Sharkaphung, also known as Sikibung, is a village in Kamjong district, Manipur, India. It is on the bank of the Thoubal River, along the Imphal–Ukhrul Road (NH-202), about from Imphal and southwest of Ukhrul. The village is flanked by Thawai Kuki on the west and Litan in the east (the latter in Ukhrul district).
History
Sharkaphung, originally called Sikibung, was a village in the Ukhrul Sub-Division prior to Indian independence. The 1944 survey map shows it located on a stream called Habu Lok, a left tributary of the Thoubal River. The original location was on the hill slope, about 200–300 m above Thoubal valley floor. The village was acknowledged as a hill village in the Manipur Hill People's (Administration) Regulation (1947), in Circle No. 2 of the Ukhrul Sub-Division, which corresponds to the modern Kamjong district. It was listed as having a Kuki subvillage with 21 houses and a Tangkhul subvillage with 7 houses.
In 1956, the subvillages were listed as separate villages: "Sikibung Tangkhul" or Sikibung (T) and "Sikibung Kuki" or Sikibung (K). (Sikibung Kuki misspelled as "Sikingbung Kuki".) While Sikibung (K) stayed at the original location, Sikibung (T) moved down closer to the Thoubal River valley, which also carried Imphal–Ukhrul highway (present NH-202).Map No. G46W1, Survey of India, 2011. The 1961 census gave the population of Sikibung (T) as 147 people with 28 households, and the population of Sikibung (K) as 73 people with 14 households.
In the next census in 1971, Sikibung Kuki was not listed, even though the Survey of India maps continue to show its location. It is possible that Sikibung Kuki has affiliated itself with the neighbouring Sareikhong village.
By 1991 census, Sikibung Tangkhul had grown to a population of 757.Primary Census Abstract (Rural) - Manipur - 1991, Census Digital Library, 27 June 2022. It now controlled the entire course of the Habu Lok stream and presumably attracted settlers from the neighbouring Tangkhul villages. By 2001, it was simply called "Sikibung" without the "Tangkhul" suffix.Ukhrul District Census Handbook, Director of Census Operations, Manipur, 2001, page 164.
Relations with Sareikhong Sareikhong was another "Kuki village" about 3 km east of Sikibung (T) by aerial distance, which expanded towards the Litan bridge after the Imphal–Ukhrul highway became functional. The Chepu village to the north of the Thoubal River also moved down to the valley next to the bridge. By 1961, there was a large village complex near the bridge, which was listed as "Litan Shepumongkot and Sareikhong" in the census with a population of 530 people. This village cluster was moved to the Ukhrul subdivision (which remains in present-day Ukhrul district), while Sikibung remained in the Phungyar subdivision (now Kamjong district).
Soon after its formation, Sikibung Tangkhul seems to have campaigned for its territorial demarcation. The Court of the Subdivisional Officer of Ukhrul determined in 1947–48 that the boundary between Sikibung and Sareikhong was at the Khoirulok stream.Shri Wungreikhan Kasar vs State Of Manipur, Manipur High Court, 25 March 2021.
In recent times, Sikibung Tangkhul apparently has laid claim to the Litan Bazar area, which is part of the Litan Sareikhong village. This led to a dispute between the two villages. Sikibung Tangkhul has claimed that there was "1973 settlement agreement", by which Sareikhong was required to pay Rs. 20,000 for control of the area, but paid only half of it, leaving the remainder unpaid. Hence it claims that the agreement was aborted and Litan Bazar reverted to its own territory.Lian Naulak, Amit Kumar, Litan and the fragile edges of Manipur’s ethnic divide, EastMojo, 17 February 2026.Sharkaphung Headman Stands Firm on Land Claim Amidst Tension, Ekhon, 15 February 2026. Sikibung Tangkhul's claims are backed by Tangkhul Naga Long, the apex body of the Tangkhul community,Litan Bazar in the eye of storm, Tangkhul Naga Long threatens eviction, Imphal Free Press, 12 October 2024. and the parallel government run by the insurgent group NSCN (IM).WTR declares Litan Bazar as ancestral land of Sikibung village, warns against illegal settlements, Imphal Times, 11 October 2024.
The Sareikhong village did not separate into Kuki and Tangkhul portions, but an essential split seems to have developed there too, with the Kukis moving down to the settlement near the bridge and the Tangkhuls remaining on a hill. The hill subvillage, called Leingangching or S. Laho, is said to have had its "constitution" (Riyan) enacted by Sharkaphung.Marchers protest burial denial, Imphal Free Press, 18 August 2017. This seems to indicate that Leingangching had been turned into a subvillage of Sharkaphung, even though it was originally part of Sareikhong.
Demography According to 2011 census, Sharkaphung has 202 households with the total of 1084 people, of which 560 are male and 554 are female.Ukhrul District Census Handbook, Director of Census Operations, Manipur, 2011, page 148. Of the total population, 156 were in the age group of 0–6 years. The average sex ratio of the village is 936 female to 1000 male, which is lower than the state average of 985. The literacy rate of the village stands at 74.03%, which is lower than the state average 76.94%. Male literacy rate stands at 80.46%, while female literacy rate was 67.26%.
The inhabitants speak Sarkaphung Tui, which belongs to the Tangkhulic (Naga) language family.
