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Ima Market

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Place in Manipur, India
Ima Keithel
(English: Mothers' Market)
Different scenes of the Ima Keithel (Mothers' Market) of Imphal
Nickname(s):  Nupi Keithel (English: Women's Market)
Khwairamband Keithel (English: Khwairamband Market)
Ima Keithel (English: Mothers' Market) is located in ManipurIma Keithel (English: Mothers' Market)Ima Keithel
(English: Mothers' Market)Location in Manipur, IndiaShow map of ManipurIma Keithel (English: Mothers' Market) is located in IndiaIma Keithel (English: Mothers' Market)Ima Keithel
(English: Mothers' Market)Ima Keithel
(English: Mothers' Market) (India)Show map of India
Coordinates: 24°48′29″N 93°56′06″E / 24.808°N 93.935°E / 24.808; 93.935
Country India
StateManipur
DistrictImphal West
Named forMeitei women
Languages
 • ColloquialMeitei
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN795001
ManagementIma Keithel Union

The Ima Market (Meitei: Ima Keithel; literally, Mothers' Market), also known as the Nupi Keithel (English: Women's Market) or the Khwairamband Keithel (English: Khwairamband Market), is a women-only market in the middle of Imphal in the Indian state of Manipur. It is the only market in the world run entirely by women. Inside the market, male shopkeepers and vendors are not allowed to sell anything. The Government of Manipur has announced that the male shopkeepers and vendors will be punished if their shops and vendors are found inside the market. It is a commercial center and a popular tourist attraction in the state of Manipur. It was established in the 16th century and hosts around 5,000–6,000 women vendors who sell a variety of products. Products such as vegetables, fruits, textiles, toys, fish, spices and utensils are available in the market. It is the largest all–women market in Asia.

History

Further information: History of Manipur and Manipur Kingdom

The market was established in the 16th century following the imposition of the labour system, lallup-kaba in 1533 CE. The lallup-kaba was a forced labour system in Manipur Kingdom which required male members of the Meitei ethnicity to work in distant lands or to serve in the army. As a consequence of the system, women had to support their households by cultivating their fields or weaving textiles and then selling the products on improvised markets. The improvised markets led to the formation of the organized Ima Keithel. The Ima Keithel was the primary permanent market in Manipur until the 20th century.

In 1891, the British colonial administration attempted to impose economic and political reform in Manipur Kingdom, which disrupted the functioning of the market. The reforms involved large scale seizure and export of food corps from Manipur without consideration for local requirements which caused starvation at times of Mautam. It led to agitations by the women of the Ima Keithel and in response, the British attempted to sell off the assets and properties of Ima Keithel to foreigners and external buyers. This, among other causes, resulted in the Nupi Lan or the women's war, which eventually seized with the Japanese invasion of India.

Following independence, the market regained prominence as a commercial center and a hub of socio-political discussions. In 2010, the market was moved into the Khawairamband Bazaar complex constructed by the Municipal Corporation of Imphal. The complex had sustained damaged in the 2016 Imphal earthquake, which effected the livelihood of around 800 vendors.

Market

The Ima Keithel is located in the Khawairamband Bazaar Complex reconstructed on the site of Purana Bazaar in central Imphal. It is located west of Kangla Fort and on the Bir Tikendrajit Road in the Thangal Bazar locality. The complex consists of three large buildings with pagoda styled roofs. The market is split into two sections on either side of the road. Two buildings are located to the north of the main road and one to the south. Leimarel Shidabi Ima, or Purana Bazar, is the oldest and largest structure in the complex and Emoinu Ima Keithel, or Laxmi Bazar is the smallest structure in the complex, both are located to the north of main road. Phouoibi Ima Keithel, or the New Market, mainly sells handloom items, especially Meitei traditional clothes, that includes various phaneks, sarees, and inaphi, is located to the south of the road. The buildings are segregated into textile housing sections and household groceries sections. There is also a section of stalls under a large tin and tarp arrangement market to the east of the main buildings. In order to set up stalls in the main buildings of the market, an annual municipal fees is levied. The fee of a 16 square feet (1.5 m) stall was ₹140,000 per annum at the time of construction in 2010. There is a licensing system in place for vendors with stalls. The market houses around 5000–6000 women vendors at any given day. As of 2017, the vendors at the market make an annual profit between ₹73,000 and ₹200,000. The annual turnover of the market was estimated to be between ₹40–50 Crore.

Management

The market is managed by a union of all the vendors of the market. It maintains a custom of only allowing women who have been married at least once to set up stalls. The women vendors include those who are divorced or have been widowed in the insurgency in Manipur. To be able to sell in the market, a new woman vendor needs to be referred by a retiring vendor. The vendors are primarily in the age of 45–70 years. The union also runs a credit system for lending to women traders.

Currently, Ima Mema Laishram and Ima Y Ibeyaima are the convenors of Khwairamband Ima Keithel Joint Coordinating Committee for Peace. Asem Nirmala is the General Secretary of Khwairamband Ima Keithel Lukmai Sellup.

Compliments

Minister of External Affairs of India, S Jaishankar called Ima market a "great example of nari shakti (women's power) powering economic growth."

