Introduction to North East Region
North Eastern Region of
India is affectionately called “The Land Of Seven Sisters.” The region blooms
with various cultures, tribes as well as the major tribes
of India and almost all the religions of the world from primal to the
highly organized are found here in this incredible region of India. The
North East region of India comprises the seven states of India.
Some scholars consider Sikhim is a part of North East due to various
similarities of climate, races, features and cultures. The Seven Sisters of North
East states are: - Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya,
Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura. All of them have some similar problems, which
are understood only by a few of the notional politicians, bureaucrats and
intellectuals. “The biggest common problems people seem to be: 1) neglect. 2)
Non-recognition of their aspirations 3) non- recognition of their right to
protect their identity and heritage, 4) Treatment they are inferior to the rest
of India, and 5) Too much interference by the government of India in
the affairs of these territories. The problem is no new’ it has a violent
stance now because it was building up for many years.”
One must remember that
in all of the Northeastern area, the tribal people have been fiercely free
lots. Nobody, not even the British has ever really ruled them. The most
beautiful character of tribal people by nature are very open and free to others
and even to other values system as well They are very fragile and easily
adopted and incorporate the values from others’ culture and make them their
own. Some scholars say that Sikhim is part of North East Region, due to various
similarities of geographical features, cultures, races etc.
This region is endowed
with the vast natural resources and has enormous potential for development. The
economic structure of India is similar to the general economic
structure of its topography as well as social and political condition it has a
relatively backward economy. The region is landlocked and rich in natural
resources. Lack of transportation and communication facilities has been
responsible for the economic backwardness and social neglect of the region. The
transportation and communication facilities have somehow developed a lot
in Assam. The whole country is watching eagerly the development of this
region, yet it remains the same.
The North East is an
extremely diverse nature of its population with deferent cultural linguistic,
religions and historical background make this region characteristically
different from the rest of the country. In fact its diversity is so profound
that the region may be rightly called a” mini India.” The tribals living
in the hills have centuries old traditions of self –rule and strong sense of
suspicion of the people from the plain, arouse by the latter’s superiority
complex which generated in them, the fear of losing their or cultures and
linguistic identities. The people of North East region have been provided an
opportunity to act as torchbearers in regional planning and cooperation and
show the path of self-reliance to the smaller state of the union. This is
itself is a commendable task for which the Northeastern region feel proud of.
Manipur
Manipur literally
meaning "A jeweled land" nestle deep within a lush green corner of
North East India. It seems much like an exquisite work of
art executed by superb hands of Nature. It is indeed, a
state of exquisite natural beauty and splendors, the beauty of
which once inspired Mrs. St. Clair Grimwood who described it as " A Pretty
Place more beautiful than many show places of the world” and Late Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru paid a fitting tribute by describing it as " Jewel of
India". Manipur, although, has rich in culture, little is Known of
its history before 1762. Her folk dances reveal the mythological concept of
creation of Manipur.
Having a varied and
proud history from the earliest times Manipur came
under the British Rule as a Princely State after the defeat in
the Anglo-Manipuri War of 1891. After independence of India in 1947, the
Princely State of Manipur was merged in the Indian Union on October 15, 1949
and became a full-fledged State of India on the 21st January, 1972 with a
Legislative Assembly of 60 seats of which 20 are reserved
for Scheduled Tribe and 1 reserved for Scheduled Caste. The
State is represented in the Lok Sabha by two members and by one member in the
Rajya Sabha
Manipur, surrounded by
blue hills with an oval shaped valley at the center, is very rich in
arts and traditions with nature’s pristine glory.
Manipur lies on a melting pot of culture. It is birthplace of Polo. This
is the place where Rajashree Bhagyachandra created
the famous Ras Lila, the classical dance of Manipur, out of his enchanting
dream by the grace of Lord Krishna. Manipur is surrounded by Burma on
the east, Mizoram on the south, Assam on the east and Nagaland on the
north. This state has an area of 22327 sq. km, between longitudes 93.03 E and
94.78 E and the latitudes 23.85 N and 25.68 N. Moreover, has a population of
2388634 in 2001. About two-thirds of the people are Meiteis, the rest are Nagas
and Kukis. The Meiteis occupy the Manipur valley and are largely Vaishnavite
Hindus. The Nagas occupy the hills in the northeast and Kukis occupy both
little parts of valley and hills. On Jan. 30 1950, with the enforcement of the
constitutions of India, Manipur became a part C state. Manipur has nine
districts. They are: Bishnupur, Chandel, Churachanpur, Imphal west, Imphal
east, Senapati, Tamenglong, Thoubal and Ukhrul.
