Manipur (princely state): Difference between revisions

{{Short description|1110–1949 kingdom in South Asia, now Manipur state, India}}

{{about|the Kingdom|modern Indian political state|Manipur|the ancient coastal Hindu kingdom mentioned in the epic [[Mahabharata]]|Manipur (Mahabharata)|other uses|Manipur (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox former country

| native_name           = {{lang-mni|Meetei Leipak}}

| conventional_long_name = Manipur Kingdom

| common_name           = Manipur

| event_start           = Foundation of the [[Kangleipak]] Kingdom

| year_start            = 1110

| event1                 = [[Protectorate]] of [[British Empire]]

| date_event1           = 1824

| event2                 = [[Princely state]] of [[Indian Empire|India]]

| date_event2           = 1891

| event3                 = Accession to the [[Dominion of India|Indian Union]]

| date_event3           = 1947

| p1                     = Early Seven Clan State

| s1                     = Manipur

| s2                     = Kabaw Valley

| flag_p1               = Flag of Kangleipak.svg

| flag_s1               = Flag of India.svg

| flag_s2               = Flag of Burma (1948-1974).svg

| image_flag             = Flag of Manipur.svg

| image_coat             = In-29manipur.png

| image_map             = Bengal gazetteer 1907-9.jpg

| image_map_caption     = Manipur State in the ''[[Hicky's Bengal Gazette]]'' of 1907

| capital               = [[Imphal]]

* Later: [[File:Om.svg|15px]] [[Vaishnavite Hinduism]]

| stat_year1             = 1941

| stat_area1             = 22372

| stat_pop1             = 512,069

[[File:Kangla3.jpg|thumb|270px|''Kangla Uttra Sanglen'' at the [[Kangla Fort]], former residence of the [[List of Meitei kings|Meitei kings]] of Manipur. The two statues of ''[[Kangla Sha]]'' ([[Meitei dragons|Meitei dragon]] lions) standing in front of the inner gate were destroyed after the [[Anglo-Manipur War]] of 1891 but have been restored by the [[Manipur Government]] in recent years.]]

[[File:THE KOHIMA STONE INSCRIPTION ERECTED BY KING GAMBHIR SINGH OF MANIPUR KINGDOM AS THE TESTIMONY OF MEITEI DOMINANCE IN NAGALAND.jpg|thumb|270px|The Kohima Stone Inscription erected by [[List of Meitei kings|Meitei King]] [[Gambhir Singh]] ({{lang-mni|[[Chinglen Nongdrenkhomba]]}}), the [[Maharaja]] of Manipur, as the testimony of [[Meitei people|Meitei Dominance]] of [[Nagaland]].]]

[[File:Manipuri Dance.jpg|thumb|270px|The [[Manipuri classical dance]] was developed by [[List of Meitei kings|Meitei King]] [[Rajarshi Bhagyachandra]] ({{lang-mni|[[Ching-Thang Khomba]]}}), the [[Maharajah]] of Manipur.]]

was an ancient independent kingdom<ref>{{Cite web|title=States Uts – Manipur – Know India: National Portal of India|url=https://knowindia.gov.in/states-uts/manipur.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821082230/http://knowindia.gov.in/states-uts/manipur.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 August 2017|access-date=2021-05-16|website=knowindia.gov.in|quote= The independence and sovereignty of Manipur remained uninterrupted until the Burmese invaded and occupied it for seven years in the first quarter of the 19th century (1819-25).Then came British Paramountcy in 1891..}}</ref> at the India–Burma frontier<ref>{{Cite book|last=Somorjit|first=Wangam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mhDvsgEACAAJ|title=Manipur: The Forgotten Nation of Southeast Asia|date=2016-03-01|publisher=Waba Publications & Advanced Research Consortium |isbn=978-81-926687-2-7 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Fantz|first1=Paul R.|url=http://archive.org/details/nelumbo-2455-376x-37-1-4-001-037|title=Clitoria (Leguminosae) of South Eastern Asia|last2=Pradeep|first2=S. V.|date=1995|language=en}}</ref><ref>https://press.uchicago.edu/books/HOC/HOC_V2_B2/HOC_VOLUME2_Book2_chapter18.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>  that was in [[subsidiary alliance]] with [[Company Rule in India|East India Company]] from 1824, and became a [[princely state]] in 1891.<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Manipur |volume=17 |page=582}}</ref> It bordered [[Assam Province]] in the west and [[British Burma]] in the east, and in the 20th century covered an area of 22,327 square kilometres (8,621 sq mi) and contained 467 villages. The capital of the state was [[Imphal]].

