| Manipur | |
| Capital - Coordinates | Imphal - |
| Largest city | Imphal |
| Population (2001) - Density | 2,388,634 (22nd) - 107/km² |
| Area - Districts | 22,327 km² (23rd) - 9 |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Establishment - Governor - Chief Minister - Legislature (seats) | 1972-01-21 - Shivinder Singh Sidhu - Okram Ibobi Singh - Unicameral (60) |
| Official language(s) | Meitei |
| Abbreviation (ISO) | IN-MN |
| Website: manipur.nic.in | |
Manipur pronunciation (Bengali: মণিপুর, 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, who live primarily in the state's valley region, is one of the primary ethnic groups. Their language, Meitei (also known as Meiteilon or Manipuri), is also the lingua franca in the state. It was recognized as one of India's national languages 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.
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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.
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 and fractions of Indian National Army under command of Subhas C. Bose 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 annexation of the kingdom into India. 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.
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: 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 Bamon and Meitei Pangans. 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 people 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, 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 legends of all tribes including that of 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.
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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
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. Today Manipur also 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 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.
List of political parties in the state
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.<ref>National Accounts Division : Press release & Statements - Government of India, Ministry of Statistics</ref>
| 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.
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Union territories: Andaman and Nicobar Islands • Chandigarh • Dadra and Nagar Haveli • National Capital Territory of Delhi • Daman and Diu • Lakshadweep • Puducherry
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