Manipur

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  ?Manipur
India
Map indicating the location of Manipur
Thumbnail map of India with Manipur highlighted
Location of Manipur in India
Location of Manipur
 Imphal 
Coordinates: 24°49′01″N 93°57′00″E / 24.817, 93.95
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Area 22,327 km² (8,621 sq mi)
Capital Imphal
Largest city Imphal
District(s) 9
Population
• Density		 2,388,634 (22nd)
• 107/km² (277/sq mi)
Language(s) Meiteilon
Governor Shivinder Singh Sidhu
Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh
Established 1972-01-21
Legislature (seats) Unicameral (60)
ISO abbreviation IN-MN
Website: manipur.nic.in
Seal of Manipur
Seal of Manipur

Coordinates: 24°49′01″N 93°57′00″E / 24.817, 93.95

Manipur pronunciation (help·info) (Bengali: মনিপুর , Meitei Mayek: mnipur) is a state in northeastern India making its capital in the city of Imphal. 'Manipur' is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland in the north, Mizoram in the south and Assam in the west; it also borders the country of Myanmar to the east.

The Meiteis, who live primarily in the state's valley region, are one of the primary ethnic groups. Their language, Meiteilon (also known as 'Manipuri'), is also the lingua franca in the state. It was recognized as one of India's national languages in 1992. The Kukis and Nagas live in the hills of the state. The Kukis too have their own kingdoms like the Chahsat, Aisan,Jampi, etc. and were close to the Meitei kings in the plain. The independent existence of the Meitei and Kuki kings can be proved by common practice of calling Kuki village headmens by Meiteis as "Ningthou", which means "King".

'Manipur' is considered a sensitive border state. Foreigners entering 'Manipur' (including foreign citizens born in Manipur) must possess a Restricted Area Permit which can be obtained from the Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office in the "metros" (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata) or certain other state government offices. Permits are valid for only 10 days, and visitors must travel only on tours arranged by authorised travel agents, in groups of four. Furthermore, they may come to Imphal only by air and will not be permitted to travel outside the capital.

Contents

Main article: History of Manipur
Map of the capital of Manipur, Imphal, in 1891.
Map of the capital of Manipur, Imphal, in 1891.

The earliest references to 'Manipur' date back to the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata, in which several characters, such as Chitrāngadā, Ulupi, Babruvahana, and Iravan, are 'Manipuris'. However, historians have established the fact that the Manipur of Mahabharata is not related with the kingdom of 'Manipur'. The documented history of 'Manipur', however, begins from 33 AD. It has been ruled by a total of more than 109 kings and known by different names at various periods in its history, such as, Tilli-Koktong, Poirei-Lam, Sanna-Leipak, Mitei-Leipak, Meitrabak or 'Manipur' (present day). The legendary first King of 'Manipur' who made Kangla his capital was Lord Pakhangba who ruled the kingdom from 33 AD.; which is known as Meitei-Liepak. But it might be mentioned that it isn't the word "Meitei" alone but "Poirei Meitei", that refers to the all the inhabitants of the valley; Because "Pakhangba-the Lord Pakhangba" belongs to the "Ningthouja" clan,and they were the sole ones who originally are known as the Meities."Poireiton" who was the leader of the "Khumans", another clan in the valley, waged a war on Pakhangba,It was after Poireiton lost and the two leaders had a truce that the union of all the people in the valley happened. Pakhangba married the sister of Poireiton,"LeinaoTabi",and together the "brothers in law" conquered the rest of the Clans in the whole valley and united them all under a common flag.

Maharaja Bhagyachandra [1] (1762 - 1798 A.D.), is another famous king of 'Manipur'. He had to fight off the Burmese several times, once running away to seek refuge with the Ahoms. He started the Ras Lila dance. [2] He is also credited with spreading Vaishnavism in Manipur after his grandfather Pamheiba Rajah made Hinduism the official religion and for creating a unified Manipur.[3]

'Manipur' and Assam became involved in the disputes between Thailand and Burma, and 'Manipur' took advantage of a Burmese invasion of Thailand to raid deep into its western frontier. This triggered the Burmese invasion of 'Manipur' and Assam, which pulled in the British, ruling neighbouring Bengal. The British, to safeguard their position against the Burmese, intervened, defeated Burma and took over Assam, and brought 'Manipur' under British paramountcy in 1891. Thus in 1891 AD, after the defeat of 'Manipur' by the British in the Anglo-'Manipuri' war of Khongjom, Manipur's sovereignty for more than two millennia was lost.

During the Second World War, 'Manipur' was the scene of many fierce battles between the Japanese and Allied forces in the so-called Burma Campaign. The Japanese swept over East Asia and came up to 'Manipur'. They and factions of Indian National Army under command of Subhas Chandra Bose were beaten back by the Allies before they could enter Imphal, proving to be one of the turning points of the War (Central Front 1943/44).

There are two cemeteries maintained by the British War Graves Commission in 'Manipur', which are the final resting places of several Indian and allied soldiers who died here.

