Oinam Sunil
SABUOL (CHURACHANDPUR): "If I can take care of my subjects, why can't ministers? We have a good climate, our people do well in every sphere of life, so why can't politicians take our state forward?"
Chingjapao Hangshing, the tribal "king" of Sabuol, one of the smallest Kuki villages in Manipur's Churachandpur district, strongly feels Manipur can progress and attain glory if the administration is streamlined.
Hangshing lords over a " kingdom" atop a hill which has a population of about 200 Kukis and 160 voters. It lies on National Highway 150, connecting Imphal with Mizoram via Churachandpur. "I can run my village smoothly and peacefully, then why can't these big men?" asks Hangshing, who took over the reins of his "kingdom" from his father Tungjakap Hangshing in 1996.
Hangshing has had his fare share of struggle, too. Though he cleared the Class-XII exams from the prestigious Sainik School Imphal, he couldn't complete his engineering course from the Regional Engineering College, Durgapur (now NIT Durgapur) as his father couldn't afford the expenses of travelling from Sabuol to Durgapur via Kolkata as also the college fees.
But such setbacks did not take away his essential goodness as the village chief. "I don't allow any of my villagers to starve. If they don't have anything to eat, I give them rice and help them earn a livelihood," says the tribal king sitting on the verandah of his house surrounded by lush hills, and then he adds, "since I am from the Sainik School, army officers posted in the area have always respected me and helped my village. In 2007, one of my Sainik School colleagues was posted as commanding officer of an Assam Rifles unit here. I helped them broker peace with the Kukis."
Kuki militants have signed a Suspension of Operations agreement with the Okram Ibobi Singh government now and living in designated camps waiting for peace talks to begin. "My contribution was very small and perhaps no one will ever take note of it. But I have no regrets as long as peace returns to our land," he says.
Sushilo Singh, a private school teacher working in Churachandpur, is full of praise for Hangshing. "If our politicians act like Hangshing, most of our problems will be solved. Funds come from the Centre, but then they don't reach us. Such is the state of corruption here."
Hangshing has had to weather many storms to keep his village together. Two years after becoming the king, ethnic clashes between Kukis and Paites tore his village apart. Over 1,500 people lost their lives. Then came the threat of militants.
"I approached the Gorkha Rifles for security using my Sainik School reference. They came to our village and guarded us till the ethnic strife ended. Villagers from neighbouring Tuilaphai also took shelter in our village when they saw Gorkhas were deployed here," says Hangshing.
He's even allowed three Nepali families to stay in his village and rear cows. Hangshing is a democratic to the core. So, despite being a Kuki, he supported Paite candidate Phungzathang Tonsing, power minister ( Congress), in the last election. He strongly believes ethnic and religious considerations should not impede the democratic process.
But this time he is undecided about which candidate to vote for though he feels the election will be more free and fair this year. "All candidates will come to campaign here, but they cannot do so without my permission. All villagers have their right to choose their candidate and we can't force anyone. At the most, we can make an appeal on behalf of a candidate," he says.
Once, an Assam Rifles commandant gifted Hangshing a crate of whisky. But since he did not drink, he distributed it among his villagers. They were very happy with the king's gesture.
Many years back when his father could not send him money for his studies because he needed that fund to spend on his subjects, Hangshing was a frustrated youth. He drowned his misery in alcohol. He kept hitting the bottle even after becoming the king. One day he heard people talking about him being a "drunkard". That very day he decided to give up the bottle.
"In 2005, I surrendered to God and asked him to give me courage to give up alcohol. By God's grace, I managed to quit drinking," says Hangshing, a devout Christian.