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Hiangtam

January 01, 1970

Hiangtam or Hengtam is a village in the Churachandpur district of Manipur, India. It is located in the southern part of the district in the Singngat Subdivision.[2][1] It was the site of fierce resistance during the Kuki Rebellion of 1917–1919 (or Anglo-Kuki War) fought by the Zou people.[3]

Hiangtam
Hengtam
Hiangtam
Location in Manipur, India
Hiangtam
Hiangtam (India)
Coordinates: 24°03′33″N 93°37′09″E / 24.0591°N 93.6192°E / 24.0591; 93.6192
CountryIndia
StateManipur
DistrictChurachandpur
Elevation
1,350 m (4,430 ft)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total632 (167 in Hiangtam-K and 465 in Hiangtam-V)
Language(s)
 • OfficialMeitei (Manipuri)
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)

Historical significance edit

Hiangtam is a large, but historic village on the Indo-Myanmar border. It is one of the oldest settlements of the Zomi community in Manipur, India. Hiangtam is best known for its association with the Kuki Rising (locally called "Zogal") during World War I. The Manlun chief Goulun of this Zou village rebelled against British colonial rule in 1917–19. The immediate cause of the uprising was forced recruitment of the natives for the Labour Corps in France. Goulun was one of the bravest Zou leader and the greatest of his time. In The Battle of Hiangtam(Hengtam), a few miles away from Singngat (Singhat), was the main headquarters of the Zou fighter during the Zou Gal (1917-1919). The war and its strategic policies seemed to be hatched from this village. Goulun was the chief of Hiangtam.

There is a unique local tale about the battle of Hiangtam (Hengtam) among the Zou people. It is said that the British troops conveyed a message to the Zou fighters to surrender or else they would drop bombs on the village. To this, Goulun responded, "Vanleng a na'ng len uleh ahgochieng a ka'ng satkhiet ding uh" (If you would attack us with plane we would strike down with a long stick). Local songs were even composed on this plan and long stick story. According to local sources, a number of Siallum thau (leather cannons) were used in this battle by Zou fighters. The official recorded that after burning Singngat (Singhat), Cosgrave and his column continued to March to Hiangtam (Hengtam) on 19 March 1918. On their way they burned down 100 maunds of paddy from the village Jhum Lands. As they climbed up Hiangtam village, the Zous began firing from elongated stockades behind which stood a large fort (popularly known as Hiangtam fort). Cosgrave estimated that the Zous had at least 20 guns behind the elongated stockades. In this incident, one of the Cosgrave's army sepoys, Harka Bahadur Chettri, was shot in the head and died.

The Zous kept extremely strong defences and were not in a position to dislodge from the big stockade (the main fort) until the British military forces fired several shells of cannon (mortar) at it from close range and overran it with a rain of bullets from their magazine rifles. Cosgrave wrote: 'As they ultimately entered the main stockade, they found evidence of a man killed by a hit as the man's brain was found lying over the ground. He also assumed that from numerous marks of blood that was spilled around some other defenders of the stockade were believed to be either killed or wounded too".

Cosgrave mention that apart from a sepoy Chettri, his men suffered not many casualties despite being engaged in a close-range fight with the Zou defenders. A bullet struck a jamadar of Naga Hills Battalion in the arm while some shot hits captain Ostrehan's boot.

Cosgrave had to admit that the battle of Hiangtam was one of the toughest fights he had ever seen in his Manipur expedition. To quote him:

"The defence of Hengtam village was by far the most stubborn and well organised fight I have seen the Manipur Kukis put up, and there is every sign that our present foes Manlun Manchong Kukis (Zous) are a more formidable foe than the other Kuki with whom No.2 Column has so far dealt".

The British troops fired 1,300 rounds of .303 and Martini Henry ammunition during the exchange of fire with the Zous at Hiangtam. Captain Ostrehan regretted that the troops should have been equipped with Maxim guns. The British wanted to punish Hiangtam as much as possible. However, to their disappointment, they could find nothing much except for five goats. There were no jhums, metnas or paddy left to destroy.

Goulun was arrested and jail and release shortly. According to the locals, after the Zou-Gal, the British offer him land from Hiangtam - Singngat-Mata. He denied the offers because of mosquitos; hilly regions were more valuable during that time.

Unlike the valley of Manipur, Hill areas administration was based mostly in Chieftanship. After 1917–1919, Political Agents were appointed for the administration of the hill areas. After the death of Goulun, Thangkhochin (his younger brother son) was called from Burma (now Myanmar) to be Chief-in-Charge (Caretaker) of the village. The boundary of Hiangtam became smaller during Thangkhochin. Some machette villages of Hiangtam are Likhai, Hiangtam (K), Sialnah, Henjang. Thangkhanlal, son of Thangkhochin was an MLA-60-Singhat/Singngat and Minister from Hiangtam Village. On January 27, 2001, Thangchinmang, son of Goulun become the Chief of Hiangtam village under Manipur Gazetted No. DC(CCP)/Hill-MIsc/98-1: Refer :- Hill MIsc Matter No.23 of 1999. Thangchinmang later changed Bualkot to Hiangtam and became the Chief of Hiangtam(V)/Hiangtamjang and Hiangtam/Bualkot.