On August 28,1947, with British Parliament's repeal of British Paramountcy, in preparation for Indian independence, 'Manipur' became an independent kingdom once again but not for long.

The King, Maharaja Budhachandra, began a process of democratization of the state, enacting the 'Manipur' Constitution Act, 1947, which established a democratic form of government with the Maharaja as the Executive Head and an elected legislature.

In 1949, the King Budhachandra was invited to Shillong, the capital of the Indian province of Assam, where, after an intense negotiations, he was forced to sign an agreement for annexation of the kingdom into India ( Reference: Merger of Manipur, Col. H. Bhubhon Singh). The King had already signed a Standstill Agreement with the Indian Dominion in 1947; the Standstill Agreement froze the status quo, i.e., the Indian Union as the de facto Paramount Power over and above the King.

Once 'Manipur' became part of the Indian Union, India dissolved the State's Constitution Assembly in October, 1949, and made it into a part C state. Later on it was further degraded to the status of a union territory from 1956 onwards.

In 1972, Manipur was elevated to the status of a state.

Reference: Arunkumar M.C. 2005. The Three Questions: Tests of Conformity (A Study on Meitei Political Culture). Anthropologist, 7(2): 85-93.

The implementation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in 1958 resulted in the designation of Manipur as a "disturbed area" . There have been some minor border disputes with Myanmar (formerly Burma), which were resolved through treaty of Yandaboo. Manipur is also involved in a border dispute with Nagaland.[citation needed]

There have been many social upheavals in the recent past, resulting in mounting tensions between the Meiteis (the valley people) and the so called Nagas residing in Manipur.[citation needed]

Some steps have been taken by the central government to appease the Manipuris. The long-standing demand to include the Meitei language in the 8th schedule was finally granted by the 71st amendment of the Constitution in 1992.

November 20, 2004 was a landmark date in the history of Manipur when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh fulfilled a long-standing demand of the Manipuri people. He officially handed over the historic Kangla Fort to Manipur state government, which issued an ordinance taking over the administration and control. It had been the headquarters of the paramilitary force, the Assam Rifles, since 1915. It was finally opened to the general public after nearly 114 years.

The fight by the people of Manipur to let the government hand over the fort to them was legendary. The Indian army is alleged to kill some innocent peoeple without issuing arrest warrant, which turned into a major issue, with some women protesting naked in front of the Assam Rifle's gate in June 16, 2004.

The Prime Minister also upgraded Manipur University into a Central University and laid the foundation stone for a 97.9 km long, Jiribam - Imphal, broad gauge rail line project. The line ends at Tupul, 25 km away from Imphal.

United National Liberation Front (UNLF), one of the largest and most powerful terror organisations, has resorted to violence to achieve its goal of an independent Manipur.

"We are fighting for Manipur,"Sovereign, independent Manipur. You see, Manipur was never part of India." says a freedom fighter of UNLF.[4] The disturbed area status has been extended for one more year on 23rd Nov, 2007.

Ordinary Manipuris are growing tired of the rebels' influence. Several insurgent groups increasingly issue diktats and rulings on moral and social behaviour, enforced with the threat of violence. Extortion is also rampant in Manipur. Most professions are forced to pay the rebels regular sums of money that are locally called 'tax'. [5]

This is a chart of trend of gross state domestic product of Manipur at market prices estimated by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.[6]

Year Gross State Domestic Product
1980 2,180
1985 4,180
1990 8,210
1995 16,270
2000 29,200

Manipur's gross state domestic product for 2004 is estimated at $1.2 billion in current prices.

  • Manipuri dance
  • Court Chronicle of The Kings of Manipur: The Cheitharon Kumpapa; Original Text, Translation And Notes 33-1763 Ce, trans. Saroj Nalini Parratt (London: Routledge, 2005).

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ Manipuri, The - Banglapedia
  3. ^ Manipur — Culturalpursuits.com
  4. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/6935673.stm
  5. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/6935673.stm
  6. ^ National Accounts Division : Press release & Statements - Government of India, Ministry of Statistics

v • d • e
States and territories of India
States Andhra Pradesh · Arunachal Pradesh · Assam · Bihar · Chhattisgarh · Goa · Gujarat · Haryana · Himachal Pradesh · Jammu and Kashmir · Jharkhand · Karnataka · Kerala · Madhya Pradesh · Maharashtra · Manipur · Meghalaya · Mizoram · Nagaland · Orissa · Punjab · Rajasthan · Sikkim · Tamil Nadu · Tripura · Uttar Pradesh · Uttarakhand · West Bengal Flag of India
Union territories Andaman and Nicobar Islands · Chandigarh · Dadra and Nagar Haveli · National Capital Territory of Delhi · Daman and Diu · Lakshadweep · Puducherry
 v • d • e Districts of Manipur
Bishnupur | Churachandpur | Chandel | Imphal East | Senapati | Tamenglong | Thoubal | Ukhrul | Imphal West
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manipur"
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