Gam-le-haw Neitu Hina

 (Title to Real Property Revisited)

David Vumlallian Zou 

Khongjom Gaal a Sapkang British te leh Meitei te a kido zo nua sawt lo, 1897 kum in Rev. William Pettigrew leh a zi zong singtang gam Ukhrul khua ahing tung uhi. Tami mun apat Kangpokpi mission kibelap a, tua chi’n ei Lamka biel tan Gospel in a hing zeel ta hi. American Baptist leh Welsh mission te’n kamteng a sermon maimai bawl lo in, ahindan leh chiindan un thu a gen hi. Baptist missionary te’n, a theilo kal un, gam-le-haw vai a chiindan te (land practices) leh gam-le-haw nei ding dan a tahlang uhi. Theilo kal in, Tumlam Gam khankhua toh i khanglui chiindan tampi himlang bang in ahing ensah uhi. Tami Sapgam te himlang um lo in, Zo tawndan kichian tah a muthei ahi sih hi. 

 

Ukhrul hausapu Raihao phalna toh Pettigrew te nupa in bi inn (thatched house) khat a lam ua, khosung a bi inn dang te toh akikhe sih hi. Hinanleh 1901 in US dollar 2,800 bei in siakang inn lianpi dettah in ana lam tha uhi. Khutsiam mistri te Phaipi apat ahia, thagum a nasem te singtang apat ahia, tualeh siakangte America apat hing kithot vengveng ahi. 1920 kum in Ukhrul mission station apat Kangpokpi a kituan ding in thu ahing tung hi. Ukhrul inn tha pen akithop lam ahi sih a, gam neitu hina (property title) kichian a, zuah thei leh sum a leithei ahi. 

 

Bara Sap (Political Agent) Maxwell in, Khongjom Gal zo in gam leh lou patta te Phai dung ah ana pan ta hi. Hinanleh Manipur singtang gam ah gam patta leh gam neitu hina kichian a um thei sih hi. 

 

1920 kum masang tan in, ei Manipur singtang ah innmun leh gam (real estate) sum a kizua leh kilei chi record muding a vang mama hi. Kei theina tan ah, um lo phial hi mai. American Baptist Mission in Ukhrul inn pen Manipur solkar kung ah dollar 3,300 in ana zuah hi. Khummi kum ma in, American Baptist te report in hichin a gen hi:

“1920: The State has granted for the Mission 212 acres of wild land covered with small oak and grass jungle on the mountain side contiguous to the Kangpokpi Inspection Bungalow.”  

(1920: Kangpokpi Inspector Bungalow gei ah, Solkar in gangpi leh loupa gam mang acre 212 a lian Mission kung ah a pekhie hi). 

 

Manipur solkar in Mission gam apiah pen sum a kilei patta (title) amah, ahisih leh “lease” (gam kisaap) amah chi i theichian sih hi. Tami ei singtangmi leh singtangmi kikal thu hilo a, singtangmi leh America te kal thu ahi ziah in, gou leh gam neitu hina kichian ahing poimo ta hi. Singpi khai a inn mun athawn a kinget ding chi bang Tumlam Gamte chindan hi lo hi. America leh British te’n neitu hina (property) atangpi in chi ni in akhen uhi: “real property” (inn gam, lou gam) leh “personal property” (gam chi lo nei-le-lam dangte). Ei singtangmi te toh teh in, Tumlam Gam mite’n neitu hina kichian tah anei uhi. 

 

Laisiangthou sung I et leh, Juda te’n neitu hina a ngai khoh dan kilang hi. Azi Sara shi zo in, Abraham in hanmual ding gam ana dawp hi. A gamnei tu Heth tate’n a thawn a mishi vui di’n Makpelah gam a pie ua, hinanleh Abraham in neitu hina um lo in mishi a vui ut vawt sih hi. A gamneite toh sawtpi aki hou zo in, Abraham in dangka Shekel 400 in gam a lei a, theipi tu di’n mi ahan hi. Bible (New King James Version) ah hichin kigel hi: “So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place” (Genesis 23: 20). Zou Laisiengthou (2016 edition) ledan in, “… kivuina mun anei den dingin a pekip tahi”. Zou kam ah “land deed” leh “property” chi kamtengte a kilet mang deh tah hi, aziah pen I ham leh chiindan ah “neitu hina” chi ngaidan kichian a um nai sih hi. 

 

Khovel khangthu ah, gou neitu hina kichian um lo in, nam thupi leh khangtou um ngai lo hi. Mesopotamia lenggam a Hammurabi Dan (code) leh Mosi Thu Piah Sawm te’n zong “inn veng te neitah” eng lo ding leh guh lo ding a ha gen mama uhi. 

 

Pianken in mihing in inn veng te neitah (private property) za taat lo a, mi sepsa a thawn a neh ding ki ut hi. Gal lamkai khat nua zui a, thatang haat a khodang te sim (raid) a, gal te gou khawl sa teng luah ut mihing kitam mama hi. Pu John Locke in, solkar leh kumpi masa pen te i neitah (property) leh i hinna bitna di’a na kibawl ahi uh, achi hi. Laibu minthang The Second Treatise of Government sung ah, Pu Locke in hichin agen hi: mihing adia a neitah poimo pen a tahsa (body) ahia, neitah dang te zong mihing lungsim leh tahsa apat hing piengkhe theibep ahi. Tumlam Gamte et dan in, mihing lungsim leh tahsa zong mimal neitah (private property) zungpi ahi malam hi. Mihing nasep hoi (improvement) um lo in, mun leh gam in manphatna a nei sih hi. Neitu kichian leh bittah um louna mun ah, mimal kukal leh taima mu ding a vaang hi. John Locke mudan in, gam neitu hina kichian gasuah khu nam hausatna ahi. Neitu hina in mimal zalenna leh kikhual ut na lungsim apie hi. 

