This article is about the modern day state of India. For the eponymous kingdom mentioned in the epic Mahabharata, see Manipura (Mahabharata). For other uses, see Manipur (disambiguation).
"Jewel of India" redirects here. For the highest civilian award of the Republic of India, see Bharat Ratna.
During the days of the British Raj, Manipur was one of the princely states.[23] On 11 August 1947, Maharaja Bodhachandra Singh signed an Instrument of Accession, argued by many that the king was in no legal position to sign the instrument of accession at the time,[24][25][26] under the agreement Bodhachandra Singh accede to the Indian Union.[27][28] Later, on 21 September 1949, he signed a Merger Agreement, disputed as having been done without consultation of the popular ministry under Manipur State Constitution Act 1947 and denial of the king's request to return to Manipur to discuss the same with his people.[29][30][31][32]
Under 'duress' and 'coercion' Bodhachandra Singh signed the merger agreement merging the kingdom into India, which led to its becoming a Part C State.[33][34][35]
Followed by contestation of the merger by groups in Manipur, resulting in a 50-year insurgency in the state for independence from India.[36] From 2009 through 2018, the conflict was responsible for the violent deaths of over 1000 people.[37]
The Meitei people[38] represent around 53% of the population of Manipur state, followed by various Naga tribes at 20% and Kuki-Zo tribes at 16%.[39] Manipur's ethnic groups practice a variety of religions.[40] According to 2011 census, Hinduism and Christianity are the major religions of the state.[40][41] Between the 1961 and 2011 censuses of India, the share of Hindus in the state declined from 62% to 41%, while the share of Christians rose from 19% to 41%.[42]
Manipur has primarily an agrarian economy, with significant hydroelectric power generation potential. It is connected to other areas by daily flights through Imphal Airport, the second largest in northeastern India.[43] Manipur is home to many sports and the origin of Manipuri dance,[44] and is credited with introducing polo to Europeans.[45]
^Banerjee, S. K. (1958). "Manipur State Constitution Act, 1947". The Indian Journal of Political Science. 19 (1): 35–38. ISSN0019-5510. Manipur became independent with the lapse of paramountcy. Later, Manipur merged with India in 1949
^SINHA, L. P. (1987). "The Politics and Government of Manipur". The Indian Journal of Political Science. 48 (4): 487–493. ISSN0019-5510. JSTOR41855332.
^Naorem Sanajaoba (Editor), Manipur, Past and Present: The Heritage and Ordeals of a Civilization, Volume 4, Chapter 2: NT Singh, ISBN978-8170998532
^Sanatomba, Interrogation into the political status of Manipur (2015), pp. 172–193: "Furthermore, Section 9(b) of the Manipur State Constitution Act, 1947, would certainly dispel any doubt about the titular status of the Maharaja, which was expressedly stated thus: ‘The Maharaja means His Highness, the Maharaja of Manipur, the constitutional head of the state.’ The Maharaja in his capacity as the constitutional ruler could not execute the Instrument without proper authorisation and constitutional endorsement. This was simply on account of the fact that he was not a sovereign ruler and that Manipur was not a sovereign state then. Therefore, the act of signing the Instrument of Accession on 11 August 1947 by the Maharaja could not be considered an Act of the State. Hence, the Instrument was deemed null and void right from the moment it was executed... For example, the Indian Dominion had never existed on or before 11 August 1947. Being so, it can be aptly said that the Maharaja acceded to a political non-entity. Therefore, it can be claimed that the Instrument was never executed in actuality. It was simply pre-judicial to execute the Instrument between two political entities which were yet to be born."
^Sanatomba, Interrogating into the Political Status (2015), p. 210: "The Maharaja refused to sign the Merger Agreement without consulting his Council of Ministers and conveyed his desire to return to Manipur to obtain the approval of the people. Rejecting such a reasonable proposal, Nari Rustomji, Advisor to the Governor of Assam, suggested that the Maharaja might as well finalise the merger issue during that current visit only.. (Singh 1988: 106)" harvp error: no target: CITEREFSanatomba,_Interrogating_into_the_Political_Status2015 (help)
^
Akoijam, A. Bimol (2001). "How History Repeats Itself". Economic and Political Weekly. 36 (30): 2807–2812. ISSN0012-9976. JSTOR4410908. When maharaja Bodhchandra resisted the move to merge Manipur with the Indian union saying that he was only a constitutional monarch and he needed to consult his elected members of the state assembly, the representatives of the union government informed him that the GoI did not recognise the assembly
^
Phanjoubam, Pradip (14 December 2015). The Northeast Question: Conflicts and frontiers. Routledge. pp. 204–207. ISBN978-1-317-34004-1. after six days of 'per-suasion', made to sign the Merger Agreement, thereby formally merging Manipur with the Union of India. Repeated pleas by the king that it was his desire to ultimately sign the agreement, but he be first allowed to go home and consult his assembly was turned down...
^Cite error: The named reference nam.ac.uk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).