Geography
Saikul is on the bank of the Iril River (also called Jildung River), near its junction with a tributary called Ichai Lok that flows down from northwest. Saikul is on the right bank of Iril, while another village called Makokchung is on the left bank, opposite to Saikul.
Saikul is 40 kilometres north of the Imphal city, and 14 kilometres north of Sagolmang, which is also on the bank of the Iril River in the Imphal East district.
In the 2011 census, Saikul has a population of 2,767 people, almost all of whom belong to Scheduled Tribes. [1] Makokching has a population of 505.
History
Saikul is listed as "Samusang Saikul" in the annexure of Manipur Hill People's (Administration) Regulation of 1947. It is listed in the North Area of Sadar Circle No. 1 and had 11 households at that time. [4] The location of the village is however uncertain. Most hill villages in the British colonial period were located on hill tops and were engaged in shifting cultivation on hill slopes. In 1956, the village was listed as simply "Saikal", while "Samu Song" was listed as a separate village. [5] This might indicate that the village moved down to the Iril River valley.
In 1969, when the Mao and Sadar Hills district was formed (later known as "Manipur North" district or Senapati district), Saikul served as the headquarters of the Sadar Hills subdivision. [6] This brought Saikul into prominence, and in subsequent decades Saikul grew into a populous town. By 1981, the Sadar Hills area was divided into two subdivisions: Sadar Hills East, which was headquartered at Saikul, and Sadar Hills West, which was headquartered at Kangpokpi. [7]
From 1974 onwards, there has been a persistent demand to separate Sadar Hills into a separate district. After several failed attempts, this was eventually accomplished in 2016, when the Sadar Hills area was spun out as the Kangpokpi district, with headquarters at Kangpokpi. The district had three subdivisions when formed, with Saikul Subdivision being one of them, covering roughly the same area as the earlier Sadar Hills East.
Between 1991 and 2001, the district boundary of the Imphal East district was arbitrarily enlarged so as to cover almost the entire Iril river valley and many of its branch valleys. [8] The Saikul Town itself appears if it is a geographical part of the Sawombung Subdivision of the Imphal East district, even though it is administratively part of the Kangpokpi district (then Senapati district). [9]
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