MNF, ICOP recall 'Puya Mei Thaba' incident

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jan 27 : The 44th commemoration programme of "Puya Mei Thaba" was observed yesterday as the 'atrocious incident' completed 293 years.
The commemorative event was jointly organised by Manipur National Front (MNF) Kangleipak and International Observation Committee on Puya Meithaba (ICOP) on the theme "Remember, Review and Revive for Love, Peace and Integrity" at MNF's head office at Khurai Soibam Leikai, a statement of ICOP said.
The programme has been an annual event of MNF since 1978 till 2010 after which ICOP, a conglomerate body organised based in the State and abroad, joined hands in organising the event, it said.
It was on the 23rd day of Meetei lunar month of Wakching in 1729 that important scriptures and texts indigenous to the erstwhile kingdom were collected and set ablaze in front of Kangla Uttra under the instruction of the then king. The horrific incident marked the destruction of a civilization, it said.
It further termed that the burning of the scriptures and text was akin to immolation of the heads of intellectuals alive.
Moreover, those who stood up against the act were executed in inhumane ways, said ICOP with regret and maintained that such an event will remain an unforgettable day to dwellers of hills and the valley alike.
It is worth mentioning that those scriptures and texts were a compilation of various aspects of life, society and things of historical significance amassed by intellectuals and scholars of the time and before. And since the aura and ideals left behind by those intellectuals were indestructible, the Meetei society has now resurged, ICOP said.
The observation of the day for the past 44 years have resulted in positive developments as the hostility among the communities in both the hills and valley is gradually diminishing and works towards preserving language, scripture and culture are gaining pace, it said.
The replacement of Bengali script with the indigenous "Meetei Mayek" for study upto MA, can also be considered as one of the important effects of the decades long commemorative event, it said.
Though the commemorative event was scaled down owing to the Covid pandemic, the functionaries of the organisations paid rich tributes to late intellectuals and scholars, the statement continued.