over the ages have attached cultural and religious significance to two mountain peaks: Koubru and Thangjing. In their cosmogony, the two peaks have been depicted as prime deities indicating control over marked territory.
  7. ^ Parratt, The Court Chronicle, Vol. 1 (2005), p. 184.
  8. ^ Ray, Sohini (2009). "Writing the Body: Cosmology, Orthography, and Fragments of Modernity in Northeastern India". Anthropological Quarterly. 82 (1): 129–154. doi:10.1353/anq.0.0047. ISSN 0003-5491. JSTOR 25488260. The cosmology of the body as manifested in the land of Manipuris described as follows in oral accounts: Lake Khongampat is the heart; Kangla (the old royal fort) is the naval center. Lake Loktak is the reproductive organ; Nungthong in Sugnu is the anus and urethra. The three important rivers, Imphal, Iril, and Nambul form the veins and arteries. The Langol hill is the right hand, and the Thangjing hill the right leg. The Nongmaijing hill is the left hand. Wangbren hill is the left leg. Mountain Koubru, where we went for the pilgrimage is imagined to be the head of this body and also a center of many sacred myths in the Meitei faith.
  9. ^ Mangancha Thoudam Laiba, What Meiei myths and legends say of Lainingthou Thangching Koyelellai, the reigning deiy of the Thangjing ranges, Imphal Review of Arts and Politics, 6 February 2021.
  10. ^ Rojio, Usham (2022-06-07). "Performing the Landscape: Orature around Loktak Lake and the Love Story of Khamba Thoibi". Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities. 14 (2). doi:10.21659/rupkatha.v14n2.ne38. ISSN 0975-2935.
  11. ^ Manipur Historical Society, Proceedings Of The Second Session Of Manipur Historical Society 1995, page 25
  12. ^ Goshwami, Hareshwar (2019) [2004], History of the People of Manipur (Revised ed.), London: Yaol Publishing / Suraj Kumar Okram, p. 93 – via archive.org
  13. ^ Somorjit, Wangam (2014), "Religious Milieu in Manipur", Mêyãmgi Kholão, 1 (4): 77–151, ISSN 2320-4583
  14. ^ Village Survey Monograph, 21-Thangjing Chiru, Part VI, Vol-XXII, Manipur - Census 1961, Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India, 1966, pp. 1–2
  15. ^ Goshwami, Hareshwar (2019) [2004], History of the People of Manipur (Revised ed.), London: Yaol Publishing / Suraj Kumar Okram, p. 230 – via archive.org
  16. ^ McCulloch, Valley of Munnipore and the Hill Tribes (1859), p. 42: "In the Koupooee [Kabui] is comprised two tribes, the Songboo [Sungbu] and Pooeeron [Poeron]. Through the hills, occupied by the Songboos, runs the Munnipore road, passing through one village and close to several others.... Songboo tradition gives, as the place of their origin, the mountain towards the south of the Valley named Thungching [Thangjing]. They state themselves to be, at present, located on the sites of villages at one time occupied by the southern tribes [Kukis]...".
  17. ^ Pemberton, Capt. R. Boileau (1835), Report on the Eastern Frontier of British India, Calcutta: Government of India, pp. 15–16 – via archive.org, From this point [Tipaimukh], the southern boundary of the Muneepoor Territory is very irregular and ill defined; unconquered tribes [Kukis], of whose existence we have but recently become acquainted, press closely upon it, and occupy the hills between the Chikoo nullah [Tuivai river] and a great range firming the western boundary of the Muneepoor valley [Thangjing Hills]...
  18. ^ McCulloch, Valley of Munnipore and the Hill Tribes (1859), pp. 56–57: "Although occupants of the hills to the south of the Valley of Munnipore, their [Kukis'] traditions do not give the southern hills as the place of their origin, but rather lead them to the belief that it was in the North.".
  19. ^ McCulloch, Valley of Munnipore and the Hill Tribes (1859), p. 55, 156–157: "By these [Chins and Lushais], they were driven from their native hills, ... and are now scattered around the Valley of Munnipore, and thence through the hills to North and South Cachar.".
