Ukhrul district

Ukhrul district (Meitei pronunciation:/ˈuːkˌɹəl or ˈuːkˌɹʊl/[lower-alpha 2][2]) is an administrative district of the state of Manipur in India with its headquarters at Ukhrul, that is Hunphun.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] The district occupies the north-eastern corner of the state and it extends between latitudes of 24° 29′ and 25° 42′ N and longitudes 94° 30′ and 94° 45′ E approximately (including Kamjong district). It shares an international boundary with Myanmar (Burma) on its eastern side and is bounded by Nagaland state in the north, Senapati district and Kangpokpi district in the west and Kamjong district in the south. It has the distinction of being the highest hill station of Manipur. The terrain of the district is hilly with a varying heights of 913 m to 3114 m (MSL). Ukhrul, the district HQ., at an altitude of 2020 m (MSL) is linked with Imphal, the state capital by NH 202 which is about 84 kilometres apart. The district covers an area of 4,544 square kilometres (1,754 sq mi) including Kamjong district making it the second largest district of the state after Churachandpur district and has a population of almost 1,83,998 according to Census of India 2011 comprising about 6.44 per cent of the total state population. The Tangkhul Naga tribe constitute the major bulk of the population with other communities such as Thadou, Nepalese and other non-tribals constituting a small percentage of the district population. Administratively, the district which comprises around 200 villages was divided into five sub-divisions, where their boundaries were coterminous with that of the Tribal Development Blocks. There was no statutory town in the district except one census town which was formed in 2011 Census. Recently, Kamjong district[11][12][13][14] was carved out from Ukhrul District as a separate district. Ukhrul District has three assembly constituencies before the bifurcation of the district which are Phungyar Assembly Constituency (43-ST), Ukhrul Assembly Constituency (44-ST) and Chingai Assembly Constituency. The district is best introduced by its rare Shirui Lily, (Lilium mackliniae). Also, the district has provided two of Manipur's chief ministers and the only from amongst the hill districts of Manipur, Yangmaso Shaiza the first tribal chief minister of Manipur and Rishang Keishing who is also the first MP from Outer Manipur (Lok Sabha constituency). William Pettigrew (missionary), an educationist and a Scottish-British Christian Missionary pioneered the western system of education and introduced the Christianity faith among the Tangkhal Naga tribe. Phungyo Baptist Church, Tangrei, Ukhrul, the oldest and the first Christian church of Manipur which still stands today is a testament to his passion for missionary work.[10]

Ukhrul district
District of Manipur
Phangrei Hill, popular tourist spot
Location in Manipur
Coordinates: 25°18′N 94°27′E
Country India
State Manipur
Formation1969
HeadquartersUkhrul
Area
 • Total2,206 km2 (852 sq mi)
 • Rank2
Elevation
3,114 m (10,217 ft)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total138,382
 • Rank7
 • Density63/km2 (160/sq mi)
DemonymTangkhul
Language(s)
 • OfficialMeitei (officially called Manipuri)[lower-alpha 1][2]
 • RegionalTangkhul
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Pincode(s)
795xxx
Vehicle registrationMN
Literacy81.35 %
Websiteukhrul.nic.in

Geography

Ukhrul District occupying the northeastern corner of the state lies between latitudes of 24° 29′ and 25° 42′ N and longitudes 94° 30′ and 94° 45′ E approximately (including Kamjong district). Nagaland bounds the district on the north, Kamjong District on the south, Myanmar (Burma) on the east and Senapati and Kangpokpi Districts on the west. The north-south extension is longer than the east-west. The total area of the district is 4,544 square kilometres (1,754 sq mi) including Kamjong District. It has the distinction of being the highest hill station of Manipur. The terrain of the district is hilly with varying heights of 913 m to 3114 m (MSL). The highest peak is the Khayang Peak, at 3114 m (MSL), though the more popularly known peak is the Shirui Kashong Peak, at 2,835 m (MSL). Most of the major rivers originate from the crevices and slopes of this Shirui Peak. The terrain of the district is rippled with small ranges and striped by few rivers.

The northern hilly region occupies the northern portion of the district and lies between the Akhong Lok or Laini Lok river and Chammu river. A big range stretches from north to south starting from near Jessami to Shirui Kashong as high as 2,568 metres above the MSL. The eastern hilly region occupies the eastern part of the district that lies east of the Chammu and Maklangkhong rivers. The Gamgimol or Nehdoh Lhang range forms an International boundary with Myanmar. The southern hilly region is situated at the southwestern corner of the district, which divides the Maklangkhong and Taret rivers. The district is drained by the two river systems, the Chindwin River system in the north and the Manipur river system in the south-west.[3]

Flora and fauna

The district is home to hundreds of varieties of trees and flowering plants, orchids, epiphytic ferns, varied species of plants and shrubs. Some of the best known species of plants and trees includes Alder (Alnus nepalensis), Prunus cerasoides, Acacia auriculiformis, Parkia javanica, Paraserianthes falcataria, Michelia, Gmelina arborea, Pinus kesiya, Robinia pseudoacacia, besides various Iris (plant) species, wild roses, red and white rhododendrons etc. The district being covered with a wide dense of forest is a habitat of wild animals such as Elephant, Leopard, Tiger, Bear, Bison, Gaur, Crested porcupine, Pangolin, Jungle cat, Wild boar, Deer, Monkey etc. The state flower of Manipur, Shirui Lily, also called Shirui Lily or Lilium Macklinae is a rare pinkish white flower found only in the Shirui Hill Range in the Ukhrul District of Manipur. It is named after Jean Macklin, the wife of Dr. Frank Kingdon-Ward who spotted the flower in 1946 while collecting botanical specimens. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), London, United Kingdom, one of the world's leading horticultural organizations honoured the Shirui Lily with its prestigious merit award at its Flower Show in London in 1948. The evergreen forest presents the district with a sylvan landscape. Some commonly found trees are Pine, Albizia, Castanopsis, Mesua, Mangifera indica, Phoebe hainesiana, Albizia lebbeck, Teak, Oak etc. The forests are also interspersed with multi-bamboos especially in the southern portions.[3]

