Crammed in van 15 kids collapse
Imphal, May 23: In what could be termed as corrobo-ration of serious concern fre- quently highlighted by the pa-rents regarding their young kids transported in an un-friendly manner by school van operators and other transpor-ters, no less than 15 students.....
Mute/deaf student shines bright
IMPHAL, May 23: Pukhram-bam Juliana Chanu, who is virtually mute and has very low hearing capacity outshone a large number of her peers when she scored the highest mark (88 out of 100) in Philosophy apart from securing letter marks in four subjects in the.....
Obscurity clouds HSE '13 results
IMPHAL, May 23: Results of the class XII exam conducted by the Council of Higher Se-condary Education Manipur (COHSEM) have confused many people even as some others have started questioning if there were certain lapses or follies in the result. As per .....
Cabinet okays
IMPHAL, May 23: The State Cabinet has today given its approval for the recognition of three tribal dialects. Government Spokesperson, M Okendro said the three tribal dialects recognised by the State Government are Poumai, Liangmai and Gangte. Beside.....
DTO issues 3057 licences in a day
IMPHAL, May 23: One former District Transport Officer (DTO) of Ukhrul issued 3057 driving licences in a single day and the revenue thus collected never reached the Government’s coffer. One G Athui, then Inspector (Mechanical) was given the charge of .....
Educational facilities in Saitu inaugurated
IMPHAL, May 23: Along with inaugurating an Eklavya model residential school at Gamnom Saparmeina, Deputy Chief Minister Gaikhangam today dedicated two hostel buildings for scheduled tribe boys and girls students at the same area. Eklavya model resident.....
Ukhrul ADC
IMPHAL, May 23: The Ukhrul Autonomous District Council (ADC) has resolved to remove LN Kashung, CEO of Ukhrul ADC from his post for alleged ‘misconduct’ and ‘unbecoming act of a Govt servant’ under Section 32 (2) of the Manipur (Hill Areas) ADC Ac.....
HIV girl secures four letter marks in HSE
IMPHAL, May 23: It is a big morale booster and a source of inspiration to all children living with HIV that a girl living with HIV and undergoing ART secured letter marks in four subjects in the Higher Secondary Examination 2013 conducted by the Council o.....
Director inspects Govt model schools
IMPHAL, May 23: An official team of Directorate of Education (S) led by its Director H Deleep today inspected Wangkhei High School, Keishamthong High School and Lamding High School in connection with the introduction of Mentoring System at a few selected .....
Unidentified man locks Nambol school
IMPHAL, May 23: The Development Protection United Voluntary Organisation has urged the concerned to make a clarification on locking of Nambol Leirel High School by a person who identified himself as an RPF activist yesterday. In a press conference held.....
VA urges authority
IMPHAL, May 23: The Samulamlan Village Authority has urged the authority concerned to complete the installation of Mobile BTS at Samulamlan within June this year. A statement issued by the chief/chairman of Samulamlan VA, K Paohminglen said the VA woul.....
TSA admitted in ATSUM
IMPHAL, May 23: Thadou Students Association-General Headquarters (TSA-GHQ) has formally become the unit of All Tribal Students Union, Manipur (ATSUM). Three of the TSA-GHQ 'officials' have also been inducted to the ATSUM fold today where an oath-takin.....
Kabow Leikai eviction Fasting prayer on May 26 followed by rally, meeting
IMPHAL, May 23: In the backdrop of the alleged forced eviction of Kabow Leikai, a fasting prayer would be organised on Sunday (May 26) in respective Church which would be followed by a peace rally and public meeting on May 27. This was decided during .....
BSF detects IED in Tbl
IMPHAL, May 23: Troops of 116th Bn BSF today detected an IED weighing around 10 Kgs at Wangjing Heituppokpi, Thoubal district. The bomb detected by BSF troops posted at Wangjing was retrieved by a bomb disposal squad of Manipur Police and they set of.....
PMS for SCs
IMPHAL, May 23: The 2nd phase lists of selected SC students of the State for the award of Post Matric Scholarship for the year 2012-13 were notified on the notice board of the Directorate of MOBC & SC located at Old Gauhati HC Complex and on the website w.....
Anniversary observed
IMPHAL, May 23: The Indian Dental Association (IDA), Manipur State Branch has celebrated the 24th anniversary function of the association on May 20 at Classic Hotel, Imphal. The programme was presided by Dr T Nabachandra Singh, president of the IDA (MS.....
Free diabetes camp
IMPHAL, May 23: A one-day diabetes free health camp was held today at Lecture Hall-2 of Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences, Porompat. As chief guest of the event, North East Elderly Women chief editor RK Nayansana Devi noting that diabetes.....