 

Khovel a nehsui dan chi tuamtuam i et leh, minam chi ni muthei ahi. Thatang a nasem (labor-intensive path) leh sumpi zang a nasem (capital-intensive path). Sumpi zang te’n lungsim toh na sem in, thatang sang in khawl (technology) siamna toh na asem uhi. Ahileh gamhausa te’n sumpi (capital) hei apat a khawldoh uh ahi diai? Hernando de Soto in, The Mystery of Capital chi laibu ah sumpi (capital) hing piendan a suichian hi. Ama’n khovel gam tuamtuam ah company tha hong ding in registration leh office inn alam sawm a, hun bang tan a lut ei chi a chiamte hi. Gam khangtou te ah tambang registration kal 1 apat ha 4 sung vel in ki zo thei tangpi hi. Hinanleh a nuai a gam zawng te ah hun tampi luut hi: 

Peru gam        kum 6 

Egypt gam        kum 5 – 14  

Philippine gam        kum 11 – 25

Haiti gam        kum 19         

Tami bang gam zawng te’n neitu hina kichian nei lo ua, a gam leitang leh nei-le-lam te uh sumpi shi (“dead capital”) a suo uhi. Solkar mopuahna thupi pen neitu hina kichian leh bittah bawl khiat ding ahi. Gam hausa te ah company neitu leh gam neitu kichian lo, chi bang um seng lo hi. 

 

Pu John Locke in, solkar nasep masa pen ding sum hawm, van hawm leh development ahi, chi bai lo hi. Khovel a solkar hing pienna ziah ahileh, Locke gendan in, “neitu hina kepbitna ding ahi” (“The great and chief end of … putting themselves [men] under government is the preservation of their property” (Locke II, § 124). USA ah zong Homestead Act 1862 um masang in, gam kitu a kitha kimat na atam a, neitu kichian umlo na gam pheng pi khat a khangtou thei sih hi. Tami Act um apat USA gam pumpi kigual tuah tah in ahing khang to thei pan hi. President Abraham Lincoln in Homestead Act na bawl lo hileh, USA ah mi nautang in gam neitu hina nei zo lo ding a, a gam ah khopi lian tawm mama ding hi. Homestead Act toh kisai video hoi tampi um a, kipatsah na din’ tami link apat na mu thei ding hi [1]: 

(Youtube “What was the Homestead Act? American History Made Easy”) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1oS65To-rk   

 

 Ei Manipur gam sang in Mizoram bang a leitang se zo a, kawl te zong a keen zo uhi. Hinanleh I unau te’n gam neitu hina kichian tah solkar dan  in ana bawl uhi, a nuai a bang in [2]:

1.    Land Settlement Certificate (LSC): Khopi sung a gam nei den thei, zuah thei, khang sawn te’n a lua thei. 

2.    Periodic Patta: Khota lam a sing gam leh lou gam, kum 5 dan a patta belap “renew” toutou thei.

3.    Pass holder: Village Council in kum 5 dan a belap thei gam neitu hina.

4.    Lease holder: Kihou dan zil a, hun bichiam um lo a gam saap thei leh zat theina. 

Mizoram a LSC pen ei Manipur a pacca patta (Dak Chitha leh Jamma Bandi) toh kibang ahi. Hinanleh Manipur singtang gam in “Periodic Patta” chi bang nei lo hi. Pucca patta (LSC, Dak Chita, etc.) te’n gam neitu hina tahtah (land title) hing pie a, hinanleh Periodic Patta in gam zat theina (use right) maimai a pe thei hi. Manipur singtang gam adia poimo pen ahileh Periodic Patta ahi. Singtang lou, sing gam leh thei huan bawl na dia kizang tangpi ahi [3].  Gam neitu hina leh gam kepbit a pua ding kizoitawn ahidan u nau Mizo te solkar dan in hichin a gen hi:

Such Periodic Patta shall be valid only for the initial 5 (five) years. After a period of 5 (five) years, if the land has not been reclaimed or prepared or developed, the Periodic Patta shall lapse automatically [4]. 

Amasa kum 5 sung in Patta Bihiahnei  kizang ding hi. Kum 5 bei nua a, a gam pen zun lo kep lo a aum na lai leh, Patta Bihiahnei pen genbe-sahbe um lo in suhbei ahi ding hi. 

 

Garret Hardin in hichi’n a gen a: mihingte ahing pun chiang un, mipi gam ah bangma tho lou a, bangkim neh sawm (“free-rider problem”) a pung hi. Gam leitang pen mipi a hi ta lezong, gam zattheina (use right) beh kichian tah a bihiah thei tham ahi. Tuikul gam neuno England a Industrial Revolution hing pian dan khovel khangthu ah kisim a, bang chidan a tami gam neu no nam hal leh nam hausa hing suo e? chi dotna poimo ahi. Beckett  [5] gendan in, Industrial Revolution tun theina din’ Agricultural Revolution ana tung masa hi. Agricultural Revolution pianna din’ gam-le-haw neidan leh zatdan siamtha a ngai leuleu hi, haichi tha, khutlai tha, leh gan khoidan tha kisam hi. Gam zat dan tha pen “enclosure of commons” kichi a, khota neu apat khopi sung a peem lut a, tuga-lawl meh lo a nehsuina tha tampi ahing pian ngai hi. 

 

Russia a Communist te lal lai in, mimal a neitu hina (private property) ana su bei ua, bangkim mipi (workers) te gam leh goutan in a puang uhi. Tami in gil kialna, natna, shina leh gentheina sim seng lo khovel ah ana tun zo hi. America leh Europe ah zong Communist ngaidan dih lo dal ding mi tampi a um nalai ziah in, neitu hina kizatat hamham nalai hi.

 

I gam dinmun en vai. Manipur sang in Mizoram sung ah gam neitu hina kichian zo abang hi. Zodawn khotate sang in Lamka khopi ah neitu hina (land title) kichian zo hi. Tami ziah mama in khota te apat khopi sung ki zuan ahi. Buan noi gam, kawlse gam leh sehnel gam hinanleh, tam bang a neitu hina kichian a um leh, gam manphatna (land value) hing khang ding a, sumpi (capital) nei a nesuina ding lampi hing kihong pan ding hi. 

