SENAPATI, Manipur

Main Attraction: Willong Khullen Village

Willong Khullen is a village located some 37 km (23 mi) from National Highway 39 (India) (Maram) on the Maram-Peren Road. It is home to a stone erection very similar to Stonehenge. Some of the tallest stones are seven meters tall and one meter thick.The village of Yangkhullen is built on a steep slope on the hills.

Brief History

More than 80 percent of the population of the district belongs to tribes of different ethnic communities, predominant among them being Mao, Maram, Thangal, Khoirao and Thadou. A sizable number of Zou, Chothe, Kom, any Mizo and Tangkhul are also found in the district. Majority of the Nepalese population of the state are found settled in the district. Besides a number of other tribes are also found in the district but their numbers are not large. During 1917 and 1919 people belonging to the Kuki tribes broke into open rebellion against the British Government in defiance of the objective of conscription of labour corps for employment in France during the First World War and continued upto 1919. 

The rebellion was generally known as the Kuki War/Kuki Rebellion of 1917-19. During the Second World War the district also witnessed the fierce battles between the Indian and British Army on one side and the Japanese Army on the other side, the former checking the advancing Japanese forces in which the Japanese forces suffered heavy casualties. 

Towards the end of the decade in 1997 there were large scale ethnic clashes in Manipur between Kukis and Nagas for dominance and supremacy of some geographical regions and claims and counterclaims made by these communities on other issues. The impact of such clashes was also felt in this district resulting in loss of properties and dislocation of the Kuki and Naga inhabitants from one village to another. In some cases some of the Kuki villages were wiped out entirely. The tension subsided towards the early part of 1998 due to peace efforts the Government and peace missions.