Matamgi Manipur

by Prof Lal Dena This article was originally published by Hueiyen Lanpao and later updated online on E-pao.net in June 2012 1. Historical background The hill areas of Manipur were peopled by two major ethnic groups - the Naga and the Kuki-Chin-Mizo, which a1re sub-divided into about thirty two smaller tribes according to difference in culture, language and customary practices. No clear-cut boundary line can be drawn between the areas occupied by the Nagas and the Kukis as they are all mixed up in all the hill districts except Churachandpur. In the present district of Ukhrul of north east Manipur, though the Tangkhul Nagas are predominant, a large number of Kukis also settle there. The Senapati district of north Manipur is inhabited by Chiru, Kom, Liangmei, Mao, Maram, Nepali, Paomei, Thangal and Zemei Naga while the two subdivisions of Kangpokpi and Saikul are predominantly inhabited by Kom, Koren and Thado Kuki. In the district of Tamenglong of west Manipur are found the following ...

By Amar Yumnam This article was originally published by the Imphal Free Press on 25 June 2012  Manipur has always valued education; the parents have all along been concerned about education of children. This is more so about the valley than in the mountains. But the last three decades or a little more something has been terribly wrong with school education. The characteristic decline has been so terrible and has refused to evolve towards a better scenario. Fortunately, we now observe a certain application of mind and effort towards developing an atmosphere of positive change in the school education sector. This change is encouraging for in it we find winds of society-wide collective application of mind and effort rather than the highly selfish orientation of the last few decades. While the parents have so far been largely crypto-moralistic in their children’s education (holding a private morality at heart but manifesting another morality in public), yet we now discern signs of c...

Coming to terms with the historicity of a geo-political entity By Angomcha Bimol Akoijam This article was originally published by the Imphal Free Press on 25 June 2012 The news of ‘Magnificent’ Mary making it to the London Olympics brings cheers and a sense of pride to the people of Manipur. And come July-August 2012, as the images of this demeanor daughter of Manipur, sweating it out in the boxing ring of the global sports extravaganza, hit the televisions screen, millions of sport lovers in this country will be on their feet while many in Manipur will feel her heart beats as well. And whatever may be the outcomes of the competitions, these Olympics moments are bound to generate a moment of visibility as the state shall emerge once again from its relative anonymity through her denizens like Mary Kom.  

AFSPA 1958 Parliamentary Debate (an excerpt) by Malem Ningthouja Source:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/JusticeForLoitamRichard/permalink/448173251861706/   Annexure XXIV, Lok Sabha Debates, Second Series, Volume XVIII, 1958, (11th August to 22nd August, 1958), Fifth Session, 1958, Vol. XVIII Contains Nos. 1 to 10, Lok Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi ARMED FORCES (ASSAM AND MANIPUR) SPECIAL POWERS BILL. 18 August 1958 The Minister of Home Affairs (Pandit G. B. Pant) : I beg to move: “That the Bill to enable certain special powers to be conferred upon members of the armed forces in disturbed areas in the State of Assam and the Union Territory of Manipur, be taken into consideration.”... ... This is a very simple measure. It only seeks to protect the steps that the armed forces might have to take in the disturbed areas. It is not possible over such a vast areas to depute civil magistrates to accompany the armed forces wherever there may be trouble, because it hap...

The article is a reproduction of the lecture given by Subir Bhaumik at Arambam Somorendra Memorial Lecture on June 10, 2012 at JNMDA, Manipur. It was published by the Imphal Free Press and webcast by Kangla Online. Mr. Chairperson, Prof. W. Nabakumar, Chairman of the Arambam Somorendra Trust, Dr. Lokendra, scholars, friends, ladies and gentlemen, Eleven years ago, on this day, at Imphal’s Khurai Nandeibam Leikai, Arambam Somorendra, a pioneer figure in Manipur’s long saga of political protest and social movements, was killed by suspected militants of a valley-based group, perhaps those who did not agree with his thinking. The murder was an insult to the spirit of free thinking that has been Manipur’s forte and that has produced a plethora of absolute genius in this rather creative society. I am indeed honoured for being invited to deliver a lecture in memory of a man who did not merely establish what would seem to be a separatist organization to free Manipur from India but also a...

by Professor Lal Dena This article was originally published by Huieyen Lanpao on 9 June 2012   Mizoram's Chief Minister, Lalthanhawla went to Singapore to attend one conference and was quoted to have said: "I feel more at home here than in India". This is also the feeling of other north eastern people staying in mainland India. Today quite a good number of them have been working or studying in Indian metropolitan cities. Majority of them are semi-educated who are in search of greener pastures in the hope of making a living in those places by working in call centers. 

This editorial was first published by the Sangai Express on 5 June 2012 Imphal may just about escape the tag of a slum but it is undeniable that it has all the trappings of one. Well almost, if not all. The booming private water tanker service is nothing but a reflection of the extremely poor water supply scenario in the capital of the State while the brisk sale of LED lamps and low cost generators brought in from across the border at Moreh says something significant about the power supply, which is more often marked by black outs and load shedding than actually lighting up homes and streets. One does not have to go to the village to get a glimpse of an inter-village road for a walk or a drive through any of the lanes and by lanes of Imphal would be more than enough experience. The slush on the road, which turns into dust, depending on whether it rains or not, the rotting garbage piled up on the sides of the roads, the all round confusion on the roads of Imphal, made worse by the dig...