Manipur singtang gam ah, solkar gam khenkhat leh Forest Department gam lo teng, gam-le-haw tam zo pi-le-pu chiindan (customary laws) nuai a etkol ahi. Tami pi-le-pu chiindan ten gam neitu hina (land title) sang in, gam zatdan (land use) lam a ngaisah zo uhi. Manipur singtang a gam-le-haw toh kisai a buainate India zumpi te’n (courts) “personal law” nuai ah a khen zel uhi. India gam mi Zou tate adin’ tami “personal laws” te pen Zou Tawndan (The Zou Custom Book) sung ah 1983 kum in na kisun ta hi. Tawndan kiheng khen khat a um ziah in, 2017 in Pi-le-pu Tawndan Bu tha (amended version) khat ana ki sum kia hi. Zou Tawndan laibu lui leh laibu tha ah article 35 a pha a, Paite Pupa Ngeina Dante in article 133 tah a nei hi. Tualeh Zou Tawndan a article 35 teng lah ah article ni te’n gouluo thu (article 14) leh gamluo thu (article 16) ana genkha uhi. Gouluo leh gamluo zosia gam-le-haw toh kisai gige ahilo vang in, gouluo thu khenkhat in gam-le-haw thu a gen kha a, a tuun kha hi. Article 14 leh 16 te pen gouluo (inheritance) thu ahiziah in, gam-le-haw neitu hina toh hing kizom tou veve hi. 

Khovel pumpi a customary law kizatna teng ah gam-le-haw te pen mimal in ut dandan a zuah, ut dandan a lei, chi bang um lo hi. Hichi bang mipi gam leh tangpi-zapi gam te pen England ah “the commons” a na kichi a, tulai ham in common-pool resources (CPR) kichi tangpi hi. Manipur singtang gam-le-haw te zong CPR chi khat ahi uhi. Manipur a unau Naga te gam ah, gam-le-haw neitu leh enkol tu pen be (clan) te ahi uhi.  Hinanleh Kuki-Zo minam te lah ah, be min sang in hausa min ahilo leh Village Authority min in i gam-le-haw te na ki enkol hi. Manipur (Village Authorities in Hill Areas) Act 1956 in “hausa ahilo leh khulakpa” (article 3, clause 4) te khosung kivaihawmna a “chairman” di’n ana guong hi. Tami dan in hausa leh khulakpa te gam neitu ahi achi lo vang in, gam-le-haw toh kisai a CPR kepbitna di’n mopuahna lianpi ana guon ta hi. 

Manipur State Assembly in singtang a gam-le-haw toh kisai dan hoi a bawl ding kinepna a um lo ziah in, nam-bing (tribe-level) a Pi-le-Pu Tawndan Bu te’n gam-le-haw toh kisai a genfel thei khen khat um din ka ging ta hi. Etsahna di’n Zou Tawndan Bu tha khat ah, “land clause” ahilo leh “land article” tha khat belap ding poimo ka sa hi. U nau tribe dang dang te’n zong hichi bang “land clause” a nei nai diah sih uhi. 

Kuki-Zo te khangthu ah, Falam tawndan leh Kam Hau Upadi [6] te’n gam-le-haw thu ana gen kha ngai uhi.  British te hun masang lai in, Chin Hills a unau Falam te’n khosung vaihawmna nuai ah, patta um masang lai in, mimal gam “bul ram” chiindan kichian ana nei ta ua, gawm-le-haw vai a khan touna lianpi ana tun hi. 1934 lai vel in, Falam a Sapkang vaihawmtu H.N.C. Stevenson [7] in Falam ah mimal gam bul ram (“privately owned land”) um lam ana thei a, aman hichin a gen hi : 

My enquiries into the origin of bul ram convinced me that it is of comparatively modern growth … in Tashon, where it is supposed to have originated …  

(Bul ram hing piandan ka na gun sui leh, tami chiindan tha sim na lai din’ ka gingta hi … Tashon apat hing kipan dia kigingta ahia … )

Tualeh British te hun bei nua in, Mizoram singtang gam te ah kum 5 dan a kihing sah (renewable) “Periodic Patta” ahing piang khia hi. Gam-le-haw chiindan ah, ei Manipur singtang mite a tuantual deu i bang sim hi. Tulai tah in, Zou Tawndan in article 35 maimai a nei hia, gam-le-haw genfelna di’n “Leigou” toh kisai article 36 belapna di’n mun awng um na lai di’n ka gingta hi. Hichi bang “Leigou” article a tuang dia duthusam tam bang ahi:  

Mi koi in zong mihing tha ama, ganhing tha ama, ahilou leh thadawn thei khawl zang a, zuun lou gam-le-lei tang beh khat a puah a, a manphatna a pun sah leh, koima’n ama gim leh tawl gah a thawn in a suuh thei sih ding hi. Adiah in tuilou (zang lou), kanglou, thei gam, sing gam, huan chi tuamtuam te leh mual pang kilaizang (terrace hillside) chite bawl na di’n tha a nem a, na semtu gimgah zatat tah a kepbit ding khu dan leh dun dih tah ahi. 

Notes

[1] Youtube “What was the Homestead Act? American History Made Easy”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1oS65To-rk  Akichian zo sem a na thei ut leh, tami video en in “Homesteading” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIjYd-SKNRc  

[2] The Mizoram (Land Revenue) Act 2013, chapter IV, section 21: “Rights over land” in Diectorate of Land Revenue & Settlement, Mizoram, Aizawl (2014) The Mizoram Land Revenue Laws, p. 25. 

[3] The Mizoram (Land Revenue) Act 2013 section 43 na in Periodic Patta kizatna ding hichin a gen hi: “allotment of land for agricultural and allied purposes … for reclamation or preparation or development of land” (p. 39).

[4] The Mizoram (Land Revenue) Act 2013, section 43, .p. 39.

[5] J.V. Beckett (1990) The Agricultural Revolution, Basil Blackwell: Cambridge, MA. 

[6] Articles 3 na in “leitang thak khawh nailoh”, leh article 5 “Lo hawmna gi kituh” chi gam-le-haw thu ana gen kha hi. Thang Khan Dal (2013) Zomite’ Zia, Zat leh Kam Hau Upadi, Yangon.

