Kharam people

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Kharam Naga
IMG-20210912-WA0002.jpg
Kharam Tribe from Manipur
Total population
1,145 [1]
Languages
Kharam (L1)
Meitei language (L2) [2]
Religion
Christianity, Animism
Related ethnic groups
Meitei people, Inpui, Purum

The Kharam people, also known as the Kharam Naga's, are inhabiting the Northeast Indian state of Manipur. They are recognised as a Scheduled Tribe (STs) by India. [3] [4] They use Meitei language as their second language (L2) according to the Ethnologue. [5]

Contents

History

The speakers of Kharam are mainly found in Kangpokpi district of Manipur and their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family of the language. The Kharam dialect is mainly spoken in Tuisenphai, Laikot Kharam, Laikot Phaijol, Tampak Kharam, New Keithel Manbi and Kharam Khullen villages in the Kangpokpi district of Manipur.

Kharam has close affinities with other languages such as Kom, Koren, Purum, Aimol etc. The Kharams today are inhabited in the seven villages of Manipur of which the Kharam Pallen village is the oldest and largest village of Kharam people. Kangpokpi District. [6] [7]

Etymology

The word Kharam is believed to have derived from the words khwa ram which is translated as "That land". According to another definition, the word Kharam is a compound word of kha (south) and ram (land or place) which literally means ‘Southland’.

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Meitei language, the sole official language and the lingua franca of Manipur, one of the scheduled languages of India, one of the recognised educational and literary languages of Assam and Tripura states, has its speakers spread across entire India.

The Khamenlok clash occurred during 12–14 June 2023, in the course of 2023–2024 Manipur violence between the Meitei and Kuki people, in the Khamenlok river valley, a branch valley of the Iril River valley, in the Saikul subdivision of Kangpokpi district. An estimated mob of 3,000 Meitei assailants, some with sophisticated weapons, launched an attack on the Kuki villages in the Khamenlok valley, over a period of three days, burning houses and rampaging the area. While the Kuki villagers escaped to the hills on arrival of the assailants, the security forces were blocked from reaching the area by women activist groups. Finally, on 13 June, while the assailants were celebrating in a church building, the Kuki village defence volunteers descended from the hills and carried out a wholesale massacre of the Meitei mobs. The official death count was nine people, but unofficial estimates were in excess of 200 people.

References

  1. "Census of India, 2011".
  2. "Meitei | Ethnologue". Ethnologue . Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  3. "1THE CONSTITUTION (SCHEDULED TRIBES)". Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  4. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Meitei | Ethnologue". Ethnologue . Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  6. Haokip, P. (2011). Socio-linguistic Situation in North-east India. Concept Publishing Company. p. 53. ISBN   9788180697609 . Retrieved 26 November 2014.
  7. Singh, K. S., ed. "India's Communities A-Z", Oxford University Press, USA 1999

Further reading