In February 2023, delegates of B20 from the G20 forum visited the Ima Market. One of the delegates said, "I will tell the world that there is a beautiful market run by women that sells authentic handicrafts, clothes and others."

See also

References

  1. Singh, Amita; Punia, Milap; Haran, Nivedita P.; Singh, Thiyam Bharat (15 June 2018). Development and Disaster Management: A Study of the Northeastern States of India. Springer. ISBN 978-981-10-8485-0.
  2. "India's Mother's Market run by women". BBC News. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  3. "Manipur's historic women's only market damaged in earthquake". The News Minute. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  4. –"India's Mother's Market run by women". BBC News.
    –Gupta, Om (2006). Encyclopaedia of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Gyan Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-8205-389-2. 'Ima Keithel' at Khwairamband Bazar is the only market in the world where, as the name suggests, all the stalls are run by women.
    –Shivhare, Vishal (17 August 2016). Vyapar Shastra. Jaico Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-8495-898-0. Ima Keithel Market, Imphal, Manipur Ima market or Nupi Keithel, in Imphal, Manipur, is the only all-women marketplace in the world.
    –Singh, Dr Th Suresh (2 June 2014). The Endless Kabaw Valley: British Created Visious Cycle of Manipur, Burma and India. Quills Ink. ISBN 978-93-84318-00-0. The world famous Ima Keithel, the only unique women ́s market in the world, situated at the heart of the capital : It was established in 1636 AD by king Khagemba as a part of his ...
    –"Manipur's historic women's only market damaged in earthquake". The News Minute. 4 January 2016.
    –Sahu (IAS), Barun Kumar (1 January 2020). AN INQUIRY INTO VIGILANCE AND CORRUPTION. Prabhat Prakashan. ISBN 978-93-5322-856-9.
    –Patra, Jayanta Kumar; Das, Gitishree; Kumar, Sanjeet; Thatoi, Hrudayanath (5 August 2019). Ethnopharmacology and Biodiversity of Medicinal Plants. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-429-67537-9. The Ima market or Ima keithel is a unique marketplace exclusively run by women.
    –Deshpande, Abhijeet (19 December 2017). Backpacking North East India: A Curious Journey. Notion Press. ISBN 978-1-946556-80-6.
  5. ^ Rastogi, Priyanka (13 May 2019). Early Sunrise, Early Sunset: Tales of a Solo Woman Traveler Across North East and East India. Partridge Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5437-0523-2.
  6. "India's Mother's Market run by women". BBC News. 19 May 2015. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018.
  7. ^ "Manipur's historic women's only market damaged in earthquake". The News Minute. 4 January 2016. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Incredible India | Ima Keithel/ Ima Market/ Khwairamband Bazar". Incredible India. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  9. Vinayak, Akshatha (14 May 2018). "Ima Keithal : World's Only Women's Market". Native Planet. Archived from the original on 21 July 2016.
  10. ^ Chakravarty, Ipsita (6 January 2016). "The earthquake has damaged a nerve centre of life in Manipur: the Ima Keithel or Mother's Market". Scroll.in.
  11. ^ Binayak, Poonam (5 January 2018). "Ima Keithel: Asia's Largest All Women's Market". Culture Trip.
  12. "3-storey market building coming up at Pureiromba Keithel in Imphal". Northeast Now. 30 December 2019.
  13. "Mautam phenomenon in NE States". e-pao.net. Archived from the original on 10 August 2019.
  14. ^ Pal, Sanchari (3 November 2016). "Exploring Ima Keithal, a 500-Year-Old Market with over 5000 Traders - All Women!". The Better India. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017.
  15. Begum, Anjuman Ara (12 November 2010). "Khwairamband Bazaar: a symbol of women empowerment". Two Circles.
  16. "Women vendors in Manipur's Ima market are angry after the earthquake. Here's why | Oxfam India". Oxfam India. 6 January 2016.
  17. Singh, Oinam Nabakishore. "Construction of Ima Keithel at Khwairamband By Oinam Nabakishore". e-pao.net. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Ima Keithel | Imphal, India Attractions". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  19. "Ima Keithel". imphalwest.nic.in.
  20. "Ima Keithel". INDIAN CULTURE. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  21. Bag, Shamik (25 June 2010). "In the name of the mother". Livemint.
  22. ^ Lisam, Khomdan Singh (2011). Encyclopaedia Of Manipur. Vol. 3. India: Kalpaz Publications. pp. 583–584. ISBN 978-81-7835-864-2.
  23. Das, Bijoyeta (7 March 2014). "India's 'market of mothers'". Al Jazeera.
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  25. "Ima Keithel: Know About Imphal's 500 YO World's Largest All-Women Market". IndiaTimes. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  26. Story (24 April 2023). "Ima Keithel: The world's largest women-run market". CNN. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  27. Dey, Panchali (26 July 2018). "Wonder women of India running the show in a 500-year-old market". Times of India.
  28. "Damp squib of a session : Womenfolk". www.thesangaiexpress.com. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
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  31. "Three-day Imphal event of B20 conference of the G20 dialogue forum concludes". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
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