[7] Stevenson, H.N.C.  (1943) The Economics of the Central Chin Tribes,  Bombay: The Times of India Press, pp. 79, 92.

 

Gam neitu hina (real property)

David Vumlallian Zou, PhD

History Department

University of Delhi

 

Khongjom Gal a Sapkang British te leh Meitei te a kido zo nua sawt lo, 1897 kum in Rev. William Pettigrew leh a zi zong singtang gam Ukhrul khua ahing tung uhi. Tami mun apat Kangpokpi mission kibelap a, tua chi’n ei Lamka biel tan Gospel in a hing zeel ta hi. American Baptist leh Welsh mission te’n kamteng a sermon maimai bawl lo in, ahindan un thu a gen hi. Theilo kal in, Tumlam Gam khankhua toh I khanglui chiindan tampi himlang bang in ang ensah uhi. Tami Sapgam te himlang um lo in, Zo tawndan kichian tah a muthei ahi zel sih hi. 

 

Ukhrul hausapu Raihao phalna toh Pettigrew te nupa in bi inn (thatched house) khat a lam ua, khosung a bi inn dang te toh akikhe sih hi. Hinanleh 1901 in dollar 2,800 bei in siakang inn lianpi dettah in ana lam tha uhi. Mistri te Phaipi apat ahia, siakangte America apat hing kithot vengveng ahi. 1920 kum in Ukhrul mission station apat Kangpokpi a kituan ding in thu ahing um hi. Ukhrul inn tha pen akithop lam ahi sia, neitu hina (property) kichian a, zuah thei leh sum a leithei ahi. 

 

Bara Sap (Political Agent) Maxwell in, Khongjom Gal zo in gam leh lou patta te Phai dung ah ana pan ta hi. Hinanleh Manipur singtang gam ah gam patta leh gam neitu hina kichian a um thei sih hi. 

 

1920 kum masang tan in, ei Manipur singtang ah innmun leh gam (real estate) sum a kizua leh kilei chi record muding a vang mama hi. Kei theina tan ah, um lo phial hi mai. American Baptist Mission in Ukhrul inn pen Manipur solkar kung ah dollar 3,300 in ana zuah hi. Khummi kum ma in, American Baptist te report in hichin a gen hi:

“1920: The State has granted for the Mission 212 acres of wild land covered with small oak and grass jungle on the mountain side contiguous to the Kangpokpi Inspection Bungalow.”  

(1920: Kangpokpi Inspector Bungalow gei ah, Solkar in gangpi leh loupa gam mang acre 212 alian Mission kung ah a pekhie hi). 

 

Manipur solkar in Mission gam apiah pen sum a kilei patta (title) amah, ahisih leh “lease” (gam kisaap) amah chi i theichian sih hi. Tami ei singtangmi leh singtangmi kikal thu hilo a, singtangmi leh America te kal thu ahi ziah in, gou leh gam neitu hina kichian ahing poimo ta hi. Singpi khai a inn mun a thawn a kinget ding chi bang Tumlam Gamte chindan hi lo hi. America leh British te’n neitu hina (property) atangpi in chi ni in akhen uhi: “real property” (inn gam, lou gam) leh “personal property” (gam chi lo nei-le-lam dangte). Ei singtangmi te toh teh in, Tumlam Gam mite’n neitu hina kichian tah anei uhi. 

 

Laisiangthou sung I et leh, Juda te’n neitu hina a ngai khoh dan kilang hi. Azi Sara shi zo in, Abraham in hanmual ding gam ana dawp hi. A gamnei tu Heth tate’n a thawn a mishi vui di’n Makpelah gam a pie ua, hinanleh Abraham in neitu hina um lo in mishi a vui ut vawt sih hi. A gamneite toh sawtpi aki hou zo in, Abraham in dangka Shekel 400 in gam a lei a, theipi tu di’n mi ahan hi. Bible (New King James Version) ah hichin kigel hi: “So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place” (Genesis 23: 20). Zou Laisiengthou (2016 edition) ledan in, “… kivuina mun anei den dingin a pekip tahi”. Zou kam ah “land deed” leh “property” chi kamtengte a kilet mang deh tah hi, aziah pen I ham leh chiindan ah “neitu hina” chi ngaidan kichian a um nai sih hi. 

 

Khovel khangthu ah, gou neitu hina kichian um lo in, nam thupi leh khangtou um ngai lo hi. Mesopotamia lenggam a Hammurabi Dan (code) leh Mosi Thu Piah Sawm te’n zong “inn veng te neitah” eng lo ding leh guh lo ding a ha gen mama uhi. 

 

Pianken in mihing in inn veng te neitah (private property) za taat lo a, mi sepsa a thawn a neh ding ki ut hi. Gal lamkai khat nua zui a, thatang haat a khodang te sim (raid) a, gal te gou khawl sa teng luah ut mihing kitam mama hi. Pu John Locke in, solkar leh kumpi masa pen te i neitah (property) leh i hinna bitna di’a na kibawl ahi uh, achi hi. Laibu minthang The Second Treatise of Government sung ah, Pu Locke in hichin agen hi: mihing adia a neitah poimo pen a tahsa (body) ahia, neitah dang te zong mihing lungsim leh tahsa apat hing piengkhe theibep ahi. Tumlam Gamte et dan in, mihing lungsim leh tahsa zong mimal neitah (private property) zungpi ahi malam hi. Mihing nasep hoi (improvement) um lo in, mun leh gam in manphatna a nei sih hi. Neitu kichian leh bittah um louna mun ah, mimal kukal leh taima mu ding a vaang hi. John Locke mudan in, gam neitu hina kichian gasuah khu nam hausatna ahi. Neitu hina in mimal zalenna leh kikhual ut na lungsim apie hi. 