  20. ^ Mackenzie, Alexander (1884), History of the Relations of the Government with the Hill Tribes of the North-East Frontier of Bengal, Calcutta: Home Department Press, p. 156 – via archive.org, In the hills all round the valley, and to the west, beyond the Barak and Mookroo, are Kookies [Kukis]...
  21. ^ Brown, Statistical Account of Manipur (1874), pp. 15–16: "Although no abrupt boundary line can be drawn between the tracts of country occupied by the two races of Nagas and Kukis, it may be taken for granted that a line drawn about a day's journey south of the Government road, or even at the present day less, running east from Kachar to the Manipur Valley (about 24° 70' north latitude), would represent the boundary which separates the two races, the Nagas lying to the north of this line, the Kukis to the south." [The "Government road", now called "Old Cachar Road", runs between Silchar and Bishnupur.].
  22. ^ Singh, Karam Manimohan (1991), History of Christian Missions in Manipur, Mittal PUblications, p. 270 – via archive.org, The Governor placed on record the boundaries of the Churachandpur Sub-Division [mainly inhabited by Kukis]. The area was bounded on the west and the south by the State border: the eastern boundary was the .. the Manipur River: but the northern boundary was not capable of such accurate definition which was to approximate the Manipur bridle path [Old Cachar Road].
  23. ^ Zou, S. Thangboi (2021), "The Zou Gal (1917–1919): A military history with special reference to the Zou in Manipur-Chin borders", in Ngamjahao Kipgen; Doungul Letkhojam Haokip (eds.), Against the Empire: Polity, Economy and Culture during the Anglo-Kuki War, 1917–1919, Routledge, p. 38, ISBN 978-1-003-00065-5
  24. ^ Dun, Gazetteer of Manipur (1886), p. 223.
  25. ^ Churachandpur District Census Handbook (2011), p. 134.
  26. ^ Brown, Statistical Account of Manipur (1874), p. 56.
  27. ^ Dun, Gazetteer of Manipur (1886): Some of the villages listed are Chanjang (p. 77), Lamjang (p. 141), Mangne (p. 159) etc.
  28. ^ Lal Dena, Lal Robul Pudaite, Colonial Divide In Manipur: Tracing The Journey Of State Between 1835 And 1947, Outlook, 4 September 2023.
  29. ^ Singh, Karam Manimohan (1991), History of Christian Missions in Manipur, Mittal PUblications, p. 270 – via archive.org, The Governor placed on record the boundaries of the Churachandpur Sub-Division. The area was bounded on the west and the south by the State border: the eastern boundary was the well defined natural line of the Manipur River: but the northern boundary was not capable of such accurate definition which was to approximate the Manipur bridle path [Cachar Road].
  30. ^ Haokip, These Crafty Jungle Fighters (2019), p. 123: "In the Southwestern hills, Pakang (Henglep), Semchung (Ukha), Haoneh (Nabil) and Paosum (Songphu) led the war.".
  31. ^ Guite, Fighting the White Men till the Last Bullet (2019), pp. 38–39: "Aishan’s announcement was followed by a series of meetings held in different parts of Kuki hills – Chassad, Jampi, Taloulong, Mombi, Ukha, Henglep, etc.".
  32. ^ a b Kuki Inpi Manipur, Anglo-Kuki War (1917-1919), Imphal Free Press, 29 September 2019. ProQuest 2298810123
  33. ^ Guite, Fighting the White Men till the Last Bullet (2019), p. 42.
  34. ^ Guite, Fighting the White Men till the Last Bullet (2019), p. 47: "On 25 December 1917, [Political Agent J. C. Higgins] set out again with his sepoys to punish the Ukha Kukis. On 28 December, he reached the foothills of Thangting where he saw a ‘war-like preparation’ and had therefore ordered ‘to fire on any Kuki seen with a gun in his hand’. It was here that they met the first Kuki attack...".
  35. ^ Guite, Fighting the White Men till the Last Bullet (2019), p. 47.
  36. ^ Guite, Fighting the White Men till the Last Bullet (2019), pp. 47–48.
  37. ^ Haokip, These Crafty Jungle Fighters (2019), p. 125.