In case of the Meitei people, since there was no
modern system of recording, where the sense of originality was always
contemplated with the modern history, the reconstruction of the ancient
manuscripts and languages has yielded a considerable knowledge on the history
of ancient Manipur. The following is a brief history or Puwari of some
prominent Meitei rulers with a view to bring out an understanding of the
various developments in Meitei history, art, culture, tradition, sports,
etc. The account is not complete but hopes to provide an overall grasp on
the history of Manipur. Manipur, although, has rich in culture, little is
Known of its history before 1762.
|
Density
of population {per.Sq.Km}
|
82
|
|
|
Altitude
|
:
790mtrs.above MSL (Imphal)
|
|
|
Latitude
|
: 23.830N
to 25.680N
|
|
|
Longitude
|
: 93.030E
to 94.780E
|
|
|
Rainfall
|
:
1467.5mm(Avg.)
|
|
|
Rainy
Season
|
: May to
October
|
|
|
Literacy
Rate
|
: 68.87
|
|
|
Schedule
Tribes
|
:
33(Recognized by Government)
|
|
|
Assembly
Constituencies
|
: 60(40
General, 19 ST, 1 SC)
|
|
|
Parliamentary
Constituencies
|
2:(One
for Inner and One for Outer)
|
|
|
National
Highways
|
3(39-Indo-Myanmar
road, 53- New Cachar Road, 150-Jessami-Tipaimukh Road)
|
|
|
Area
|
: 22327
sq. km
|
|
|
Population
|
:
2388634
|
|
|
Capital
|
: Imphal
|
|
|
State
Language
|
:
Manipuri
|
|
|
State
Emblem
|
: Kangla
Shaa
|
|
|
State
Bird
|
:
Nongyeen
|
|
|
State
Animal
|
: Sangai
|
|
|
State
Game
|
:
Manipuri Polo
|
|
|
State
Flower
|
: Siroi
Lily
|
|
|
Density
of Population (per Sq Km.)
|
: 82
|
|
|
Literacy
|
68.87%-{M-77.87
& F- 59.70 %}
|
|
|
Sl.
|
Districts
|
Area sq.
km.
|
Pop.
2001
|
Head
quarters
|
|
1
|
Bishnupur
|
496
|
205907
|
Bishnupur
|
|
2
|
Chandel
|
3313
|
122714
|
Chandel
|
|
3
|
Churachanpur
|
4570
|
228707
|
Churachanpur
|
|
4
|
Imphal
east
|
709
|
393780
|
Porompat
|
|
5
|
Imphal
west
|
519
|
439532
|
Lamphelpat
|
|
6
|
Senatpati
|
3271
|
379214
|
Senatpati
|
|
7
|
Tamengleng
|
4391
|
111493
|
Tamengleng
|
|
8
|
Thoubal
|
514
|
366341
|
Thoubal
|
|
9
|
Ukhrul
|
4544
|
140946
|
Ukhrul
|
|
Forest
|
16926
|
Geographic
Location of Manipur
Manipur is one of the
eight northeastern states of India. Its boundary is surrounded
by Myanmar (Burma) in the east and south, and Nagaland state in
the north, Cachar (Assam state) in the west and Mizoram state in the
southwest. Manipur is a meeting point, epicenter, between South East
Asia and the Indian sub-continent. The Manipur valley, in the middle of
the state, is at a height of 790 meters above the sea level and is surrounded
by nine hill ranges in circles creating hill and trough geography. More
than 60% of its inhabitants are Meiteis including Bamons and
Pangans who settled mostly in the valley and the remaining are hill
tribes, namely, Tangkhul, Thadou, Zeliangrong (Zemi, Laingmai, Roungmei -
Kabuis), Mao, Maram, Poumai, Paite, Hmar, Maring, Anal, Aimol, Angami, Chiru,
Chothe, Gangte, Monsang, Moyon, Kom, Purum, Ralte, Sema, Simte, Salte, Vaiphei,
Lamgang, Zhou, etc. Each group has its own language, tradition and
culture. Meitei-lon (Meitei language or Manipuri) is the common
language adopted by all tribes for communication. Imphal is
the capital and a major trading center. The present political system in
the state includes nine districts with headquarters at Imphal East, Imphal
West, Thoubal, Bishenpur (Valley Districts), Ukhrul, Senapati, Tamenglong,
Chandel and Churachandpur (Hill Districts) bearing similar names for the
districts as well.
