85-Year-Old Vendor's Daily Defiance at Imphal's Historic All-Women Market
At 85 years old, Hemam Memma no longer moves with the swiftness of her youth. Yet every morning, without fail, she makes her deliberate journey to her stall in Imphal's iconic Ima Keithel – the revered Mothers' Market. There, with unhurried precision, she arranges the metal ornaments that form her livelihood, carefully placing small ritual items alongside them as she awaits customers.
There is no urgency in her movements, nor does there need to be. Memma has maintained this daily ritual for over four decades, continuing a tradition her mother established before her. In a state currently torn by violent ethnic conflict, her quiet, persistent return to this stall represents one of the most powerful acts of defiance occurring anywhere in India today.
A Market That Predawns the Sun
Long before sunrise touches the rooftops of Manipur's capital, Ima Keithel already pulses with life. Traders haul fresh vegetables from surrounding villages, hawkers meticulously arrange their goods, and tea stalls flicker open in the half-darkness. Thousands of women – spanning generations, from both hills and valley – take their positions in a marketplace that has operated continuously for more than five centuries.
Wars have come and gone. The British colonial period arrived and departed. Famines, pandemics, and now one of modern India's most protracted ethnic conflicts – all have swept through Manipur. Yet Ima Keithel has never closed its doors.
More Than Just a Marketplace
Widely recognized as the world's largest all-women-run marketplace, Ima Keithel transcends mere commercial function. It stands as a living institution – simultaneously an economic engine, a repository of collective memory, and a profound political statement – that has outlasted every force attempting to diminish its significance.
In a state fractured along community lines, where movement remains restricted and interpersonal trust has collapsed, this market persists as one of the final spaces where the traditional Manipur – complex, pluralistic, and stubbornly resilient – still reports for work each morning.
"I have been sitting here for more than 40 years," Memma reveals softly, noting that her mother transferred the stall to her while still alive. "This stall is not merely a job. It represents inheritance, identity, and memory, all compressed into these few square feet of stone floor."
Weathering Modern Storms
Memma has witnessed the market endure challenges that shattered governments and divided communities. "Corona came. Violence and unrest came. But the market never changed its fundamental spirit," she observes. She maintained her daily presence even during the conflict's most dangerous periods, though sales revealed a harsher reality.
"Sales fell sharply after the conflict began. Now, things seem to be improving slightly, but not to the levels we enjoyed in earlier times," Memma acknowledges.
The ethnic conflict that erupted in Manipur in May 2023 inevitably impacted the market. Historically, Ima Keithel served as a space where community divisions dissolved beneath the unifying pressure of shared livelihood. Now, those divisions have infiltrated the marketplace itself.
Fractured Unity and Economic Shifts
Asem Nirmala, a middle-aged vendor, recalls the market's previous cohesion. "We vendors were like an extended family, united by our shared struggle for livelihood. We want conditions to improve so everyone can return to trade here. Ima Keithel can provide for all, and this market has sustained people for centuries in ways government programs cannot match," she explains.
The Kuki women who once brought bamboo stools, seasonal herbs, and fresh vegetables to sell – they no longer come. The conflict's geographical realities have made their participation impossible.
Gurumayum Lembisana, joint secretary of the Roadside Vendors’ Welfare Association, notes how the crisis has transformed trading patterns, with numerous new local markets and stalls emerging. "If the Ima Market collapses, Manipur collapses," she states bluntly. "This is not only our economy's backbone but reflects Manipur's very soul and spirit. All concerned parties must unite to preserve this market's legacy."
A Legacy of Resilience and Resistance
Ima Keithel's resilience is deeply historical. The market famously served as the epicenter of the ‘Nupi Lal’ movements – women's wars against oppressive colonial policies in 1904 and 1939. Those protests permanently established Manipuri women as formidable political actors.
While the market's physical architecture has evolved through the years, its essential character remains unchanged. The mothers of Ima Keithel continue to occupy their stalls, not merely pursuing profit but asserting that life, livelihood, and shared communal space will not retreat.
In the heart of Imphal, Ima Keithel continues its daily hum – perhaps quieter than in previous eras, but fundamentally unbroken. Hemam Memma's quiet defiance, echoed by thousands of women vendors, ensures that this 500-year-old institution persists as both economic necessity and powerful symbol of endurance.
