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Manipur

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Manipur [pronunciation] ([Media helphelp]·[info]) (Hindi: मणिपुर) 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 from the valley region is one of the ethnic group in Manipur. Their language is Meitei (also known Meiteilon or Manipuri) which is also the lingua franca in the state. It was recognized as a national Indian language in 1992.

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

Other facts

History

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 sucked 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.

During the Second World War, Manipur was the scene of many fierce battles between the Japanese and Allied forces. The Japanese swept over East Asia and came up to Manipur. They were beaten back before they could enter Imphal and this proved to be one of the turning points of the War.

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.

In 1947, with British Parliament's repeal of British Paramountcy, in preparation for Indian independence, Manipur became an independent kingdom once again.

The King, Maharaja Budhachandra, began a process of democratisation 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, capital of the Indian province of Assam, where he signed an agreement for annexed the kingdom into India. This signing was under pressure, force was used. The King had already signed the Instrument of Accession with the Indian Dominion in 1947.

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. Lateron it was further degraded to the status of the union territory from 1956 onwards.

In 1972, Manipur was elevated to the status of a state (or province).

People of Manipur

According to the 1991 census report, the total population of Manipur was 1,826,000 (18.26 lakhs) but in the 2000 census, it is expected to reach over 2.2 million (22 lakhs). The people of Manipur are grouped into three main ethnic communities - Meiteis those inhabiting the valley and 29 major tribes in the hills dividing into two main ethno-denominations, namely Nagas and Kuki-Chins. Under the Meiteis, Bamon and Meitei Pangans are also included. All speak Meiteilon or otherwise known as Manipuri to the outsiders. In addition to Meiteis, the valley is also inhabited by Nepalis, Bengalis, Marwaris and other Indian communities. At present several people from the hill 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, Mao, Maram, Maring 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 and Monsang. In recent times, several Chin-Kuki communities have identified themselves as Nagas e.g. Anal, 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 whereas Chins are called Kukis in the Indian side. Other groups like Paite, Zou, Gangte, and Vaiphei 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 closer to the Mizo or Lushei group. The legend of all tribes including Meiteis claim that they originated somewhere in the north from a cave. The difference came only in later parts of the history after Meiteis were converted to Vaishnavism and the hill inhabitants became Christians.

Problems Facing Manipur

One of the biggest problems facing Manipuri society today is drug addiction. The effects of being geographically close to the Golden Triangle are being felt now. Hundreds of youth in their prime have been laid unproductive because of the drug scourge. They have become a burden to the society. Related to this evil is the spread of AIDS. Sharing of syringes among addicts is the most common reason for the spread of this disease. Now Manipur has one of the highest per capita HIV positive patients in India. 

List of Separatist groups in Manipur (from GlobalSecurity.org)




Payments of monthly dues to these groups have become routine.  Insurgents claim that the money collected is being used to fight for freedom. In fact this extortion carried out in the name of Manipuri pride is so widespread that it has become a fact of life that the insurgents are running a parallel government. All politicians are involved in some way or the other, either through their own contacts with insurgent groups, or as supplicants paying their way out of trouble. Recently the Chief Minister, Ikrom Ibobi Singh, was exposed as one of the people who had paid hush or protection money to two militant groups. The exposé, made by the national magazine, Outlook, came through the unearthing of two receipts from insurgent groups acknowledging payments. When the top executive of a state yields to such pressure, it is not hard to imagine the plight of the common people. Frequent political realignments have made the practice of multiparty democracy a joke. The politicians here are so corrupted that during an election it is a choice of the lesser evil. The leadership failure of the state machinery as well as the pathetic treatment meted out to the people of Manipur are some of the factors feeding the insurgency movement. Another underlying cause is the rampant unemployment and the prevailing pathetic education system. Actually, this is a vicious circle with one vice leading to the other.


One issue which is likely to become a headache in the future is the border situation. There have been some minor border disputes with Myanmar (formerly Burma). Manipur is also involved in a border dispute with Nagaland. This border dispute with Nagaland is one of the burning issues in Manipur. In fact 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. The Nagas claim that most of the hill areas surrounding the central valley belong to them from time immemorial. 


Some steps have been taken by the Central government to appease the Manipuris. The long-standing demand to include the Manipuri language in the 8th schedule was finally granted (by the 71st amendment of the Constitution in 1992). Today Manipur has its own TV station. 


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 soon issued an ordinance taking over the administration and control. It had been headquarters of the paramilitary force, the Assam Rifles since 1915. It was finally opened to the general public after 113 years, 7 months, and 24 days. 


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



Politics





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.


 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.



See also






Manipuri Literature Link





Resourceful Websites about Manipur and Manipuri






External links











































 





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