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.^[8] 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". The latter is a possible reference to the Khuga River, which is mentioned for the first time in this instance.^[9] In 1766, a village was apparently established at "Torpung" by the people of "Kyamkei" under the direction of the Moirang chief (Chantramani).^[4]

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 eventually formed the route of the present day Tedim Road.^[10]

In 1858, Torbung is mentioned as a region. The Maharaja of Manipur is said to have settled "Saitons" in a (new) village in Torbung.^[11] 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.^[12]

British Raj

The British-compiled Gazetteer of Manipur (1886) describes the "Turbung stream",^[3] 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),^[13] "Mangyol" (a Kuki village of the Simmte clan),^[14] "Saikot" (a Kuki village of the Mangoung clan),^[15] "Saitul" (a Kuki village of Vungsun clan),^[15] and "Tunnam" (a Koireng village),^[3]

In 1872, the Maharaja sent an expedition to the Chivu salt springs (near modern Behiang on the present day southern border of Manipur), 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.^[16] The Chivu expedition did not have any immediate consequences. The southern tribes continued to be either independent or paid tributes 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.^[17]

In 1894, The British delineated the border between Manipur and the "Chin Hills", which were awarded to Burma. They ran it close to the previously marked "Pemberton's line" 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.^[18] Thus, Torbung became an interior location to the state of Manipur instead of being a border locality.

During the World War II, the British constructed the motorable Tedim Road between Imphal and Tedim in 1942–1943. Seven decisive battles were fought along this road between the 17 Indian Division of the British 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.^[19]

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.^[20] By 1991, Bishnupur has been made a district.^[21]

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.^[22] 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.^[23]

The Torbung area was also the epicentre of the 2023 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.^{[24][25][26][27][28][29]} The resulting tensions led to months-long violence resulting in close to 200 deaths and over 50,000 people displaced.