The early history of Manipur is composed of mythical narratives . The [[Kangla Fort]], located on the banks of the [[Imphal River]], is where the palace of King Pakhangba<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Yuhlung|first=Cheithou|date=2013-08-28|title=The Identity of Pakhangpa: The Mystical Dragon-Python God of Chothe of Manipur|url=https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=2317260|language=en|location=Rochester, NY|doi=10.2139/ssrn.2317260 |ssrn=2317260}}</ref> was located. It was built in 1632 by king [[Khagemba]], who had defeated Chinese invaders. In the fort, a number of temples that had traditional religious significance are located. Kangla means "dry land" in the old [[Meitei language]].

== Kangleipak State ==

[[:simple:Loyumba Shinyen|Loyumba Shinyen]], the written constitution of Kangleipak was formally developed by King [[Loiyumba]] (1074–1121) in 1110 AD. He consolidated the kingdom by incorporating most of the principalities in the surrounding hills.<ref name="PT">Phanjoubam Tarapot, ''Bleeding Manipur'', Har Anand Publications (30 July 2007) {{ISBN|978-8124109021}}</ref> After subjugating all the villages within their valley Kangleipak kings grew in power and began a policy of expansion beyond their territory. In 1443 King Ningthoukhomba raided [[Akla]] (present day [[Tamu, Myanmar]]), an area ruled by [[Shan people]], initiating a policy of Manipuri claims to the neighbouring [[Kabaw Valley]].<ref name="PT"/>

The zenith of the Kangleipak State was reached under the rule of King [[Khagemba]] (1597–1652). Khagemba's brother Prince Shalungba was not happy about Khagemba's rule so he fled to the [[Taraf (Bengal)|Taraf]] where he allied with the local [[Bengali Muslim]] leaders. With a contingent of Bengali Muslim soldiers led by [[Muhammad Sani]], Shalungba then attempted to invade [[Manipur]] but the soldiers were captured and made to work as labourers in Manipur. These soldiers married local [[Meitei people|Meitei women]] and adapted to the [[Meitei language]]. They introduced [[hookah]] to Manipur and founded the [[Meitei Pangals]] (Manipuri Muslim community).<ref name=back>{{cite book|first=Rajmohan|last=Nath|title=The back-ground of Assamese culture|page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.126984/page/n137 90]|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.126984|year=1948|publisher=A. K. Nath}}</ref> It is claimed that Manipur learned the art of making gunpowder from the Chinese merchants who visited the state around 1630 and had started making rockets named ''Meikappi'' by the early 18th century.{{sfn|Laichen|2003|pp=505-506}}

In 1714, King [[Pamheiba]] was initiated into [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]] by [[Shantidas Gosai]], a [[Bengali Hindu]] from [[Sylhet]]. He made the [[Gaudiya Vaishnava]] faith the [[state religion]], replacing [[Meitei religion]], made the [[Meitei language]] (aka [[Manipuri language]]) written in [[Bengali script]], destroying many documents of [[Meitei language]] written in [[Meitei script]] and changed his name to Garib Niwaj. In 1724, the [[Sanskrit]] name ''Manipur'' ({{translation|the City of Jewels}}) was adopted as the name of the state, to make the realm eponymous with [[Manipura (Mahabharata)|Manipura of the Mahabharata]]. King Garib Niwaj made several incursions into [[Burma]], but made no permanent conquest. After the death of Gharib Nawaz in 1754, Manipur was occupied by the [[Kingdom of Burma]] and the Meitei king [[Ching-Thang Khomba|Bhagyachandra]] ({{lang-mni|[[Ching-Thang Khomba]]}}) sought help from the British, but when the British refused help he went to Ahom King [[Rajeswar Singha]] who sent a force of 40,000 under Haranath Senapati Phukan to free Manipur.<ref>{{cite book |title=Comprehensive history of Assam, SL Baruah |pages=296–297}}</ref> A treaty of alliance was negotiated in 1762 and a military force was sent to assist Manipur. The force was later recalled and then the state was left to its own devices.<ref name="IGI">{{cite web |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V17_192.gif |title=Imperial Gazetteer2 of India, Volume 17, page 186 – Imperial Gazetteer of India – Digital South Asia Library |access-date=1 April 2015}}</ref> Manipur was invaded at the onset of the [[First Anglo-Burmese War]], together with [[Cachar]] and [[Assam Province|Assam]].