People and occupations The village is home to people of Tangkhul Naga tribe. The majority of the inhabitants are Christians. Agriculture is the primary occupation of the inhabitants. Sharkaphung is one of the 44 villages considered likely to be affected as a catchment area when the Mapithel multi purpose project is functional.
Recent developments Poppy cultivation
Land dispute The land dispute between Litan and Sikibung spiralled in 2020 with the government proposing to widen the Imphal–Ukhrul Road (NH-202) to a double-lane road. Sikibung, having claimed the land of Litan Bazar for several years, insisted that it should be compensated for the land lost to the road-widening project instead of Litan Sareikhong. In December 2020, a resident of Litan was said to have been "detained" by villagers of Sikibung owing to the dispute. The people of Litan blocked the Imphal–Ukhrul Road in protest, and the villager was released. The next morning, as the headman of Sikibung went to Litan along with his village authority members, he was attacked by a mob. He escaped to safety in the Litan police station, but tensions flared anyway.Mungchuan Zimik Litan-Sikibung standoff triggers tension, The Sangai Express, 29 December 2020. According to the KSO-Ukhrul, Sikibung villagers abducted a member of the Litan Sareikhong Double Lane Compensation Committee the previous day, and the Headman was attempting to abduct another member, which was foiled by the people of the village. Its representative stated that a compromise meeting was held a week later under the initiative of MLA Alfred Arthur, and the two village leaders were advised to pursue a legal mechanism for resolving the land dispute.KSO-Ukhrul VP Mercy Khongsai Rebuts Ramreichan Keishing's Statements on Wung Media, The Hills Journal, 25 May 2026.
Headman Kasar of Sikibung filed a writ petition in Manipur High Court seeking direction to the maintenance of village boundary between itself and Sareikhong. In its judgement of 25 March 2021, the High Court confirmed the Khoirulok boundary defined in 1947–48. It made no mention of the Litan Bazar area in the boundary claims, but issued a directive to the Deputy Commissioner of Ukhrul district to maintain the boundary between the two villages. Subsequently, the Sikibung and Litan villages formed a "Litan Area Land Committee", which issued an ultimatum to the district authorities to resolve the land issues concerning the two villages.Mungchan Zimik, LALC sets ultimatum to resolve land issues of Litan and Sikibung separately, The Sangai Express, 29 July 2021.
On 8 October 2024, in the midst of the Manipur conflict, the parallel government of Naga insurgents, GPRN, issued an "administrative order", declaring that Litan Bazar was "part and parcel" of the Sikibung/Sharkaphung village and that the "encroachment" made by Sareikhong was an "illegal settlement" and warrants immediate eviction under Naga customary law. Tangkhul Naga Long followed it up with an eviction notice.Litan Bazar in the eye of storm, Tangkhul Naga Long threatens eviction, Imphal Free Press, 12 October 2024. From Drunken Brawl to Land War: Inside Manipur’s Litan Flashpoint, Power Corridors, 9 February 2026. There was no immediate response from the Kuki side, but in February 2026, the Committee on Protection of Tribal Areas Manipur – Kuki Hills (COPTAM-KH) rejected GPRN's claims as "factually false and historically fabricated". Threats of "immediate eviction" without due process, it argued, was a violation of fundamental constitutional protections.Tension Escalates as COPTAM-KH Rejects Order Threatening Kuki Village, Kukiland Media, via Facebook, 9 February 2026.
During the period of President's Rule between February 2025 – January 2026, Manipur was quiescent, but, as soon as a new elected government was sworn in during February 2026, clashes developed between the Kukis and Tangkhuls in the Litan area.
2026 clashes The trouble began on 7 February with an altercation between a few Tangkhuls and a group of Kukis in Litan Sareikhong, who were described as intoxicated. A Tangkhul man was severely beaten up resulting in his getting hospitalised. After receiving complaints from the victim's family, the Chief of Litan Sareikhong arranged a meeting the next day to settle the matter according to customary practices. However, the family of the injured man failed to show up.PTI, Tribal groups clash in Manipur’s Ukhrul, prohibitory orders imposed, India Today NE, 8 February 2026.Clarification Issued Amid Conflicting Narratives Over Litan Incident, Ukhrul Times, 13 Feb 2026. Instead, a delegation from Sikibung led by the headman Wungreikhan Kasar, came to demand that those that assaulted the Tangkhul man on 7 February should be handed over to them. The standoff escalated into stone-pelting by both sides, and there were reports of attacks on the house of the chief and those of the assaulters as well as gunfire near the Litan police station. These events led to clashes between the members of the two communities within Litan Sareikhong, and arson of houses during the night.Ukhrul: Over 20 Houses Set Ablaze in Litan Village, Manipur, Ukhrul Times, 9 February 2026.Several houses torched as tribal groups clash in Manipur’s Ukhrul, The Hindu, 9 Feb 2026. Arson and sporadic gunfire continued for several days and the residents of the Litan and Litan Sareikhong fled their houses.More houses torched on third day of Kuki-Naga violence in Manipur, Internet suspended, The Hindu, 10 Feb 2026.X post with video, India Today NE, 11 February 2026. By 14 February, it was reported that 70 houses had been gutted, 100 families had fled their homes to take shelter in neighbouring villages, and the traffic on NH-202 had been disrupted.Vehicular movement halted on Imphal–Ukhrul road amid tensions in Litan, EastMojo, 14 February 2026.