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'Manipur' (Bengali: মণিপুর, 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

History

People of Manipur

Problems facing Manipur

Politics

Economy

Macro-economic trend

Other facts

See also

Notes

External links

History

The history of Manipur dates back to 33 A.D.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 A.D.
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 convinced to sign an agreement for annexation of the kingdom into India (Arunkumar 2005). 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.

People of Manipur

According to the 2000 census, the population of Manipur is 2166788 people. ^[4] The people of Manipur are grouped into three main ethnic communities: the Meiteis, those inhabiting the valley, and the 29 major tribes in the hills which are further divided into two main ethno-denominations, namely Nagas and Kuki-Chins.
The Meiteis are themselves divided in the Meitei (the natives in the valley), Bamon (originally of Bengali-Brahmin) and Meitei Pangans (originally migrants from Bangladesh). All speak Meitei. In addition to Meiteis, the valley is also inhabited by Nepalis, Bengalis, Marwaris and people from other Indian communities. At present several peoples from the hills have also migrated and settled in the valley.
The Naga group consists of Zeliangrong (composed of three related tribes, namely, Rongmei or Kabui, and Liangmei and Zemei or Kacha Nagas), Tangkhul, Poumai, Mao, Maram, and Tarao. The Chin-Kuki group consists of Tedim Chin (officially recognised by the Indian Union as Sukte) Gangte, Hmar, Paite, Thadou, Vaiphei, Zou, Aimol, Chiru, Koireng, Kom, Anal, Chothe, Lamgang, Koirao, Thangal, Moyon, Maring and Monsang. In recent times, several Chin-Kuki communities have identified themselves as Nagas e.g. Anal,Chiru, Kom, Thangal, etc. depending on socio-economic and geo-political advantages to the tribes. The term Chin is used for the people in the neighboring Chin state of Myanmar. Other groups like Paite, Vaiphei, Zou, Simte, Gangte and Tedim Chin (Sukte) identify themselves as Zomi and have distanced themselves from the name, Kuki. Thadous remain the major Kuki population in this Chin-Kuki group while Hmar identify themselves more closely with the Mizo or Lushai group.
The majority religion in Manipur is Hinduism practiced by 46.0% of the population.^[4] Christianity forms a very large minority with 34.0% of population adhering to the faith.^[4] Muslims make up 8.8% of the population and Others (such as animist beliefs) make up 10.9%.^[4]

Problems facing Manipur

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.
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.
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 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.^[8]
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'. ^[8]

Politics

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Economy

Macro-economic trend

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.^[10]

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.

Other facts

★ The game polo originated in Manipur from a similar game called ''Sagol Kangjei''. British soldiers and planters took it back to England, modified the rules and made it popular around the world.

★ ''Rosa macrocarpa'', the beautiful species of rose, was discovered by Sir George Watt in Manipur in 1888.

★ Lord Irwin described Manipur as the "Switzerland of India".

★ ''Sarit Sarak'' and ''Thang-Ta'', relatively unknown and unique martial arts originated in Manipur.

★ Manipur is famous for its classical and folk dances, including the graceful and soft Ras Lila, the acrobatic ''Pung cholom'' among others and the dance during the festival of god ''Laiharaoba'' known as maibi dance.

★ Kaibul Lamjao National Park in Loktak lake is the natural habitat of the rare and endangered Brow antlered Deer (''Cervus eldi eldi''). Locally known as ''Sangai'', it is one of three species of Elds deer in the world confined to South East Asia.

★ The Shiroi Lily (''Lilium Macklinae Sealy'') is a beautiful lily found only in the upper reaches of the Shiroi Hills in Manipur's Ukhrul District.

★ The Indian National Army (INA), led by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, planted the Indian Tricolour, which was to become the Indian national flag, at Moirang, Manipur; the second part of British India to which the INA managed to penetrate, the first being Andaman and Nicobar islands.

★ Manipur has 3 representatives in the Indian Union: 2 in the Lok Sabha (Lower House) and 1 in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House).

See also

★ 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).

Notes

1. [1]
2. Manipuri, The - Banglapedia
3. Manipur — Culturalpursuits.com
4. http://www.censusindia.net/religiondata/ 2001 Indian Census Data
5. http://www.censusindia.net/religiondata/ 2001 Indian Census Data
6. http://www.censusindia.net/religiondata/ 2001 Indian Census Data
7. http://www.censusindia.net/religiondata/ 2001 Indian Census Data
8. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/6935673.stm
9. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/6935673.stm
10. National Accounts Division : Press release & Statements - ''Government of India, Ministry of Statistics''

External links

★ Official website of the Government of Manipur

★ E-Pao! Complete e-platform for Manipuris

★ E-Pao Manipur channel

★ United Manipur Researcher's Organisation,Delhi

★ Kangla Online

★ Manipur Map

★ Manipur Online

★ ManipurOnline

★ Manipur Freedom: Iron sharmila Channu's Hungerfast against AFSPA

★ Manipur History

★ Manipur - Culture and Heritage

★ The Sangai Express - Manipur's main English Newspaper web site

★ Ethnic Races/People of Manipur

★ "The Zou Tribe of Manipur"

★ Seirangba Marup, the language based Yahoo Group about Manipuri Art and Literature