The
hilly areas of the state are endowed with rich natuaral resources, swift
flowing rivers and fertile soiuls, rich vegetations, precious menirals and many
more. The hilly dwellers are all hard working, healthy, strong and stout
people, providing rich human resousces base for econnomic development. But
major part of the hills remain economically depressed and under developedfro
the poor infrastructural facilities and unplanned utilization of the natural
resources. Manipr hills form the central part of the Indo-Burmese moutains. The
hilly ranges fall into two broad groups are- 1] The Manipur eastern hills
and the Manipur wester hills. 2] Tuesang and Kohima hills of Nagaland. The
manipur western hills comprisng of parellel ridges and valleys- Tenipu,
Kobru,Isii, Leikot and
Tamphaba.
About
70% of the area in the hill districts is under forest and about 24% is
non-agriculture. About 1% area in under miscellanious tree crops- fruit trees
and groves and the rest about 5% is the cropped land, mostly under shilting and
terrace cultivation. Agariculture provides most importaant occupation to the
illy dwellers, 86% of whom are agricultureists. The tribal people grow on the
favourable hil slopes, surroundings their village, varity of croops with
prdominance of rich and maize, poptato, pea, mustard and rapeseed,
ginger,chilly ,banana, pineapple and orrange are widely grow in different part of
the
hills.
Before the British
The
Thailand defeated Manipuri King Nao-Thong inb 707 A>D and ruled for a
period of ten years. A Chinese invasion on a big scale was repulsed by the
Manipris and a large numbers of villages of Manipur in 1250.AD. Their
matrimonial alliances among the king of Ava, Burma, and Manipri king in
the eighteen century. However, the Burma became
the sword enimy of the Manipuries at the beginning of the eighteen
century.king Garibaniwaja of Manipur invaded and defeated many times the
uper territory of Burmar in the earkty eighteen
century. In 1938, Gaibanniwaja and his army camped near Saigang, stormed the
stockede, built to dend the famousKaungmudaw Payoda,erected by Thalun. They even
masacrade its garsno and bunrt houses and monastry up the wall of Ava. Manipur
became weak due to disunity,after the king Garibaniwaja died ,among the
succesors . Bur ma, the powerful country, did not fail to exploit the
situation; therefore they unified and began to invade Manipu. From 1755 upto
1826, the Burmese invaded Manipur many times.the continous invasions ended with
the signing of the treaty of Yandaboo.
Maharaja Churachand
Singh (1891-1941 AD or 3289-3339 MF): On Thursday 22nd of Langban, 1891
AD, the political agent of Manipur called Maharani Moirangthem Chanu and
Jubaraj Churachand (8 yrs old) and made him the king. At this time Sri
Govindaji was brought to the newly constructed Palace at Imphal. During his
reign, NUPI LAN I (Woman’s war, 1904 AD, a revolt against the forced labor) and
NUPILAN II (1939AD) occurred
Maharaja Budhachandra
Singh (1941-1955 AD or 3339-3353 MF): After his highness Maharaja
Churachand, his eldest son Budhachandra became the king of Manipur with Ishori
Devi, the princess of Nepal as Leima or Maharani. World War II broke
out in Manipur from April 1942-Jan. 1945 AD. Manipur was bombarded continuously
for two years and the country was destroyed including Imphal and the Maharaja’s
Palace. Markets were closed and paddy fields were not harvested during the war.
People were suffering but Manipuris were too proud to beg for help.
Several movements led by Neta Irabot sprang up in the demand for self-rule of
Manipur against the British Government. He went undergound in 1946 AD and died
in 1955 AD in Burma. After the war, at 12 midnight of Thursday 28th August
(Thawan), 1947 AD, the British handed over Manipur to Maharaja Budhachandra
Singh and Maharani Iroshi Devi.
Maharaja entered Kangla at Imphal and
hoisted the National Flag of Manipur bearing the Dragon God Pakhangba. Top guns
were fired 18 times in honor of the Sovereign Kingdom in the
presence of a large crowd. However, it did not last long. The newly
formed independent India and its Government in New
Delhi pressured the King to sign a merger agreement
with India under very unusual circumstances. Maharaja signed the
documents on 21st September 1949 AD at Shillong without prior consideration and
approval from elected members of the Manipur Assembly. On October 15, 1949 AD,
Major General Rawal Amar announced the annexation of Manipur at the Assam
Rifle’s ground. Thus, Manipur’s status was lowered to a Part C territory under
the Indian rule. In 1953, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru discontinued the
payment of Kabow valley agreement to Manipur. This angered many of
the local people. Budhachandra Maharaja died in 1955 AD.