Senapati prepares for Exchange programme
KANGGUI, May 22: Everything is set in order for the one day Cultural and Musical Exchange programme jointly organised by Senapati District Students Association and Kuki Students' Organization, Sadar Hills in association with Student Mobilization Initiati.....
JAC demands exemplary punishment against rapists
IMPHAL, May 23: JAC against the rape of a student of TG Hr Sec School on Oct 20, 2012 has urged the concerned authority to conduct the trial against the rapists fairly. A statement issued by the JAC today reminded that the number of crimes rises due to.....
Raphei Katamnao Long hails ADC
Ukhrul, May 23: The Northern Students’ Union (Raphei Katamnao Long), Ukhrul District has appreciated the ADC, Ukhrul for timely implementation of developmental projects in various departments particularly in the field of Education in the Northern area o.....
General Articles
By : Akham Bonbirdhwaja Singh
The Valley of Manipur - II
When I started writing the earlier article on the same title, I had a lot of materials with me which I collected for writing an article for the Platinum Jubilee Souvenir of the Forest Department. In going through these documents, I found a few relevant materials for this article. Not only writing this article, I enjoyed going through the historical accounts. In addition, the overwhelming feeling was that we had such a long past, a glorious past.
I had an impulse to compare the writings of the early Europeans with those of later ones. Those people on whose writings the culture and people of Manipur let me say of the Valley of Manipur became known to the outside world were of the period of post Seven years Devastation (1819-1826) to Anglo Manipur War (1891). The writers such as Col Mac Cullock, Dr. R Brown, Alexander McKenzie, and T.C. Hudson were neutral persons who genuinely wanted to help the country of Manipur in those days. Of course, anything they wanted to write about the Country of Manipur, they wrote using the phrase the “Valley of Manipur”. During this period, the kingdom which became scattered during Burmese raids and Seven years devastation were reconstructed and consolidated. Once between Chindwin and Surma, having a vast country, the kingdom was then having only about 8000 sq. miles comprising of central plains and surrounding mountainous territory ( Mac Cullock and Dr. R. Brown) and another about 7900 sq. miles of Kabaw Valley, the Kabaw Valley also being in the hands of Burmese in exchange of a paltry 6250 rupees per annum. Of course this was an arrangement engineered by British, because the Pemberton Line is close to the existing border, not near the river, more for their interest than of the people of Manipur. On the western front, the Maharaj Gambhir Singh was misled or forced (not on record) to sign an accord of handing over the fertile plains of Eastern Cachar (up to Jiri River) in exchange of mountainous portion of Kalanaga Hills ( a large chunk of land in the Western part of the state near the Barak). These are of course facts, to be taken with a pinch of salt. Regarding Northern Boundary, British had consolidated their position and being a friendly power on whom the maharaja owe an obligation for setting up Manipur Levy. Later, again while preparing the maps of British India, a number of villages of Manipur were included in their territory, which in spite of protests from Manipur were never returned.
Inspite of such moves, the Europeans in Manipur were quite friendly and their accounts were quite neutral during this period. They are not fully responsible for the designs of the rulers in Delhi (or London). During this period the country (Manipur) prospered, whatever the present extent of land was consolidated during this period. This is glorious period for the people of Manipur, can be regarded as Golden Age. The population grew from twenty thousand males after Burmese occupation to a total population of about 1.6 lakhs in 1871. A mystique land, the name Valley of Manipur (denoting the country of Manipur) became a favourite phrase for their people back in the empire. During this period Lieut. Percy Eld identified the Brow Antlered Deer, which was a famous discovery.
However, after Anglo Manipur war the equations have changed and they were never friendly to the people of Manipur and their notorious policy of divide and rule became quite obvious. They never forgave the people of Manipur for killing five Europeans and maintain an agenda in all their major maneuvers. The Maharaja was more of a titular king, the Political Agent and the British Crown keeping over riding authority in the administration of the country. They manipulated the relations, changed the systems and changed the course to destiny. There had been total departure from the earlier practices of Governance. During the period prior to British occupation, the king was the sovereign authority. There are accounts of allocating lands to the hill villages for their settlement by the king during the reign of Maharaj Nar Singh in the Royal Chronicles (The Cheitharol Kumbaba). There are also accounts of the royal couple inspecting Natum Ching (1714 AD), Ngaprum Chingjin (1715 AD), Lamka Konchin (1743 AD). But later, during the British Rule, the king being subordinated to the Political Agent, did not enjoy the absolute sovereign powers and thus changed the destiny of the people.
The history cannot be undone. Their motives are now well understood, but we have to bear the brunt. It may take a long time to come out of the shackles of the colonial rule. Yes, if we realise the history, there will be an answer one day, perhaps.