 

Khovel a nesui dan chi tuamtuam i et leh, minam chi ni muthei ahi. Thatang a nasem (labor-intensive path) leh sumpi zang a nasem (capital-intensive path). Sumpi zang te’n lungsim toh na sem in, thatang sang in khawl (technology) siamna toh na asem uhi. Ahileh gamhausa te’n sumpi (capital) hei apat a khawldoh uh ahi diai? Hernando de Soto in, The Mystery of Capital chi laibu ah sumpi (capital) hing piendan a suichian hi. Ama’n khovel gam tuamtuam ah company tha hong ding in registration leh office inn alam sawm a, hun bang tan a lut ei chi a chiamte hi. Gam khangtou te ah tambang registration kal 1 apat ha 4 sung vel in ki zo thei tangpi hi. Hinanleh a nuai a gam zawng te ah hum tampi luut hi: 

Peru gam               kum 6 

Egypt gam              kum 5 – 14  

Philippine gam        kum 11 – 25

Haiti gam               kum 19        

Tami bang gam zawng te’n neitu hina kichian nei lo ua, a gam leitang leh nei-le-lam te uh sumpi shi (“dead capital”) a suo uhi. Solkar mopuahna thupi pen neitu hina kichian leh bittah bawl khiat ding ahi. Gam hausa te ah company neitu leh gam neitu kichian lo, chi bang um seng lo hi. 

 

Pu John Locke in, solkar nasep masa pen ding sum hawm, van hawm leh development ahi, chi bai lo hi. Khovel a solkar hing pienna ziah ahileh, Locke gendan in, “neitu hina kepbitna ding ahi” (“The great and chief end of … putting themselves [men] under government is the preservation of their property” (Locke II, § 124). USA ah zong Homestead Act 1862 um masang in, gam kitu a kitha kimat na atam a, neitu kichian umlo na gam pheng pi khat a khangtou thei sih hi. Tami Act um apat USA gam pumpi kigual tuah tah in ahing khang to thei pan hi. 

 

Ei Manipur gam sang in Mizoram bang a leitang se zo a, kawl te zong a keen zo uhi. Hinanleh I unau te’n gam neitu hina kichian ana bawl uhi, a nuai a bang in:

1.    Land Settlement Certificate (LSC): Khopi sung a gam nei den thei, zuah thei, khang sawn te’n a lua thei. 

2.    Periodic Patta: Khota lam a sing gam leh lou gam, kum 5 dan a patta belap “renew” toutou thei.

3.    Pass holder: Village Council in kum 5 dan a belap thei gam neitu hina.

4.    Lease holder: Kihou dan zil a, hun bichiam um lo a gam saap thei leh zat theina. 

Mizoram a LSC pen ei Manipur a pacca patta (Dak Chitha leh Jamma Bandi) toh kibang ahi. Hinanleh Manipur singtang gam in “Periodic Patta” chi bang nei lo hi. Pucca patta (LSC, Dak Chita, etc.) te’n gam neitu hina tahtah (land title) hing pie a, hinanleh Periodic Patta in gam zat theina (use right) maimai a pe thei hi. 

 

Garret Hardin in hichi’n a gen a: mihingte ahing pun chiang un, mipi gam ah bangma tho lou a, bangkim neh sawm (“free-rider problem”) a pung hi. Gam leitang pen mipi a hi ta lezong, gam zattheina (use right) beh kichian tah a bihiah thei tham ahi. 

 

Russia a Communist te lal lai in, mimal a neitu hina (private property) ana su bei ua, bangkim mipi (workers) te gam leh goutan in a puang uhi. Tami in gil kialna, natna, shina leh gentheina sim seng lo khovel ah ana tun zo hi. America leh Europe ah zong Communist ngaidan dih lo dal ding mi tampi a um nalai ziah in, neitu hina kizatat hamham nalai hi.

 

I gam dinmun en vai. Ei Manipur sang in Mizogam sung ah gam neitu hina kichian zo abang hi. Zodawn khotate sang in Lamka khopi ah neitu hina (pacca patta) kichian zo hi. Tami ziah mama in khota te apat khopi sung ki zuan ahi. Buan noi gam, kawlse gam leh sehnel gam hinanleh, tam bang a neitu hina kichian a um leh, gam manphatna (land value) hing khang ding a, sumpi (capital) nei a nesuina ding lampi hing kihong pan ding hi. 

 

 

A tool to convert pdf into OCR searchable format (ABBYY Cloud OCR SDK)

We often want to convert PDF documents into searchable OCR format. There are costly online and offline services on offer. But I recently came across a free service for occasional users and, therefore, unprepared to pay expensive subscription fees. It has paid service for more advanced users. This is the link 

https://www.abbyy.com/cloud-ocr-sdk/

Zou Gal (Kuki Rising) 1917 - 1919

A COMMEMORATIVE SPEECH ON

ZOU GAL (Kuki Rising) 1917 – 1919

by

Dr. David Vumlallian Zou

Delhi University

on the 1^st Zou Gaal Day (17 March 2011)

MP’s Club, South Avenue, New Delhi

“The most serious incident in the history of Manipur and its relations with its Hill subjects was the Kuki rebellion … it cost 28 lakhs of rupees to quell, and in the course of it many lives were lost.”[1]

- Sir Robert Reid, Governor of Assam

Shakespear’s Map (1929) & ZLS Sketch[2] (2002)

Colonel L.W. Shakespear prepared a sketch map of the “Area of Operations during the Kuki Rebellion 1917-19 in which Columns of Assam Rifles and Burma Military Police Battalions were employed.” In this sketch published in 1919, Shakespear included familiar places inhabited by the Zou such as Hengtham (Hiangtam), Chibu (Tonjang) and Shuganoo (Sugnu).

The scenes of fighting shown in the ZLS Sketch such as Singngat, Muollum, Munpi, Saipheh, Behiang are missing in the map of Shakespeare. Mombi and Longya are the two villages in southern Manipur that stands out in the official map; but I have not been able to identify them with the present map of Manipur.

Event Sequence

1.3 million combatants and non-combatants from India went to Mesopotamia (i.e., the three Ottoman vilavets of Basra, Mosul and Bagdad) during World War I. Of this, 293, 152 non-combatants served as Porter Corps and Labour Corps[3] under the Indian Army Act of 1911, and this included 1,602 prisoners. The British has a strong commercial and strategic interest in the Persian Gulf with the formation of Anglo-Persian Oil Company[4]. The forces from India (Indian Expeditionary Force D) occupied Basra to protect oil works at Abadan in southern Persia (Iran).

