Jiribam district

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Jiribam district
Jiribam District Map.png
Location in Manipur
CountryFlag of India.svg  India
State Manipur
Established2016
Headquarters Jiribam
Area
  Total232 km2 (90 sq mi)
Population
  Total43,838
  Density190/km2 (490/sq mi)
Language(s)
  Official Meitei (officially called Manipuri)
  Spoken Bengali   Hmar   Other tribal languages
Time zone UTC+05:30 (IST)
Major highways NH-37
Website https://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]

Contents

Geography and history

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 [lower-alpha 1] 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]

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. [lower-alpha 2] 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), while the northern part was added to 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 consisting of the Vangai range was transferred to the Tipaimukh subdivision. [16] With the reorganisation of 'Manipur Central', Jiribam got attached to the Imphal East district. In 2016, Jiribam subdivision became an independent Jiribam district. [17]

Demographics

Religions in Jiribam district (2011) [18]
ReligionPercent
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. [19]

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

The following are the sub-divisions in Jiribam district:

Jiribam district as a whole is one state assembly constituency - the Jiribam Assembly constituency. [20]

See also

Notes

  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.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manipur</span> State in northeastern India

Manipur is a state in northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanmar, Sagaing Region to the east and Chin State to the south. The state covers an area of 22,327 km2 (8,621 sq mi). The official and most widely spoken language is the Meitei language. Native to the Meitei people, it is also used as a lingua franca by smaller communities, who speak a variety of other Tibeto-Burman languages. Manipur has been at the crossroads of Asian economic and cultural exchange for more than 2,500 years. This exchange connects the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia to Southeast Asia, East Asia, Siberia, regions in the Arctic, Micronesia and Polynesia enabling migration of people, cultures and religions.

Hmar people are a scheduled tribe ethnic group from the states of Manipur, Mizoram, Assam, and Meghalaya in Northeast India. They use the Hmar language as their primary language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cachar district</span> District of Assam in India

Cachardistrict is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. After independence, the pre-existing undivided Cachar district was split into four districts: Dima Hasao, Hailakandi, Karimganj, and the current Cachar district. Silchar is Cachar district's center of government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karimganj district</span> District of Assam in India

Karimganj district is one of the 31 districts of the Indian state of Assam. Karimganj town is both the administrative headquarters district and the biggest town of this district. It is located in southern Assam and borders Tripura and the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. It makes up the Barak Valley alongside Hailakandi and Cachar. Karimganj was previously part of the Sylhet District before the Partition of India. It became a district in 1983.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imphal East district</span> District of Manipur in India

Imphal East district is one of the 16 districts of Manipur state in northeastern India. In 2011, it was the second most populous district in the state, after Imphal West. In 2016, the Jiribam subdivision, which was an exclave at the western periphery of the state, was separated as an independent district.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barak River</span> River in India and Bangladesh

The Barak River or Barbatro flows 900 kilometres (560 mi) through the states of Manipur, Mizoram and Assam in India. It flows into Bangladesh where it bifurcates into the Surma river and the Kushiyara river which converge again to become the Meghna river before forming the Ganges Delta. Of its total length, 524 km (326 mi) is in India, 31 km (19 mi) in Bangladesh. The upper part of its navigable part is in India — 121 km (75 mi) between Lakhipur and Bhanga, declared as National Waterway 6, (NW-6) since the year 2016. It drains a basin of 52,000 km2 (20,000 sq mi), of which 41,723 km2 (16,109 sq mi) lies in India, 1.38% (rounded) of the country. The water and banks host or are visited by a wide variety of flora and fauna.

Jiribam is a town governed by a municipal council in the Jiribam district of the state of Manipur, India. It is one of the fastest-growing towns in Manipur.

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Borobekra, also spelt Barabekra, is a village and the headquarters of an eponymous subdivision in the Jiribam district in Manipur, India. It is about 30 km south of Jiribam, the headquarters of the district. The village is on the bank of a tributary of the Barak River, which flows down from the Vangaitang range to the east. The Barak River itself flows north in this region, up to Jirimukh, where it turns west. The Barak River also forms the border with the Assam state of India. The north–south-running Jiribam–Tipaimukh highway passes by the village.

References

  1. "Creation of new districts could be game-changer in Manipur polls | opinion". Hindustan Times . Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  2. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 4 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. 1 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
  8. Administration Report for 1931-32 (1932), p. 41.
  9. Administration Report for 1931-32 (1932), pp. 57–58.
  10. 1 2 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. Census of India, 1971 (1972), p. 1.
  14. Manipur Administrative Atlas (2005), pp. 16–17, Map 8.
  15. Manipur Administrative Atlas (2005), pp. 18–19, Map 9.
  16. Khelen Thokchom, More districts in Manipur, The Telegraph (Kolkata), 9 December 2016. ProQuest   2290178396
  17. "Table C-01 Population by religious community: Manipur". Census of India . Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  18. "District Census Hand Book - Imphal East" (PDF). Census of India . Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
  19. "Jiribham assembly seat".

Bibliography