The Churachandpur town is in the valley of Khuga River (called "Lamka plain"),^[7] which flows north from the border with Chin Hills (Myanmar) towards the Imphal Valley. The town is at the intersection of two roads: the Tedim Road, which runs from the Manipur state capital Imphal to Tedim in the Chin State of Myanmar, and the Tipaimukh road that goes to Tipaimukh in the southwest and continues on to Mizoram. The junction of the two roads is called "Lamka" in Kuki-Chiin languages. At present, the northern portion of the Tedim Road and the Tipaimukh Road make up the National Highway 2, connecting the states of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. In addition to these roads, the road to Sugnu via the Tuineng valley also leaves from the Churachandpur town.

Churachandpur is a sprawling urban agglomeration, said to be the second largest town in Manipur.^[5] However it is not a statutory town and does not have a municipality. The region is divided into multiple villages and towns, under the supervision of the Autonomous District Council of the Churachandpur District.^[1] Notable among the towns are Hiangtam Lamka, west of Tedim Road, Zenhang Lamka, east of Tedim Road, and Rengkai to the southeast.

British Raj period edit

The name "Chura Chandpur" was originally given to the village of Songpi (24°20′04″N 93°39′09″E / 24.3344°N 93.6525°E / 24.3344; 93.6525) on the road to Tipaimukh (present day NH2) around the year 1920. It was named after Churachand Singh, the reigning maharaja of the Manipur princely state at that time. The Khuga river valley, the present site of Churachandpur was forested and mostly uninhabited at that time.^[8]

During the Kuki Rebellion of 1917-1919, an Assam Rifles post was stationed at Songpi.^[9] After the rebellion, the British Raj decided to set up four subdivisions for the hill areas. The South-West Subdivision was headquartered at Songpi. According to folklore, there was a feast organised in 1921 to honour the labour corps workers that returned from World War I, to which Maharaja Churachand Singh was invited. It was decided on that occasion to give the name "Churachandpur" to the Songpi village.^[5] The subdivision headquartered here also came to be known as the "Churachandpur Subdivision".^[10][11][c] In 1930, the Sub-Divisional Officers (S.D.O.'s) were withdrawn due to dearth of staff and the subdivision was administered directly from Imphal. The Songpi/Churachandpur office fell into disuse.^[12][d]

Also during the rebellion, the British constructed a road to Hiangtam in the southern part of the subdivision, which branched off the Tipaimukh road at a location that came to be called "Lamka". ("Lamka" means junction in Kuki-Chin languages.) The original location was called "Hiangtam Lamka" and became the site of a new village.^[5][e] Another village called "Zenhang Lamka" was established to the east of the Hiangtam Road and the two villages together were referred to as "Lamka".^[5] Eventually the whole plain in the Khuga River valley acquired the name "Lamka plain".^[6][7]

During the World War II, the British constructed a motorable "Tedim Road" between Imphal and Tedim, extending the former Hiangtam Road. Seven decisive battles were fought along this road between the British 17 Indian Division and the Japanese 33 Division. The Japanese reached the Lamka area on 8 April 1944, and four battles were fought to the north of it, within Manipur, including one at Torbung.^[14] Eventually the Japanese were defeated at Imphal and withdrew from Manipur with heavy losses.^[14]

Independent period edit

In 1947, on the eve of Indian independence, the British reinstated the administrative powers of the Maharaja of Manipur, who promulgated a constitution establishing a legislative assembly and a ministry. The new administration decided to form circles for local administration, designating two of them at Churachandpur and Thanlon respectively. Finding that the old offices at Songpi had been reused for other purposes, in 1949, the Manipur administration decided to construct a new town in the Lamka area to serve as the headquarters. It was referred to as "New Churachandpur" for a few years.^[15] After Manipur's merger with India, the subdivision structure was reinstated, including a Churachandpur Subdivision based at New Churachandpur.^[16] In 1969, the subdivision was converted into a district, first under the name "Manipur South" and later in 1983, as the "Churachandpur district".^[17]

The Churachandpur town, which was the third biggest town in Manipur in 1971, was "denotified" in 1988 upon the recommendation of the Hill Areas Committee, and its area was placed under the Autonomous District Council. It was still listed as a Census Town in 1991, but the practice has since been discontinued. The whole area is considered "rural" for administrative purposes despite having clear urban characteristics.^[18] The 2011 census lists three census towns in the region, viz., Rengkai, Zenhang Lamka, and Hill Town (Hiangtam Lamka).^[19]

The local people are said to have always used the name "Lamka" for the town in preference to "Churachandpur".^[20] With the rise of ethnic tensions during the 2023 Manipur violence, the Kuki-Zo people have increasingly spurned the name "Churachandpur".^[5]

The majority of Lamka's population consists of Kuki-Zo people. The town also comprises 18 villages (neighbourhoods) with Meitei populations, totalling approximately 8350 people. Many of the Meitei villages were destroyed by mobs during the 2023 Manipur violence.^[21]

• List of populated places in Churachandpur district

• Churachandpur District Census Handbook (PDF), Directorate of Census Operations, Manipur, 2001
• Churachandpur District Census Handbook (PDF), Directorate of Census Operations, Manipur, 2011
• Chishti, S. M. A. W. (1979). Political Development in Manipur, 1919-1949 (PDF) (PhD thesis). Aligarh Muslim University – via core.ac.uk.
  • Chishti, S. M. A. W. (2005), Political Development in Manipur, 1919-1949, Gyan Publishing House, ISBN 978-81-7835-424-8
• Ibochou Singh, Khwairakpam (1985). British administration in Manipur 1891–1947 (PhD thesis). Gauhati University – via Shodhganga.

• Gangte, Thangzam (undated) Churachandpur Chanchin (An Account of Churachandpur)
• Ginsum, H (undated) Lamka Vangkhua (Lamka Town).
• Kamkhenthang, Dr. H (1995) "Lamka Town vis-a-vis Churachandpur", Shan (daily), 21 December.
• Kamkhenthang (1998) "Lamka (Churachandpur)" in B.D. Ray, A.K. Neog & H.K. Mazhari (eds.) Urban Development in North-East India : Potentiality and Problems, New Delhi: Vedams Books.
• Manipur State Archives, Imphal: Manipur State Durbar 1907–1947 – Papers related to the Court of the President of Manipur State Durbar, Hill Misc. Case No. 28 of 1945–46, Phungkhothang Chief of Hiangtam Lamka; also Misc Case No. 504 of 1934 Phungkhothang Chief of Hiangtam Lamka.