Though the State Flower, Shirui Lily have attracted many tourists and botanists from around the world, it now faces a crisis of possible extinction in the near future and has been categorized as an Endangered species due to climate change, deforestation, wildfire, poor conservation approaches, intrusion of other plants and bushes, over exploitation etc. Scientists and experts have advocated for the Shirui Lily to be left as it is in nature, and assured us that nature is capable of healing it without human interruptions caused by a forest fire and unguided tourists. They have also suggested number of steps and measures that can be taken up by the centre and state government and participation of various research institutions to raise awareness of protection of Shirui Lily and implementation of conservative initiatives.[15]

Administrative divisions

The present district was made a full fledged district as Manipur East District in 1969. The village, Ukhrul, became its headquarters comprising Ukhrul North, Ukhrul Central, Phungyar Phaisat, Kamjong Chassad, Ukhrul South as sub-divisions. Under Manipur Gazette Notification No.174 dated August 5, 1983, the name of the district came to be known as Ukhrul District after the name of the district headquarters as in the case of other districts.[16]

SDPO Jurisdiction
SDPO, Ukhrul Ukhrul, Litan, Somdal, Shangshak
SDPO, Jessami Jessami, Chingjaroi, Kharasom, soraphung,
SDPO, Chingai Chingai

Ukhrul District has three assembly constituencies before the bifurcation of the district into Ukhrul and Kamjong Districts. The constituencies are:

  1. Phungyar Assembly Constituency (43-ST).
  2. Ukhrul Assembly Constituency (44-ST).
  3. Chingai Assembly Constituency (45-ST).

The Ukhrul District Autonomous Council (UADC) was instituted in the year 1971 under the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Act, 1971.[17]

Demographics
Religions in Ukhrul district (2011)[18]
Religion Percent
Christianity
 
 94.09%
Hinduism
 
 4.56%
Islam
 
 0.66%
Other or not stated
 
 0.69%

According to the 2011 census Ukhrul district has a population of 183,998,[19] roughly equal to the nation of São Tomé and Príncipe.[20] This gives it a ranking of 593rd in India (out of a total of 640).[19] The district has a population density of 40 inhabitants per square kilometre (100/sq mi).[19] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 30.07%.[19] Ukhrul has a sex ratio of 948 females for every 1000 males,[19] and a literacy rate of 81.87%. After birfucation, the district had a population of 138,382. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 0.16% and 93.62% of the population respectively.[19]

Languages

Languages in Ukhrul district (2011)

  Tangkhul (88.63%)
  Thadou (2.22%)
  Kuki (1.69%)
  Nepali (1.59%)
  Kheza (1.41%)
  Hindi (1.08%)
  Others (3.38%)

At the time of the 2011 census, 88.83% of the population spoke Tangkhul, 2.22% Thadou, 1.69% Kuki, 1.59% Nepali, 1.41% Khezha and 1.08% Hindi as their first language.[21]

See also

Notes
  1. Meitei language (officially known as Manipuri language) is the official language of Manipur. Other regional languages of different places in Manipur may either be predominantly spoken or not in their respective places but "Meitei" is always officially used.
  2. Meitei language (officially known as Manipuri language) is the official language of Manipur. Other regional languages of different places in Manipur may either be predominantly spoken or not in their respective places but "Meitei" is always officially used.

References
  1. "Ukhrul District". OurVillageIndia.com.
  2. "Report of the Commissioner for linguistic minorities: 47th report (July 2008 to June 2010)" (PDF). Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. p. 78. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  3. "District Census Handbook-Ukhrul" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. p. 19.
  4. Ruivah, Khashim (1993). Social Changes Among the Nagas (Tangkhul). India: Cosmo Publications. p. 173.
  5. Shimray, R.R (1985). Origin and Culture of Nagas. India: Pamleiphi Shimray. p. 103.
  6. Dena, Lal (2010). In Search of Identity. India: Akansha Publishing House. p. 45. ISBN 9788183701341.
  7. Horam, Mashangthei (1975). Naga Polity. India: B.R. Publishing Corporation. p. 64. ISBN 9780883866993.
  8. Horam, M. (31 December 1900). "'Naga Polity' (with special reference to AO, angami and tangkhul tribes)". University.
  9. Leklai, Huileng (2012). "Historical geography of ukhrul and adjoining areas". INFLIBNET.
  10. "Oldest And The First Established Church Of Manipur, Phungyo Baptist Church, Ukhrul » Ukhrul Times". Ukhrul Times. October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  11. Manogya Loiwal (19 December 2016). "7 new districts formed in Manipur amid opposition by Nagas". India Today. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  12. "Manipur Creates 7 New Districts". NDTV.com. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  13. Laithangbam, Iboyaima (31 December 2016). "New districts to stay, says Manipur CM". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  14. "Creation of new districts could be game-changer in Manipur polls". Hindustan Times. 20 December 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  15. "Implications of climate change to Shirui Lily and response of Churches Part 1 by Somi Kasomwoshi".
  16. https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/39215/7/07_chapter%201.pdf
  17. http://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/A1971-76_0.pdf
  18. "Population by religious community - Manipur". Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. 2011.
  19. "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  20. US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Archived from the original on 13 June 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2011. São Tomé and Príncipe 179,506 July 2011 est.
  21. "Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India".
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