First Labour Corps for Mesopotamia

Spring 1916

The British recruited labour corps for the war efforts in Mesopotamia from tribals of the Santhal Pargana, Chota Nagpur and by tapping Indian jails. In the words of Lt. Col. W.B. Lane of the Indian Medical Services, “The honour of India was upheld first by aborigines and then by convicts.”[5] But the Santhals of Mayurbhanj (a chiefdom in Bihar and Orissa) rose in rebellion against attempts to force them into the Labour Corps[6].

Spring 1917

The Government of India asked Maharaja of Manipur, Churachand Singh, to supply labourers for the war in Mesopotamia.

March 1917

Colonel Cole managed to enroll about 736 labourer from Manipur, good response from the Tangkhul area. In total, about 4,000 men proceeded towards Mesopotamia.

Second Labour Corps for France

August 1917

The Government of India set a target of finding another 50,000 men for Labour Corps for France. To satisfy this hunger for human resource, the Government sent a request for a Second Labour Corps to which the Maharaja of Manipur wrote to the Viceroy: “In view of the size and frequency of the drafts required for the first Corps of hillmen, I regret that I shall be unable to raise a second Corps of hillmen. But I hope to raise a second Corps, when required, from any valley Manipuri subjects, and it is my desire to accompany it on active service.”[7] The Maharaja’s offer was refused as the Chief Commissioner of Assam feared the disapproval of conservative Hindu Meiteis.

September 1917

The chiefs of Mombi (Ngulkhup) and of Longya (Ngulbul) were the first to dissent. With an escort of 100 riflemen, the Political Agent and Captain Coote set out for Mombi village (six days out from Imphal) to arrest Ngulkhup, who was the first chief to revolt against the British authorities. As Ngulkhup refused to meet the Political Agent, Mombi was burnt down. They were en route for Longya when orders were received to return and to take no further action with the Kukis[8].

December 1917

For about two months, both side did nothing. But suddenly Chiefs of Hinglep and Ukhul raided the Manipur State Forest Toll Station at Ithai[9]. Mrs. Cole, the wife of the Political Agent of Manipur, knew Ngulkhup of Mombi personally, and attempted to mediate by meeting Ngulkhup near Sugnu. But negotiations broke down.

Military Suppression, Phase I

January 1918

On 22 January 1918, two columns from Manipur and Burma were ready to strike.

(a) First Column – Imphal & Teddim

Captain Steadman to proceed from Teddim to Mombi to converge with Captain Coote and Mr. Higgins (Assistant Political Officer?) moving through Mombi and Longya area[10]. Steadman was badly wounded at three places[11]. Using Haika as a military base, it was apparently Captain Coote who crossed the Imphal River (Guun) to attack Gawtengkot stockade that became famous in Zou folklore. It was on record that Higgins received a severe bruise “on his shoulder from a spent bullet”[12] while he was in action in the Mombi area.

(b) Second Column – Imphal

The Political Agent of Manipur and Captain Hebbert to proceed from Imphal towards Tamu to reopen the Burma road[13].

Escorted by the Assam Rifles, the Political Agent of Manipur, Cosgrave, proceeded to Tammu, burning hostile villages on his way.

February 1918

Hutton conducted operations in the western hills of Manipur with a column of Naga Hills Rifles. Laipi, chief of Senting, surrendered before Hutton. Meanwhile, Colonel Cloete led a force from Silchar to Imphal. And Cosgrave marched to south-west Manipur.

May 1918

Home Department accepted the need to provide better equipment to the Assam Rifles. Military operations would halt during the monsoon, and resumed in the next winter. Beatson-Bell, the Chief Commission of Assam, came to Imphal to consult the local authorities.

July 1918

Beatson-Bell visited Shimla to seek advice from the Viceroy and the Commander-in-Chief[14]. The Political Agent of Manipur and the Deputy Commissioner of the Naga Hills were summoned to Shillong to discuss the renewal of operations in the next winter. This would be under the unified command of General Keary[15].

August 1918

General Keary arrived in Shillong to plan the military campaign involving the combined forces of Assam and Burma. He would assume complete military as well as political control of all the areas under operation[16].

Military Suppression, Phase II

January 1919

Operations resumed, and the General Officer commanding Manipur reported 44 persons killed, 48 villages burnt, 40 mithuns killed, large quantities of food grain destroyed, and 44 rebels made to surrender.

February 1919

The British occupied Chief Ngulbul’s Longya village, killed his son, and arrested his brother along with another 55 persons. They also captured the chief of Ukha, Ngulkhup (chief of Mombi), Tinton (chief of Longya) with his henchman Enjakap[17].

June 1919

Active operations were over, and rebels were tried by a Special Tribunal under Regulation 111 of 1818.

Personalities: Leadership

Ngulkhup, chief of Mombi; Mombi stands about 5000 feet high up and commands a most extensive view to south and west, the eye ranging over a sea of tangled hills and valleys from the Manipur valley to the far distant Chin Hills.

Ngulbul, chief of Longya

Tintong, chief of Layang who raided the Kabui Nagas

Pachei, an old chief of Chassad, was the last to surrender; Chassad was in the unadministered area of Somra Tract.

Chengjapao, head of the Thados

Khotinthang, chief of Jampi, head of the Thado clan; allegedly claimed to be the Maharaja and collected revenues and guns from weaker villages.

The piece complied by ZLS gave a list of Zou leaders who surrendered at Hiangtam in 1919; as –

Pu Goulun, Pu Langzagin, Pu Lagou, Pu Tonghau, Pu Henkham, Pu Vungdam, Pu Suohgou, Pu Helthang, Pu Lampum, Pu Suohkham, and Pu Salet.

We also have another list of 48 names who participated in the Zou Gaal, and another list of 10 names who were imprisoned by a Special Tribunal. We need to find more information about our war heroes, and perhaps compiled them as a collection of short biographies.