The Anglo- Manipur war
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.
The British learned
about the trouble in Manipur so they launched a full scale invention of Manipur
with three columns number 8000 soldiers, marching into Manipur from Kohima,
Silchar and Tamu. Brigadier general Collet was the overall leader. All
the Manipuris who lived other places also began to agitate over the British
move because British considered Manipur as their Motherland. Manipuris were no
matched against the mighty British. On 27 April 1891 the independent Manipur
became a colonel state under the British. It was General Collet, who encamped
at the palace and announced the occupation of Manipur.
Turmoil in Manipur
People Liberati9on Army
{PLA} led by Lhasa trained Nameirakpam Beshewar snatched away weapons from
policemen and paramilitary forces from June 1978 to 9th Oct
1979.they looted large amount of money and gold from different government
banks. The Manipur Naga National Council was formed to demand integration of
all Nagas areas creating problems for Manipur. The Kuki chief also became
antagonized when this traditional right in the society was disposed of in
1960-67; some of the Kukis joined Nagas’ underground. Kuki-Naga rivalry in the
hills brought out which was disturbed Manipur. Statehood was conformed on
Manipur on 22 March 1972. The Manipur
Present Manipur:
On 21 January 1972, Manipur was granted
Statehood after several years of demand by All Manipur Students Union and
several political organizations. The ceremony was performed at the Palace Polo
ground in Imphal. In 1992, Meitei-lon (Manipuri) was included in the Eighth
Schedule as one of the 18 official languages of India. Manipur has yet to
see an industry and a proper road connection to the rest of India. Air
transportations are provided from Calcutta, New Delhi,
Gauhati and Silchar but much beyond the reach of commoners.
Important Festivals of Manipur
Saleni
Saleni is celebrated for
7 days in the month of May. This is one of the greatest ememei/Mao festivals.
It is a festival of training young and old people for a war.
Gang-Ngai
Celebrated for five days in the month of
Wakching (December/January) Gang-Ngai is an important festival of the Kabui
Nagas. The festival opens with a religious ceremony on the first day and the
rest of the days are associated with common feasts, dances and presentation of
gifts etc.
Lui-Naig-Ni
It is a festival of Nagas observed on
the 15th day of February every year. This is a festival of seed
sowing after which tribes belonging to Nagas groups start their cultivation.
Social gathering, songs, dances and rejoicing highlight the festivity.
Kut
It is an autumn festival
of the different tribes of Kuki-Chin-Mizo Groups of Manipur .The festival has
been variously described at different places amongst different tribes as
Chavang-Kut of Khodou etc. It is happy occasion for the villagers whose food
stock is bountiful after a year of hard labour. The festival is a thanks-giving
feast with songs and dances in merriment and joviality for all in honour of the
giver of an abundant harvest. It is observed on the 1st of
November every year.
Chumpha
Celebrated for seven
days in the month of December, the Chumpha festival is a great festival of the
Tangkhul Nagas. The festival is held after harvest. The last three days are
devoted to social gathering and rejoicing. Unlike other festivals women play a
special role in the festival. The concluding part of the festival ends
with a procession within the village.
Christmas
Christmas is observed
for two days on December 24 and 25. Prayers, reading of Gospels, singing of
hymns, lectures on Jesus Christ, sports, community feast etc., form the major
part of the festival. In some villages where the inhabitants are well off, the
celebration continues till January 1 on which the New Year's Day is also observed.
Religions
Shanti Das Goswami, a
Bangalee, who converted a king of Manipur, Maharaja over two centuries ago,
brought Hinduism to Manipur.The king, forced his subjects to adopt the new
religion when the Meiteis became devout Vaishnavaite Hindus. During the time of
Gharibiwaz, Shantidas Adhikary declared Vaishnavism as the state religion of
Manipur and advised his subjects to accept it.
Bodhisattva’s icon
Some icons of Buddha
were collected from different parts of the state. They features of the icons of
Buddha are akin to Mongoloid features (Burma and Thailand were
the iconographers}. Buddhist cultural influence in the culture of Manipur was
clearly shown in the old manuscript painting though there was no trace of Buddhism
in the belief of Manipur. This icon was collected from Nongmaching hill. It is
preserved in the state museum. Buddhist cultural influences in the culture of
Manipur were clearly shown in the old manuscript painting; through there was no
trace of Buddhism in the belief of Manipur. Most probably
the Burma had left them during their invasion.
