The historical account of Kabaw Valley
- Part 3 -

Maheshsana Rajkumar *

View of Kabow Valley from Kangkum Village in Kamjong District, Manipur in June 2022 :: Pix - Shankar Khangembam

Alaungmintaya marched to Manipur on 12 November 1758 and took over the country completely. That was the first conquests of Manipur by Myanmar in the Konbaung period. During his military march to Manipur, Alaungmintaya occupied Imphal in north-west Myanmar. So also, the Kabaw valley region was occupied.

To defend the invading Kathe, Alaungmintaya placed at Tamu a sentry post under Setyaungbelu with over 500 gunners, and one at Thaungdut under Shwetaungoudain with over 500 gunners, as border guards. It was presumed that when Setyaungbelu passed away he became a nat.There is still a shrine of a nat at Tamu. At Tamu and Thaungdut were established permanent stockades. An inscription was set up.

After the first Anglo-Myanmar War concerning demarcation problems among the states cropped up. Myanmar officers wanted to get back the Kabaw valley which was once a territory of Myanmar. It was a narrow strip of land situated between Chindwin River and Manipur in north-west Myanmar. By 1824, it was under Myanmar. But English returned it to the Manipur Sawbwa when Myanmar was defeated in the First Anglo-Myanmar War.

The Kabaw question was not entered in the Yandaboo Treaty. In 1830 the India Government decided that the valley should not be returned to Myanmar. Sagaing Min wag very angry. But Major Henry Burney recommended its return. It is found that the north-west regions were peaceful after the Kabaw valley problem Was solved.

The Konbaung period, Kalay, Khambat, Tamu, Thaungdut, Teinnyin, Razagyo in the north-west regions were peaceful and prosperous if Manipuris did not attack. The areas of north-West had been a political centre under the Myanmar kings and also a place of socio-economic importance and the spread of culture and Buddhism.

During the Konbaung period Khambat and Thaungdut had been the centre of the region for local administration. Moreover, these regions were an important route for the Myanmar kings to march to their subordinate areas of Assam and Manipur.

Gazetteer GER Grant Brown had referred the version of Sir Alexander Mackenzie in their books who stated as such, "The Government of India considered it but just and proper that all the places and territory in the ancient country of Manipur, which were in possession of Gumbheer Sing at the date of the signing of the Treaty of Yandaboo, should belong to that Chief. The Sumjok and Kumbat divisions of the Kubo Valley, as far east as the Ningthee or Kyendwen River, were accordingly given to Manipur, and the Ningthee river formed the boundary between the two countries".

The First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-26) resulted in the bankruptcy of Bengal agency houses and cost the British East India Company its remaining privileges, including the monopoly of trade to China. The British Supreme Government had used Manipur's Kabaw Valley, which was the inherently economic lifeline of Manipur along her ancestral boundary Chindwin (Ningthee) River as a bait for the sake of recovery of 1 million pounds sterling war indemnity in four installments.

Tenasserim though desired by Burma was not handed over and the British after receiving the last war indemnity installment in 1833, treacherously transferred Kabaw Valley to Burma on 9 January 1834, the day Maharaja Gambhir Singh died of heart attack on hearing the sad news of Kabaw Valley transfer to Burma. For the loss of Kabaw Valley, the British Supreme Government paid 6,000 sicca rupees as an annual compensation every year to Manipur. The value of 16 sicca rupees in 1834 was equivalent to one gold mohur.

It is an open fact that kings of Manipur had approached the British Supreme Government so as to make retrocession of Kabaw Valley to Manipur when Upper Burma was conquered during the third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885, but the British had ignored. At that time there was a proposal circulated in the Government of India whether the Kabaw Valley could be retroceded to Manipur.

During the reign of Maharaja Churachand Singh in 1932, the Manipur State Darbar submitted a representation of the Manipur State to the States Enquiry Committee for the retrocession of Kabaw Valley to Manipur, but it was ignored.

A letter is retrieved from the sources of National Archive of India, written by Maharaja Bodh Chandra Singh, dated 2 August 1947, thirteen days before India got her independence from Britain, in the letter addressed to the then Viceroy and Governor General of India Maharaja Bodh Chandra Singh demanded retrocession of Kubo Valley to the Manipur State from Burma after the lapse of paramountcy.

After independence, during the period of Constitutional monarchy of Manipur, MK Priya Brata Singh, the Chief Minister tried to correspond with the British Government on the issue. The Ministry of States of the Government of India under Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel advised the State Government not to pursue the matter; and the letter was returned. In fact, the British put the Kabaw Valley issue to notoriety and the complexity of the issue linger still today for both Manipur (India) and Myanmar.

The retrocession of Kabaw Valley to Manipur State is an international issue and the Government of India should open the 190 years old colonial era Kabaw Valley transfer case and sincerely act and fulfil the return of Kabaw Valley to Manipur from Myanmar.

It has been a long-cherished dream of every patriotic Manipuri citizen and it requires firm involvement of respective Governments of India, Myanmar and Great Britain, as the later then British Supreme Government was responsible for the illegitimate transfer to Burma (now Myanmar) in 1834.

Concluded....