The village is recognized village No.47 of 1956. In 2022, Chinlunthang from Hiangtam Village son of Thangkhanlal become elected Manipur Legislative Assembly member of 60 Singhat constituency. The village is a Christian village where 99% are Christian (Presbyterian).

Related place names edit

The local name of Churachandpur town in Manipur is Hiangtam Lamka, or generally shortened as Lamka. Though permanent settlement in Lamka began only in 1930, the British had already built a rudimentary road from Lamka to Hiangtam as part of their effort to suppress the tribal uprising - hence the term "Hiangtam-Lamka".

In 1999, a new Zou settlement, Hiangzou, came into existence within Churachandpur town. The name, Hiangzou, was inspired by the historic Hiangtam village further south.

References edit

  1. ^ a b Churachandpur District Census Handbook (PDF), Directorate of Census Operations, Manipur, 2011, p. 264
  2. ^ "Hiangtam". 2011 Census of India. Government of India. Archived from the original on 1 September 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  3. ^ Guite, Fighting the White Men till the Last Bullet (2019), p. 49.

Bibliography edit

  • Jangkhomang Guite; Thongkholal Haokip, eds. (2019), The Anglo-Kuki War, 1917–1919: A Frontier Uprising against Imperialism during World War I, Routledge, ISBN 978-1-138-50704-3
    • Guite, Jangkhomang (2019), "'Fighting the White Men till the Last Bullet': The general course of the Anglo-Kuki War", Ibid, pp. 37–
    • Haokip, D. Letkhojam (2019), "'These Crafty Jungle Fighters': Tactics, technology and symbols of Kuki war", Ibid, pp. 118–
    • Haokip, Thongkholal (2019), "Breaking the Spirit of the Kukis: Launching the 'largest series of military operations' in the northeastern frontier of India", Ibid, pp. 93–
  • Pau, Pum Khan (2012), "Tedim Road—The Strategic Road on a Frontier: A Historical Analysis", Strategic Analysis, 36 (5): 776–786, doi:10.1080/09700161.2012.712387
  • Pau, Pum Khan (2019), Indo-Burma Frontier and the Making of the Chin Hills: Empire and Resistance, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 9781000507454