The Vishnu Temple
The original name of
Bishnupur was Lumlangdong (now Lamangdong). History recorded the facts of its
origin. As soon as Kyamba ascended throne of Manipur in 1467 A.D he conquered
Kyang, which was a Shan kingdom in the Kabow Valley. Then he assumed
the name of Kyamba, which means the conquerer of Kyang. There always had been a
good relation between the Pongs and the Meities. During the reign of Kyamba also
there was a good relation between Kyamba and the Pong King Khe-Khomba. Actually
it was the good foreign policy of King Kyamba that he was able to have a good
relation with the neighbouring countries
According
to a Puja, near Numgoibi between Taibon _thong, there is a stone with
supernatural of which place is Known as Manipur .In facts the name of Manipur
was foreign to the native till By Shanti Das Goswami, a Bangalee, a missionary
leader, who converted the king of Manipur into Hinduism.
Christianity
Most of the tribal
people worship the Nature before Christianity came to Manipur. They had
different deities to be performs every day. After British came to Manipur,
Christianity, some American- Protestants came to Manipur converting a large
numbers of people in the hilly regions of Manipur. Most of the hilly dwellers
so called the tribals, are now embracing Christianity. Four Silesians Priests
were the first missionaries who came to Manipur from Assam in 1952
brought Catholics. Seven-Day Adventist and Christian Revival followed this.
Language
Manipur though small in
size, there are many tribal dialects being spoken in different parts of the
state. The only medium of communication among them is Meiteilon. The thirty
percent of the tribal know Meiteilon. All the 20 MLA, representing
different hill tribes speak Meiteilon, in the Manipur Legislative Assembly. It
is estimated that 1002000 persons in India and another 500000 speak
the language outside India.
Religions
Shanti Das Goswami, a
Bangalee, who converted a king of Manipur, Maharaja over two centuries ago,
brought Hinduism to Manipur.The king, forced his subjects to adopt the new
religion when the Meiteis became devout Vaishnavaite Hindus. During the time of
Gharibiwaz, Shantidas Adhikary declared Vaishnavism as the state religion of
Manipur and advised his subjects to accept it.
Bodhisattva’s icon
Some icons of Buddha
were collected from different parts of the state. They features of the icons of
Buddha are akin to Mongoloid features (Burma and Thailand were
the ethnographers}.
The Vishnu Temple
"Buddhist cultural
influence in the culture of Manipur was clearly shown in the old manuscript
painting though there was no trace of Buddhism in the belief of Manipur. This
icon was collected from Nongmaching hill. It is preserved in the state museum.
Buddhist cultural influences in the culture of Manipur were clearly shown in
the old manuscript painting; through there was no trace of Buddhism in the
belief of Manipur. Most probably the Burma had left them during their
invasion."
The original name of
Bishnupur was Lumlangdong (now Lamangdong). History recorded the facts of its
origin. As soon as Kyamba ascended throne of Manipur in 1467 A.D he conquered
Kyang, which was a Shan kingdom in the Kabow Valley. Then he assumed
the name of Kyamba, which means the conquerer of Kyang. There always had been a
good relation between the Pongs and the Meities. During the reign of Kyamba
also there was a good relation between Kyamba and the Pong King Khe-Khomba.
Actually it was the good foreign policy of King Kyamba that he was able to have
a good relation with the neighboring countries.
According
to a Puja, near Numgoibi between Taibon _thong, there is a stone with
supernatural of which place is Known as Manipur .In facts the name of Manipur
was foreign to the native till By Shanti Das Goswami, a Bangalee, a missionary
leader, who converted the king of Manipur into Hinduism.
Refernce:
1.Cane
and Bamboo Crafts of Manipur - Mutua Bahadur (1994) -Mutua Museum Imphal.
2. History
of Modern Manipur (1826-1946) edited - Dr. Lal Dena (1990).
3. History of
Manipur - Jyotimor Roy (1958, 2nd edition 1973).
4. History of
Christianity in Manipur - Karam Manimohan Singh (1991).
5. History
of Manipur - Prof. Gangmumei Kabui (1990).
6. It Began at
Imphal: The Combat Cargo Story - John G. Martin (1988).
7.Traditional Textiles
of Manipur - Mutua Bahadur (1997) - Mutua Museum Imphal.
