Traditions According to the Moirang kings' chronicle
Ningthourol Lampuba, the
Koireng people, an "
Old Kuki" tribe, used to be settled around the Thangjing Hill. The
Moirangs under king Thingre Nachaoba raided them and defeated them. Historians believe that the Koirengs migrated away from the region due to the repeated incursions by the Moirang people. The Thangjing Hill was also deified by the Koireng people and the deity has since been adopted by the Moirangs, and eventually by the Meitei people in general. The
Chiru people, another Old Kuki tribe, have historical memory of having lived on the Thangjing Hill. The villagers later migrated to a new location in the present day
Kangpokpi district for better availability of agricultural land and named the new village "Thangjing Chiru". One of the
Kabui Naga tribes, named Sungbu, also have a tradition of having originated from the Thangjing Hill. The Moirang people have a tradition of having been saved from a man-eater by the Kabui chief from Thangjing Hill during the rule of Thangtek Soinaiba.
British Raj period By the time
British Raj arrived in Manipur (), the Sungbus had moved to the region around the Cachar–Bishnupur Road on sites that were previously occupied by
Kuki people (called "Khongjais" by Manipuris). According to British commissioner
Pemberton, Kukis were in occupation of all the southern hills from
Tipaimukh to Thangjing Hills.
William McCulloch, British resident between 1844 and 1867, found that Kukis were living all around the Manipur valley, which was confirmed by later commentators. These descriptions suggest that the Thangjing Hill itself was under the occupation of the
Kukis. A village called
Ukha (also called "Loikhai" or "Luaikhai") on the western slopes of the Thangjing Hill is mentioned in the
Gazetteer of Manipur (1886). It is described as being at an elevation of , with a population of 150 people belonging to the "Changput subdivision of the Kongjai Kuki tribe". Its current population per 2011 census is 418, and the elevation on modern maps is 1,500 metres. After the
Lushai Expedition of 1871–1872, Manipur received additional Kuki-Zo refugees from the
Lushai Hills region, who were settled in the Thangjing Hills range and in the valley southwest of Moirang. Land and protection were provided by Raja
Chandrakirti Singh, as well as food for subsistence till they could grow their own crops. The
Gazetteer of Manipur lists over 20 Kuki villages in the valley of the Tuila River, which flows south from the Thangjing Hills range. After the British took over Manipur as a
princely state in
1891, they decided to administer the hill regions directly, outside the control of the Manipur State Darbar. Thangjing Hill came under the Southwest Subdivision, initially administered from Moirang. During the
Kuki Rebellion of 1917–1919, the Thangjing Hills and the Ukha village played key roles. In early 1917, the local chiefs met at Ukha and
Henglep to discuss the emerging conflict with the British authorities. After
Mombi was burned by the British, an all-Kuki War Council was called by the chief of Chassad, and the chiefs received a signal to resist and fight. War preparations were begun in October after another gathering of chiefs. The British attack came in December, led by the
Political Agent J. C. Higgins. The Ukha Kukis staged an able defence of the Thangjing Hill, with sniper attacks and home-made leather cannons, causing several casualties on the British troops, but no Kuki was captured. Ukha was reportedly burnt down, and the Kukis escaped into the forests.
Post-independence history In 1966, the Government of Manipur included the entire Thangjing Hills range in
Churachandpur-Khoupum Protected Forest under Section 29 of the
Indian Forest Act, 1927. As per the law, the pre-existing settlements in the designated area are meant to be excluded from the protected forest. An (Assistant) Settlement Officer reportedly issued a settlement order for the Ukha-Loikhai village, excluding it from the protected forest areas.
Indian Airlines Flight 257 on 16 August 1991 crashed into Thangjing Hills range, killing all 69 people on board. Occasional disputes have arisen over the Thangjing Hill, with the Kuki-Zos claiming to be the inhabitants of the region and the Meiteis claiming it to be their holy site. In 2010, a clash occurred between Meitei pilgrims on their annual pilgrimage and the local residents, with two Kuki youth being killed and four injured. The move was seen by the Meiteis as an attempt to rename their sacred hill, and led to protests and shutdowns. Eventually, the government renamed the subdivision as the Kangvai subdivision.
Current disputes In May 2022, Meitei activists under the banner of
Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM, the youth wing of the ruling party) organised a tree plantation drive in Thangjing hills, which was opposed by the local villagers. The
Kuki Students Organisation (KSO) of the
Henglep block raised the issue and barred the entry of "outsiders" into the hills without the permission of the village chief of the area. The chief of the Ukha Loikhai village was mentioned as the "rightful owner" of the Thangjing Hill, whose permission was necessary for any such efforts. But the dispute also brought into focus the issue of ownership of the Thangjing Hill, and CPPKT asked the government for clarification. Soon afterwards, the Government of Manipur said it formed a committee to look into the settlement orders and, in November 2022, cancelled all the orders issued for the Churachandpur-Khoupum Protected Forest on the ground that they were issued by Assistant Settlement Officers rather than a full-ranked Forest Settlement Officer. The Manipur cabinet also proposed to include four hectares on the Thangjing Hill under Manipur Ancient and Historical Monuments Act in order to protect it from encroachments. ==See also==