Churachandpur

This article is about the municipality in Manipur, India. For its namesake district, see Churachandpur district.

Lamka
—  town  —
Coordinates
Country	India
State	Manipur
District(s)	Churachandpur
Population • Density	2, 23,866 (2001[update]) • 39 /km2 (101 /sq mi)
Sex ratio	1034 females per 1000 males ♂/♀
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area	4,570 square kilometres (1,760 sq mi)
Codes • Pincode • 795128 • Telephone • +03874 • Vehicle • MN

Churachandpur, locally known as Lamka, town is the district headquarters of Churachandpur district in Manipur. Lamka has its name from the word "Lam" which means path or way and "ka" means junction. The name Lamka in short means a place situated at the road junction. "Due to its commercial origins, Lamka is the most multi-ethnic and cosmopolitan hill town in Manipur. During WW II, Churachandpur did not escape Japanese bombing; but it enjoyed about five decades of quiet and peaceful progress in the post-War period. Especially during the 1970s and '80s, Lamka was an "island of peace" which exerted a magnetic pull for many moneyed investors seeking good profit.

Education

On a positive note, Lamka district boasts a high literacy rate of 74.67% (2001 Census), above the state literacy average of 68.87% and the Indian average of 64%. To a large extent, this reflects the contributions of faith-based initiatives (especially the Church and NGOs) and private edu-preneurs, rather than the presence of several ineffective government schools in the district. Despite the apathy of the state Licence Raj, the enterprising people of Lamka possess a strong drive for success and adopting "best practice".

At Lamka, some private high schools offer quality education, but private venture in college education is a recent development. Public education is a "free" meal at the expense of the tax-payer, but it has been failing to satisfy the educational hunger of the community. Private education provides "value for money", yet the cost was beyond the means of the average family. Until public education gets more autonomy and freedom from political interference, the mess in the Govt. education system will continue to remain for some time.

Schools

The town has a number of ineffective state government high schools (with the exception of Rengkai Government School). However, the town is well-served by competitive private schools with a reputation for "clean" examination practices at the High School Leaving stage (but lately things have changed a bit) and a couple of Central Government run Higher Secondary Schools namely, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Tuinom and Kendriya Vidyalaya. Some of the private schools which have made excellent contribution to the educational standards of Churachandpur districts are Ebenezer Academy, Donbosco School, Douglas Memorial High School, St. Mary's School, Sielmat Christian Hr. Sec. School, Grace Academy high School, St. Paul's Institute, Blue Star Academy, Rayburn School, Radhakrishnan Foundation School, Lalpuithluaii Foundation School, Children Training Higher Secondary School, Young Learners School and Salt Brook School.
Lalpuithluai Foundation is one of the few schools in CCpur district to offer Computer Science as an additional subject.^[1] Most of the schools are affiliated to Board of Secondary Education, Manipur (BSEM). Few of the schools like St. Paul's Institute are now affiliated to CBSE.

College

Churachandpur has two government degree colleges - Churachandpur College and Lamka College. Affiliated to Manipur University, all the local colleges offer several Three Year Degree (TDC) courses in science and liberal arts. Bethany Christian College is the oldest among private colleges in Churachandpur. Rayburn College, VK Tawna College, Mangminthang College of Arts & Commerce, Bethany Christian College are some of the private Institutions that impart education at the Higher Secondary Level. These private Institutions contribute towards creating quality talents in the district. There is need of investment from the Government as well as from the Private Institutions in the education sector, especially in Higher Secondary education.

Socio-Economic

The district is inhabited by several tribes such as Thadou, Hmar, Mizo, Vaiphei, Gangte, Zou, Simte, Kom. Each tribe has a distinct social order as well as community laws. The system of hereditary chiefship as well as community ownership of village land is prevalent in the district. In case of hereditary chiefship the chief is all-powerful as he controls not only the economy of the village through his ownership of the land but exercises social control over the households in the village. An overwhelming majority of the tribal population has converted to Christianity. Christianity has not materially changed the social order but was the critical faith in bringing to an end the head-hunting wars and savagery that characterized early tribal societies. Education rapidly spread through English medium schools. In the last hundred years the society has undergone radical change from the past. All tribal societies are patriarchal, but the women are not discriminated against. They play a significant role in agriculture and animal husbandry, besides being actively involved in weaving. Meitei, the major community of Manipur,constitute a small section of the population of the district,are largely involve in trade and other commercial activities.

Politics

Churachandpur is part of Outer Manipur (Lok Sabha constituency). The present Lok Sabha M.P. of the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha Constituency is the Congress candidate, Thangsho Baite.^[2] Lingual and cultural affinity among the various Kuki tribes and clans has not been taken into advantage to gain political mileage.

Transport

Air

The neareast airport to the town is Tulihal Airport which is 60 KM from the main town. There is proper Road connectivity from the Airport to the town.

Rail

The town is yet to be reached by the development in Train Transportation. The nearest railway station is Dimapur and Guwahati.

Road

National Highway No. 150 passes through the heart of the town. Teddim Road Connects the town with Imphal City, Guite Road connect the town with the neighboring state Mizoram.

See also

• Hauzel
• Singngat

References

1. ^ High Schools having Computer Science as an Additional Subject in HSLC Examination http://cicmanipur.nic.in/html/school_comp.asp
2. ^ "Assembly Constituencies - Corresponding Districts and Parliamentary Constituencies" (PDF). Manipur. Election Commission of India. http://archive.eci.gov.in/se2002/background/S14/Dist_PC_AC.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-07.