History

History of Churachandpur District

The district of Churachandpur derives its name from the town of Churachandpur after Sir Churachand Singh, K.C.S.I.,C.B.S. the Maharaja of Manipur. It lies on the south-western part of Manipur between 24.0 N and 24.3 N latitutde and 93.15 E and 94.0 E longitude. The district is bounded on the north by Tamenglong District, on the east by the districts of Imphal and Chandel, on the south by Myanmar (Burma) and Mizoram and on the west by the State of Mizoram and Assam. The average altitude of the district is 914.0 metres above the mean sea level. The area of the district as furnished by the Surveyor General of India is 4570.0 sq.km.

Churachandpur district which was previously known as Manipur South District came into existence in the year 1969 alongwith the district reorganization of Manipur. Manipur was till then a single district Union Territory having only 10 Sub-Divisions. By an order of Manipur Government No. 20/39/69-D dated 12th November,1969, Manipur was divided into 5 districts having 25 Sub-Divisions. Under the said notification, the Churachandpur Sub-Division alongwith 15 hill villages of Jiribam Sub-Division were transferred to form Manipur South District. The District was further divided into 5 sub-divisions, namely, Tipaimukh, Thanlon, Churachandpur North, Churachandpur and Thinghat (presently known as Singngat). Since then there have been some minor territorial changes in the jurisdiction of the district. In 1972, 14 hill villages belonging to Jiribam sub-division of Manipur Central District (now Imphal district) were added to the administrative and revenue jurisdiction of Tipaimukh sub-division of the district. During 1981 and 1991 the district lost two hill villages belonging to Churachandpur sub-division. These hill villages were already lying within the geographical jurisdiction of Bishnupur district and the transfer to these villages to Bishnupur district was made in 1985 for administrative conveniences. During the intervening period the name of the district had also been changed Manipur South District to Churachandpur district vide Revenue Department’s Order No.43/2/81-R(Pt) dated 15.07.1983.

(Source: District Census Handbook-Churachandpur, 2011)