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Jarolpokpi

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Coordinates: 24°45′10″N 93°08′22″E / 24.7529°N 93.1394°E / 24.7529; 93.1394
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Jarolpokpi
Zairawn
Jarolpokpi is located in Manipur
Jarolpokpi
Jarolpokpi
Location in Manipur, India
Jarolpokpi is located in India
Jarolpokpi
Jarolpokpi
Jarolpokpi (India)
Coordinates: 24°45′10″N 93°08′22″E / 24.7529°N 93.1394°E / 24.7529; 93.1394
CountryIndia
StateManipur
DistrictJiribam
Area
 • Total2.47 km2 (0.95 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total1,287
Language(s)
 • OfficialMeitei
 • SpokenHmar, Thadou
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Map

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

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1944 Survey of India map of the Jiribam region: Jarolpokpi lies to the east of the highway from Jiribam to Chhota Bekra

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 rise the low-lying "Sejang hills" that intervene between the Jiribam plain and the Jiri River valley. At the northern periphery Sejang Hills are two Thadou Kuki villages: Sejang Kuki and Mongbung.

Between 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.[4][5]

Between Mongbung and Zairawn lies a Meitei settlement called 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

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During the 1950s Jarolpokpi and Mongbung were listed as separate villages.[6] The 1971 census described Jarolpokpi as occupying 0.30 hectares and Mongbung 0.15 hectares.[7]

In 1981, the chief of Mongbung, Seikhothang Haokip, along with the chief of Muolzawl village (at the southern perimeter of Sejang Hills) donated 600 acres of land to the Agriculture Department of Manipur to raise a tea plantation. In return, the villagers of these villagers were to receive job opportunities in the plantation. The tea estate is said to have functioned for 23 years producing good quality tea, but in 2004 it was wound up due to mismanagement.[8] Having lost the employment on the tea estate, the villagers reverted to the traditional cultivation practices on the land. The chief sent a memorandum to the state chief minister stating that, the tea estate having failed, the land reverted to the original owner as per government rules.[9]

In 2019, the state government under chief minister N. Biren Singh decided that the Jiri Tea Estate would be restarted as a public-private partnership, and sent eviction teams to evict the villagers. This led to an uproar among the villagers, and a court case.[10] As of September 2021, the dispute was continuing.[11]

2023–2024 Manipur violence

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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.[12] The Meiteis in the tribal parts of the district, including those of the Mongbung Meitei village, fled to relief camps in Jiribam.[13]

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.[12]

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.[12][e] The Kuki Inpi of the region has accused the security forces of using "uncivilised and inhumane" methods by destroying food stocks amidst a blockade.[15]

On 13 July, there were reports of Kukis firing at the Mongbung Meitei village, which had village volunteers and security forces deployed in it.[14] 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, the forces 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.[12][16] 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.[16]

On 1 August, the Jiribam district administration claimed to have brokered a peace agreement between Meiteis and Hmars, leaving out Thadou Kukis, facilitating return of the displaced Meiteis and Hmars to their homes. The agreement was disowned by Hmar Innpui. Nevertheless, on 7 August, 135 residents of the Mongbung Meitei village, who had been staying at a relief camp in Jiribam, were escorted back to their homes. According to The Hindu, the security deployment was readjusted with a joint force of Assam Rifles and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in both the Kuki-Zo and Meitei areas.[17] However, The Indian Express noted that two companies of Manipur police commandos were also deployed.[18] From then till 7 November, there were repeated complaints from both the Meitei and Kuki villages of Mongbung that the other side was attacking them.

Attack on Zairawn

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On 7 November, armed men suspected to be from the Imphal Valley, armed with advanced weaponry, attacked the Zairon village at around 9 pm.[19][20] According to some sources, there was a gunfight that lasted about an hour.[19] But the villagers said they had no weapons.[21][22] They said 80 to 100 armed assailants, allegedly from the Meitei community along with the Arambai Tenggol militia, opened fire and set 17 homes ablaze. The villagers fled at the sound of gunfire. They said the assailants came in two groups, with one group opening fire and the other setting houses ablaze. The assailants also looted all the valuables from the houses before burning them.[22]

In one house, the woman of the family, a 31-year-old school teacher and mother of three children, was shot in the leg and could not flee. She was captured, allegedly sexually assaulted, her body was dismembered and then burnt along with the house.[20][22] These allegations, with the exception of sexual assault, were confirmed later by an autopsy conducted at the Silchar Medical College, which detailed further details of the brutal torture the woman had to endure before death.[23]

The villagers said that a CRPF camp was only half-a-kilometre away from the village, and that the security forces used to patrol the village everyday. But on this occasion, they did not arrive.[24][21] Imphal-based media printed disinformation sourced to the police, claiming that "Kuki militants" from Zairawn had attacked the Mongbung Meitei village.[25][26][27] The Imphal Free Press also claimed that Zairawn (Jarolpokpi) had been "abandoned" after the unrest began, which was not corroborated by any other source.[27] Soon after the event, the police denied any knowledge of any death in the attack.[19]