{{citation |last=Phanjoubam |first=Pradip |title=The Northeast Question: Conflicts and frontiers |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OxStCwAAQBAJ |year=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-34004-1 |pages=3–4}}: "After comprehensively defeating the Burmese in 1826 in Assam and Manipur, and the signing of the Treaty of Yandabo, the British annexed Assam, but allowed Manipur to remain a protectorate state."

In 1918 he was given the privilege to use the title '[[Maharaja]]' and during his reign Manipur enjoyed a period of relative peace and prosperity. In 1934 king Churachand was [[Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom#Knighthood|knighted]] by the British, becoming Sir Churachandra Singh.<ref name="WSt">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_princes_K-W.html|title=Indian Princely States K-Z|access-date=1 April 2015}}</ref>

Between March 1944 and July 1944 part of Manipur and the [[Naga Hills District, British India|Naga Hills District]] of Assam Province were occupied by the [[Imperial Japanese Army]]. The capital Imphal was shelled on 10 May 1944.

On 14 August 1947, with the lapse of paramountcy of the British Crown, Manipur became briefly "independent" in the sense that it was free of control from the Governor of Assam, which may be regarded as reversion to political autonomy that existed before 1891.<ref name="routledge.com">{{Cite book |last=Subramanian |first=K. S. |url=https://www.routledge.com/State-Policy-and-Conflicts-in-Northeast-India/Subramanian/p/book/9780815393009 |title=State, Policy and Conflicts in Northeast India |website= |publisher=Routledge & CRC Press |pages=31–32 |language= |chapter= |access-date=}}</ref><ref name=Akoijam>{{citation |first=A. Bimol |last=Akoijam |title=How History Repeats Itself |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=36 |number=30 |date=28 July 2001 |pages=2807–2812 |jstor=4410908 |ref={{sfnref|Akoijam, How History Repeats Itself|2001}}}}</ref><ref name=Banerjee/> However, the Maharaja had signed the [[Instrument of Accession]] on 11 August 1947, ceding the three subjects of defence, external affairs and communication to the Union of India.<ref name="routledge.com"/><ref>{{citation|title=Colonialism and Resistance: Society and State in Manipur|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OzjbCgAAQBAJ&dq=Manipur+instrument+of+accession&pg=PA169|year=2015|publisher=Taylor & Francis|page=169|isbn = 9781317270669|access-date=14 January 2021}}</ref><ref name=CIRCA>{{citation |title=Why Pre-Merger Political Status for Manipur: Under the Framework of the Instrument of Accession, 1947 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oKZoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA26 |year=2018 |publisher=Research and Media Cell, CIRCA |id=GGKEY:8XLWSW77KUZ |page=26 |ref={{sfnref|CIRCA, Why Pre-Merger Political Status for Manipur|2018}}}}: "Before the controversial merger, both Manipur and India were bound by the Instrument of Accession (IOA) which the King of Manipur signed on 11 August 1947. The IOA was accepted by the Governor General of India Lord Mountbatten on 16 August 1947 vide Home Department, Government of India file no A-1/1/1947. Subsequently, the Manipur State Council approved the IOA in its meeting held on 22 August 1947 Vide Memo No. 383 PTI Reference Council Minutes Part I of 11-8-1947. The execution of the Instrument of Accession was published in the Manipur State Gazette on 27 August 1947."</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Singh, Socio-religious and Political Movements in Modern Manipur|2011|chapter=6 |page=139}}; See Chapter 2 for the limitations of sovereignty under the colonial regime.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Instrument of Accession of the State of Manipur |url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Instrument_of_Accession_and_Standstill_Agreement_of_Manipur_to_Dominion_of_India.pdf |website=Wikimedia Commons}}</ref> A '[[Manipur State Constitution Act 1947]]' was enacted, giving the state its own constitution, although this did not become known in other parts of India owing to the relative isolation of the kingdom.<ref name=Banerjee>{{citation |first=S. K. |last=Banerjee |title=Manipur State Constitution Act, 1947 |journal=The Indian Journal of Political Science |volume=19 |number=1 |date=January–March 1958 |pages=35–38 |jstor=42748891 |ref={{sfnref|Banerjee, Man Aipur State Constitution Act|1958}}}}</ref> The Government of India did not recognize the Constitution.{{sfnp|Singh, Socio-religious and Political Movements in Modern Manipur|2011|loc=Chapter 6, p.&nbsp;139}}