Kumbi against Kangla

Chingakhamba Sanachouba Singh, Manipuri pretender to the throne ; he lived with his disciples at Kumbi near Moirang. According to colonial reports, Chingakham told the Kukis that “he was destined to be a raja and that if they would follow him and help him he would make things pleasant for him in every way possible when he came to power and that their house tax should only be Rs. one per year … the Manipuri had told them that the sahibs had gone to fight the Germans and that there were very few troops left in Imphal.”[18]

Chinga Khamba claimed to be the elder brother of the incumbent Mahajara of Manipur, Churachand Singh. At Moirang, he was instrumental in the establishment of some unauthorized courts[19].

John Paratt[20] (2005) saw Changakham’s role as a “testimony to patriotism of the Kukis, and a strong tie between the two people of hill and valley in any emergency” (p. 42).

Interpretations

Official Version

Shakespeare recalled that Major John Butler (the elder) in the early 1850s wrote that procrastination and forbearance of the British would be seen by “savages” as a sign of fear and weakness. He further claimed, “Had they [Political Agent and Capt. Coote] been allowed to punish Longya as well, it is probably the clans would have thought better than to rebel; as it was, the speedy retirement of the detachment heartened both Chiefs, who sent in messages to the effect that they closed their country to us … [pp. 210-11] The start of this rebellion was largely due to our procrastination in not dealing at once and fully with it when the trouble first showed itself” (p. 212).

Subaltern Perspective

According to Bhadra, the “Kuki uprising was the outcome of three distinct forces – anti-British, intra-tribal, and intra-dynastic.”[21] (p. 35). The Kukis resented forced labour that consisted of two types: first, Pothang Bekari – the obligation to carry goods and baggage for touring officers, or construction works without payment (locally called “pawt pua”; and second, Pothang Senkhai – household contribution in cash or kind such as chicken, egg, or meat to feed touring officers free of cost[22]. Because of a strong movement against pothang, it was abolished in the valley of Manipur in 1913. But it was retained in the hill areas. In 1915-16, there were individual petitions by hillmen asking for exemptions from pothang. Gautam Bhadra observed that “a clear transition took place from making petition, to excuse, to direct refusal”[23] (p. 18).

Outcomes

At the end of Kuki Rising in 1919, “the hill people were for the first time brought under intensified political and administrative control of an imperial power” (Lal Dena, 1991: 134)[24]. “Rules for Management of the State of Manipur”[25] was discussed seriously and implemented by the Government of India.

(a) British paternalism: Sir Nocholas Dodd Beatson Bell, the Chief Commissioner of Assam (19 April 1919) proposed that the colonial Sub-Divisional Officers would be permanently posted in the hill areas of Manipur and “generally act as fathers to the hillmen and restore their confidence in the British raj.”[26]

J.E. Webster, Chief Secretary to the Chief Commissioner of Assam (1 Jan. 1918) wrote, “The insolence of the Kuki and his lack of regard for authority is due to the fact that he has never been taught the lesson of disobedience, either by the Manipur Raj or the imperial Government. These hill tribes do not become tractable citizens until they have experienced the heavy hand of the paramount.”[27]

(b) Three hill subdivisions (Churachandpur under B.C. Gasper, Tamenglong under W. Shaw, Ukhrul under L.L. Peter) were created after this, briefly discontinued and revived in 1932 with four subdivisions. Senapati (the Mao-Maram area) was initially excluded in the hill subdivision, and was directly administered directly the Durbar President from Imphal. In the new administrative arrangement, the Political Agent would closely supervise the hill administration through the British SDOs instead of the native agents called lambus.

(c) Creation of seven Assam Rifles outposts now known as “the sentinels of the hills”.

(d) The British state proposed to “open up roads, administer simple, set up schools and hospitals”.

(e) The Raj had a chance to recast itself as the paternalist protector of the weaker (read loyal) villages and the propagator of peace among their hill subjects during the course of the Kuki Rising. Ningmuanching (2010) “Communities that had coexisted as a hill people [sic.] now emerged as hostile who had apparently inherited a history of antagonism. British intervention … transformed inter-village feuds into ethnic conflict between hill people who were now grouped as the Nagas and the Kukis”[28] (p. 107).

J.E. Webster, Chief Secretary to the Chief Commissioner of Assam (June 1918) reported that over 1000 persons (“friendlies”) from villages loyal to the British camp at Imphal due to “the terror of the Kukis”[29].

Dawn of Political Consciousness

How did the experience and memory of the war returnees who met at Suangpi shape the subsequence “hill politics” or political consciousness” of southern Manipur?

Radhika Singha said, “The imperial quest for labor yields new perspectives on the political transformations underway in the course of the Great War … Flight and episodes of full-scale resistance on the part of those targeted for noncombatant recruitment influenced this reevaluation, as did their marked preference for fixed and limited terms … The Kuki-Chin uprising of 1917-1918, and other smaller convulsions in the northeastern hill districts brought on by labor recruitment for the war, alerted the Army authorities in France to the need to maintain contractual faith with ‘hill-men’ who had gone there in Labor Corps … Limited terms and rising wages could make ‘noncombatant’ service attractive enough to cut into combatant recruitment” (p. 442).

Memory & Memorials

(a) Zogal Jr. High School was established at Tuining in 1972, but later relocated at Behiang village where it received Grant-in-Aid on 1 October 1980.

Zou Gaal Memorial Shield was introduced on 19 October 1976. Zou Gaal Hall was built in 1978 with financial assistance from the Government, and it is being redeveloped currently at the same construction site.

(b) A statue of Chengjapao Dougel, “King of the Kukis and the leader of the Kuki Rising, 1917-1919” in the heart of Moreh town).

(c) In 1958, the Kuki Political Sufferers’ Association of Manipur (KPSAM) demanded a “War Memorial in the heart of Imphal town to commemorate Kuki Martyrs and Sufferers”[30]. Accordingly, a plot was given at Imphal where the Kuki Inn came up in 1963. Recently the central government sanctioned funds for a war memorial complex which includes a museum, a library and a committee hall in the same premises.

