Kabaw Valley Boundary

Yumnam Rajeshwor Singh
Contd from previous issue
Pillar No. 12 is on the left bank of the Tuiyang(Namtisen) river, which flows below the Manipuri village of Yangoupokpi Thana, and is situated a very short distance below the village.
Pillar No.13 is approximately at the foot of the Nwaysaing Hill, west of the large Shan village of Mangsa ( Mintha). The position of pillar No. 12 and No.13 is unobjectionable. But the line from pillar No. 11 to pillar No. 12 cuts off from Manipur a portion of the plateau mentioned above, on which pillar No.11 is situated. The line from pillar No.12 to pillar No.13 again passes above the 1000 feet contour, 400 feet above the level of the valley, a low hill north of the Tuiyang being also entirely included in Burma. Moreowner, though the  1896 Commission made a great point of including in the Manipur state the low spur on which Yangoupokpi is situated, in exchange for including in Burma the hill known as Nattaung, on the ground that Yangoupokpi was the site of an old thana of the Manipur State and Nattaung an object of veneration to the villagers of Tinzin, it entirely neglected to include in Manipur with Yangoupokpi more than a negligible area of land which had been or could be cultivated. The villagers of Yangoupokpi consequently eke out a proverty- stricken existence by means of trade ( and possibly smuggling), as the Shawbwa of Thaungdut and his officials refuse them permission to cultivate land on the Burma side of the border, unless they agree either to thansfer their residence and allegiance from Manipur to Thaungdut, or to pay land revenue at the extortionate rate of half the produce of the land.
Pillar No. 14 is approximately at the foot of the hills, and the line to it from pillar No. 13 is quite unobjectionable.
Pillar No. 15 is on the Waksu ( Wetyu) stream. It is approximately on the 900 feet contour, and a considerable distance from the foot of the hills. The line from pillar No. 14 to pillar No. 15 cuts off an area of foothills, including teak forest.
Pillar No. 16 is , in itself, well placed on the bank of the Wuksu stream. But owing to the unsatisfactory position of pillar No. 15, the line from that pillar to pillar No. 16 excludes from Manipur State certain foothills bearing teak.
Pillar No. 17 is, as the Commissioners’ report, “situated on a hill”, a low peak of a spur running out from the main range, at an altitude of approximately 1000 feet, some 400 feet above the level of the plain. The line to this pillar from pillar No. 16 excludes several spurs of the foothills from Manipur.
Pillar No. 18 is situated at an altitude of about 800 feet. The line from pillar No. 17 again cuts off several spurs from Manipur.
Pillar No. 19  is, as the Commissioners’ report, “erected on a hill”, at an altitude of about 900 feet. Colonel Shakespear says of it:-
“ The Commission certainly had curious ideas as to the foot of the hills, for pillar 19 is perced on the top of a rocky hill, several hundred feet above the plain, and there is no excuse for this, as the hills here rise very abruptly from the plain, so that there is no difficulty in fixing where the real foot is. The hills here are rocky and it seems possible that minerals might be found, in which case Manipur would have a very real grievance.”
The line from pillar No. 18 to this pillar crosses a considerable number of high spurs. Colonel Shakespear of this portion of the boundary:-
“the line goes through most difficult country crossing ravine after revine, and climbing to the top of hills, only to descend the other side…..The unfairness of the line from pillar 18 to pillar 19 is very clearly seen from pillar 17.”
Pillar No. 20 is on the bank of the Laiching (Nampalaw) stream, at a little distance from the plain. The line from pillar No.19 cuts off several spurs from Laiching Hill, touching the 1000 feet contour in three places.
Pillar No. 21 by the side of the Manipur-Tamu bridle path, is also situated on a spur of the foothills, about the 800 feet contour.
Pillar No.22 is on the left bank of the Lokchao( Chaunggyi) river, approximately where it leaves the hills, at a level of between 600 and 700 feet. But the line from pillar No.21 to pillar No. 22 cuts off a spur, passing over a hill upwards of 900 feet.
Pillar No.23 is on the right bank of the Lokchao, about a mile above pillar No.22. It is not clear why this pillar was placed up the Lokchao valley, in the foothills, at an altitude of approximately 800 feet, instead of opposite pillar No. 22. The Manipur State has thereby lost a considerable area of teak-bearing hills on the right bank of the Lokchao. The level of the valley at Tamu, a short distance below pillar No. 22, is 582 feet.
Pillar No. 24, at the junction of the Mongmong ( Chaungngynaung) and Palesikang ( Pyathekhyauk) streams, is at the foot of the hills. But owing to pillar No. 23 having been placed so far up the Lokchao valley, the line from it to pillar No. 24 cuts off a large stretch of foothills.
Pillar No. 25 lies, according to the report of the Commissioners, “on the neck of a hill,” near Tuinang( Nampalaung) stream. Colonel Shakespear remarks:-
“Pillar 25 is over a mile from the foot of the hills, and on a saddle a considerable height above a plain”.
The line from pillar No. 24 to pillar No. 25 excludes from Manipur a long spur gradually sloping down to the plain.
Pillar No. 26 is on a hill just south of the Pantha stream. Colonel Shakespear says of it:-
“Pillar 26 is about 1.5 miles from the foot of the hills, and at a considerable elevation, though the ascent is very gradual. I could see no reason for choosing that particular point for the pillar.”
The line from pillar No. 25 to pillar No.26 excludes some spurs of the foothills from the Manipur State.
Pillar No. 27 is on the bank of the Tabasay stream, and its position appears unobjectionable, though a large spur is cut off by the line running to it from pillar No. 26, owing to the faulty position of the latter pillar.
Pillar No. 28 is on the left bank of the Tuiyong or Rangkep ( Nanayaung) stream approximately “ where it leaves the hills,” as the Commissioners remark. The line from pillar No. 27 to pillar No. 28 cuts off two low spurs.
Pillar No. 29 is about a mile up the same stream, on its left bank.
Pillar No. 30 is on a low hill, a short distance from the right bank of the same stream.(To be contd)