On 21 September 1949, the Maharaja was coerced to sign a Merger Agreement with the Union of India, to take effect on 15 October the same year.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Haokip |first1=Thongkholal |title=Political Integration of Northeast India: A Historical Analysis |journal=Strategic Analysis |volume=36 |issue=2 |year=2012 |pages=304–314 |issn=0970-0161 |doi=10.1080/09700161.2012.646508 |s2cid=153661583 |ref={{sfnref|Haokip, Political Integration of Northeast India|2012}}}}: "The Maharajah of Manipur was invited to Shillong in September 1949 for talks on integration.... The Maharaja was placed under house arrest and debarred from any communication with the outside world. The Maharaja was thus forced to sign the ‘Merger Agreement’ with India on September 21, 1949, and Manipur became a 'Part-C state' of the Indian Union."</ref> As a result of the agreement, the Manipur State merged into the Indian Union as a [[Part C State]] (similar to a [[Chief Commissioner's Province]] under the colonial regime or a [[Union Territory]] in the present Indian structure), to be governed by a Chief Commissioner appointed by the Government of India. The representative assembly of Manipur was abolished.<ref name="RCGu">{{citation |first=Ramachandra |last=Guha |author-link=Ramachandra Guha |title=India after Gandhi: The History of the World's Largest Democracy |publisher=Pan Macmillan |year=2008 |isbn=978-0330396110 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=29lXtwoeA44C |at=Section 13.V |ref={{sfnref|Guha, India after Gandhi|2008}}}}</ref>

Unhappy with the central rule, [[Rishang Keishing]] began a movement for representative government in Manipur in 1954. The Indian home minister, however, declared that the time was not yet ripe for the creation of representative assemblies in Part C States such as Manipur and [[Tripura]], stating that they were located in strategic border areas of India, that the people were politically backward and that the administration in those states was still weak.<ref name="RCGu"/> However, it was given a substantial measure of local self-government under the Territorial Councils Act of 1956, a legislative body and council of ministers in 1963, and [[Manipur|full statehood]] in 1972.{{sfnp|Agnihotri, Constitutional Development in North-East India|1996|p=68}}

*26 Jun 1825 – 9 January 1834 [[Chinglen Nongdrenkhomba|Gambhir Singh]] (d. 1834)  

;Political agents:

*1844–1863 William McCulloch (1st time)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Dictionary_of_National_Biography_volume_35.djvu/27|title = Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 35.djvu/27 - Wikisource, the free online library}}</ref>

;Political agents:

;Dewans:

*[[Meitei mythology]]

* {{citation |last=Singh |first=Haorongbam Sudhirkumar |title=Socio-religious and Political Movements in Modern Manipur 1934–51 |journal=INFLIBNET |publisher=Jawaharlal Nehru University/Shodhganga |year=2011 |hdl=10603/121665 |url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/121665 |ref={{sfnref|Singh, Socio-religious and Political Movements in Modern Manipur|2011}}}}

* {{Cite book|last=Government of Manipur|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.125717|title=Manipur Gazette, 1949, January–June|pages=1–5|date=1949}}

* [https://www.fotw.info/flags/in-mu.html|title= Hosting sites of FOTW], National Flag