  38. ^ Haokip, Breaking the Sprit of the Kukis (2019), p. 100.
  39. ^ Manipur Administrative Atlas (PDF), Census of India, Government of India, 2005, pp. 16–17
  40. ^ Forest Department Manipur, An eight-point response showing tribals are not threatened in Manipur, EastMojo, 13 March 2023. "Churachandpur-Khoupum Protected Forest was notified under Section 29 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 by the Government of Manipur with a well-defined schedule of boundaries vide Notification No. 55/10/66-M (2) dated 17.09.1966 and Manipur Extra Ordinary Gazette No.124-EI00 dated 21.09.1966."
  41. ^ a b BJP MLA Paolienlal Haokip Slams BJYM’s Attempt To Plant Trees On Thangjing Hill, The Frontier Manipur, 17 May 2022. "The MLA said that so far as the Thangjing Hills are concerned, the Chief of Ukha (Loikhai) has clear orders of the settlement officer, excluding the land belonging to Loikhai village, which includes Thangjing Hills, from the Churachandpur Khopum Protected Forest."
  42. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-2A8 Advanced VT-EFL Imphal Municipal Airport (IMF)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
  43. ^ Cabinet approves five more sub-divisions in hills, Imphal Free Press, 8 August 2014. ProQuest 1551745396
  44. ^ Bandh cripples Bishnupur district, Imphal Free Press, 8 January 2016. ProQuest 1754357860
  45. ^ a b c Ratnadip Choudhury, Cross Installed Atop Manipur's "Sacred" Hill Threatens Fragile Peace, NDTV News, 3 February 2024.
  46. ^ Cabinet decision to rename 'Thangting sub-division' incurs stiff opposition, Imphal Free Press, 15 February 2016. ProQuest 1765070770
  47. ^ BJYM states stand on plantation drive, Chronicle News Service, 22 May 2022.
  48. ^ BJP MLA Paolienlal Haokip Slams BJYM’s Attempt To Plant Trees On Thangjing Hill, The Frontier Manipur, 17 May 2022.
  49. ^ KSO bans tree plantation at Thangjing Hill by CSOs, Imphal Times, 6 May 2022.
  50. ^ Jimmy Leivon, Amid tensions between groups, Manipuri activist arrested, The Indian Express, 22 May 2022.
  51. ^ Loikhai village chief is owner of Thangjing Hill; Student body KSO Henglep Block stakes more claims, The Sangai Express, via e-pao.net, 17 May 2022.
  52. ^ DGP averts Thangjing crisis; feuding CSOs agree to retract statements, Imphal Free Press, 23 May 2022. ProQuest 2668098877
  53. ^ Clarify stand on Thangjing Hill : CPPKT to Govt, The Sangai Express, 20 May 2022.
  54. ^ Karishma Hasnat, ‘They came with 6 JCBs’— How eviction of a tiny village sparked fires across Manipur, The Print, 16 May 2023. "The state government also pointed to the fact that it had appointed a committee in June 2022 to examine the contentious order. Thereafter, the state government said, the old order had been cancelled on 13 December 2022 and fresh enquiries ordered “on the nature and extent of existing rights of the people prior to the notification of protected forests”."
  55. ^ Dhiren A. Sadokpam, What is really behind the violence in Manipur?, Frontline, 6 May 2023. "The eviction [of the K. Songjang village] came after the forest department issued a notification in November 2022, derecognising 38 villages in the Churachandpur and Noney districts, claiming they fell within the Churachandpur-Khoupum protected forest. The notification said that the permission for settlement was granted to the villages by an officer who was not qualified to do so."
  56. ^ Dhirendra Kumar, Mending the maelstrom, MillenniumPost, 24 June 2023.
  57. ^ Cross and flag of ZRA found erected on Mt Thangjing Meitei's sacred site desecrated, The Sangai Express, 23 September 2023.
  58. ^ Re-installation of Cross atop Mt Thangjing CPPKT decries, demands legal action, The Sangai Express, 2 December 2023.
  59. ^ Kuki village’s claim over Thangjing Hills ‘concocted’, says Manipur govt.; fresh inquiry under way, The Hindu, 19 February 2024.

Bibliography

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