# Torbung

Torbung is a census village split across the Bishnupur district and Churachandpur district in Manipur, India. The Bishnupur part of the village has a population of 2781, and the Churachandpur part a population of 2358 in the 2011 census. Torbung is watered by the Torbung stream and the Loklai river, which flow down from Thangjing hills to join the Khuga River. Torbung is a village of historical as well as current political significance.

## Geography

The Torbung village is at the mouth of the Khuga River Valley bordering the Imphal Valley. It is named after the Torbung stream, which flows down from Thangjing hills and joins the Khuga River, which bends east at this location. The British Gazetteer of Manipur (1886) mentions the stream by the name "Turbung", and describes its valley as an excellent camping ground. Several villages in the Turbung valley as well as "on the stream" are listed, but none by the name Torbung. Other historical references indicate that the name "Torbung" might have been used for the wider area around the stream.
South of the Torbung area, another river called Loklai flows down from Thangjing Hills, takes a bend near the Pengjang village at the foothills and joins the Khuga River very near to the Torbung stream itself.
The Torbung census village is split across the valley district of Bishnupur and the hill district of Churachandpur. The division is practically significant since the valley and hill districts in Manipur have different land revenue regulations. The Torbung village in the Bishnupur district is listed in the census with 1,257 hectares (12.57 km$^2$) area and a population of 2781 people. This includes subvillages such as Torbung Sabal and Torbung Govindpur, as well as villages further away such as Phougakchao Ikhai, Torbung Bangla and Waikhurok. All these villages are included in the gram panchayat (village council) of Torbung.
Churachandpur district's Torbung village is listed in the census with a population of 439 people, and other villages are listed separately: New Zalenphai (275 people), Matijang (646 people), Maichammun (290 people), S. Kotlian (411 people) and Torbung Loklaiphai (197 people). The last two villages are on the bank of the Loklai River. All these villages are populated predominantly by Scheduled Tribes. Scholar Rohlua Puia points out that the hill tribes (here Kuki-Zo people) living in border localities regard themselves as belonging to the hill districts (here Churachandpur), while the Meitei people in the same localities regarded themselves as belonging to the valley districts (here Bishnupur).
Tedim Road (part of the National Highway 2), connecting Imphal and Churachandpur, passes through Torbung. About 1 km to the north of Torbung is the village of Kangvai, populated by Kuki-Zo people and the headquarters of a subdivision of the Churachandpur district. Further north is Phougakchao Ikhai, populated by Meitei people and included in the Torbung gram panchayat. These overlapping district jurisdictions makes it hard to depict geographic boundaries of districts.

## History
### Early history

Until late 19th century, the southern frontier of the princely state of Manipur was the southern end of the valley. The tribes inhabiting the southern hills were not under the control of Manipur. That would have made the Torbung region the frontier area of the Manipur state.
A location called "Torbung" is mentioned in Manipur's court chronicle Cheitharol Kumbaba in the year 1712. An official called Chantrasekhor, who was on his way to Tripura, was murdered at the location, which was described as being near "Khuka" (a possible reference to the Khuga River), which is mentioned for the first time in this instance. In 1766, a village was apparently established at "Torpung" by the people of "Kyamkei" under the direction of the Moirang chief (chantramani).
Scholar Pum Khan Pau believes that the Khuga River valley might have been traversed by Manipuris for the first time in 1857, when Maharaja Chandrakirti led an expedition to Tedim (in the present day Chin State of Myanmar), which was then the central base of the Kamhau-Sukte tribes. The Manipuri troops fled "in confusion" after facing the combined troops of Kamhau, Sukte and Sihzang tribes, and returned to the Imphal Valley via a previously "unknown route", which is believed to be the Khuga River valley. The British laid the "Hiangtam Road" through the valley around 1920, and later expanded it to the Tedim Road during the Second World War.
In 1858, Torbung is mentioned as a region. The Maharaja of Manipur is said to have settled "Saitons" in a (new) village in Torbung. The Saiton Hills (the east–west-running range of hills on the southern boundary of the Imphal Valley) were invaded in 1789, but not fully subdued. In 1858 when the Maharaja came to Moirang to repel the Kamhaus (Aakam-Hao) tribes, a Haokip clan of Kukis apparently came down from Saiton hills to accept settlement in the Torbung region.

### British Raj

The British-compiled Gazetteer of Manipur (1886) describes the "Turbung stream", which it describes as a fair-sized stream that enters the Manipur valley at its southwest corner. It is said to flow through a wide flat-bottomed valley, which is described as suitable for camping. The Gazetteer makes no mention of a village by the name Turbung, but mentions several villages along the stream or the valley of Turbung, including "Lairit" (a Kom village), "Mangyol" (a Kuki village of the Simmte clan), "Saikot" (a Kuki village of the Mangoung clan), "Saitul" (a Kuki village of Vungsun clan), and "Tunnam" (a Koireng village),
In 1872, the Maharaja sent an expedition to the Chivu salt springs (near Behiang, along the southern border of Manipur in the present time), ostensibly to support the British Lushai Expedition. The Manipuri troops camped there for two months, and arrested the Kamhau chief of Mualpi during their return journey. Even though the British officials decried the expedition as "treachery", the Maharaja succeeded in marking his desired territory. The Chivu expedition did not have any immediate consequences. The southern tribes continued to be either independent or tributary to the Kamhaus. From their base at Mombi, the Kamhaus appear to have controlled the hills up to the Khuga River valley. The British administration reports narrate an incident in 1876, describing a clash between Manipur's Khongjai troops and the Kamhaus, with victory going to the Manipur troops.
In 1894, the British delineated the border between Manipur and the "Chin Hills", the latter being awarded to Burma. They ran the border close to the previously demarcated "Pemberton's line" (but not identical to it), and continued it to Chivu springs. According to scholar Pum Khan Pau, 47 tribal villages that paid tribute to the Kamhau chief were thus transferred to Manipur, including the entire southern part of the present-day Churachandpur district. Thus, Torbung became an interior location to the state of Manipur instead of being a border locality.
During World War II, the British constructed a motorable Tedim Road between Imphal and Tedim. Seven decisive battles were fought along this road between the 17 Indian Division of British India and the 33 Division of Japan. The Japanese reached Churachandpur on 8 April 1944, and four of these battles were fought within Manipur, including one at "Torbung". The Japanese were eventually defeated at Imphal and withdrew from Manipur with heavy losses.

### Independent period

After Manipur's merger with India in 1949, the whole state was administered as a single district. The Bishnupur ("Bishenpur") subdivision was established some time between 1951 and 1961, and Torbung was included in it. By 1991, Bishnupur has been made a district.
As a key interaction point between the valley communities of Meitei people and the Kuki tribes of the Churachandpur district, Torbung has often been in the news. Protests were held by the valley communities against the renaming of Thangjing Hill and another group opposed the protest. Women protesters from the tribal communities protested against three controversial bills passed by the Manipur assembly in 2015, who were in turn opposed by other women's groups.
The Torbung area was also the epicentre of the 2023-2025 Manipur violence. On 3 May 2023, as the tribal communities protested the Meitei community's demand for the scheduled tribe status, the valley communities organised a "counter-blockade" at Torbung and another "counter agitation" from the Moirang subdivision, which led to clashes between the two sides and properties were burned on both the sides of the district border. The resulting tensions led to a two-year-long ethnic violence resulting in over 200 deaths and over 60,000 people displaced.