Imphal: Stating that Thangjing (Thang Ching) hill is a historical importance and has been protected under sections of the Manipur Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites, the state government made it clear that there was no ‘Haokip Reserved’ in the so-called Ukha Loikhai village.
“The present-day Thangjing hill range falls within the Churachandpur-Khoupum protected forests… The present-day Ukha-Loikhai settlement falls within the boundary of this protected forest,” the government said in the statement on Monday.
The government said the claim by a “self-proclaimed” village chief that the hill’s ownership comes under his chieftainship is a “fabricated and concocted one with a malafide intention to mislead the general public.”
It also said an order to remove the Ukha-Loikhai settlement from the Churachandpur-Khoupum protected forests was cancelled on November 7, 2022, a matter that is under investigation.
The statement further pointed out that “no record” has been found under any resolution/act/rules as per records maintained by the state government on “Haokip Reserved”.
It may be mentioned that Thangjing hill has been a sacred site for Meiteis for centuries and is also related to the ancient legend of Khamba and Thoibi, a Meitei mythology and folklore that is originated from Ancient Moirang Kingdom of Ancient Kangleipak (Manipur).
A controversy first erupted early this month after some Kuki-Zo tribes erected a cross on the sacred site.
The Zomi Students’ Federation (ZSF) in a statement on February 15 said the Thangjing hills belong to the Zo people, who will continue to exercise their constitutional right to religion and “will continue to erect whatever religious symbols their religious fervour drives them to.”
Later, Thenkhomang Haokip, a “self-proclaimed” village chief, refuted ZSF’s claim that the Thanjing range belonged to the Zo tribe. He said Thangjing falls under the jurisdiction of his chieftainship, and the “ZSF in distorting the century-long history of Haokip-Kuki of Ukha-Loikhai and Thangjing is very unfortunate and derogatory.”
“A certain student body needs to respect and not interfere in the matter beyond history and traditions, and not repeat baseless Zogam/Zoland or Thangching or Thangsing in the historical Haokip reserved of a Haokip-Kuki village of Ukha-Loikhai,” the village chief said in a statement on February 16.