Further reading edit

January 01, 1970
hiangtam, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, july, 2018, learn. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Hiangtam news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2018 Learn how and when to remove this message Hiangtam or Hengtam is a village in the Churachandpur district of Manipur India It is located in the southern part of the district in the Singngat Subdivision 2 1 It was the site of fierce resistance during the Kuki Rebellion of 1917 1919 or Anglo Kuki War fought by the Zou people 3 Hiangtam HengtamHiangtamLocation in Manipur IndiaShow map of ManipurHiangtamHiangtam India Show map of IndiaCoordinates 24 03 33 N 93 37 09 E 24 0591 N 93 6192 E 24 0591 93 6192CountryIndiaStateManipurDistrictChurachandpurElevation1 350 m 4 430 ft Population 2011 1 Total632 167 in Hiangtam K and 465 in Hiangtam V Language s OfficialMeitei Manipuri Time zoneUTC 5 30 IST Contents 1 Historical significance 2 Related place names 3 References 4 Bibliography 5 Further readingHistorical significance editHiangtam is a large but historic village on the Indo Myanmar border It is one of the oldest settlements of the Zomi community in Manipur India Hiangtam is best known for its association with the Kuki Rising locally called Zogal during World War I The Manlun chief Goulun of this Zou village rebelled against British colonial rule in 1917 19 The immediate cause of the uprising was forced recruitment of the natives for the Labour Corps in France Goulun was one of the bravest Zou leader and the greatest of his time In The Battle of Hiangtam Hengtam a few miles away from Singngat Singhat was the main headquarters of the Zou fighter during the Zou Gal 1917 1919 The war and its strategic policies seemed to be hatched from this village Goulun was the chief of Hiangtam There is a unique local tale about the battle of Hiangtam Hengtam among the Zou people It is said that the British troops conveyed a message to the Zou fighters to surrender or else they would drop bombs on the village To this Goulun responded Vanleng a na ng len uleh ahgochieng a ka ng satkhiet ding uh If you would attack us with plane we would strike down with a long stick Local songs were even composed on this plan and long stick story According to local sources a number of Siallum thau leather cannons were used in this battle by Zou fighters The official recorded that after burning Singngat Singhat Cosgrave and his column continued to March to Hiangtam Hengtam on 19 March 1918 On their way they burned down 100 maunds of paddy from the village Jhum Lands As they climbed up Hiangtam village the Zous began firing from elongated stockades behind which stood a large fort popularly known as Hiangtam fort Cosgrave estimated that the Zous had at least 20 guns behind the elongated stockades In this incident one of the Cosgrave s army sepoys Harka Bahadur Chettri was shot in the head and died The Zous kept extremely strong defences and were not in a position to dislodge from the big stockade the main fort until the British military forces fired several shells of cannon mortar at it from close range and overran it with a rain of bullets from their magazine rifles Cosgrave wrote As they ultimately entered the main stockade they found evidence of a man killed by a hit as the man s brain was found lying over the ground He also assumed that from numerous marks of blood that was spilled around some other defenders of the stockade were believed to be either killed or wounded too Cosgrave mention that apart from a sepoy Chettri his men suffered not many casualties despite being engaged in a close range fight with the Zou defenders A bullet struck a jamadar of Naga Hills Battalion in the arm while some shot hits captain Ostrehan s boot Cosgrave had to admit that the battle of Hiangtam was one of the toughest fights he had ever seen in his Manipur expedition To quote him The defence of Hengtam village was by far the most stubborn and well organised fight I have seen the Manipur Kukis put up and there is every sign that our present foes Manlun Manchong Kukis Zous are a more formidable foe than the other Kuki with whom No 2 Column has so far dealt The British troops fired 1 300 rounds of 303 and Martini Henry ammunition during the exchange of fire with the Zous at Hiangtam Captain Ostrehan regretted that the troops should have been equipped with Maxim guns The British wanted to punish Hiangtam as much as possible However to their disappointment they could find nothing much except for five goats There were no jhums metnas or paddy left to destroy Goulun was arrested and jail and release shortly According to the locals after the Zou Gal the British offer him land from Hiangtam Singngat Mata He denied the offers because of mosquitos hilly regions were more valuable during that time Unlike the valley of Manipur Hill areas administration was based mostly in Chieftanship After 1917 1919 Political Agents were appointed for the administration of the hill areas After the death of Goulun Thangkhochin his younger brother son was called from Burma now Myanmar to be Chief in Charge Caretaker of the village The boundary of Hiangtam became smaller during Thangkhochin Some machette villages of Hiangtam are Likhai Hiangtam K Sialnah Henjang Thangkhanlal son of Thangkhochin was an MLA 60 Singhat Singngat and Minister from Hiangtam Village On January 27 2001 Thangchinmang son of Goulun become the Chief of Hiangtam village under Manipur Gazetted No DC CCP Hill MIsc 98 1 Refer Hill MIsc Matter No 23 of 1999 Thangchinmang later changed Bualkot to Hiangtam and became the Chief of Hiangtam V Hiangtamjang and Hiangtam Bualkot The village is recognized village No 47 of 1956 In 2022 Chinlunthang from Hiangtam Village son of Thangkhanlal become elected Manipur Legislative Assembly member of 60 Singhat constituency The village is a Christian village where 99 are Christian Presbyterian Related place names editThe local name of Churachandpur town in Manipur is Hiangtam Lamka or generally shortened as Lamka Though permanent settlement in Lamka began only in 1930 the British had already built a rudimentary road from Lamka to Hiangtam as part of their effort to suppress the tribal uprising hence the term Hiangtam Lamka In 1999 a new Zou settlement Hiangzou came into existence within Churachandpur town The name Hiangzou was inspired by the historic Hiangtam village further south References edit a b Churachandpur District Census Handbook PDF Directorate of Census Operations Manipur 2011 p 264 Hiangtam 2011 Census of India Government of India Archived from the original on 1 September 2017 Retrieved 1 September 2017 Guite Fighting the White Men till the Last Bullet 2019 p 49 Bibliography editJangkhomang Guite Thongkholal Haokip eds 2019 The Anglo Kuki War 1917 1919 A Frontier Uprising against Imperialism during World War I Routledge ISBN 978 1 138 50704 3 Guite Jangkhomang 2019 Fighting the White Men till the Last Bullet The general course of the Anglo Kuki War Ibid pp 37 Haokip D Letkhojam 2019 These Crafty Jungle Fighters Tactics technology and symbols of Kuki war Ibid pp 118 Haokip Thongkholal 2019 Breaking the Spirit of the Kukis Launching the largest series of military operations in the northeastern frontier of India Ibid pp 93 Pau Pum Khan 2012 Tedim Road The Strategic Road on a Frontier A Historical Analysis Strategic Analysis 36 5 776 786 doi 10 1080 09700161 2012 712387 Pau Pum Khan 2019 Indo Burma Frontier and the Making of the Chin Hills Empire and Resistance Taylor amp Francis ISBN 9781000507454Further reading edithttps www thusimbu com battle of hengtam in anglo kuki war 1917 1919 https books google com books id ZbvrDwAAQBAJ amp dq goulun battle at hengtam amp pg PT50 https www elections in manipur assembly constituencies 1995 election results html https manipur gov in wp content uploads 2017 06 act 1 pdf https books google com books id l pZEAAAQBAJ amp dq goulun hengtam amp pg PT120 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hiangtam amp oldid 1210382619, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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