Titular King seeks return of Kabaw Valley
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, March 10 2025: Titular King and Member of Parliament Leishemba Sanajaoba has urged the Government of India to see that Myanmar either returns Kabaw Valley to Manipur or pays compensation in lieu of keeping the valley in their possession.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during zero hour today, Leishemba Sanajaoba recalled that Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru gifted away Kabaw Valley to Myanmar at a meeting with his Myanmar counterpart U Nu at Imphal on March 3, 1953 .

Kabaw Valley which covers 22,210 Sq Kms is highly fertile and immensely rich in natural resources.

The valley was a part of the then independent kingdom Manipur in 1450 AD .

The day Kabaw Valley was gifted to Myanmar (then Burma) is the most unfortunate day in the history of Manipur, the titular king said.

Jawaharlal Nehru did not have the consent of the Indian Parliament or the State Government when he gave away Kabaw Valley to Myanmar, Leishemba Sanajaoba said.

Moreover, Jawaharlal Nehru did not respect the clause of the Treaty of Yandaboo, 1826, he said.

As per the Kabaw Valley Agreement 1834, Myanmar agreed to pay 500 Sicca to the Manipur kings as compensation for Kabaw Valley, Sanajaoba said.

Myanmar paid this compensation to Manipur till 1949 .

After the merger of Manipur into the Indian Union, Myanmar paid the compensation amount to the Government of India from 1949 to 1953, the titular king said.

Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru gifted Kabaw Valley to Myanmar without bothering to consider any of the historical facts related to the valley, Leishemba Sanajaoba said.

Saying that it was a momentous historical blunder, the titular king said that the people of Manipur will never forgive Jawaharlal Nehru and his party.

He then urged the Government of India to explore the possibility of taking back Kabaw Valley or ask Myanmar to pay the pending compensation either to the Government of Manipur or the Government of India.

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