A Note on Primary Sources

(a) National Archives of India, New Delhi

Foreign Department, Political Files

Home Department , Police Files

(b) Manipur State Archives, Keishampat Junction, Imphal

Administrative Reports of the Manipur State (annual) 1916 - 1919

Tour Diaries of the Manipur Political Agency, 1916 – 1919

Kuki Rebellion Paper, 1917 – 1919

(c) D.C.’s Court, Imphal

Boundary Register that lists Kuki villages and their specific role during the rebellion;

Petitions and Orders passed, divided into civil, criminal and miscellaneous; it presents vignettes on the inner life and politics of the Kuki villages.

Bibliography

Bhadra, Gautam (1975) “The Kuki (?) Uprising 1917-1919: Its Causes and Nature” Man in India, 55 (1): 11 – 56.

Chishti, S M A W (2004) Kuki Uprising In Manipur 1919-1920, Guwahati: Spectrum Publication (82 pp; Rs. 295).

Chishti, S M A W , Political Development in Manipur 1919-1949, Delhi: Kalpaz Publications.

Guite, Jangkhomang (2011) “Monuments, Memory and Forgetting in postcolonial North-East India” Economic and Political Weekly, February 19, 2011, Vol. XLVI, No. 8, pp. 56 – 64.

Lal Dena (1991) “Some Anomalies of Colonial Rule, 1891 – 1919” pp. 70-88, in Lal Dena, History of Modern Manipur 1826-1949, New Delhi: Orbit Publishers & Distributors, p. 81.

Ningmuanching (2010) Reading Colonial Representations: Kukis and Nagas of Manipur, Unpublished M.Phil dissertation, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 2010.

Reid, Robert (1942) History of the Frontier Areas bordering on Assam from 1883-1941, Shillong: Assam Government Press, p. 79.

Shakespear, Colonel L.W. (1929) History of the Assam Rifles, p. 216.

Singha, Radhika (2007) “Finding Labor from India for the War in Iraq: The Jail Porter and Labour Corps, 1916-1920” Comparative Studies in Society and History, 49 (2): 412 – 445.

Zou Literature Society (2002) “Zou Gaal” pp. 19 – 27 in Chinthu Zaila – Zou Literature Reader X, Churachandpur: Published by T. Lamkhothawng on behalf of ZLS.

---

[1] Robert Reid (1942) History of the Frontier Areas bordering on Assam from 1883-1941, Shillong: Assam Government Press, p. 79.

[2] Zou Literature Society (2002) “Zou Gaal” pp. 19 – 27 in Chinthu Zaila – Zou Literature Reader X, Churachandpur: Published by T. Lamkhothawng on behalf of ZLS.

[3] Radhika Singha (2007) “Finding Labor from India for the War in Iraq: The Jail Porter and Labour Corps, 1916-1920” Comparative Studies in Society and History, 49 (2): 412 – 445.

[4] Lt. Col. A. T. Wilson (1930) Loyalties in Mesopotamia, 1914-1917, London.

[5] NAI, New Delhi, Home Department, Political, B, Feb. 1917, nos. 353-96. Cited in Singha (2007) “Finding Labor from India for the War in Iraq” p. 412.

[6] NAI, New Delhi, Foreign & Political Department, Internal, Sept. 1918, nos. 84 – 100.

[7] National Archives of India (hereafter NAI), New Delhi, Foreign Department, Political File No. 54, 1917.

[8] Colonel L.W. Shakespear (1929) History of the Assam Rifles, p. 216.

[9] Office of the Political Agent, Special File n. 388, 1919, SLRB, Imphal.

[10] Shakespear, History of the Assam Rifles, p. 214.

[11] Shakespear, History of the Assam Rifles, p. 219.

[12] Shakespear, History of the Assam Rifles, p. 220.

[13] Shakespear, History of the Assam Rifles, p. 214.

[14] NAI, New Delhi, Home Department, Political File no. 31, 1918.

[15] NAI, New Delhi, Home Department, Political File no. 185, 1918.

[16] NAI, New Delhi, Home Department, Police Files no. 47, 1919.

[17] NAI, New Delhi, Home Department, Police Files no. 8, 1919.

[18] Manipur State Archives, Imphal, Webster’s letter No. 81, dated 3 Jan. 1918.

[19] NAI, New Delhi, Home Department, Political File no. 29, 1918.

[20] Paratt, John (2005) Wounded Land: Politics and Identity in Modern Manipur, New Delhi.

[21] Gautam Bhadra (1975) “The Kuki (?) Uprising 1917 – 1919: Its Causes and Naure” in Man in India, March, pp. 10 – 56.

[22] Lal Dena (1991) “Some Anomalies of Colonial Rule, 1891 – 1919” pp. 70-88, in Lal Dena, History of Modern Manipur 1826-1949, New Delhi: Orbit Publishers & Distributors, p. 81.

[23] Gautam Bhadra (1975) “The Kuki (?) Uprising 1917-1919: Its Causes and Nature” Man in India, 55 (1): 11 – 56.

[24] Lal Dena (1991) (ed.) History of Modern Manipur 1826 – 1949, New Delhi: Orbit Publishers & Distributors.

[25] NAI, New Delhi, Foreign Department, Political Files no.1011 (1923).

[26] Cited in Lal Dena (1991) “Kuki Rebellion 1917-1920” (pp. 126-134) in Lal Dena, ed. History of Modern Manipur, p. 133.

[27] National Archives of India, New Delhi, Foreign and Political Department, Webster’s letter dated 1 Jan. 1918, “Rebellion of the Kuki Tribes”, Webster’s letter 1 Jan. 1918.

[28] Ningmuanching (2010) Reading Colonial Representations: Kukis and Nagas of Manipur, Unpublished M.Phil dissertation, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 2010.

[29] NAI, New Delhi, Foreign and Political Department, Rebellion of the Kuki Tribes, Webster’s letter 5 June 1918.

[30] Guite, Jangkhomang (2011) “Monuments, Memory and Forgetting in postcolonial North-East India” Economic and Political Weekly, February 19, 2011, Vol. XLVI, No. 8, pp. 56 – 64.