The Kuki National Front – Military Council, or KNF(MC), which also calls itself the “Kuki Army”, has reportedly installed a signboard at the base of the Thangjing ching (hill) calling it “Thangting camp” of the “Kuki Army”.
Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh in a post on X said the state government has filed a police case against the Kuki armed group, as the area is a protected site. The renaming by the armed group also violated the Manipur Names of Places Act, 2024, Singh said.
“Immediately taken up measures to book any group or individuals involved in changing any existing names without the approval of the government. Under the Manipur Names of Places Act, 2024 a case has also been registered for changing Thangjing ching, which is also a protected site, to Thangting,” the Chief Minister said.
The Meitei community in the lakeside Moirang town had been going for pilgrimage to Thangjing ching, the home of the deity Ibudhou Thangjing. They believe the Thangjing ching site, which falls under Churachandpur district, to be at least 2,000 years old.
Churachandpur and nearby areas are where ethnic violence began on 3 May 2023. The people in Moirang – home to the northeast’s largest freshwater lake Loktak – also consider the deity Ibudhou Thangjing the area’s guardian.
This was not the first time Thangjing ching saw a controversy. In February, a cross was installed atop the hill. In October 2023, photos and drone footage had confirmed the installation of another cross on the hill.
(With NDTV inputs)