Ima Keithel | Lotus Silk

• Context (OL): Manipur Tableau featured a women-run market, ‘Ima Keithel‘ and ‘Thambalgi Langla ‘(Lotus Threads), a lotus silk-making process.
• Manipur’s Tableau highlighted women’s role in socio-economic development.
• Some of Manipur’s globally acclaimed woven cloth made by women, including the Leirum Phi, Moirang Phi, and Mayek-Naibi, were also showcased. Two of them have GI tags.

Ima Keithel

• Manipur, the ‘Jewel of India’, is home to a one-of-a-kind 500-year-old market called ‘Ima Keithel’, which is located in Khwairamband Bazaar in Imphal.
• It is solely run and managed by women and is reportedly the world’s largest all-women market.
• ‘Ima Keithel’ literally means ‘Mother’s Market’.
• It stands as the world’s only market entirely managed by female traders, symbolising the strength of ‘nari shakti’ or women’s power.
• Around 5000-6000 women vendors operate here, offering diverse products.
• Male traders face penalties if found operating in the market.
• In February 2023, delegates of B20 from the G20 forum visited the Ima Market.

History

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

‘Thambalgi Langla’ (Lotus Threads)

• Bijiyashanti Tongbram from Thanga village, located in the heart of Loktak Lake, recently became India’s first lotus silk producer.
• Her achievements earned her the prestigious ‘Changemaker of the Northeast 2020’ award.
• Lotus silk is considered a highly exclusive fibre.
• Lotus silk is counted as one of the finest fabrics produced in the country. This has established India as the world’s fourth-largest exporter of lotus silk.
  • The top three countries are Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.
• The lotus thread is similar to that of muga silk, and the only difference lies in the strength. Muga silk is stronger than lotus.
• The finished products are as good as silk.
• As the lotus thread is delicate, traditional handlooms are used instead of machines.

Loktak lake It’s located about 40 kilometres south of Imphal. It’s the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India. It is Known for its floating circular swamps, which are called phumdis in the local tongue, These swamps look almost like islands and are a mass of soil, organic matter, and vegetation. The lake houses the only floating national park in the world, the Keibul Lamjao National Park. This National Park is the last refuge of the endangered brow-antlered deer or sangai, Manipur’s state animal.  In addition, the lake shelters about 230 species of aquatic plants, 100 types of birds, and 400 species of fauna like barking deer, sambar, and Indian python. Loktak Lake was initially designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention in 1990. Later, it was also listed under the Montreux Record in 1993.