At the heart of Imphal sits Ima Keithel – literally “Mother’s Market” – believed to be the only market in the world run entirely by women. More than 5,000 vendors, most of them married women known as ima, sell everything from fresh produce and spices to handwoven phanek and traditional handicrafts across its rows of stalls.

The market’s roots stretch back centuries, tied historically to a system of forced labour, lallup, under which Meitei men were often away performing state duties, leaving women to manage trade and the local economy – a role that evolved into the fiercely protected institution seen today.

Ima Keithel has also long served as a civic space as much as a commercial one: the vendors of the market have historically organised collectively on political and social issues affecting the Meitei community, and the market square remains a common gathering point for public demonstrations in Imphal, as seen most recently in the July 7 joint sit-in by Naga and Meitei groups.

Amid three years of conflict that have disrupted trade routes, displaced families and, at times, cut internet access across the valley, the ima of Keithel have continued to open their stalls most days – a point of continuity that many in the community point to as emblematic of Manipuri resilience.

For Sentinel NE readers outside Manipur, Ima Keithel remains one of the clearest windows into everyday Meitei life: a reminder that the community’s story is not only one of conflict, but of culture, commerce and tradition that predates – and will outlast – the current crisis.

Sentinel NE reporting, adapted and combined from background coverage of Ima Keithel and Manipur’s cultural institutions.