Tseklapai


Tseklapai,
is described as a mountain in southern Manipur, India. It was evidently near Torbung and Moirang. It was used for an army camp, in fact, as the headquarters of the southern frontier defence of Manipur. During the Lushai Expedition of 1871–1872, Manipur was asked to station troops here for keeping a watch on the Kamhau-Suktes.
Descriptions indicate Tseklapai to be a subsidiary range of the Thangjing Hills range.

Geography

The Thangjing Hills range with a peak at above the mean sea level, is regarded as the western hill range that bounds the Imphal Valley. The majority of the range is in Churachandpur district, a hill district dominated by the Kuki-Zo people.
Near Torbung and to its south, there is a subsidiary range to the east of Thangjing Hills range, with a peak called Waishon at . The Lanva River that drains into the Khuga River near Churachandpur originates here, flowing in the gap between the two ranges. The Loklai river that flows into Torbung also originates in this range. The recorded mentions of Tseklapai indicate this range. Cheitharol Kumbaba mentions Thangal Major catching three elephants here in 1862 and taking them to Imphal.

History

Saiton Hills expedition

In 1789, King Bhagyachandra launched an expedition to Saiton Hills bordering the Imphal Valley, lying to the east of the Khuga River valley. The Manipur forces set up a camp at Cheklapai, where Bhagyachandra also took his base. Then, they attacked Saiton Hills and "scattered" the hill villages. Bhagyachandra too went in and sang Oukri. Later, when the troops went out to search for food and loot, the tribesmen attacked, killing nine people. The troops fled and the tribesmen took possession of the big metal gun and arms and ammunition. The end result seems to have been ambiguous. Cheitharol Kumbaba states that the soldiers blocked up the Loklai river.
Ths Saiton Kukis submitted later in 1858, to King Chandrakirti, in order to obtain protection from Kamhau-Suktes.

British Raj and Kamhau-Suktes

In 1824, Manipur came under the protection of the British Empire in India, who established a political agency in Manipur in 1835. Around the same time, the Lushais in present-day Mizoram and Kamhau-Suktes in present-day Chin State acquired European guns, and started putting pressure on the hills to the south of Manipur valley. The tribes inhabiting them moved out into the other hill regions of Manipur. The British political agent, William McCulloch, took care of their resettlement in Manipur's hill regions. He also provided arms to a suitable number of Kukis and settled them in the frontier regions in what came to be known as "sepoy villages". They were given the task of sending scouts to watch the hostile southern tribes so as to avoid raids on Manipur territory. In 1871–72, Tseklapai was said to be the headquarters of the southern frontier posts of Manipur. Some of the reports indicate that these posts were manned by Kuki troops.