Jarolpokpi
Jarolpokpi
Zairawn | |
|---|---|
  Jarolpokpi Location in Manipur, India  Jarolpokpi Jarolpokpi (India) | |
| Coordinates: 24°45′10″N 93°08′22″E / 24.7529°N 93.1394°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Manipur |
| District | Jiribam |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.47 km2 (0.95 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
| • Total | 1,287 |
| Language(s) | |
| • Official | Meitei |
| • Spoken | Hmar, Thadou |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
 | |
Jarolpokpi,[a] also called Zairawn,[b] is a census village at the southern end of the Jiribam plain in the Jiribam district, Manipur, India. It occupies a narrow plain between the Vangaitang range in the east and Sejang hills in the west, covering 2.47 km2 (0.95 sq mi) area. Included in the census village are a Hmar village Zairawn, two Thadou Kuki villages Mongbung[c] and Sejang Kuki,[d] and a Meitei village Mongbung Meitei. The combined population of the Jarolpokpi census village is 1,237 people, of whom 64.2 percent are Scheduled Tribes.[1]
Geography
[edit]
The Vangaitang range to the east of the Jiribam district is traditionally inhabited by the Hmar tribes. In 1907, the Jiribam plain was opened for settlement by the Government of Manipur, and it came to be settled by Meiteis and Bengali speakers from the neighbouring Cachar district.[2][3]
The Jiribam plain roughly ends at the Sejang Kuki village, to the south of which the low-lying "Sejang hills" intervene between the Jiribam plain and the Jiri river valley. At the foothills of the Sejang Hills are two Thadou Kuki villages: the Sejang Kuki village and the Mongbung Kuki village.
Between the Sejang hills and the Vangaitang range to the east, runs a 2 kilometre-wide undulating plain which progressively narrows to the south. Jarolpokpi, or Zairawn, lies in this plain. Jarolpokpi is the Meitei rendition of the original Hmar name, Zairawn.
Between Mongbung and Zairawn lies the Mongbung Meitei village, on lands which are said to have been granted by the Kuki chief of Mongbung at some time in the past. It is apparently the only exclusively Meitei village in the area.
The Jiribam–Tipaimukh Road ("JT Road"), the main highway in the Jiribam district, runs north–south through the Sejang and Mongbung villages. It is the main transportation route for the area which connects it to the district headquarters Jiribam and the southern part of the Jiribam district and Pherzawl district beyond. In addition, the Kashimpur Road runs at the foothills of the Vangaitang range, connecting Jarolpokpi to the NH37 near Uchathol and the village of Kashimpur immediately to the south.
History
[edit]2023–2024 Manipur violence
[edit]When the ethnic conflict in Manipur erupted between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo people on 3 May 2023, the Jiribam district remained relatively at peace for almost a year. The peace was shattered by twin murders in May–June 2024, the first of a Kuki individual named Seigoulen Singson in May, and the second of a Meitei individual named Soibam Saratkumar Singh in June. Rumours spread that Saratkumar's body was founded beheaded, inflaming Meitei feelings. Meitei mobs led by Arambai Tenggol started torching houses in the Jiribam area, inviting retaliation from Kuki mobs. In the ensuing mayhem, the entire population of Hmars and Thadou Kukis from the Jiribam town got displaced to Assam's Cachar district.[4] The Meiteis in the tribal parts of the district, including those of the Mongbung Meitei village, fled to relief camps in Jiribam.[5]
The Kuki-Zo villages in the southern hills of the district got cut off from the Jiribam town, which was now under the control of hostile Meitei mobs and militias. In order to obtain supplies, they had to use the river route, the Jiri river and then the Barak river, leading to a village called Hmarkhawlien near Lakhipur in Assam's Cachar district. The villagers pooled money and stocked up on supplies.[4]
On 4 July 2024, the Meitei militias, Arambai Tenggol and the Pambei faction of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), attacked the Mongbung and Sejang villages. The Kukis returned fire leading to a prolonged gun battle. The next day, Manipur state commandos along with central security forces, conducted a combing operation in the Kuki villages, causing the Kukis to go into hiding. When they returned, they found all their stocks of rations soiled by the security forces.[4][e]
On 13 July, there were reports of Kukis firing at the Mongbung Meitei village, which had village volunteers and security forces deployed.[6] On 14 July, Manipur commandos and CRPF personnel under the command of the chief Nectar Sanjenbam decided raid the Kuki villages again. Disregarding the entreaties of the village secretary, they opened fire against the Kuki villagers, and in retaliatory fire, a CRPF jawan was killed and two other personnel got injured. Sanjenbam is said to have left after this, abandoning the operation. Assam Rifles forces had to step in to retrieve the body of the jawan and to bring the situation under control.[4][7] The Kuki leaders issued a statement warning that they would no longer tolerate any kind of atrocities, be it from the Meitei government or central security agencies.[7]
On 7 August, 135 residents of the Mongbung Meitei village, who had been statying at a relief camp in Jiribam, were escorted back to their homes. The security deployment was readjusted with a joint force of Assam Rifles and CRPF in both the Kuki-Zo and Meitei areas.[8] According to The Indian Express, two companies of Manipur police commandos were also deployed.[9]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b PCA: Primary Census Abstract C.D. Block wise, Manipur - District Imphal East - 2011, Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India, retrieved 8 November 2024.
- ^ Higgins, J. C. (1912), Administration Report of The Manipur State For The Year 1911-12, Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co, p. 4 – via archive.org
- ^ Harvey, C. W. L. (1932), Administration Report of The Manipur State For The Year 1931-32, Imphal: The State Printing Press, p. 55 – via archive.org
- ^ a b c d Greeshma Kuthar, Stagnant Strife: Disinformation draws Manipur’s last district into violence, The Caravan, 1 September 2024.
- ^ Suspected Kuki Assailants Kill Farmer in Jiribam, Sparking Communal Tension, Curfew Clamped, Ukhrul Times, 7 June 2024.
- ^ a b Manipur Violence: Kuki militants attack Mongbung in Jiribam, Imphal Free Press, 13 July 2024. ProQuest 3079904731
- ^ a b Abhinay Lakshman, CRPF constable killed, two policemen injured in firefight in Manipur’s Jiribam, The Hindu, 15 July 2024.
- ^ 133 Manipur villagers displaced by ethnic conflict in Jiribam return home, The Hindu, 7 August 2024.
- ^ Sukrita Baruah, Homecoming for 135 Meiteis who fled to relief camps to escape Manipur violence, The Indian Express, 7 August 2024.