The Kuki Inpi of the area issued a strong condemnation of the brutal killing of the woman, calling it a "barbaric act". It also accused the security forces of giving "tacit support" to the attackers.[28] For the next several days, Kuki armed men in the hills surrounding the Imphal Valley directed fire at the Meitei civilians in the foothills regions, killing one woman and injuring several others.[29][30]

Notes

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  1. ^ Alternative spellings: "Jairolpokpi", "Jairalpokpi" and "Jairelpokpi".
  2. ^ Alternative spelling: "Zairon" and "Jairon".
  3. ^ Alternative spellings: "Mongbum".
  4. ^ Alternative spellings: "Seijang" and "Sizang".
  5. ^ According to the Imphal Free Press, the combing operation was on Wednesday, 10 July.[14]

References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Higgins, J. C. (1912), Administration Report of The Manipur State For The Year 1911-12, Calcutta: Thacker, Spink & Co, p. 4 – via archive.org
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ Tribal woman killed, set ablaze in Manipur district, Hindustan Times, 9 November 2024. ProQuest 3126093869
  5. ^ I. Tomba Singh, Migration aspects in Jiribam district, The Sangai Express, via e-pao.net, 22 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Notification No. IJ/2/56", Manipur Gazette, 16 August 1956, p. 16 – via archive.org
  7. ^ District Census Handbook: Manipur Central District, Director of Census Operations, Manipur, page 52.
  8. ^ Jajo Themson, transfer commotion in Jiribam, Centre for Research and Advocacy Manipur, 25 September 2021.
  9. ^ Sejang and Mongbung villagers foil authorities’ land eviction drive, India Today NE, 15 January 2019.
  10. ^ Villagers of Sejang and Mongbung wants eviction process aborted, Imphal Free Press, 14 January 2019. ProQuest 2166924363
  11. ^ Villagers condemn 'arbitrary transfer' of land in Jiribam, Imphal Free Press, 7 September 2021. ProQuest 2569647523
  12. ^ a b c d Greeshma Kuthar, Stagnant Strife: Disinformation draws Manipur’s last district into violence, The Caravan, 1 September 2024.
  13. ^ Suspected Kuki Assailants Kill Farmer in Jiribam, Sparking Communal Tension, Curfew Clamped, Ukhrul Times, 7 June 2024.
  14. ^ a b Manipur Violence: Kuki militants attack Mongbung in Jiribam, Imphal Free Press, 13 July 2024. ProQuest 3079904731
  15. ^ Manipur: Kuki groups criticize food shortage in Jiribam after alleged destruction by security forces, India Today NE, 14 July 2024.
  16. ^ a b Abhinay Lakshman, CRPF constable killed, two policemen injured in firefight in Manipur’s Jiribam, The Hindu, 15 July 2024.
  17. ^ 133 Manipur villagers displaced by ethnic conflict in Jiribam return home, The Hindu, 7 August 2024.
  18. ^ Sukrita Baruah, Homecoming for 135 Meiteis who fled to relief camps to escape Manipur violence, The Indian Express, 7 August 2024.
  19. ^ a b c Manipur unrest: Six houses torched in Jiribam; woman allegedly shot and burned to death, The Hindu, 8 November 2024.
  20. ^ a b Prabin Kalita, Tribal woman 'raped' & burnt alive at home in Manipur's Jiribam dist, The Times of India, 8 November 2024.
  21. ^ a b Tribal woman killed, set ablaze in Manipur district, Hindustan Times, 9 November 2024. ProQuest 3126093869 '"Our village did not have village defence volunteers because we have a CRPF camp nearby, but they did not come to our rescue on time. Many people from adjoining villagers who are from neutral communities had seen at least 9-10 gypsies with militants entering the village," another villager said on condition of anonymity.'
  22. ^ a b c Mrinalini Dhyani, Fresh violence in Hmar-dominated Manipur village. Houses burnt, woman ‘shot, sexually assaulted & burnt’, The Print, 9 November 2024.
  23. ^ Prabin Kalita, Mom of 3 was brutally tortured before being set ablaze in Manipur: Autopsy, The Times of India, 14 November 2024.
  24. ^ Ratnadip Choudhury, Woman Dies After Her House Set On Fire In Manipur's Jiribam, NDTV News, 8 November 2024.
  25. ^ Kuki militants attack, The Sangai Express, 8 November 2024.
  26. ^ Kuki militants resume attack in Jiribam, Chronicle News Service, 7 November 2024.
  27. ^ a b Manipur Violence: Woman dies in fresh clashes in Jiribam, Imphal Free Press, 9 November 2024.
  28. ^ Kaybie Chongloi, Manipur: Kuki body demands investigation into Jiribam incident; calls for immediate government action, India Today NE, 8 November 2024.
  29. ^ Kangkan Kalita, Renewed unrest in Manipur as militants target civilians, The Times of India, 11 November 2024. ProQuest 3126598818
  30. ^ Manipur: Panic in Saiton Leitanpokpi; villagers flee amid continued militant attacks, India Today NE, 11 November 2024.
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